Page:Englishwomaninan00elli.pdf/269

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as he is of all temporal power, the Pope is expected, by virtue of the age of his sacred office, to express himself in all moments of crisis. As spiritual head of the Christian Church, he is to-day in a difficult position. The Greeks and Armenians, it is true, are not for the most part his children. They belong, however, to branches of the Christian Church; and no Pope, however much the poor misguided peoples are responsible for their own misfortunes, can look with indifference on what is happening to them, and may still happen.

On the other hand, no Pope can forget what the Vatican owes to Turkey. In that hospitable land, the Roman Catholic orders, expelled from France, sought refuge. Throughout the length and breadth of the country, Catholic missions thrive and prosper. Though they rarely, if ever, make converts, they give care in sickness; comforts, education, and instruction to the Turks. And who is responsible for the cultural French language spoken in the Near East, if not the Jesuit Fathers?

This extraordinary religious tolerance on the part of the Turks has always been incomprehensible. Disraeli's protection of the Turk was born of his gratitude for the religious tolerance they extended to the Jew. Jews, who could escape massacre in Russia, found then, as they find now, a comfortable home where they are free to practice their religion and make money. What more can they want?

Naturally, then, seeing what the Vatican owes to Turkey, and Turkey to the Vatican, the Pope is interested in the personality of M. Kemal Pasha, and proved very willing to hear what a Western woman, with opportunities in the past of studying Turkish home life, knows of this great Nationalist hero.

Anyone who has seen the ceremonies at the Vatican must be impressed by their great spectacular beauty. The Church of Rome has given the world some of its finest art, literature and music. And at the Vatican itself, wherever the eye wanders, there is beauty—beauty of architecture, beauty of colouring. On the one side there is the gaudy costume of the Swiss Guard,