LAY ACTION IN FRANCE AND ITALY

New Zealand Tablet, 23 June 1921, Page 23

LAY ACTION IN FRANCE AND ITALY

Social conditions throughout France and Italy leave much to be desired and much to be remedied (says a writer in America). No good will come from deceiving ourselves on these points. Frankly, the leakage in the Church is deplorable. , Millions of dollars are contributed every year by the Protestant Churches in_ America for missionary work across the sea. At least one-fifth of this money is expended in France, and about two-fifths in Italy. I do not know what the intentions of the American contributors may be, or whether they know what use is made of their money, but I do know that proselytising is rife in these countries. Are we American Catholics alive to this menace? Are we making any effort to destroy it and save our own? ■ Peasant and Aristocrat. The number of priests in. the country places is quite inadequate, especially in the devastated French areas. Many died serving in the army, others have succumbed to deprivations following the . War,'while others are hard at work for the spiritual welfare of their people. Many live in huts, and say Mass in rude barracks. Their parishioners are battle-scarred and weary from the long agony just finished. But priest and people alike are beginning the work of reconstruction silently and slowly but heroically. Their patience is proverbial. The strong sturdy French peasant is the backbone of , the nation. But what of France's aristocracy? Many of the old, distinguished families are devoutly Catholic. They hold

the Faith delivered to .their fathers unchanged. But, ass a class, they are by no : means alive to the dangers: not at but within their gates. They do not realise that immediate, concentrated, united action is necessary to achieve success. They see no reason, as yet, why they should let down the • conservative drawbridge, and march forth for battle, modern militant Crusaders. Many rail against the Government, and complain of restrictions upon the •full and public exercise of their religion. But they stop at complaint. Many never think of looking for a remedy in the vote. It is not customary in their social circle; people in their class do not thus mingle in "politics." Thus they remain in exclusive complacence, leaving the ballot to the bourgeois, and the victory over religion and religio-social forces in -the hands of persecuting, unprincipled politicians. The French character, I have often thought, is. in part the result of their architecture. Surely, it is strikingly in keeping with these surroundings. Enclosed within high garden walls, entered under arched doorways, guarded by a trusted concierge, they are delightfully secure in a seclusion that often nourishes a genuine personal piety. They safeguard themselves and their own, but what of Christ's law of love of our neighbor as of ourselves? Non-Catholic Work in Italy. - In Italy, the percentage of unbaptised children, born of Catholic parents, is appalling. This percentage is growing, especially in the manufacturing regions, where Socialists and types of radicals almost unknown at home, gain the ear of the laborer. In Naples, in many of the large cities, in Rome itself, the Protestant missions provide social service centres, . usually, well-equipped and wellmanaged. These centres care for the physical needs of the light-hearted, irresponsible children of sunny Italy. Thus is the beginning made. But little and little these children are induced to look upon their religious duties, such as attendance at Mass on Sundays, and the regular reception of the Sacraments, as of small moment. In too many of the larger cities, no remedy whatever against 'this leakage is offered. The result is inevitable. As I write these lines at Paris, the news comes that a "drive" is to be made for non-Catholic social work, specifically for the Y.M.C.A. and the Y.W.C.A. in Italy. If this "drive" succeeds, and is met by no counter-effort from Catholic forces, the already frightful losses to the Church will be augmented. A New Crusade. Yet no one who has witnessed the reverential crowds in the Roman Basilicas, or the great throngs devoutly ascending the Scala Sancta, or moving along the Via Appia in pious pilgrimage to the Catacombs and the tombs of the martyrs, can admit that the Faith is dead in Italy. Or watch the reverential crowds in the Parisian churches, Notre Dame, St. Roch, Notre Dame des Victoires; witness the multitude that taxed to its capacity Sacre Coeur, Montmartre,. on the Feast of the Sacred Heart; or ob : serve the marvellous manifestations of Faith at that heavenly shrine of our Blessed Lady, nestling in the heart of the Pyrenees. It was my privilege to live in France, and to spend four months at Lourdes, and I know that the fire of Faith burns steadily . and brightly in countless French souls. But with all this admitted, there is the most urgent need for a lay-apostolate. In Paris and even at Lourdes itself, many cases were discovered of Catholic boys and girls who had reached their 17th or 18th year without receiving their First Holy Communion. The French, who so often build their magnificent churches at the head of palatial gardens or long, beautiful boulevards, know well the value of vistas. The Place de la Concorde presents one of the most perfect vistas in the world. Turn either to the Tuilleries with their exquisite gardens, or to the Champs d'Elysees beckoning to the Bois, or to the Pont Alexandre 111. gracefully spanning the'Seine at the left, and each, vista affords a panorama of satisfying beauty. If a vista down the ages were, presented;■ showing the ranks of the Church depleted by the grave dangers now menacing the little children, would not the Faithful of both- France and Italy be at once aroused? -*: ; • : }'"■'--.■ .:--"■■:-...:. : -■•..:.;■ > Nor would the generous Catholics of ■; America ■ fail to Tally : to the defence; The danger grows and it is pitifully real. Who will lead in this new : crusade? >• -;: