follow on the forsaking of God, "must we direct all our efforts, to
bring the race of men under the dominion of Christ; when once this is
done, it will have already returned to God Himself. How many are
there," he laments, "that hate Christ and abhor the Church and the
Gospel through ignorance rather than perversity, of whom you may
rightly say that 'they blaspheme whatever things they know not'; and
this is to be found not only in the common people, but among the
cultured and even those who enjoy no mean learning. It cannot be
agreed that faith is quenched by the growth of science: it is more
truly quenched by want of knowledge." Speaking of those who are
hostile to the Church, "Why may we not hope," he says, "that the fire
of Christian charity will dissipate the darkness, and bring them 'the
light and peace of God'? Charity is never wearied by waiting."
"A 'shepherd of souls' was the verdict of the Catholic world on
reading the encyclical. 'Gentle and strong' was the judgement of a
well-known American bishop. But there was another side to the
character of the pope which later on became evident. 'Pius X,' wrote
one who had known him intimately at Venice, 'is a man of keen
intelligence, and of great culture, thoroughly well up in the
philosophy, literature, and social movements of the times'." But
first and foremost a shepherd of souls. The world was right in its
judgement.
One of the first actions of the new pope was to order the
distribution of four thousand pounds amongst the poor of Rome, and
half that amount amongst the poor of Venice. "Is it not rather a
large sum?" suggested the almoner respectfully, "considering the
actual state of things?"
"Where is your trust in God's Providence?" asked Pius, and the money
was given.
He could no longer go to his beloved poor, but word was given that
they should come to him. Sunday after Sunday they were gathered,
parish by parish, in the courts of the Vatican to hear from the lips
of the pope himself a simple sermon on the gospel of the day. "Love
God, and lead good Christian lives," such was the burden of his
teaching; but there was more teaching still in the warm welcome that
awaited them, in the tender charity that shone forth in every word
and movement. "Sweet Christ on earth," was what St. Catherine of
Siena loved to call the successor of St. Peter. Surely the name must
have often come to the lips of those whose privilege it was to be
much in the presence of Pius X.
VI
THE AIMS OF PIUS X
With a firm and sure hand the new pope had traced out the programme
of his pontificate--the restoring of all things in Christ. It was not
the first time he had used these words. We have already seen how as
parish priest, bishop and patriarch they had been ever in his
thoughts as the ideal and the aim of the sacerdotal life. The time
had come when from the chair of Peter he was to set them before the
world as the remedy for all its evils, calling on the faithful
children of the Church to help in the great work.
Not only had he pointed out the evils to be dealt with, but the means
of dealing with them. Earnest prayer, the formation of a learned,
zealous and devout priesthood, religious instruction for the adult as
well as for the child, wise efforts to ameliorate the condition of
the poor and deal with the social question, Christian charity towards
both friends and enemies, the faithful keeping of the commandments of
God, the frequent use of the sacraments--thus was the "restoring of
all things in Christ" to be accomplished.
All his life Pope Pius X had been a strenuous worker. At sixty-eight
he was still a hale and vigorous man. He rose early, making an hour's
meditation and reciting his Office before saying Mass, which he did
usually at six o'clock. The day's work was carefully planned so that
no time might be lost. A born organizer, the pope soon acquainted
himself thoroughly with all that concerned the administration of the
government of the Church and set on foot several necessary reforms in
the work of the different congregations. Practical, punctual and
exact in all his undertakings, he required that others should be the
same. There was not a question of the day in which his quick
intelligence did not take a lively interest.
"He is a wonderful listener," said a French statesman who had an
audience with him in the early days of his pontificate. "He grasps
the matter under discussion quickly and completely, going straight to
the point, which he sums up in a few precise words. To my mind he
possesses the qualities of a true statesman as much as Leo XIII. He
sees in one comprehensive glance what is possible and what is not.
What struck me still more in him was his calm, steadfast courage.
