Separation of Church and State
By Editor
Separation of Church and State.—A despatch from Paris, under date of December 7, states that the senate, after a long debate, has adopted the bill for the separation of church and state, by a vote of 181 against 102. When it was announced, there were enthusiastic scenes and loud cries of "Long live the Republic!" and "Long live Liberty!" That majority under all ordinary circumstances would be considered large, but to our mind it is far from satisfactory. It means continual strife and against the wisest, the craftiest, the oldest, diplomatic persuasive power in the world, the Papacy. We should have more faith in it, too, if the whole thing were based on pure love of liberty rather than enmity against the Roman Catholic Church. We believe that is the case with many who have supported the bill, but with many others it was enmity to Catholicism which animated them. But even now, if the authorities in France will adopt a wise course, revealing the government not to be an anti-religious power but a non-religious power, giving freedom to all religions or no religions, it yet may be seen by many who have opposed religious liberty that the action of the state has been the wisest thing; but the maintenance of this means even more than the adoption of the thing. A free people politically must be a free people religiously, must be a strong people morally, must be those moved by principle rather than by feeling or emotion. Such we wish France to be.