Was all then to be lost to us at a stroke--the Crusades, all the moral
and economic interests of France in the East, that secular protectorate
of which we, the possessors, make so light whilst William II devotes to
its conquest all the resources of his skill and cunning? Not so! Our
Minister of Foreign Affairs was on the alert. William XI, who is an
artistic walking advertisement, designed, like a Mucha or a Cheret, for
the German market, has now had evidence of the fact that, if religion
is an article of export for him, anti-clericalism is nothing of the
kind for us. Our interests in the East have been protected and
preserved. The Pope of Lutheranism has not been able to silence the
Pope of Rome. The radical Republic which represents France remains the
grand-daughter of Saint Louis. On hearing the authoritative news of
William II's journey to Jerusalem, Cardinal Langenieux, Archbishop of
Rheims, begged Leo XIII for "a reassuring word." Up to the present,
the Holy See has recognised our Protectorate in the East as a simple
fact; to-day it is recognised as a right. Here is the "reassuring
word," the answer given by Leo XIII to Cardinal Langenieux:--
"We know that for centuries the French nation's protectorate has been
established in Eastern Countries and that it has been confirmed by
treaties between governments. Therefore no change whatsoever should be
made in this matter. This nation's protectorate, wherever it is
exercised, should be religiously maintained and missionaries must be
notified accordingly, so that, if they have need of help, they may have
recourse to the Consuls and other agents of the French nation.
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