THE RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION THE IN FRANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 260, 7 November 1906, Page 3

THE RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION THE IN FRANCE.

By Kobt. H. Bakewell, M.U.

, mU5 t warn my readers that if they rt to find anything amusing in this cXpe \ {hey will bo disappointed. "Dulee S'desipcre in loco." This is not the And 1 must also warn ext emi«ts on both sides. Protestant and Catholic, that they too will be disapinted _in fact, they had better not v, [ f j , ,,it if, as j helieve, the matoity of sewiblo midnrs oi Ihu Star," Jrho,' lil" m y self; have bl " PB l irr l ilGScd and puzzled by I!'.' telegrams from p-,,ropc about the rupture hetween the French Government and Ihr Holy Sop. cant to set some connected and intolli-M-hie «nd I may venture In say. lucid. femrnt of the whole affair, T think I -promise thai they will iind it in the following paper. Its preparation has tme m ore trouble than that of any other 1 have written. I could not undertake to write such a paper regularly once a'lreck. for 1 have bceu hunting up tiles if newspapers, reading articles in encyclopaedias, and ferreting among books for ;<■ fortnight in order to set a clear jd ca of the question.

To understand the present position of the Catholic ('lunch in Franco, it will be absolutely necessary to go hack to mc. tlavs before tin , first French Revolution. lAntl here J - ma . v say t!laL - 1 - shall term the Roman Catholic Church in France, either the 'French Church" or the '•Catholic Church,"' or oven .simply "die Church," just as it may best .suit tuo composition of the sentence, and without and reference tn doctrine or dogmn.

The French Church before the Reformation -was, like, all the other churches in Christendom, very wealthy: the; gross income was estimated ai six millions sterling per annuru, -which [ suppose would equal in purchasing power double t : n suru to-day.

Tlu's wealtli was very unequally divided. A vei" large portion was in the ]]it\ilc of the religions orders, both of men and women. Many cathedral churches were also so richly endowed that the income of the bishops and superior clergy was very large. Some of the older abbeys were enormously wealthy. -At the same time many of the inferior clergy, as they were called, that is, the secular clergy, having the charge, o- parishes in rural districts, were living in poverty. The clergy were not subject to the ordinary taxation: like the noble.-, they were exempt, hut jt must be .said 1 hat in times of national emergency they taxed themselves for the benefit of the State, and every five, years they made a special grant. But when Monarchy was abolished, the Church was disestablished, and the clergy persecuted even unto death. On that famous fourth of August when the National Assembly T»eiii mad. and abolished every institution hi Prance except the hare kingship, vrhicli was denuded of all real power. the representatives of Hie clergy gave up their endowments, and the whole of their wealth became Slate property. They owned more than one-sixth of the lanu. But as the most oppressive and Imdc-nsome taxes were paid only by the bourgeoisie and the labouring classes, tire sacrifice of the cliurch domains did ■waft, s&Visvj the fury of hatred which the dexgv \\a& inspired. During the terror. nearly all tie bishops and a very large

jiuinber of the inferior clergy emigrated

: A kw fared their lives by professing Brpi'M/can opinions, and taking oaths to tie Constitution, but the bulk of those iv/io remained in France were hidden away if they were not guillotined. After tie execution of llobespierre and his aeeon.iplier'?, the clergy emerged from their hiding places, and n certain number, who had never emigrated, look up their abode in their parishes, and were allowed to perform some of their duties. Only fhosfl who took the oath of allegiance to the Republic were allowed to officiate •publicly. They had hardly any bishops, all tho bishops having emigrated, with the exception of n very fp\v, who hud openly renounced Christianity.

Religious matters were in this state of confusion and disorganisation when Bonaparte became First Consul. JTo. determined to restore the Church in I'rance, and for this purpose commenced those negotiations with the then Pope (Pius Gth), who was his prisoner, which jesultcd in the signing of the famous

Concordat which ha.? been abolished by the Teoent legislation of Parliament.

Xapoleon at f?t. Helena explained wifn feynkal frankness Ins reasons for restoring tbc Catholic Church in France. Practically "whatever religion the French had ■was that of the Catholic Church. The Protestants were in a very small minority. It would have been impossible to establish any form of Protestantism, and the choice therefore lay between allowing things to continue a< •they were, or restoring the Catholic religion. Now, the Catholic Church without ihe Pope was impossible. It lad been tried during , the. Revolutionary times, and the people would have nothing to do with the priests who had takoiT t'w oath to the Republic, and had been excommunicated by the Pope. So nothing was loft but negotiation with the Pope, for a Concordat.

