The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-08-14
(BV N. C. w C. News Service \

(By N. C. w. G.. News Service)
Not during the past fifteen years
has religious politics been SO much
mooted in France as during the past
month
When the rumOr suddenly spread
that the parliamentary discussion with
| respect to the relations between the
Republic and the Holy See was post
poned because the negotiations car
ried on for the past three months in
Rome were not ended, all newspapers
endeavored to state the delicate diff
erence that wos responsible for this
failure. The Government being bound
by diplomatic secrecy, and all the
bishops observing the most complete
silence about a problem of which the
solution depends on the Supreme Pom
tiff, it is necessary to remark that no
information given out as to the state
of the pending negotiations is to be
given the value of an official pro-
nOuncement.
Why Negotiations We're Halted.
The newspapers are unanimous in
declaring that the only reason why
the conversations between Cardinal
Gasparri and The French Charge d
Affaires are not yet ended is that these
conversations, instead of being con-
fined to the question of the reeStab-
lishment of the embassy, encrOached
upon wider and more difficult ques-
ton, namely, the legal status of the
Church in France.
In order to grasp the full meaning Of
this problem it is necessary to recall
how the Law Of Separation was voted
in 1905. The law, in the first place,
decreed that the State would not give
official recOgniZance to any cult. The
anti-clerical majority of that epoch
| was indsposed to bestOw upon the
| Catholic Church, in the persons of its
| Bishops, all the ecclesiastical proper
| ties (churches, palaces, rectories, do
nations, foundations, etc., holding
| that to make this concession would
| be to appear as bowling down before
| the Catholic hierarchy. They decid-
ed that, in each parish, the properties
should be assigned to "religious as
| toner's.
| Pope Plus X realized that such an
organization was liable to relinquish
into the hands of laymen-and per
haps even into the, hands of quite
| doubtful Charlottesville material gov
eminent of the parishes. He discard
ed it as contrary to the constitution
of the Church.
The French Catholics obeyed the or
| der of the head of the Church. Not a
single ''religious association" was es
tablished by the parishioners. The
only attempts came from men who
were VIGOROUSLY strangers to the Cath
Ollie community.
In vain had NJ Brian obtained thu
vote of a motion stating that "relig
iOus associations in order to be leg
ally recognized, should be established
''in conformity with the general regu
lations of the cult" He had thus
| hoped to tranquilliZe the Catholics anC
have his constitution accepted. The
Sovereign Pontiff repealed the formula
as too uncertain. The Catholics con
tinued their opposition to the "cul
tuelles" (religious associations), anC
the law miscarried.
The provisional" Status.
The Government was then COMPEL
ed to give up all hope of having the
law enforced The palaces were taken
away from the Bishops, the rectOries
from the rectors, and the revenues
arising from the donations were nc
longer paid to the priest. But it was
impossible to drive them out of the
churches. These were professionally
| left to them, and all offices continued
to be celebrated in them.
This provisional status still en-
dures, so that the Catholics are still
holding all their religious buildings
despite the text of the law, which
was designed to dispossess them.
Such is the doubtful situation which
both the Government and the CathO
lie hierarchy are DESTROYS to put ar
end to, now that the majority of both
the country and the Parliament have
made plain their wish to put an enc
to religious quarrels.
Several Catholic newspapers profess
to know that the Government, after