Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/313

 STATIONS

269

STATISTICS

and their attendants and prelates of the papal court may gain the station indulgence by reciting certain prayers in their oratory. These prayers are printed annually and distributed to the cardinals and prel- ates who assist at the first Sistine chapel of Lent. BuRNiCHON in Etudes, CIV (Paris, 1905), 205-24.

H. LeCIjERCQ.

Stations. See Station Wats.

Stations of the Cross. See Way of the Cross.

Statistics, Eccleshstical. — In dealing with sta- tistics, both theoretically and practicall.v, it is unim- portant whether the men, matters, or actions subject to observation are ecclesiastical or civil. Hence the methods used for the collection and tabulation of eeclrsiastical statistics ought not to differ from those employed in the preparation of general statistics, if accurate results are to be attained. The concise classification tested and adopted for general statistics will therefore serve for ecclesiastical statistics: (a) per- sonal statistics, when men are the object of observa- tion; (b) material statistics, when things and actions are under observation.

By the study of theoretical statistics (methods, scope, limitation, etc.) practical statistics were by degrees perfected until they reached the point where it is possible to sift thoroughly the materials gathered and to discover their connecting links. Ecclesiasti- cal statistics need no other methods or technic. The statistics of economics sift, cla-Ssify, and group all pos- sible questions concerning economic and industrial life. Ethical statistics group and collate all mani- festations, whether favourable, indifferent, or un- favourable, of the free will of man in the sphere of morals, while other branches of this science investi- gate clearly-defined groups of interests. Similarly, ecclesiastical statistics have their own pecuHar prov- ince, though the boundaries between this and other branches of statistics cannot always be sharply de- fined in every direction. The method of gathering statistics concerns itself with resultant totals, in order to enable us to investigate properly the most varied conditions, events, circumstances, omissions, etc. The science of statistics handles the data thus ob- tained in its own peculiar way, so that we may acquire a correct knowledge of the facts of governmental, ec- clesiastical, and national life. For our purpose it is irrelevant whether statistics are an exact science or not.

1. — HiSTORT. — From time immemorial the city, State, and Church have called for tabulation in some form, however rough and empirical, of the statistical knowledge acquired. The fixing of the relationship of family and tribe (see the statements of the Old Testament), the just division of pubhc burdens, the preparation of lists of men able to bear arms, and many other matters gradually led the proper authori- ties to make the desired records. The execution of such records continually improved, though naturally dependent on the means of intercourse and adminis- trative powers at hand. The medieval Church, through its organs and institutions, notably influenced statistical science, however unreliable in many cases the results obtained. Later the increase of general culture, the greater freedom of intercourse, and the larger claims made by the modern State upon its citi- zens led through the taking of a census at indefinite periods, or for casual reasons, to a regular periodical enumeration. It has not hitherto been noticed in statistical science that the earliest of these periodical enumerations are those of the inhabitants of Rome which were annually made at Easter by the parish priests. As the parish priests were supported by the civil power, all persons residing at Rome — Christians of all kinds, jews, Mohammedans, pagans — were counted and classified under definite heads. These verj- exact statistical enumerations can be traced

back far into the sixteenth century and ceased only with the fall of the temporal power in 1870. Rich printed material still awaits investigation. Immense manuscript records of the Roman parishes show exactly the methods used in making these enumerations. Not until the seventeenth century do secular statistics show a periodical census; it becomes more frequent in the eighteenth century. In Prussia the first periodi- cal census was taken in 1719. In 17.55 Sweden began a comprehensive agricultural census. In 1790 the United States of America took a census of its own on a large scale (census every ten years). In the nine- teenth century periodical census-taking reached its acme. In the German Empire the census of 1 De- cember, 1871, was thorough and scientific.

It was not for statistical science, but solely for pur- poses of discipline and administration that the Catho- lic Church ordained the exact keeping of registers of all kinds, first by special laws, then by the general Tridentine law. There were baptismal registers, cemetery registers, confirmation books, etc. Sixtus V (1.585-90) made it the duty of all bishops to send com- prehensive reports of their dioceses at stated periods. These are of great value in the administration of the Church (see Constitution "Romanus Pontifex", of 20 December, 1.585). Similarly the Apostohc nuncios were commanded to send to Rome full reports of ecclesiastical conditions in their respective territories. This original material, official in character, has never been officially elaborated on its statistical side. Of late years attempts have been made, solely for the sake of its historical interest, to publish it (Schmidlin, Pasture, Friedensburg, and others); so far, however, no comprehensive statistical tabulation of the mate- rial has appeared. With episcopal reports as a basis, it would not be difficult to produce a general ecclesias- tical manual of statistics; attention is particularly called to this continuous authoritative source of eccle- siastical statistics. In the "Acta ApostoUcae Sedis" (1910), pp. 1 and 17, appeared a new and exhaustive list of queries for these reports. Other Roman au- thorities, particularly the Congregation of Propaganda, have likewise collected valuable material, intended almost entirely for disciplinary and administrative purposes. Access to these statistical sources is rather difficult, though in course of time they may be thrown open. Mention should also be made here of the very valuable reports sent to Rome for many centuries by the heads of orders from all the respective provinces of their orders, but these reports have been made accessible to students only in a restricted way.

It is evident from these and other facts not here mentioned, that the history of ecclesiastical statistics is of great interest, even though these materials were not collected to serve the ends of scientific statistics. The missionaries were probably the first to present ecclesiastical conditions in a more or less crudely di- gested statistical form; it was necessary for them to show their patrons in what way the given alms had been u.sed. The first imperfect attempts to present ecclesiastical statistics in a periodical way are found in old works containing collections of missionary rejjorts.

Among those who contributed to develop statistics as a science special mention is due to Hermann Con- ring (160-S1), professor at the University of Helm- stadt; Gottfried Aschenwall (1719-72), profes.sor at Giittingen; .Johann Peter Siissmilch (1707-67), su]>er- intendent and consistorial councillor in Prussia, who obtained largely from ecclesiastical registers the mate- rial for his epoch-making work; "Die gotthche Ord- nung in den Veriinderungen des menschlichen Gesch- ichtes"; also Quetelet (179ii-lS74), a Belgian, who must be regarded as the father of moral statistics, although the philo.'^ophical b.'isis of his theory should be rejected as wrong. In the lust fifty years so many distinguished writers in most civilized countries have