THE TABLET

A Weekly Newspaper and Review.

c ^ / ù i u t l f u

D u m VOBIS GRATULAMUR, ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATIS.

From the B r ie f o] H is Holiness to The Tablet, June 4, 1870.

Voi. 40. No. 1699. L ondon, N ovem ber 2, 1872.

P r ice sd. B y P ost

[R egistered a t th e General P ost O ffice as a N ew spaper.

C hronicle of th e W e ek : Ge­

Page neva—Th« Bishop of Lausanne.— The Clergy of the Canton.— M. Carteret’s other Bills.—The “ Spectator ” on the Geneva Question.— The “ Spectator” on the German Bishops.— German Protestants on the State of Germany.—Dutch Protestantism on the German Persecution.— The Bishop of Ermland.— 'The Consecration of the New Bishops.-Cardinal Cullen at Rome. — The Attorney-General and the Duke of Marlborough.-The Causes of the San Juan Award.— Projected •Constitution for France.—Attitude of the Radical Party—and of the

Imperialists. — The Athanasian Creed ....................................545

L e a d e r s :

CONTENTS.

Page

S hort N o t ic e s : The English Elo­

Page

The Fall of Midhat Pasha . . 549 The “ National Church” . . 549 Summary of Facts Concerning cutionist.— The Death of Lucretius.—The Hidden Life of Jesus . 558 Correspondence :

Trinity College . . . 550 The “ Saturday Review” on the

Fulda Conference . . . 551 The Positivists and Our Lady of

Lourdes

.... 552

T he A nglican Movement : _

Further Reasons for Requiring a

Definition of a True “ Branch” . 553 R eview s :

The Dublin Review

La Rev. Mère Marie de la Providenrj

Traditions, Superstitions

Rome

Marjory . ,

• 554

• • 555

• 556

• 557

. 558

Friendly Protestantism . . 558 Poor School Medals . . . 558 The Overflow of the Tiber . . 559 Guides to Catholic Worship . . 559 S. Gregory’s Library, Fulhamroad

R o m e ............................................ 561 I R ecord of German P ersecution. | &c....................................................561 D io cesan N ews :

559

Westminster ..... 563 Southwark: Solemn Blessing as.

Mitred Abbot of the Right Rev. Father' Dom Wilfrid Alcock, O.S.B. ..... 563

D iocesan N ews continued):

Page

Beverley .... - 564 L i v e r p o o l ...................................... 564 Nottingham . , . . . 565 Salford : Consecratiomof the Bishop of Salford and the Bishop of Amycla , 565 Scotland—Eastern District . . 567 I reland:

Letter from our Dublin Corre­

spondent ...................................... 567 Foreign N ews :

Russia

M emoranda :

568

Religious ..... 569 Catholic Union .... 569 Political : The San Juan Arbitra­

tion . .... 569 G eneral N ews .... 569

BISHOP OF LAUSANNE. T

'GENEVA— THE

CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.

