The attitude of the French Episcopate to the Papal Encyclical
seems to be one of unhesitating obedience in the expectation that the French Government will sooner or later surrender to the demands of the Vatican. That is to say, they will passively resist the Separation Law, and the only result of such a course will be that the concessions made in that law to the French clergy will become a dead letter. The Bishops have so far given no indication of how they mean to carry out that other Papal behest, and create an indepen- dent organisation for public worship. It is interesting to note that, according to the Siècle, the Episcopate has not always been of this opinion, having at a meeting on May 31st declared in favour of Associations cultuelles by a majority of 22 votes. Leading Roman Catholic laymen, such as the Comte de Mon and the Marquis de Segni., have adopted the same attitude, and prophesy that the Government will be obliged to "return to Rome" and make their peace before any final settlement of the religious question can be attained. French Ministers, on the other hand, have made it clear that while the Govern- ment will try to avoid the manufacture of martyrs, they will make no further concessions to the Church. We have dealt with the subject elsewhere, but may repeat our opinion that the apparent intransigence of the Encyclical is assumed for diplomatic purposes, and that before the law comes into actual operation some compromise may be arrived at.
