Page 101 - La Société canadienne d'histoire de l'Église catholique - Rapport 1961

ramibcations and repercussione iar beyond the bounds of ducation. The
republiean legislstion, defiigned to solve the educational question, iell
short of ita goal, and only aggravated the struggle, which continued for
quile some lime. beeause lhe clash was, in essence, between two dogrnatic
and diametrically opposed eoneepts of lile.[30)

V1
The attitude ot the Britiah lay periodicals exainined for thin etudy
ahowed a certain undertying similarity, though not for the same reaaons,
nor from the same motives.
By the quality of their writing, the quantity of their readers: aad
the duration oi their puhlishing, the Tablet and the Dublin Revkw
mus1 be considered as the most renomed Catholic periodicsb in
Er~gland.'~~) Journalistic lirst cousins, these two periodicals wera ari
simiIar in attitude as they were dissimilar in form. The Dublin Rwikw
publiahed only two articles bcaring directly on the situatioii in France,
and thcsc artielcs indicate a basic agreement with the Tablet.'") The
Table! therefore remains, more or less, the sole Catholic source examined,
and it may be assumed that the opinions of one coincide with those oi
the othcr.
At ~he outset, ~he Tabkt accepted thc Repuhlican viclory in January
1879 and counselled its CO-religioiiists in France to patience and modera-
tion, as ~he cause of the monarchical restoration seemed ~ntenable.'~~'
But aiter the Republicans showed their Întentions, and Ferry had intro-
duced his Bills in the Chambcr, the Tublei changcd its altitude and
cspoused thc cause of the French catholi~s.('~i From issue to issue, as
the plight of the French Catholics became worse, the writings of the
Tabkt became more gloomp, while its sympathctic clamour rom accord-
ingly. Occasioiied by the expulsioii ol the religious orders, that clamour
reached its crescendo in the Tablet's compassion for the Catholics and
resentmeiit against the rep~blicans.'~~'

(30) In 1fl89, A. Aulard wrote i.a. : "The 6gh~ agsins~ clericalism.. . has as iu
object derence or the priaciple. of he Revolution . . . Ii is therefore over
edacaiion that these Iwo partiea presently are fighting. The atruegle is
hetween the laic universiiy and the religions congregationa." See Ben,
Preface vi.
cal) For a historical sketch and discusdion of these IWO periodicals, see J. J. Dwyer,
"The Catholic Press", in C. A. Beck, ed., The English Catholics : 1850-1950,
( tondon, 1950).
(38) Sm "Church and School in France", Dublin Review, 3rd ser. 1 (April, 1879)
and "The Suppression of tlie Congegations iii France", ibid., IV (July, lm).
Edjtorial, "French Senatorial Elections", Tablet, LI11 (January 11, 1879).
('0) Cf. Editorials : "Tbe Frencli L~gislatur~ and the 'Unrecognized' Congrega-
tions"; "The French Educiiiion Bills"; "The French Education Bills" and
"The French Education Bills and the Teacbing Congregational'. Tablet,
LIil (March 29; April 5, 12 and 19, 1879, respectjvely).
(41) Cf. 4.9. Editorial "The Execution 01 the Decreea", Tablet, LVI (Ociober 23,
1880). In November laBO a special feature was introduced. in which a
detailed siory wna given of the expulsion in ihe provinces. See, "The Erecu-
tion of the Decrees in ihe French Provinces': (November 6. 1aBO); und
"The Persecution in France", (Nov~mbsr 13, 20 and 27, 1880) aiter which
silence f ell.
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