The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1906. 'LEAGUE OF FRENCH CATHOLICS'

New Zealand Tablet, 15 November 1906, Page 21

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1906. 'LEAGUE OF FRENCH CATHOLICS '

t ABLE-MESSAGES that have for' albiigtime pasx-be'en coming tp^ Australasia from Paris furnish melancholy evidence iV of the extent to which ".the ■ sources . of --' international communication in France t are in the hands of organic Rations that are . hostile - t.o; -religion. Last week|s foreign . despatches supplied, a fresh case in point. It took the "shape of* a' cabled message from. Paris which- stated that, ' notwithstanding the papal interdict,' the ' League of E'rench' 'Catholics ' has established a number of associations for public worship - through . the' various departments Jnto .which .the. country is divided. ' . f,'

The jfeal §ign^canc^ro£Vl-liis^item t .of%£ c . ) news,!^ lies-.in w,ha;t the .cable-fiend deemed it, prudent to ?v suppEess! The •\Loaigue jOf French ( .Catholics ', is ar misnomer, : ~ a false label, a fraudulent .desig^U^n^ '■iW/jfoWder is - : , not a, leader i of- -French Catholic -though fc, "but -^ mere .journalistic hack. His name Is'. Des. Houx. He was, we imagine, once a Catholic-^of a :,£orT. For a time he edited if fche, -/ ,Moni teur .de'ißpifae i.?,.- but in such, .a mariner ithat has sendees had tplCb'e -disiJenised with*'" and the paper- "(a^Cathoiic-'onevi'n rthe'r^Sncli -was finally suppressed by Po%;:^e'^;^rf/^ bes' Houx has been~ since then a man with'- a ije is now employed a.s _a .welter pn -/the Par'is^^latin^V which, (as is w,ell known) is' the organ "of the atheistic Fr^en^aJon-RadK. cal-j^cialist ' Bloc '/tlrat "-ojirg'ainsed'' the * present ' persecution. j^Th'e ' yellow ' J "'nien of .' Eortadowij" f are; ."said , to entertain a particularly poor opinion of the r Pop^e. ' But ' tlieir opinion^ and, its' expression- are as 'is fthe* cpqings of Jtfie' sucking doYe At cVnipare'd;||fith^thos^,of 'the" '.Matin - , which is no torious "for , the ' vindictive, bitterness of its antagonism to . revealed — religion. 'A ,khpwn ■f-Papish ' might, .b^ spme tpossi^lcft possi^lcf com'b'inatjioh' oV\citcumstances, achieve .the distinctipri;.'(>£ securing empioy r< ment higher than that -'of ~'a -scavenger from- the saffron pit£ council of Belfast.' : .BuVV"^^^ practising 'Christian' would ( "iiev'er ' soar to tne'dizzy •heights of the lippe'or employment -in trie^ office of the ..Matin. Des jtoux's" ppsiti'pn. 6^"that" rabid organ ,of persecution, sufficiently determines,"" =by' itself'-" alone, -his; attitude tQW^rdsJreligiohV' And>i,he acter of J^es, Jtloux -'.League, 3 may ..be sufficiently gathered. I from^/. / tHe;-.ofiwisiYe .language; of^.its^firs V ..mjiifesto, and from t the*"^vldent' r objec.t/pf Its having been ,' inaugu^tcd'^^^g^'/a^^ie'despateH of September 24 from Paris to the Anierican. : assobiiated,< press) (*( * with -the purjjose^ oi crea'ti|ig a: schdsm ' and! starting "a distinct .Qaltitaii.GHiirqh."''. ' ' '„ In_ Paris . Des Houx is" a nobody" . Biit'l^veK a'lstwed^ figure wilf'-pass f ,at'a dfsLakee-fofeSdmebQdy, V Ouf-We on r the*riTn of the'. worl'd 'the ''an-tieierical "hack of the. [ Matin ' is madeT.ljy=4.Kc cable demon to pass for s the leader, of - a -new ■>' reform y in * France. _- . Arid ' -the so--called 'League -of French"; Catholics'^ is.- made -to? ap-^ pear 'a. serious' '".Inoyement-.''; among.' .p'fof essiflg rand .prac- - .tising. "Christians. - Judging;, -by.-. the intoVmaUoi '. us (which z we believe' to be-in evei-y par-ticuiar authoritative), a more misleadiaig conception, of the Des 'Houx business .could scarqely have- been .sent "to o.u'r. .shores.. We have already pdi'nte"d- out, in the columns :^of--s.som-6 of;; the secular "papers," hoWj-acco^ing. to 'the' despatch last- mentioned, there was a sfrialtf attendance ' when the L'eague' was > founded, on September 21/- -No' known Catholics.'.pr at^ least no prominerft Cathblfcs,7^seem r :t'o' "have, been .present v According to a .Parisian' apcVunl' ~ before us, the -opening of the* new -'- -mo vemenC 'was a farcical affair, with Des Houx as rits^ beginning, centre, and end. It seems as if . the new association would_ have- been more aptly, named the League of French "Anti-Catholics. The impression in- Catholjlc centres in Paris seems to be' that JDes Houx (who, as' stated, is nobody in particular) is" simply the cat's-paw of M/Bjrian'd' (Minister of Justice and i Education),' 'who' urged the formation of worship .associations "without 'consultation with -the bi-> shops, a.iid, whp, at the teachers' congress, at Amiens, declared'. -thit .'.>religi_on ,must." s be banished ' from' the minds of the s ehiidren>of France,'--and cthat. ' iL, i^ut en finir; avec - l'idee chretienne' ' -• (we-must "^et- rid of Christianity). "Our "readers should ■ bfear^the following facts in mind: (1) The. public worship ' asspciationsV- as T p^ro-->vided. fort in. ,the Separation:. La w^that.-, comes. in force on' December; 11, .are exclusively -lay b.odies, (2) -'. They are to -halve -full control; r -of chulches,- seminaries, rpresbyteries, ' etc. ' (3)- • They, are^ /as Emile- M6lot declared) free to establish- any, n form of ' worship vv v that they please, and the parish clergy would be" merely their .p.aidjwnployjßes., (1) They r are completely inde-

