"The Church Crisis in France"

Professor S. M. Macvane '73 gave a lecture last night in the New Lecture Hall on "The Church Crisis in France." The laws against the Church, he said, began in 1789, when the tithes due to the church were suppressed and its estates confiscated. Then the civil constitution for clergy, providing for the payment of church officers out of state funds was passed, but rejected by the Church. With the Revolution came the secularization of church properties, lasting until Napoleon's Concordat, which provided that mandates of the Pope should have no effect without the consent of the King. Although by this act the bishops could name the parish clergy with the consent of the government, the freedom of the Church was greatly diminished.

In 1833 the bad condition of education aroused investigation, resulting in the passage of laws providing for public schools. These laws were later on handicapped by those forbidding members of church organizations to teach in the schools. Then a law was passed allowing associations to be formed, although it also required those already formed to become authorized by the government. In many cases this was not done, and the resulting confiscation of property by the state aroused a great outery.

The final Separation Act was passed in 1905. It required an association of worship composed of laymen and the priest to be formed in every parish to manage its affairs. In spite of the act the bishops retained a dominating influence over their parishioners and parish affairs. By the same act bishops' palaces and priests' houses were taken back by the state, and pensions were provided for the priests.

The Separation Act was passed at the end of a session of parliament, and at the next election the supporters of the act came back in increased numbers, while those who opposed it lost greatly. The will of France is shown by this election and it should be respected. No unfair treatment of the Church has been proved, and the Church has sacrificed its real interests with the object of merely opposing the Republicans. If it could shake free from prejudice, there would be a chance for a broader and more national religious life in France.