are)
the rule, upon request of the bishop and sanction by the Holy See, is
to be waived. A corollary of this new policy is that, under (p. 402)
certain circumstances, Catholics not merely vote but may stand for
parliamentary seats. By the encyclical it is prescribed that such
candidacies shall be permitted only where absolutely necessary to
prevent the election of an avowed adversary of the Church, only where
there is a real chance of success, and only with the approbation of
the proper hierarchical authorities; and even then the candidate shall
seek office not _as_ a Catholic, but _although_ a Catholic.[576]

[Footnote 576: The idea is expressed in the phrase
_cattolici deputati, si, deputati cattolici, no_.]

The partial lifting of the _Non Expedit_ has had two obvious effects.
In the first place, it has stimulated considerably the political
activities of the Catholics. In the elections of 1906 and 1909 the
number of Catholic voters and of Catholic candidates was larger than
ever before, and in the Chamber of Deputies the group of clerical
members gives promise of attaining some real importance. A second result
has been, on the other hand, a quickening of the anti-clerical spirit,
with a perceptible strengthening of the radical-republican-socialist
_bloc_. By providing the Left with a solidifying issue it may yet
prove that the papacy has rendered unwittingly a service to the very
elements against whom it has authorized its adherents to wage
relentless war.[577]

[Footnote 577: Eufrasio, Il Non Expedit, in _Nuova
Antologia_, Sept. 1, 1904.]

*446. The Election of 1909.*--In respect to the parliamentary strength
of the several party groups the elections of the past decade have
produced occasional changes of consequence, but the situation to-day
is not widely different from what it was at the opening of the
century. In the Chamber elected in 1900 the Extreme Left obtained, in
all, 107 seats. In 1904 the total fell to 77. In 1906, however, the
Radicals secured 44, the Socialists 42, and the Republicans 23--an
aggregate of 109; and following the elections of March 7 and 14, 1909,
the quotas were, respectively, 37, 43, and 23, aggregating 103. The
falling-off in 1904 is to be explained principally by the activity of
the Catholics in the elections of that year, and the recovery in 1906
by the fact that, sobered by their reverses, the Soc