p. 7 | Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jul 20, 1905

Note and Comment

The Catholic Mirror, which speaks officially for the papacy in this country, states that the pope's recent instruction to Italian Catholics to participate in political contests does not constitute an abrogation of the “Non Expedit” policy maintained by his predecessors, Pius IX and Leo XIII, but is merely a temporary suspension of that interdict, for the purpose of allowing the influence of the church to be brought to bear politically against socialism. It seems also that the pope has in mind the creation of a strong Catholic party in the Italian Parliament, similar to that which has been found so useful to the church in the German Reichstag. The Mirror says:—

The holy father, therefore, exhorts the Catholics of the country to enter into associations for the purpose of defending civil and religious rights, to take steps toward forming organizations to promote the improvement of the economic condition of the people, but, above all things, to remember that, in acting on these counsels, they are to do so in strict co-operation with, and in subordination to, their bishops. Plainly, what Pius X seeks is the creation of a great Catholic party, which will uphold the standards of morality in political and social affairs.