There is no rashness about him; he will be slow to condemn, but when
he does he will be inflexible. If difficult circumstances arise he
will show himself both a hero and a saint."
Pius X had been brought up in no school of diplomacy, but the same
goal may be reached by different roads. "A man born of the people,"
said another writer, "who has lived among working men, a student of
the Bible and of the Fathers of the Church, of philosophy and
theology--a man rich in experience and knowledge of men and things."
Lovers of church music in all countries had hailed with joy the news
of Cardinal Sarto's election to the papacy. The changes brought about
in Venice had not passed unnoticed in the musical world; a need for
reform was universally felt. "May we not hope that your Holiness will
do for the world what you have already done for Venice?" asked a
French musician. "It shall be done and soon," was the reply, "but it
will be a hard fight. And not the only one," added the pope
thoughtfully, musing on the work that lay before him. Leo XIII had
more than once urged on the faithful the study of the traditional
music of the Church. He had even sent to Venice for Don Lorenzo
Perosi to take charge of the music of the Sistine Chapel; but the
Italians clung to their operatic effects, and the results had not
been notable.
On the 22nd of November, 1903, the _motu proprio_[*] on sacred music
laid down definite rules on the matter. "Nothing should have place in
the church that is unworthy of the house of prayer and the majesty of
God," said the pope. "Sacred music contributes to the fitness and
splendour of the ecclesiastical rites, and since its principal office
is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for
the understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater
efficacy to the words, in order that through it the people may be the
more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for the fruits of
grace belonging to the celebration of the most holy mysteries. It
must be holy, it must be true art, it must be universal; and since
these qualities are to be found in the highest degree in the
Gregorian chant . . . the more closely the composition of church
music approaches . . . to the Gregorian form, the more sacred and
liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that
supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple."
[*] A _motu proprio_ is a document drawn up by the pope on his own
initiative.
The _motu proprio_, however, did not exclude the use of modern music,
provided that it was suitable to be associated with the liturgy; but
theatrical music was not to be tolerated. Rules were laid down to
guarantee the dignity and solemnity of church offices; paid singers,
especially women, were not to be employed in the choir; bands and
orchestral accompaniments were forbidden. Bishops were to institute
special commissions of persons skilled in sacred music, to see that
the rules were carried out. Schools of sacred song were to be
established in those seminaries where they did not already exist, and
in town and country parishes. From his personal experiences at
Tombolo, Salzano, Treviso and Mantua, Pius X knew that this was
perfectly practicable.
In the letter to Cardinal Respighi, cardinal-vicar of Rome, written a
few weeks later, the pope laments once more that the beautiful
musical tradition of the classical Roman school had almost totally
disappeared. "For the devout psalmody of the clergy," he writes,
alluding to the singing of Vespers, in which the people also used to
join, "there have been substituted interminable musical compositions
on the words of the Psalms, all of them modelled on theatrical works,
and most of them of such poor quality that they would not be
tolerated for a moment even in second-rate concerts. Gregorian
chant," he continues, "as it was handed down by the Fathers and is
found in the codices of the various churches, is noble, quiet, easy
to learn, and of a beauty so fresh and full of surprises that
wherever it has been introduced it has never failed to excite real
enthusiasm in the youthful singers."
The motu proprio was received with joy by many, and with
consternation by those who believed that operatic music was an
attraction to the multitude. "We are going to have good music in
church," observed Pius X to Don Perosi. "The pope has not been slow
in carrying his words into effect," said a writer in the
_Ecclesiastical Review_. "May he live long, this lover of the
sanctuary and of the beauty of holiness; and may his kindly face
soften those hard hearts that can still bring themselves to sing
_bravura_, not to say _buffo_, boldly before the Blessed Sacrament,
with fearsome shriekings, tremblings and trills."
Some hearts were not softened. Pius had spoken the truth when he
said, "The pleasure of a depraved taste rises in hostility to sacred
music; for it cannot be denied that profane music, so easy of
comprehension and so specially full of rhythm, finds favour in
proportion to the want of a true and good musical education among
those who listen to it."
