THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL-REFORM MOVEMENT 33
All the general Catholic congresses in France occupy them- selves seriously with social questions, and cooperate earnestly in the development of the special works for their study and practi- cal solution. Besides these a number of sociological congresses have been held, among which may be named the Ecclesiastical Reunion for Social Studies, which in 1895 took place at Saint- Quentin.
One of the most important social-reform conventions ever held in France was the Congress of Christian Democracy which met at Lyons in 1896. Among the subjects considered was the organization of new committees of study and action, of people's savings banks, professional and trade organizations, the protec- tion of the family and of small properties, the observance of Sunday and other rest-days, the liberty of corporations, the repression of usury, cooperative insurance, industrial pensions, the organization of labor, and the legal representation of pro- fessional interests. It declared that the " Christian principles on society, the family, property, labor, and legislation are the foundation of social reform ; that the state should respect all the rights of individuals and social groups ; that the laws should conform to the laws of justice embodied in the decalogue ; and that the gospel should have an important place in primary and superior education."
There are at least six hundred associations aggregated to the "Work of the Circles," over five hundred agricultural societies, and as many rural banks. New committees of the Young Men's National Union are organized every day, and in the whole movement the utmost of enthusiasm is combined with a generous recognition of the necessity of making the fullest use of the twofold light of faith and of science.
A powerful group of periodicals constitute the special organs of the Catholic social-reform movement, accepting without reserve the criteria laid down in the encyclical Rerum Novarum. This includes L' Association catholiqiie. La Reforme sociale, and Le XX' Siecle, of Paris ; La D^mocratie cltrdtienne, of Lille ; Lajustice sociale, and La Sociologie catholique, of Montpellier. There are also a few Catholic social-economic organs which are not yet wholly in line
