THE FUTURE OF CATHOLIC FRANCE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 357, 20 February 1880, Page 11

THE FUTURE OF CATHOLIC FRANCE.

The men at present at power in France seem determined to effect considerable damage on tho Catholic Church, and to render it not only helpless in itself, but the slave of the State. Their projects may be divided into four clasps : those which exclude religious instruction from ed r cation ; those which abrogate existing laws relating to religion ; -those which submit all affairs concerning religious worship to the civil authority ; and finally, those which check or hamper the exercise of religion. That there is no exaggeration in the scope and purpose attributed to these laws, is easily demonstrated. In the first category is the proposal of the Deputy Falandier that religious instruction shall not be given to any one unless a special demand is made for it, and then only given " out of school." Deputy Barodet proposes that, at all costs, elementary instruction ehnll be taken out of the hands of the Catholic party. A commission pioposes that elementary instruction be declared obligatory, gratuitous, lay, and atJuWical," and that "the faculty of teaching may be withdrawn from the Religious Congregations." Jules Ferry proposes that the ministers of worship and the representatives of social interests be excluded from the superior councils ; and the same individual has another bill which excludes the Church from giving higher education. This is a formidable array of projects against the Catholic Church in France, especially as an educator of youth. In the second category of proposed laws is a project from the Commission of the Press, asking for the abrogation of the law by which " outrages to public morals are punished ; the withdrawal of the law which punishes those who turn into derision " religions iccogniscd by the State" is also sought to be obtained, as well as that which inflicted a penalty on the individual who should " offend the liberty of worship, the principle of property, and the rights of the family." All are to be abrogated. The Deputy Maigne has proposed, and the Chamber has passed, by 335 votes against 105, the abrogation of the law prohibiting work on Sundays. Deputy Duvaux proposes the abolition of military chaplains. M. Saint Maitin desires that the ministers of religion shall be prohibited to enter any military barrack, and that pi ocesses against the priests shall be rendered more easy. The proposal of Deputy Naquet that divorce shall be within the capacity of French law courts is upon the point of discussion ; and as a sequel, Saint Martin proposes the marriage of priests. There are three projects relating to the submission of worship to the civil authorities. These are Rameau's project for rendering the cemeteries common to Catholics, Freethinkers, Protestants, etc.; P>elle's concerning funerals, and Labure's, upon buildings. Paul Bert and Labure desire that military service may be rendered obligatory on young men studying for the priesthood. Boysset proposes the abolition of the Concordat and of the worship fund, and the reduction of the sums paid to the bishops. Such are the measures now to be placed before the French Chamber of Deputies. All of them tend to crush, as far as possible, and with malignant ingenuity, the liberty, limited enough as it is at present, of the Church in France. The education law of Jules Ferry is but the first of a series of attacks now opened on Catholicity ; and thnogh all that the projectors of these infamous restrictions hope for may not be obtained, there is no doubt that several will be more or less successful, and immense damage be done to Catholicity. — Pilot.