That reform was necessary in England may be shown by the impression
made on a serious outsider by the music in use in some of our
Catholic churches. "You have Miss A. singing duets with Miss B. to
the words, 'Domine Fili Jesu Christe' as if they were singing 'O that
we two were maying,' or 'There's Life in the Old Horse yet,' and to
music which would disgrace a tenth-rate writer of music-hall songs.
Or if it be a male choir, you hear thunderous basses without a note
in tune, and emasculated tenors . . . engaged over worrying the most
solemn words of the Creed as though they were prize dogs, and the
Creed a pack of rats."
It was not that the pope cared for nothing but classical church music
and Gregorian chant. He was a lover of all good music, whether sacred
or secular. But he considered that operatic music, however beautiful,
was unsuited to the sanctuary. It is possible to admire the pictures
of Watteau, without desiring to see them used as altar-pieces.
In his first encyclical Pius had already touched on the question of
Catholic social action. In his _motu proprio_ of December 1903 he
spoke still more definitely on the subject. Born and brought up in
the midst of the people, he could thoroughly understand their needs.
He foresaw also the dangers of rash and imprudent action which might
rely too strongly on popular effort and influence. It was not the
movement towards social reform itself which stood in need of being
checked, but the extravagances of some over-enthusiastic reformers.
"Christian democracy," he declared, "must have for its basis the
principles of Catholic faith and morals, and must be free of
political parties." His great predecessor Leo XIII, having luminously
traced the rules of Christian popular action in his famous
encyclicals (continued Pius), his own desire was that those prudent
rules should be exactly and fully observed. He had therefore decided
to collect them in an abridged form that they might be for all
Catholics a constant rule of conduct. After having laid down man's
right to the use and permanent ownership of property, he passed on to
the obligations of justice between masters and men, and the utility
of aid societies and trades unions. Christian democracy, he
maintained, had for its special aim the solution of the difficulties
between labour and capital, but in order to do this effectually it
must be based on the principles of the Catholic faith and morality;
it must not be made use of for party purposes; it must be a
beneficent activity for the people founded on the natural law and the
precepts of the Gospel. Catholic writers, when upholding the cause of
the people and the poor, were to beware of using language calculated
to inspire ill-feeling between classes. Here, as in other matters,
obedience to the laws of God and of the Church was to be the means to
the solution of the many difficulties which existed. "Godliness is
profitable to all things," he had said in his first encyclical, "and
when this is whole and vigorous, in very truth the people shall sit
in the beauty of peace."
In 1905 an apostolic letter to the Italian bishops defined still more
clearly the lines of Catholic social action. "Such," he says, "is the
power of the truth and morality taught by Jesus Christ, that even the
material well-being of individuals, of the family and of human
society receive support and protection." The civilization of the
world is Christian civilization; the more frankly Christian, the more
frankly true, the more lasting and the more productive of good fruit;
the more it withdraws from the Christian ideal, so much the feebler
does it become, to the great detriment of society. The Church has
been throughout the ages the guardian and protector of Christian
civilization. "What prosperity and happiness, what peace and concord,
what respectful submission to authority, what excellent government
would be established and maintained in the world if the perfect ideal
of Christian civilization could be everywhere realized. But given the
constant warfare of flesh with spirit, of darkness with light, of
Satan with God, so great a good in its full measure can scarcely be
hoped for. Yet this is no reason for losing courage. The Church goes
fearlessly on, and while extending the Kingdom of God in places where
it has not yet been preached, she strives by every means to repair
the losses inflicted on the Kingdom already acquired." Once more the
only means that can achieve the desired end are clearly pointed out:
"To reinstate Jesus Christ in the family, the school and society; to
re-establish the principle that human authority represents that of
God; to take closely to heart the interests of the people, especially
those of industrial and agricultural workers, to endeavour to make
laws conformable to justice, to amend or suppress those which are not
so . . . to defend and support the rights of God in everything, and
the no less sacred rights of the Church."
