22 AUGUST 1914, Page 3

The Pope was a man of great personal charm of

character as well as of great goodness of heart, but no one but a flatterer could suggest that he had the intellectual qualities requisite for his great office. His theological ideas were those of an old-fashioned country vicar, and when he was called upon to deal with the Modernist movement he was, of course, quite incapable of handling it wisely. It is greatly to be hoped that the Conclave when it meets will choose a successor to Pope Pius X. who will be able to cope with modern conditions.