The Paradox of the Vatican.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 19, 9 November 1910, Page 2

The Paradox of the Vatican.

THE PERSONALITY OF POPE PIUS X.

IN the contrast between the perfect peacefulness of all the moods of the Pope and the state of war, fierce and unceasing, which has made his pontificate so exciting, the newspapers of Europe just now behold the paradox of the Vatican. Pius X. remains to-day, concedes the “Independanee Beige” of Brussels, precisely what he was when he ascended his throne, a timid, gentle, unsuspicious, urbane and pacific parish priest involved in war with all the great Latin nations of the world. The patriarch of Venice mounted the chair of Saint Petei' with the intention, writes the Rome correspondent of the London “Post,” of “renewing all things in Christ.” A conservative by temperament, he is a reformer in the sense that he wishes to remove the abuses which have grown up

fn the course of centuries, and to revive iwhat he considers to be the better practice of former generations. Simplicity has been his maxima—simplicity in the ceremonial of the Vatican, simplicity in the music of the Church services, simplicity in the administrative arid judicial system of the great institution over which he, the - most deeply religious and least worldly of men, has been chosen to preside. Tenacious of 'his purpose, he has carried out, despite considerable opposition, a large part of this ecclesiastical programme. He has given us the beautiful spectacle of a Pope preaching the practical and simple sermons of a parish priest in one courtyard of the Vatican; he has shown his predilection for a healthy and a muscular Christianity by presiding over a series of gymnastic exercises in another. He has appointed a comriiission to restore the' Gregorian chant; he has entrusted a distinguished English scholar with the revision of the Vulgate. And, finally, he has carried out that reform of the congregations and the ecclesiastical tribunals which had long been considered necessary, but which no previous Pope had attempted. This alone is

an achievement worthy of great ecclesiastical statesmen.

On its religious side, however, to follow still the British authority, the pontificate of Pius X. has not been an unqualified success. If the present Pope is the most conscientious and earnest of men, he is certainly lacking in that breadth of view which characterised ai Leo XIII. or an Innocent 111. There can be no greater contrast than that between the way in which the far-seeing Innocent treated St. Francis and that in which his latest successor has treated the Modernists and the Christian Democrats. Of the Roman Church during the last five years, the famous remark of Lord Macaulay would be no longer true, that “she thoroughly understands, what no other Church has ever ' 'understood, how to deal with enthusiasts.” On the contrary, the system of Pius Xi

and Cardinal Merry del Vai is to try f® drive the scholars and the enthusiasts, the men who wish to reconcile learning with religion and to win over the masses to the Church, out of the fold altogether. It is quite conceivable that in thfl struggle with the Modernists the Vatican will emerge victorious. But it is also permissible to think that Leo XIII. would' have avoided the struggle altogether. If the policy of the Pope be thus in contrast with that of his predecessor, hia mode of life continues to present an antithesis no less marked. It is w.ell known, says the Rome correspondent of the liondon “Standard,” that the present Pope dislikes the pomp and ceremonial that has usually been attached to every action! of the Pontiff, and loves to live a perfectly simple life disregarding all formalities that are not absolutely necessary] to his position. A book called “Pius X. and the Papal Court,” is by an anonymous writer, who seems to be well informed as to the habits and predilections of Pius X. The author tells us that at! about five o’clock in the morning tho Pope's bedroom attendant enters hia

room, but, unless his Holiness is ill, he finds him already up, and reading his breviary, as was his custom through his long parochial life. At six o'clock Pius X. says Mass in a simple little oratory, served by'tr-o Monsignori. After having prayed, for a while in the little chapel, the Pope has his early breakfast, which consists of a cup of coffee and rolls and butter, and directly afterwards, if the weather is fine, he walks in the great gardens of the Vatican for an hour or •o.

The Vatican gardens cover many acres of ground, and contain, besides flower gardens, orchards, and vineyards, several small villas or summer houses, and a Jong and winding carriage drive, constructed by Leo. XIII. The late Pope was in the habit of being carried down for his daily drive in great pomp, preceded by his Swiss soldiers, and followed by Papal chamberlains and Noble Guards. Leo XIII. sat alone in the seat of honour in his carriage, with a chamberlain opposite to him; two servants stood behind, and four Noble Guards on horseback followed, their officer riding beside the window of tl*e carriage. Pins X., says the author w® follow, takes long walks in the gardens, often alone, seeking the quietest and most unfrequented paths, and sometimes stops to talk familiarly with the gardeners and any workmen whom he happens to meet. At nine o’clock the Pope is in his studv, where he receives his Secretary of State, Cardinal Merry del Vai, then the heads of the great Congregations through which the Church is ruled, and then other visitors. The audiences of Pius X. are of the simplest character, and surrounded with the least possible etiquette. In old days the splendid reception rooms were full of chamberlains, guards, and attendants, but now only a few servants and a Monsignore or two are to be seen. The present Pope receives people of every class, even the most humble, and sometimes poor peasants from his native village of Kiese are to be seen there, in garments anything but suited to a court ceremony. Punctually at one o’clock Pius X. dines. Since the seventeenth century it has been a rule for the Pontiff to eat alone, but Pius X., says the London “ Standard,” sometimes invites his private secretary or other members of his household to join him, and on being respectfully remonstrated with for this breach of etiquette cheerfully replied that as Urban VIII. had the right to make this rule, he, Pius X., had an equal right to abolish it. Pius X. cats simply and most frugally, and the Pontiff’s meals differ little from those that were served to the parish priest of Salzano. When Pius X. was first elected he was astounded at the number of servants in the Papal kitchen, and exclaimed, “ Surely it is not necessary to have seven cooks in order to make me a little soup?”

After supper the Pope soon retires, and is generally in bed by half-past ten. In all the arrangements of his life Pius X. uses the same humble simplicity. The author of the book already mentioned says that under the Pope's predecessors there were Monsignori who were paid so much a month, and had rooms in the Vatican, whose sole duty was to hold the Pope’s hat when he went out in the Vatican gardens, or who carried the stick or umbrella of the Pontiff, and there were others whose functions wer hardly more important. All these sinecures have been inexorably abolished by Pius X., notwithstanding the lamentations ami protests which his action caused. He has discouraged elaborate services and decorations in the churches, and ordered a return to the old Gregorian music. In everything Pius X. has shown the transparent sincerity and simplicity of his character, and a simple piety that never hesitates for a moment to do what seems io him right, whether the action be politic or reverse.

Everyone has heard that when the Patriarch of Venice went to Rome for the conclave he had so little premonition of the result that he bought a return ticket. He long kept It, says Rene Lara, author of a recent study of Pius X. in “ MeCJure’s.” Many an entreaty to part with the little piece of cardboard had no effect upon the spiritual head of the ehurch until at last the King of Greece begged so hard that he secured the prize.