Concordats between the Holy See and Christian monarchs were, no novelty, and they still exist not only with monarchies out with sonic of the' Spanish-American Republics. By iheni tlm Pope renounces certain rights' or privileges which lie «laims. aud on the other hand, the State gives the (.'uthuliu Church not only toleriU ion. but generally either allows" her t>. Tctain lipi- endowment*, as in Hungary.or fc)gagc!s to pay the bishop? and clergy.

In Franc,. .\upnh;un wj-lird lv lessen the number nf J Ji^lic>j»»-i«-.-, which wen; certainly far too n»uieiou.s and to make ijiem more equal in extent »nd population. To do this ii was liecc-surv that B pme.of the Uishops nhould n--8 1p, and Uial a,ll who were reinstated should lake tlici oath of allegiance lo tj c Republic las f.l tlicn u.-iHt. The Pope wrote to the Bi-hjnps who had to be dismissed, or wlm.se -seiviccs wore didsensed with,-' I linn to resign. v'v,° XWpt - l l)e i ,i( " v,, . liitccn complied with the Pope's jviiucsl. Thi-y knew _ le ilileniiiiu he d a * ,„. y ,,j thf'.v knew fe(J that t.] u .y coitl, l 1101 be res to rod at *"y «rac unl csi , „)(- O ni-opdat were sign- • -But fifteen iijciv übrhiruti'. They ( v con "aitted n,, 1 . nJlViici' against th'o (iin nrm J tliei,. ~!,.,„,,, iron, their J ,8 *" *a« invoH, It μ-y, nnd lh«-y rt||g piHvoV <o! ~..■.,, Thou 11,0 if,, 0,1 irinif'fni s,,cl, :.n arbitrary rt orc CViK " r • - Na l J °V' un - " isll " (J <IJ " by this " ni "' France ' whereas «ised a. Pope \aspumed anfi exer- , m9^a »e jfoulfl .i pyei . haye ajiYised

him to exercise. But Pius VII. was a very weak man. If he Lad known all we know he would have resolutely refused his consent, and Napoleon "must have yielded.

By this Concordat the churches and cathedrals were restored to the Catholic Church, the archbishops, bishops, and clergy received a regular salary, and were to a large extent put in the position of mere State officials. The bishops could not assemble in synod without the consent of the Minister of Public Worship, and they were hampered in every way by the action of the Government. If they preached a sermon, or a bishop issued a pastoral which displeased the Ministry, he was immediately deprived of his 'salary. As a bishop said to Mr Hatnerton. who tells the story, •'lf I -want that pulpit moved a few ieet T must apply for permission to the Minister in Paris/ The clergy of the Catholic Church are divided into seculars and regulars. The former are bound by no special vow? except such ;is bind all priests at their ordination. The regulars take vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty. They are formed into monastic bodies, such as the Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, and the other old orders, or into congregations, such as the modern orders. Of the latter we have an example in the Marist Fathers, who were the first Catholic missionaries to New Zealand.

Against the Church, and the religious orders, the. Republican party in France has. shown itself persistently hostile. I have never been able quite to fathom the c-;i uses of. the intense hatred of French Republicans 1o what they c-all Clericalism. It is not Republican. The United States, an older republic than France by many years, exists and flourishes while giving the most perfect liberty to the Catholic Church and all its organisations. No one can dispute the title of the. Americans to be genuine Republicans. Leo XIII. very unwisely, as it appeared to many Catholics, and as it has turned out, tried to conciliate the Republic by urging the old noblesse, who are all Legitimists, to be loyal to the Republic as the power established in France. The only effect of this was to make them more hostile than over, and the more pious among them had masses said for the conversion of the Pope!

The consequence of this hostile attitude lias been the dissolution of the religious orders, the confiscation of their properly (which was stated to amount: tr> a milliard of francs, or forty millions sterling), and the passing of laws, prohibiting tbo teaching orders from teaching, even after their tows ha.d been dispensed with and their congregation dissolved. Th<? cruelty of this is abominable. Thousands of men and women, wlio bad been regularly brought, up as teachers, and who had no other means of livelihood, were rendered punishable if they attempted to teach. The women are indebted for the most part to private charity to keep them from starvation. Some are said to have died from starvation. ( To be concluded next week.)