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16 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA JOAN OF ARC AND THE CHURCH Particular attention is called to the following ar ticle, being part of a letter written by one of our editors recently to an inquirer in Mississippi. He wrote to find out why the Church that “had once had Joan burned as a heretic was now making her a Saint. He seemed to be inclined to think the Church had reversed itself in this matter. And this view is taken by more than one editor. For instance, The Omaha World-Herald expressed its gratification at seeing the highest of honors given the Maid of Or leans By the very Church which disowned, repu diated, condemned and executed her.” Therefore, our reply to the Mississippi inquirer may be of in terest to all our readers, many of whom are meet- mg this same kind of talk. The body of the reply follows: Now about Joan of Arc. The Church is not re sponsible for her death. True a Bishop and his Coun cil, all under the power of the English, condemned her. But a Bishop is not the Church. Only a few years later the Church repaired the wrong the Bishop had done, declared the trial null and void, the Maid free from guilt, and Cauchon, the Bishop, excommu nicated. This was fourteen years after her martyr dom, four hundred and fifty years ago. The canon ization of the Maid is a thing apart. This did not have to be. She was not canonized because she was burned. She was not canonized to repair the wrong. It is entirely a thing apart. The Maid was condemned in the name of the Church on the false charge of heresy. The Church was obliged to repair that wrong, and quickly; and when you remember that it was the English who compassed her death, and that they occupied France for over six years after wards, and bear in mind the slowness of means of communication in those times, you will admit that the Church acted quickly enough in the matter since it could not possibly act quick enough to save the life of the Maid from those bent on her destruction. Here is the matter in a nutshell. By treachery of the Burgundians, the English secured possession of the Maid, paying John of Burgundy a hundred and ten thousand dollars for her betrayal (a rather tidy sum for the times). The English did not dare to put the Maid to death straightway, because the French be lieved in her, and many of the English, too. English diplomacy was too keen even then to spread discon tent where it could be prevented. They conceived the plan of having her declared a witch; that would account for her Voices” and strange power. They would have her declared a heretic, too; that would give them the right to kill her under the forms of law. A crime committed by means of the law is always safer and more diplomatic than one committed in violation of the law. And here were the fine parts of the scheme: The cause of the French King would be discredited from having been defended by a witch; the armies would be ashamed from having been led by a witch; the people would be rebellious from hav ing been deceived by a witch—and France would be long to the English. All they needed now, having secured the Maid, was an ecclesiastical tool, and Pierre Cauchon, who wanted to be Archbishop of Paris, which already was in possession of the Eng lish, was the tool they found. He went to Rouen, though he had no jurisdiction there, and called a Council of ecclesiastics attached to the University of Paris, which went through the mockery of a trial and declared the Maid everything the English desired. You will find the grim tragedy described in its true aspects in Maxwell-Scott’s “Life of the Maid,” or in the non-Catholic Lang’s biography, either of which you can procure by writing Benziger Brothers, New York. You will not find anything in the ungarnished tale to shake your belief in the indestructible char acter of the Church of God, but much to confirm it, for in spite of the English, in spite of Cauchon, in spite of treachery and corruption and force, the right upheld by the Church has triumphed; thus again veri fying the promise of our Lord to His Church that the very gates of Hell shall not prevail against her. REV. FATHER DAHLENT. The body of Rev. Father Dahlent, pastor of St. Peter Claver’s Church, Macon, who died there Mon day night, will arrive here today. The body will lie in state at St. Benedict’s Church from tomorrow morning until Friday, when the funeral will be held at 9 o’clock. Interment will be in the Cathedral Cemetery. Father Dahlent was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, having been born there on April 4, 1876. He finished the course of study at the parochial school of his home and then went to Clermont Ferrund, France, where he entered the apostolic school of the mission aries of Lyons. He made his theological course in the city of Lyons, France, in 1895, and was ordained a priest in 1899. He had been working in different places as a profes sor and a priest and was first engaged in college work in Cork, Ireland. On account of his lifelong delicate health his superiors sent him to Valhy, Island of Samos, where he remained for a year. He ultimately came to Georgia. Father Dahlent was a former pastor of St. Bene dict’s Church for five years and he had been entrusted with the Mission of Macon for the past seven years. His sunny disposition and gentle character made many friends for him in Macon and Savannah.—Sa vannah News, May 12. The Ladies’ Altar Society of the Sacred Heart Church, Atlanta, have planted a tree in honor of Fa ther Ryan, in Piedmont Park. A few days ago the Savannah papers announced that Mrs. Annie Jones has left by will $300 to Fa ther William Quinlan.