Something must be done to feed a starving treasury, and there is no other resource in all Italy -- none but the riches of the Church.

So the Government intends to take to itself a great portion of the revenues arising from priestly farms, factories, etc., and also intends to take possession of the churches and carry them on, after its own fashion and upon its own responsibility.
In a few instances it will leave the establishments of great pet churches undisturbed, but in all others only a handful of priests will be retained to preach and pray, a few will be pensioned, and the balance turned adrift.
Pray glance at some of these churches and their embellishments, and see whether the Government is doing a righteous thing or not.

In Venice, today, a city of a hundred thousand inhabitants, there are twelve hundred priests.

Heaven only knows how many there were before the Parliament reduced their numbers.

There was the great Jesuit Church.