"What can I do for the Church?" asked a lady of Pius X at a private
audience.
"Teach the catechism," was the prompt and perhaps rather unexpected
reply.
"It is manifestly impossible," said the pope, "to re-establish all
the institutions found useful in former times; instruments must be
suited to the work intended. There must be unity, co-operation in
working, suitable methods adapted to the times. In all Catholic
social work there must be submission to ecclesiastical authority.
Let everyone, therefore, strive to ameliorate . . . the economic
condition of the people, supporting and promoting institutions which
conduce to this end . . . and let all our beloved sons who are
devoting themselves to Catholic action listen again to the words
which spring so spontaneously from our heart. Amid the bitter sorrows
which daily surround us, we will say, with the apostle St. Paul, if
there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort comes to us from
your charity . . . fulfil ye our joy, that you being of one mind . . .
agreeing in sentiment, with humility and due submission, not seeking
your own convenience but the common good, and imprinting on your
hearts the mind which was in Christ Jesus our Saviour. Let Him be the
beginning of all your undertakings. 'All whatsoever you do in word or
in work, all things do ye in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,' let
Him be the end of your every work; 'for of Him, and by Him, and in
Him, are all things; to Him be glory for ever. Amen.'"
During the whole life of Pius X the Bible had been his favourite
study. Every encyclical he issued bears witness to his intimate
knowledge and love of both the Old Testament and the New. The words
in which he insistently recommended the careful and loving study of
Holy Writ to priests and people would greatly astonish those of our
separated brethren who persist in believing that the Catholic Church
forbids the reading of the Bible by her children. When receiving
representatives of the Society of St. Jerome for the diffusion of the
Holy Scriptures, he spoke with the greatest praise of the splendid
work of this most deserving institution, which in the space of
fifteen months had been able to give out more than 200,000 copies of
the gospels: to those Catholic theologians who were engaged in
historical studies and biblical research he always gave the warmest
encouragement. "The Catholic faith has nothing to fear from
knowledge, but much from ignorance," was a truth that he more than
once averred.
The pope, who in his youth had entered keenly into all the games and
sports of the seminary life, was a strong believer in schemes for the
physical development of youth. "I bless with all my heart your games
and amusements," he said on the occasion of a display in the Vatican
gardens by athletic clubs. "I approve of your gymnastics, your cycle,
boat, and foot races, your mountain climbing and the rest, for these
pastimes will keep you from the idleness which is the mother of every
vice; and because friendly contests will be for you the symbol of
emulation in the practice of virtue . . . . Be strong to keep and
defend your faith when so many are losing it; be strong to remain
devoted sons of the Church when so many are rebelling against her . . .
be strong to conquer the obstacles which you will meet in the practice
of the Catholic religion, for your own merit and for the good of your
brothers."
To the pilgrimages that flocked from all parts of the world to do him
homage, Pius X addressed like words of sympathy and encouragement. "I
bless you all, great and small, rich and poor," he said to a band of
peasants from Moravia--"the good that they may remain good; those who
have strayed from the right path, that they may come back to it;
parents that they may bring up their children well; children that
they may honour the white hairs of their parents and the country that
has nourished them."
"Tell the rich to be generous in almsgiving," he said on another
occasion; "tell the poor to be proud of being chosen as the living
representatives of Christ on earth. Bid them neither envy nor hate
others, but have resignation and patience."
It was to those of his own province that a special tenderness was
revealed. "If I could tell you all that is in my heart," he said one
day to a pilgrimage from Treviso, "when night comes on I should be
still speaking." It was hard for him to believe that he would never
see his beloved Venice again. Walking one day in the Vatican gardens
with a friend, he heard in the distance a shrill whistle. "Hark!" he
said, wistfully, "perhaps that is the train for Venice!" But much as
he loved his own people there was no thought either in his mind or in
theirs that honours might come to them through his position. "Thank
God, we are all able to support ourselves," said one of his sisters
soon after his election, "we need trouble him for nothing. Poor
dear," she added compassionately, "he has all the poor people in the
world to think of now." They had their own places in the pope's
private chapel, and on gala days at St. Peter's. That was their only
privilege, and it was all that they asked.
