The French Persecution

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 3, 17 January 1907, Page 9

The French Persecution

~M. Briand's' tongue 'is .dropping manna just now. " A short -time _ago it .dropped daggers— when, for instance, he declared at Amiens that 'we ' had driven Christ out of the school life and the charitable insti-' tutions of the nation, and that ' we' (again the collective 'we ') would also drive Him * out of the Government of France and- 'enflnir^avec "l'idee chretienne '—make an end of- 'Christianity. Now, in honeyed accents, he lisps smiling platitudes about ' liberty of conscience ', the - ' free exe-cise of religion ', and his 1 sympathy ' with those who desire to worship God in the way of their 7 -fathers. But (judging by previous utterances and subsequent facts) M. Briands 'sympathy' - seems to be much- akin -to -that of Lewis Carroll's Walrus for the oysters. >-. . • " I weep for you ", the Walrus said : • .. . " I. deeply sympathise ". With sobs and tears he sorted' out Those of the largest size. ' Holding fcfts pocket-handkerchief r Before his streaming eyes.' The extent of the ' sympathy ' and the ' liberty -"of conscience ' and the ' free exercise of religion ' may be sufficiently gained- from the two following illuminating facts :- A cable message announced on Saturday the prosecution of a priest for the high crime and misdemeanor of celebrating Mass without the knowledge and sanction of the Government.' Here is * (from an English contemporary) another fact illustrative of the war against Christianity that, is foeing carried on in France : ' The Prefect of La-Lozere has demanded the ' secularisation of the lyin-g-in hospital at "Meude ; and ' pending that event has decided'' that no infants born at the maternity hospital shall be baptised under any pretext whatever. Even should the new-born child be in imminent danger of death, the mother is forlbdden io ask for its baptism.' - - * The weeping Walrus of French atheism has begun to . ' deeply sympathise ' with its victims. Even. Hottentots spared poor women in the throes -of maternity the horrors of savage warfare. With an official sob in its voice, Fren'oh official atheism has discovered a depth of callous tyranny which no self-respecting- Hottentot in our day could well have sounded.