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 SWITZERLAND

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SWITZERLAND

Revolution was also evidenced in the measures adopted by the Helvetic RepubUc in Switzerland. By a decree of 1798 the possessions of all Swiss monas- teries were declared to be national jiroperty, and a further decree suppressed, in theory, all monasteries. The pajjal nuncio was expelled, and foreign bishops were permitted to exercise their ecclesiastical jurisdic- tion only through delegates who were nominated by the Helvetic Directory. The decree respecting the monasteries was not executed. By the Act of Media- tion of 1803 the property of the monasteries was re- turned to them, and the monasteries could be re- opened. Only the venerable Abbey of St-Gall was definitely suppressed. Part of the abbey lands were incorporated in the state property of the Canton of St- Gall, and part were reserved as a special fund for the Catholics of the canton. After the turmoil of the Napoleonic era and after the suppression of the Dio- cese of Constance the ecclesiastical administration was gradually reorganized during the period of the Restoration. By an agreement of 28 March, 1828, the Diocese of Basle was re-estabhshed, with the see at Solothurn (Soleure). The Swiss portion of the Dio- cese of Geneva was united with the Diocese of Lau- sanne, and the bishop, whose see was Fribourg, received the title of Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva. The Diocese of Sion (Sitten) was left essentially as before. In 1836 Pope Gregory XVI erected the Vicariate Apostohc of St-Gall, which was later changed into a bishopric. The old Diocese of Chur, which continued to exist, received new boundaries by agreements made with the cantons that had formed the original League. In 18SS, after long negotiations, the Canton of Ticino was released from its diocesan connexion with Como and Milan and made a diocese which was, however, united with Basle; it is ruled by an Apostolic administrator with the rank of a bishop.

The War of the Sonderbund greatly damaged Cath- olic interests in Switzerland. Not only were the Jesuits driven out and their flourishing schools sup- pressed, but most of the monasteries in the Catholic cantons \vere also sujipressed by the violent radical Governments that hail come into power. Even at a later date the Cantons of Thurgau, Zurich, Solothurn, and Aargau secularized the monasteries in their terri- tories and confiscated the monastic possessions. During the nineteenth century some sixty monastic institutions were suppressed throughout Switzerland. In a number of the cantons a strong spirit of Joseph- inism became apparent, and the free exercise of ecclesiastical authority was frequently prevented. The Catholic minority in the Protestant cantons was oppressed in various ways. This was especially the case on the appearance of Old Cathohcism which caused a regular persecution of Cathohc priests and people in some cantons, especially Berne and Geneva. The opposition which sprang up in various countries to the definitions of the Vatican Council also mani- fested itself in Switzerland, and small Old Cathohc parishes were formed in various places. The Old CathoUcs of Switzerland united to form the "Chris- tian Catholic National Church" which received for- mal recognition both from the Federal Council and from the Governments of .several cantons. The Gov- ernments of the Cantons of Berne and Geneva settled renegade priests over Catholic parishes by force; churches, parsonages, and the church property were given to these priests and their few adherents by the administrative authorities. A Christian Catholic theological faculty for the training of Old Catholic priests was established at the University of Berne; this faculty still continues a languishing existence.

When Lachat was appointed Administrator Apos- tolic of Ticino, and Mermillod, Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva, the authorities of the Confederation and some of the cantonal Governments began to >neld somewhat in the struggle with the Catholics. Many

churches in the Bernese Jura and in Geneva were returned to the Cathohcs, frequently, though, under great material sacrifice by the latter. The Old Catholic movement in Switzerland, as everj'where else, began very soon to decline. Of late years the attempt has been made in different Swiss cantons to separate Church and State. This separation has been carried out practically in Geneva and Basle. Catholic life has greatly developed in Switzerland not- withstanding the difficulties caused by the War of the Sonderbund and the persecution caused by the Old Catholic movement. Among the larger Cathohc or- ganizations which extend over the whole of Switzer- land mention should be made of the Catholic People's tinion; this society unites the individual organizations into one large association, and labours with much success in the fields of religion, charity, social work, and education. The section for home missions, that aids Cathohc parishes in the diasporn, distributed for this purpose the sum of 202,720 francs in 1910, and helped 105 mission parishes. The historical section supports the "Zeitschrift fiir schweizerische Kirchen- geschichte". In addition to the People's Union men- tion should also be made of the "Association of Swiss Cathohc Students", which is active in all of the Swiss universities, in several foreign ones, and in the Swiss lyceums, and which has a large membership. A matter of much importance for Cathohc life was the founding of the cantonal University of Fribourg (q. v.).

Religious Statlstics. — Of the 3,765,002 actual inhabitants of Switzerland on 1 December, 1910, 2,108,590 were Protestants, 1,.590,792 were Catholics, 19,023 Jews, and 46,.597 belonged to other confessions or to none. A comparison of the number of Catholics with that of the Protestants at the census of 1900 shows that the Cathohcs have increased at a more rapid rate within the last ten years than the Protest- ants. This arises mainly from the fact that the adja- cent parts of the neighbouring countries are all Cathohc, so that immigration almost always increases only the Catholic population. The Cathohc inhabi- tants of Switzerland belong to the following dioceses: (1) Basle-Lugano; in this double bishopric the Diocese of Basle includes the Cantons of Solothurn, Lucerne, Zug, Berne, Aargau, Thurgau, Basle, and Schaff- hausen, while the Diocese of Lugano embraces the Canton of Ticino. (2) Chur, which includes the Can- tons of the Grisons, Schwyz, LTri, Unterwalden (both Obwalden and Nidwalden), Glarus, Zurich, and, in addition, the Principahty of Lichtenstein. (3) Lau- sanne-Geneva, which includes the Cantons of Fri- bourg, Vaud (with exception of a few parishes which belong to Sion), Neuchatel and Geneva. (4) St-Gall, which includes the cantons of St-Gall, and the two half-Cantons of AppenzcU. (5) Sion, which includes the Canton of Valais and the Cathohc parishes of the governmental department of Aigle in the Canton of Vaud. In addition there are: the exempt episcopal Abbey of Saint-Maurice in Valais, the abbot of which is always the titular Bishop of Bethlehem, the exempt Abbey of Einsiedeln, the exempt priory of the Great St-Bemard, and two prefectures Apostolic in the Gri- sons, namely Misox-Calanca, and Hhietia.

With the exception of the Moravians and two Lutheran parishes in Geneva, all the Protestants of Switzerland belong to the Evangelical Reformed Church. The great majority of these belong to the "National Churches", of which there are fifteen, which are organized according to cantons. There are numerous differences in details in the constitutions of these cantonal National Churches. Besides these there are also large independent Protestant Churches and Evangelical sects of the most varied kinds. In the census the Old Catholics are not counted as inde- pendent confessions, but are enumerated among the Catholics. Altogether they mmibcr about 30,000 per- sons (more exact statistics are not obtainable). Four