Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/632

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MOROCCO


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MOROCCO


offerings of its inomhors, most of wliom rosidp in the Stalves of ZioM, tlunifili ;i k"<"1 niiniber remain in the several missicuis. sivillcrcd in various countries of the globe. About two thousiuul missionaries are kept in the field; while they consider themselves under the Divine injunction to "preach the Gospel to every creature", they have special instructions to baptize no married woman without the consent of her husband, and no child under a^e without the consent of its par- ents. The tithes are uf.o<\ for the building of temples and other places of worsliip, the work of the ministry, the furtherance of education, the support of the sick and indigent, and for charitable and pliilanthro|)ic (uir- poses in general. Nearly every male member of the Church holds some office in the priesthood, but only those who devote their entire time to its service re- ceive support.. Inevery stake are institutions known as auxiliaries, such as relief societies, sabbath schools, young men's and young ladies' mutual iniiirovc- ment associations, primary associations, and relif;ious classes. The Relief Society is a w-oman's organiza- tion, having a special mission for the relief of thechsti- tute and the care of the sick. An "Old Folks Com- mittee" is appointed to care for the aged. The Church school system comprises the Brigham Young University at Provo, the Brigham Young College at Logan, and the Latter-Day Saints University at Salt Lake City. There are also nearly a score of stake academies. There are four Mormon temples in Utah, the principal one being at Salt Lake City. It was be- gun in April, 1S53, and completed in April, 1S93, cost- ing, it is said, about 84,000,000. In these temples ordi- nances are administered both for the living and the dead. It is held that vicarious work of this character, such as baptisms, endowments etc., will be effectual in saving souls, once mortal, who believe and repent in the spirit state. The Mormons claim a total member- ship of 584,000. According to the United States Cen- sus Report of 21 May, 1910, there are 256,647 Mor- mons within the Federal Union.

Roberts, Joseph Smith: Hist, of the Church, personal narrative, with introduction and notes, 5 vols, already issued (Salt Lake Citv, 1902-9); Pbatt, Autobiog. (S. L. City, 1874); Ford, Hist, of Illi- nois (Ciiicago, 1854) ; Kane, The Mormons, a Lecture before the Hist. Soc. of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1850); Gcnnisgn, The Mormons, their Hist, and Relig. (Philadelphia, 1852) ; Stansbuhy, U. S. A. Expedition (Philadelphia, 1852); Greely, Overland Journey (New York, 1860) ; Burton, City of the Saints (New York, 1862) ; Tullidge, Life of Joseph the Prophet (S, L, City, 1878) : Idem, Life of B. Young, or, Utah and her Founders (S. L. City, 1877); Idem, The Women of Mormondom (S. L. City, 1877); Idem. Hist, of S. L. City (S. L. City, 1886); Robinson, Sinners and Saints (Boston, 1883) ; Bancroft. Hist, of Utah (.San Fran- cisco, 1890); Cannon, Life of J. Smith the Prophet (S. L. Citv, 1888); Whitney, Hist, of Utah (4 vols., S. L. City, 1892-1904); Idem. Life of H. C. Kimball (S. L. City, 1888); Idem, Making of a State (S. L. City. 1908) ; Roberts, Life of John Taylor (S. L. City, 1892); Idem, Hist, of the M. Church in Americana, IV-VI (New York, 1909-10); Idem. Outlines of Ecclesiastical Hist. (S. L. City, 1893); Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints (New York, 1873); Cowley, Life and Labors of Wilford Woodruff (S. L. City, 1909); Jenson, Historical Record (S. L. City, i889); Idem, Latter- Day Saints, Biogr. Bncycl. (S. L. City, 1901).

