THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN FRANCE

New Zealand Tablet, 3 July 1913, Page 17

THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN FRANCE

Rev. Father Bernard Vaughan, in an address, delivered in Liverpool at the annual conference of the members of the Catholic Young Men’s Society, gave a brilliant picture of, the Catholic revival in France. After dealing with the circumstances which led up to the Separation Law he went on to say: —In 1904 M. Combes made it his proud boast that, in consequence of the suppression of religious houses, he had been able himself to close 20,000 Catholic schools. . Republican France, with its mission to de-Christianise the country, seemed triumphant all along the line. But the French Government was not to be satisfied even with these drastic measures for the suppression of religion. There was another live wire to cut off, and ; M. Briand, with his Separation Bill in 1905, could triumphantly proclaim to his Masonic followers that between Rome, and Paris, between the Vatican and the Elysee, all official communication had ceased. Then it was, when the Church, thank God, was set free, like a -slave from the wheels of the State chariot, that a Bill was. introduced and passed by which infidel France vainly , hoped to convert its slave into a cringing coward, pleading for life on any terms. The French Government threatened to confiscate the 350,000,000 francs belonging to the Church, and to lock its doors unless the Pope accepted the provisions of the Associations Cultuelles. But Pius X. was not to be bribed. His Holiness, supported by sixty bishops and 50,000 priests, rejected with scorn the cruel and cowardly offer. Accordingly the threatened robbery was carried out. In 1906, the Catholic Church in France, which had been in bondage for 100 years, was at length set free. That was the greatest blessing that could have happened to her. . She was robbed of her churches, robbed of her palaces and presbyteries, robbed of her seminaries and of her schools, robbed of everything. But she won her freedom and, what was more, she began to make most splendid use of it. The present Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Amette, with ‘ by your leave ’ to no one, had opened

Fifty-four New Places of Worship in and About Paris,

of which twenty-four were . new parishes. In another five, or ten years at most, this great Churchman would have established as many more centres of Catholic worship and of Catholic activity and enterprise. In the course of a Sunday motor tour of churches inside Paris and outside the fortifications, he (Father Vaughan) was delighted to find the churches, without exception, filled, some to overflowing. The congregations consisted not merely of women, but of soldiers and men of all trades and professions, all deep in prayer. Nor was the rising youth of France going to be satisfied with only saying its prayers. He had visited the clubrooms of the working men and of .the commercial and professional classes. They were all hives of spiritual and social enterprise, and were teaching the boy in his teens that he had a mission in life, and that Catholic France expected much from him. The working man of Paris was making himself felt as a Catholic unit of social force. In the parish of Notre Dames de Plaisance in 1906 there. was a chapel capable of holding 400. It was never .full. To-day, there was a church there big enough to hold 2500. It was never empty. In 1906 three priests had little to do there; to-day, ten priests had more than it was possible to do. This parish of 5,000 souls was teeming with every kind, of physical, social, mental, and moral enterprise for the thorough equipment of a Catholic free citizen. Then, there was the wonderful work of the Association Catholiquc de la Jeunesse Francaise (the Catholic Association of French Youth). It was a non-political religious society, with social work to do. It had 150,000 members, all under thirty years of age, and belonging to every section of the Catholic community. This society was expanding from Paris to the furthest ends of the country. Already they had

Tokens Everywhere of Catholic Revival.

The change of mentality which was making itself noticed in the elite of thinking men, and especially of younger men, was full of significance. It was now being pretty

generally recognised that science, which Renan staked his life would take the place of Catholicism in France, had signed its own death warrant as a candidate to. replace in man’s heart God the Almighty, the Ultimate, the ; Absolute.

Turning from France to his own dear native land —England,’ Father Vaughan said he did not feel very hopeful about its ‘otherworldliness.’ There seemed to be almost a revolt against the supernatural. Instead of churches filling, he found there churches emptying some had been converted into mansions for the rich, while not a few chapels had been changed into picture theatres or music-halls. No,pains, had been spared, and every device had been sought, to make the churches and chapels of the people attractive, but the spell had not worked. The churches were as empty of worshippers as nurseries were of children. Referring to Liverpool, with its increase of population of 45,000 during the past decade, he asked how many new worshippers

to the churches had that increase brought ? ■ It had brought a shrinkage, and but for the Catholic contribution the actual falling-off in the church-going people of Liverpool would amount to-day to more than 20,000. In the South of England religion was a greater failure still. Never were the Anglican clergy so splendidly zealous and self-sacrificing as to-day, but never was the non-Catholic community so indifferent, and apathetic to the appeal that was being made to them. They were getting deaf to all sounds but to those telling them of the two performances .nightly at the local hippodrome or the picture show. • Father Vaughan concluded with a strong and eloquent appeal to the Catholic young men of Great Britain by no means to lose heart from what they saw around them. The state of things in England to-day was not so bad as it had been in France ten years ago. France was reviving from the ashes, > England needed only being kindled into flame.