H E conflict at G eneva on a d istinctly new though the theatre o f is small and comparatively lias entered phase. A lthe struggle insignificant, attention o f the struggle itse lf is calculated to fix the the whole Catholic world ; not on ly because o f the in terest and sym pathy which Mgr. M erm illod ’s name excites wherever it is known, but also because o f the magnitude o f the issues involved. In order to put the present state o f the affair as c learly as possible, it will be better to deal with it under two aspects— the relations o f the G enevese G overnm ent with the B ishops o f Lausanne and o f Hebron, and its relations with the parochial clergy o f the Canton. T ak in g these in order, we must premise that the English press have not yet succeeded in getting a com p lete grasp •of the facts. Even the Spectator, which is never intentionally unfair, is not quite accurate in this instance. I t says that “ facts prove that Mgr. Mermillod is recognized as ■“ B ishop o f G eneva, and that his appointm ent has been “ made by the H o ly See without communication with the ■“ Governm ent.” This is calculated to mislead. N o r is it correct to say, as the Spectator does, that till now or lately, “ Mgr. M erm illod was by no means the spiritual overseer o f “ the G enevese c lergy; since he only exercised his functions ■“ under cover o f the personal responsibility o f the B ishop “ o f Lausanne.” T h is will presently appear with the utmost clearness in the letter o f Mgr. Marilley, which for this reason we insert here. In 1865 Mgr. Mermillod was consecrated b y the Pope h im self B ishop o f H ebron, and appointed b y him Auxiliary-Bishop o f G eneva'; that is, auxiliary to the B ishop o f Lausanne and G eneva for that part o f his d io cese which was conterm inous with the Canton o f G eneva. A t the same tim e, the more fully to delegate Ins power as far as he h im self was concerned, the B ishop o f Lausanne, Mgr. Marilley, appointed him V icar-G eneral for Geneva. Mgr. M crm illod has been practically B ishop o f G en eva for e ight years, exercising full episcopal functions w ithout any secrecy whatever, and in the sight and to the knowledge o f the whole world. I f there has been at any tim e, from his first appointm ent till now, any change o f regulations concerning the details o f administration, it has not been one which in the least affected or altered M gr. M erm illo d ’s official position. H e has been for a ll those years B ishop o f H ebron and Auxiliary o f G eneva, and he is B ishop o f H ebron and Auxiliary o f G eneva now. H e has not been B ishop o f Geneva, and he is not B ishop o f G eneva now. But now we com e to what has ju s t happened. B y their imprudent and vexatious chicanery the Governm ent o f G eneva have forced on the very th ing which it was their object to avoid. T h e y have

New Series. Yol, VIII. No. 208.

disgusted Mgr. Marilley, and he w ill have nothing more to do with them. T h e y summoned him, a B ishop whose see— Lausanne— and whose residence— Fribourg— are both out o f their cantonal jurisdiction, to jo in them in the persecution o f the coadjutor and c lergy o f G eneva by taking the episcopal jurisdiction out o f the hands o f the former. This, o f course, he refused to do, and applied to the H o ly See to request that he might be relieved o f the episcopal charge o f the canton o f Geneva, and now writes as follows to the Council o f State o f that canton.

Monsieur h President, Messieurs les Conseillers, \Ye thought it our duty to inform you, under the dates of the 24th Aug., the 2nd Sept., and the 16th Oct. of the current year, that in presence of the grave difficulties between the ecclesiastical authority an.d the civil power which have arisen in the great canton, we could do nothing but transmit to his Excellency the Chargé d’Affaires of the Holy See the requests which we might receive from you.

Your last official letters have proved to us that you persisted nevertheless in demanding our personal and direct intervention, instead of addressing yourselves to H. G. Mgr. Mermillod, who has been adjoined to us under the title of Auxiliary-Bishop, exclusively charged ever since the 5th oj J u ly , 1865, with the ecclesiastical administration oj your canton. The result is, that we are placed in an equivocal position, which is very painful, and in which we cannot make up our mind to remain any longer.

In consequence, gentlemen, we have the honour to inform you that we have asked of the Holy See to be entirely and definitively relieved of the spiritual administration of the Catholics under your government, which administration, from this day forth, we entirely and definitively renounce, as well as the purely honorary title of Bishop of Geneva given to our venerated predecessor.

Remain, however, assured, gentlemen, that we shall not cease to address to the God of all goodness our most ardent prayers for the prosperity and true happiness of your canton as regards its religious interests.— Receive, See., Etienne Marilley,

Bishop of Lausanne.

I t results from this letter, first, that Mgr. M erm illod has had the full episcopal charge o f G eneva for seven years, as we have often said, though not the title o f the see ; secondly, that he has not even now been granted that title, as was a lleged, and that there has been in fact no change in his position ; thirdly, that the G enevese Government have forced on that very change that they dreaded, by g iv in g the B ishop o f Lausanne good reason for wishing to be freed from a ll nom inal as well as real jurisd iction over the canton. T h e Council o f S tate has since put forth a manifesto declaring that, i f the H o ly See accedes to the B ishop o f Lausanne’s request, it will consider a ll treaty stipulations as cancelled, and hold itse lf free to act as it pleases. I t affects apparently to forget that it has its e lf a lready set at nought those stipulations by its successive violations o f the rights o f the C a tholic citizens.

W e have mentioned a lready the admirable

THE oCe ER6Y ^etter which all the c lergy o f the canton, t h e c an to n , without exception, refused to com p ly with the command o f the Governm ent to detach them-