It was said of the new pope that his usual expression was one of
overwhelming sadness, and to those who only saw him in public this
might have seemed to be true. His humble spirit hated pomp and
display, and the burden of his huge responsibility lay heavy on his
soul. When borne through the crowd in the _sedia gestatoria_ he
seemed more than ever conscious of the weight of the cross laid upon
him by his divine Master. "His face amid the scene of triumph spoke
of the vanity of all earthly glory. He had ever the look of one who
is weighed down by the sins and the sorrows of mankind--a look
befitting the vicar of Him of whom we speak as the Man of Sorrows,"
wrote Wilfrid Ward. In St. Peter's he would allow no outbreak of the
applause which had become customary at papal services. "It is not
fitting that the servant should be applauded in his Master's house,"
he said sternly as he gave the order. So it was in silence that he
passed thenceforward amongst his people--but a silence tense and
trembling with an emotion that would occasionally break out in spite
of all attempts at restraint.
But those who knew him intimately had another tale to tell. The
genial and merry spirit that had been his of old, though overshadowed
at first by the burden he had to bear, was by no means dead. He had
the art of making himself all things to all men; he could be gay and
merry with the young, wonderfully tender and gentle with those in
sorrow or suffering. "He had the greatest heart," said one who knew
him well, "of any man alive."
VII
PIUS X AND FRANCE
The separation of church and state had long been the deliberate aim
of the irreligious French government. During the pontificate of Leo
XIII the following resolution had been put and carried at an assembly
of freemasons: "It is the strict duty of a freemason, if he is a
member of parliament, to vote for the suppression of the Budget des
Cultes, for the suppression of the French embassy at the Vatican, and
on all occasions to declare himself in favour of the separation of
church and state without abandoning the right of the state to police
the church."
The Waldeck-Rousseau ministry had already brought France to the verge
of a breach with Rome. By means of a concession on the part of the
pope the difficulty had been bridged over, but all the efforts of
M. Combes were directed towards making the separation inevitable.
There was one difficulty in the way--how to make it appear that Rome
was to blame. "To denounce the concordat just now," he said in a
speech delivered in the Senate in March, 1903, "without having
sufficiently prepared men's minds for it, without having clearly
proved that the Catholic clergy themselves are provoking it and
rendering it inevitable, would be bad policy on the part of the
government, by reason of the resentment which might be caused in the
country. I do not say that the connection between church and state
will not some day be severed; I do not even say that that day is not
near. I merely say that the day has not yet come."
The way was paved by a series of provocations designed to cast the
responsibility and odium on the pope. Pretexts for a quarrel were
soon found in the circumstances of the visit of M. Loubet to Rome; in
the discussions which arose with regard to the nomination of bishops,
and in Rome's treatment of the bishops of Dijon and Laval. The
Vatican White Book sufficiently indicated the long-suffering patience
of the pope with regard to these questions.
There were Catholic critics who thought that Pius X was slow in
vindicating the rights of the Church. "God," said he, speaking to a
Frenchman on this subject, "could have sent us the Redeemer
immediately after the Fall. And He made the world wait thousands of
years! . . . . Yet they expect a poor priest, the vicar of that
Christ so long desired, to pronounce without reflection grave and
irrevocable words. For the moment I am passive--passive in the hands
of Him who sustains me, and in whose name--when the time comes--I
shall speak."
On the 10th of February, 1905, the Chambre declared that the
"attitude of the Vatican" had rendered the separation of church and
state inevitable. "An historic lie," as M. Ribot, a Protestant member
of the Chambre, trenchantly described the statement.