THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1902. THE CHURCH IN MANY LANDS. The New Zealand TABLET

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 19, 8 May 1902, Page 16

THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1902. THE CHURCH IN MANY LANDS.

The New Zealand TABLET

' To promote the cause of Religion and Justice by the ways of Truth and Peace.' Leo XIII. to the N.Z. Tablet.

y «^Shf URIXG the p-ist Uoor three years we have lived in an atmosphere of war, and it has become "^iKmlK matt ? r of llal)it now Wlth most of »3 to direct Wm^ om ' fi «t eatrer glance at the morning paper "Y^jSty-' towards the column in which will be found the *i&^ ]atCSt int( -' llii ? ellce °f the progress of the 'kffi Btniiiple. AYe are so absoibed in this merely physical contest and in other temporal affairs of this sort that we are apt to forget that there is a far more importaut struggle, a struggle in which we are far more \itally interested, a struggle fraught with far greater if.siu-8 for us than the struggle in South Africa. The contest between the Church and the world, the struggle between the Church Militant and the powers of evil, ignorance, and irrelisiion is perpetual and unceasing, and must continue until Con's kingdom shall have finally and fully come. The warfaie between the kingdom of light and the powers of darkness was never keener or more strenuous than now. Never was there a time when the Church was better equipped, had her forces better marshalled, or had a deeper or firmer faith in her Divine Founder and Master than now. It must be added, unfortunately, that there never was a time when her enemies were so numerous and so powerful, so cunning and so crafty, so bitter and so unscrupulous as they are showing themselves at the present day. It may not be without Interest at this juncture to take a hasty sweep of the battlefield, noting the points where the fight is keenest, and seeing where the Church mere than holds her own, and where, for a time at lease, she threatens to be driven back.

In the Catholic countries of Spiin and Belgium tlvi-p have recently been enacted scenes of grave disturbance and disorder, not arising indeed directly from any conflict with the Church, but a disorder nevertheless in which the interests of the Church were seriously threatened. So far as Belgium is concerned, the crisis has, as wo explained last week, for a time at least, been happily averted, and the Clerical or Chuivh Party have now a tighter grasp than ever on the reins of power. In Spain the discontent is of a very dangerous and far-reaching character, and the recent efforts of the Government have only temporarily allayed it. Industrially and economically, Spain is in a very bad way, and there are indications that in the general discontent the question of t 1 c power and propeity of the religious Orderswill be certainly and vehemently raised. There is a great deal of chronic poverty and ground for legitimate grievance in the industrial condition of the people, and the monarchy will find itself in serious danger unless important political and social reforms are promptly taken in hand. In Italy also the present situation is by no means promising. The Zanardelli Ministry have not hesitated to interfere directly with the Church even in the matter of dogma. The Eco iV Italia of Genoa, quoted by our contemporary the Liverpool Catholic 2'nneft, says that at Naples in some of the chuiohes which are frequented by large congregations, servants of the State stand on guard and listen carefully to the sermons. They have informed the clergy that they have orders not to permit them to speak from the pulpit on the question of divorce. In case the command of the civil authorities is disregarded, it becomes their duty to stop the preacher and bring him bifore the law courts. The decree has aroused, of course, a storm of indignant protest and opposition, but it is nevertheless being persistently forced upon the country, and more than one congregation has been dismissed and the doors of the church closed bee, use a priest lus thought it his duty to warn his flock against the evils of divoice.

Probably in no country in the world is. the present position of the Church so extremely gra\e and critical as in unhappy France. As our readers know the Church's enemies in Franco have already succeeded, by means of a tyrannical Associations Bill, in driving the religious Orders from that country, and their latest move is to make education in France absolutely and completely secular, so as to still further ciush and cripple Catholicity in the country. This they propose to accomplish by repealing what is known as the Falloux Law, granting freedom lo teach in Fiance. The Falloux Law was pa-s -d m lx~>o. and by it any French person is permuted lo open a secondary schojl onfullilling certain conditions as to mor.il and intellectual fitness. The real object of the proposal for repe.il is to prevent the religions congregations from setting up secondary schools, and thus compelling French p irems to s< nd their children to the Government lyccs, wlieie t lie teach in and the teaching are both anti-Catholic. '1 he mavity o f the situation was fully realised l.isi Sept ember by the Holy Father, who, in addressing a i^vo ip of representative French Catholics who had an audx-me with Inn in tint month, uttered these impressive words : ' There is still, hum mm-, one ho|)c. Tin his! jilaulc of s.ilt ,///»,/ is the (1< c» ions of m\t year. Kv. rvfching de])ends on iheiu. Cathwhr-, must work for them, must make a supieme effort: v js to nmipier or die' Those elections are j> oe-'edm.: a> we wiiie, and there are indications that the < 'arholie i lectors are making a gallant fight. The latest cable m^s-age to haul intimates that since the first hi lot wis declared M. \V \LI)KCk'-f<orssKAr has p-otested against clerical interference in the election, a stej) which we interpret as an unmistakable flag of distress and as an indie ition th it priests and people are making a firm and unflinching stand for faith d\u\ freedom.