pehde/iit of. jthe* . ; ei3ciesiasticaVjauthbrit^ ' " And!. : ,(5) : - *H/liet --arer 'the'" mere , creatures^f %.t^e ;..C,puncil,. ol- /State—that ,-is-; (as 'the-Londonc* Saturday ■• tprinte*'- elsewhere ~ : in'4his '-issfle^h^'p'ointed" out)/; '"of ;th'e Executive' tMe : 'Ami' tW/Councii (as the';.' same -jouphat xiightiyl . declares;).,^' js"eonstituted>. by •% law'- ! la !secularr,and.;partisan'T4j;ibu'nair:( too* decide -on,' grave ques->tions-!oP! faith ' and morals- --; '' ■''-■■■ '■-"- v- j ' »•-. v. r^ ■■■^ --" ;v; .r -:< v..- • - - -The. public worship' associations",- as- thus- constituted' by ' law; -fwefe '-naturally, "aridj necessarily" rejected" by the : Pope, and 'Hhe 'French/ episcopate as Wholly, incompatible the* constitution, andY' discipline of ;.,.the Church.,- It would be- as -.if, the' New -Zealand parliament were to permit Presbyterians^ to' l worship in their own, fanes only; ' on ; condifioir : that^ 'they, "raidically, ' altered their,' present, .sjsteni'' of,' Church- .government, and , adopted another and whoiiyirinconipatible one drawn. up by" an anti-Chris tiani)' machine, 'or 1 ' -The Pope,' says the' '' Saturday"' Rev.^ 'with' ,fkr better justification "antT' { ' far. 1 great^ .moderation, ,'tbe v t ery -war that -Chalmers and/ thei;, other /founders of,, the. Free 'Kirk waged in' '* Scotland--' sixty years Ua'gb i" fbr ;Tj>o tne '• Crown rights, of 'eiiristJ'' : '""The Covenanters^lso faujgbt to^ the., death "against /;the dominance, ""'of .!the.'^secular arm oyer< v the .^ Church, or- conscience- of a free -. people. ' The Pope,' says the -review quoted; -'is' fighting the "battle- of Chn^ten'doriiV' French" Catholics !may not, after all, , sit" down^asT *!qiiieiiyy :^ and. Vaccept" the confiscation of .their; churches— or .the.ir..seizure-bv,.athe-ists masquerading as Cat-holies'— asi. tamely as l ' : M;-Des Houx and his '-an t'i-Catho.lic' 1 associations may imagine. Our" readers "have pr'obabiy ito.t f org'bt'tfen so, recent . \ "a matter ' as the history. of theiinventories! '.' .-. i,