The Bishops in France are, it is said, much disinclined
to a separation of Church and State. The Archbishop of Albi roundly declares that half his cures would die of starvation it their stipends were withdrawn ; the Archbishop of Toulouse predicts a period of anarchy in Church affairs if the Concordat is denounced ; and the Archbishop of Aix admits frankly the hostile state of public opinion, which might expose Roman Catholics to a kind of outlawry. He evidently dreads what would almost certainly be the result of the separation,—namely, the passing of a law like one proposed by M. de Pressense, which would place the Church in fetters much more severe than those imposed by the Concordat. That is, of course, the real danger of the Church, it being impossible, to the French official mind, to leave a mighty corporation like the Church without official control. These opinions will doubtless greatly influence the Vatican, where it is probable that some kind of struggle is going on, the Pope, who is a wise diplomat, being on the side of moderation, if not of direct concession.
Previous page
