THE STATE AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 221, 4 December 1875, Page 19

THE STATE AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA.

Iho Now York correspondent of the An/us says ; —•

Our worthy friends the Roman Catholics have been affording ns considerable amusement lately, both in this vicinity and in tho Canadian provinces. In the state of Now Jersey, a small but wealthy state, very thickly settled, and settled in large part by the well-to-do tradesmen of New York, who have their homes there, and do business in New York city, it was recently proposed to amend tlie State Constitution in such manner as to prevent corporations from getting money or credit from the public, especial reference being had to religious corporations. It was also proposed to forbid any regulation of the public schools except by general laws. As the Catholic scheme embraces features with which these amendments would seriously interfere—in other words, as they, are determined to get money from the public wherever they can, and to get a hold on the public schools by insidious approaches, in districts where they are strong—they naturally felt extremely opposed to the amendments. In a moment of rashness, the clergy determined to enter the political arena openly. Accordingly, ballots for voting against tho obnoxious amendments were distributed in the Catholic churches, and the priests admonished their followers how to vote, while on tlie day of tlie election Catholics manned every poll to obtain as many votes as possible against the amendments. The result is significant. Of all the amendments—except one, whieli excited local opposition—those opposed by the Catholic clergy received the heaviest majority. And I venture to predict that this will be precisely the result of any similar open attempt to influence politics in the Catholic interest in this country. In Canada, the church lias been cutting a peculiarly conspicuous and ridiculous figure. A number of years ago, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal undertook to dictate to a literary society composed of Catholics, the Institute Canadicn, what books they should or should not have in their library. The quarrel was finally referred to Rome, whither the Bishop went to lay his case before the infallible tribunal, and where he obtained authority to carry out his views. Accordingly, he ordered his priests to refuse the sacraments, even in articulo mortis, to the members of the institute. The society protested that “it was a purely literary and scientific body, and taught no doctrine of any kind, and carefully excluded all teaching of pernicious doctrine.” But this, so far from appeasing the Bishop, only angered him, aud he declared that the resolution “ established the principle of religious toleration,” which was the ground on which tlie institute had been condemned. At this stage of the Bishop’s persecution, one of the members of tlie institute, M. Guibord, died, and tlie priests refused to administer the sacraments. This was in 1869. His wife sought in vain to have him buried in the cemetery of the Catholic Church, not then consecrated, and taking her failure greatly to heart, became insane and died. The institute then took up the case, and got a decision from the Privy Council that under the old French ecclesiastical law—still supposed to attach to this class of cases—Guibord, or Gnibord’s corpse was entitled to burial in the Catholic cemetery. But the attempt to deposit his remains there was at first met by a mob of French Canadian Catholics, who stoned the funeral cortege, and drove the hearse away. It was also found necessary to guard the remains where they lay in the Protestant vault. I believe that they still lie there. Neither the Government nor the Church seems inclined to push things to extremes. The former is by no means sure of its police, and only partly sure of its militia, and tlie latter is afraid of giving the Government some valid excuse for using force on a large scale, when, of course, the church would go to the wall. In view of the possibility of finally being compelled to yield, tlie Bishop of Montreal has declared that though the bones of Guibord may be allowed to rest within the limits of the cemetery, he will remove from the spot where they lie the benediction of tlie church. It is to be presumed that the principal effect of this little operation would be to keep up the market price of lots that have been and remain blessed, which the promiscuous burial of accursed carcases in the cemetery would necessarily tend to reduce in value.