In Ameiiea the Chun h i-, ,i^ m< nt siatMiVs show, progressing liy leaps and bounds, bat the pres nt attitude of the I'nited Suites Go\ernment toua'd-, the Church in the Philippiius is anything but satM'actuiy, ihkl may yet lead to serious difficulty and complicahoi s." '1 lie United States Government appointed a Commission, iindec the presidency of Judge Taft, to report on the religious question in the Philippines and as the outcome of his repuil two recommendations \\(ie made: (I). Tli.it the Sp.mish Friar-, should Ik w ithdi\i.v.u from the 1 M,md> ■ and (2) thai a astern

of absolutely secular education be introduced. These are recommendations of course which the Vatican could not do otherwise than oppose. The issue* involved in the question and the a titude of the Holy Father on these proposals are vry well and fairly described in an article in the Protestant Independent, from which we make th) following extract :— 'What th? Vaucm, without distinction of parties or opinions, will fight against is the loss of the 6,559,900 CtUiobcs, which, according to the Church register of 1898, exist in tin Philippine.;. This is almost the entire populating and after the expulsion of the Spanish Friars they think over :>,000,000 Filipinos would be left for more than a generation without priests, sacraments or the blessedness of religion. The native priests amount altogether to about <;f>o. and have been trainee 1 in the seminaries established by the Friars and formed on the experience of ten generations. But they are insufficient in numbers to the needs of the large population of Asiatic Chrstians. Out of the 907 parishes and missions 7G7 are in the hands of the Friars, j:>S in those of secular priests and 42 only in those of Jesuits.' Negotiations and discussion on the matter are still proceeding, but it is obvious that the Church can never give her consent to proposals that arc at once so entirely anti-Catholic, unreasonable, and tyrannical.

In Germany the present position of the Church is highly satisfactory and the outlook was never so promising. One by one the hostile discriminations against the Church are disappearing in the various German States in which they have hitherto prevailed, and there is every indication that the Jesuit Exclusion Act— the last vestige of the antiCatholic crusade of twenty ;years ago— will also soon disappear. In answering a question in the Reichstag recently as to the probable repeal of the Anti-Jesuit law Count Po-adowsky, Secretary of State for the Interior, said : ' Although the intervention of the Imperial Legislature in favor of the constitutional status of the OathoiicfCh'jrch. in the difl'eient States must be considered out of the question, it is highly desirable that there should be as much agreement as possible in the laws of the various States on the subject of th», Church. The Imperial Chancellor is accordingly endeavoring by means of friendly pourparlers with the different Federal Governments to remove existing disabilities of CatholL- suhjects of the Empire. He has conducted successful negotiations with the Government of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.' According to the Xr/r Yoik F, cumin, after Count Pos.vdowsky had made this statement the Plenipotentiary of Mecklenburg informed the Reichstag, that an ordinance granting Catholic liberty of public worship was to be introduced in Mecklenburg ; and the Plenipotentiary of Brunswick supplemented this statement with the announcement that the I'rovincial Diet of Brunswick would shortly adopt a Hill placing the Caihouc and Evangelical Churches on an equal footmir, For this great alvancc in the land of Li nihM and 'cradle of the Reformation,' there is every reason to be deep!} thankful.

From this him led suney it will be seen that there is, as ininht- b.- expected, considerable ebb and flow, rise and fall, in the fortunes of the Church. Loss here is retrieved by tram ihne, and misfoitune and defe.it in one place are balatx ed by pioiriess and prosperity in another. But whatever passing tiials and vicissitudes the Church may have to go through in her struggle with the world her final triumph is as we know, absolutely assured. Every century and e\ei'\ uenoration s *es some new assault, but the waves of human ptejndiee and passion dash t.gainst her in vain. 'On this rock I will build m_y Church,' s-aid her Divine Founder, and no matter how great the storm, no matter how tieiee the attack, 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'

Foi{ tho conveyance of fruit and vfg( tables on the Government railways the t .llovvi'i^charppa h tve he* n # ,zrtt<d : — Trie maximum charges for fruit aijd vc^n table-, fre li, New Z 'aUnd packed, will bo as fol'ows for any distant p —No: cxi ceding ."Hilb, (id ; over "'(lib hut not exceed in «: 1 121 b, la; for ev< ry additional ,'fj'lb or fraction thereof, (id. In addition a charge of 3d for each cwt or I'iii I of a cwt will be nni^e for fruit and vegetables charged at these max mum rates, consi^m d t.i Auckland, Wellington, Chnstchuroh, Diinrdin, or Invercarjjill. Returned empty fruit and vegetable p.i-ka£os will be carried free.