The Paris correspondent of the Times asserts, on authority which
he does not doubt, that the Vatican is in- quiring of the Bishops of France what they think will be the effect of a measure abolishing the Concordat. They are also asked to state whether a decision by the Pope affecting the French protectorate over Christians in the East would "open the eyes of those indifferent in religious matters." The Bishops are addressed by circular, with a request for a reply by June 28th; and the first question in the circular is whether the separation of Church and State in France would have the effect of diminishing the French contribution to Peter's Pence; and if so, how that deficiency is to be made up. The circular is a curious indication of the preoccupations of the Vatican. As a sovereign Power, it wants, like other sovereign Powers, before all things to keep its revenue, and foresees with habitual sagacity that if the Roman Catholic party in France has to maintain its own Bishops and clergy, it will be slow to forward large subscriptions to Rome to keep up a grandeur from which it derives no benefit. Moreover, the Vatican does not forget that without those subscriptions the Papacy might be obliged to accept the income offered by Italy under the Law of Guarantees, which would, of course, involve an admission that the Italian Government are legally in possession of Rome. The replies of the Bishops will throw much light on the religious condition of France, but we fear they will not be published.
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