W. R. Harris.

Morocco, Prefecture Apostolic of. — The coun- try known as Morocco (from Marrakesh, the name of one of its chief cities) forms the northwest corner of the Continent of Africa, being separated from French Algeria by an imaginary line, about 217 miles in length, running from Nemours to Tenish es Sassi. It is the Gatulia or Mauretania Tingitana (from Tingos=Tim- gier) of the ancient Romans. The natives call it Gharb (West), or Magreh el Aksa (Extreme West). The total area is a little more than 308,000 square miles; the population, about 10,000,000. Excepting Abyssinia, it is now the only independent native state in Africa, and is one of the most difficult countries for Europeans to penetrate. Though Morocco is often spoken of as an empire, the authority of the sovereign is a mere fiction throughout the greater part of its ter- ritory, which is, on this account, divided, more or leea


lirecisely, into the Bled el Maksen, or "country subject to taxes", and the liled <,s- Siha, or "unsubdued coun- try". Physically, the surface is broken up into three parallel mount ain-ch;iins: the most important of these, the Great Atlas, forms a i)lalcau, forty to fifty miles in width, from which rise pc;iks, often snow- clail, 10,000 to 13,000 feet high. Facing the Mediter- ranean are the mountains of the RitT, below which stretches the well-watered and fertile range of the Tell. On the other side, to the extreme south lies the arid ,'^ahara, broken only by a few oases. Between tlic Mediterranean littoral and the .Sahara, the Atlas l'latc:ui, broken by ravines and valleys, rivers and smaller streams, contains many tracts of marvel- lously fertile country. The sea-coast of Morocco is for the most part dangerous, and offers few advan- tages for commerce. The best harbours are those of Tangier, Mogador, and Agadir. El Araids, or Lar-

iche, anil Tangier are the maritime outlets for Fez,

which is one of the three capitals of Morocco, the other Iwd being M;uiakesh and Meknes. Owing to the liigli mount :uns. the sea breezes and the openness of the country, the climate is healthy, temperate, and equable. The temperature is much higher in the south than in the north, the heat, in certain districts, becoming at times insufferable. The soil is adapted to every kind of crop, and sometimes yields three har- vests in a year. Cattle-breeding is also carried on. There is very little industry, and commerce is chiefly in the hands of Europeans and Jews.

From the earliest period known to history, Morocco has been inhabited by the Berbers (whence the name Barbary). These people were known to the Romans as Numida, but to the Phccnicians as Mahurin (Westerners) ; from the Phcenician name the Greeks, and, after them, Latin writers, made Mauri, whence the English Moors. These Moors, Numidians, or Berbers, were subjugated by the Romans, then by the Vandals, the Byzantines, the Visigoths, and, lastly, the Arabs, whose political and religious conquest be- gan in 681. Arabs and Berbers together crossed over into Spain, and thence into France, where their prog- ress was stopped at Poitiers (732) by Charles Martel. Not until 1492, when Granada fell, were the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula definitively rid of the Moors on European soil, anil able to carry the war against them into Africa. Portugal no longer retains any of her possessions in Morocco; but .Spain still holds eight ports, known as the presidios, one on the Atlantic Coast and seven on the Mediterranean. Besides the Berbers, the population of Morocco includes Jews, who in all the cities are confined to separate quarters (inellah), .Sudanese negroes, mostly slaves, and Euro- peans engaged in commerce on the coast, chiefly at Tangier and Mogador. For two hundred years Mo- rocco has been ruled by a dynasty of Arab sherifs, who claim descent from Ali, the uncle and son-in- law of Mohammed. The sherif, or sultan, is theo- retically supreme in both temporal and spiritual affairs, his wishes being carried out by viziers, or secretaries, in the various branches of the adminis- tration (maghzen). As a matter of fact, the normal condition of the country is revolution and anarchy. In 1906 the International Conference of Algeciraa provided for a combined French and Spanish system of police, but the Morocco question is still (1910) unsettled.

With the exception of the European residents, the segregated Jews mentioned above, and a body of aborigines (Berbers), living in the Atlas, who have proved refractory to Islam, the whole population of Morocco is Mohammedan, and is inaccessible to Christian propaganda. The first Catholic mission to this country was organized in 1234, when Father An- gelo, a Franciscan friar and papal legate, was ap- pointed Bishop of Morocco. The succession lasted until 1566, when the see was suppressed, and its juris-