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ELIAS YULEE, Editor and Frop’r.
VATICANISM IN GERMANY,
And in the United States.
The present attitude of Germany toward
Rome, is not one of hostility to the Roman
Catholic Church as a spiritual power, but as a
temporal one, assuming authority above the
State. Except, so far as it comes in conflict
with the church doctrine of infallibility, it is,
in no sense of the term, a religious movement:
it is simply the German Empire-asserting its
supremacy in matters of State over what has
been called by the defenders of the Romish
Church, the Apostolic Empire.
The question to be settled by the German
Empire is one of allegiance to its laws. The
Romish Church, both in theory and practice
holds its first allegiance to the Apostolic Em
pire, with the Pope as its supreme head; its
second allegiance to the German Empire, with
King William as its ruler. The adherents ol
this church number many millions: its teach
ing have becomfe part of their faith and thus
Germany has within its borders citizens who
claim its protection and the full benefit of its
laws and yet hold an allegiance to a foreign
potentate whose orders they are bound to obey,
even though obedience bring them into direct
antagonism with the State whose citizens they
claim to be.
This anomaly was one which early attracted*
not only the attention of Bismarck, but other
distinguished statesmen, some of whom were
earnest Catholics devoted to the church and
yet sensible of their duty to the Empire. They
saw that two powers claiming equal or supe
rior jurisdiction, could not exist without the
final submission of one to the other. It would
eventually come about, either through bloody
conflict or peaceful measures. The questions
with these statesmen were simply, shall Ger
many be ruled by Rome or by herself? Shall
the laws of the Empire be weaker than the
words of the Pope ? On these points there
could be no compromise' it must be one or the
other—the supremacy of the German Empire
or the supremacy of the Apostolic Empire.
The breaking out of the war with France
postponed the settlement of a question which
had long been pending. The close of the war
found the the German Empire more thoroughly
nationalized than'at the opening. Its several
parts were more united; its borders were en
larged; its people were more devoted to the
interest and advance of the Empire; in a
word, it had grown in the midst of a destruc
tive war.
France no longer dreaded as an ally of
:rine of infallibility; A* tria too : otent on
keeping peace with a nation flushed with vic
tory, and guarded by th bes* equipped stand
ing army in all Europe, gave to Germany the
opportunity which she had sought for years,
to say to the Romans Catholic Church, “Asa
spiritual power you continue in Germany, but
as a temporal power, claiming equal authority
with the laws of the Empire, you hereby re
ceive notice to vacate the State or obey its
laws Henceforth the German Empire assumes
full control of its cisizens, and the Apostolic
Empire must conform to the new order of
things/’
By its recent acts toward the Romish Church*
Germany simply proclaims its independence
and asserts its sovereignty. Henceforth the
German citizen, whether he be a bishop, a
priest or a layman, can appeal for protection
to the State against the rigors or injustice of
ecclesiastical law. If the Pope of Rome seeks,
through the bishops, to fine or imprison a Ca
tholic citizen, or to deprive him of his honors
or his property, or to molest him in any way,
the punishment can only be inflicted by first
obtaining the consent of the punished, and
even then it must not violate the laws of the
realm. This, it will be noted, destroys the
temporal power of the church, and only the
temporal power; fer it leaves untouched the
faith which recognizes the Pope as the spiri
tual head of the church. Therefore the move
ment in Germany is political and not religi
ous in its character, more defensive than ag
gressive, and though the Roman Church
throughtout the world may endeavor to con
strue it into a movement of religious persecu
tion, the unprejudiced observer will see in it
nothing but the exercise of an inherent right on
the part of a nation to compel all church or
other organizations to submit to its laws, and
to enjoy their forms of worship on the basi.
of equality, each entitled to respect and pro
tection, and all required to conform to the
laws of the only temporal sovereign, the States
VATICANISM.
To better understand the causes which have
led to the suppression of the temporal power
of the Roman Church, or to the subordination
of the Apostolic Empire or Roman Hierarchy
to the civil laws of the German Empire, we
should first understand the character of Va
ticanism, the power from which the Hierarchy
derives its authority, and on which it bases
its claims to make its own laws and to annul
those of the State which in any way interfere
with its prerogatives.
What is Vaticanism ? To give a detailed
answer that would cover all its claims and set
forth all its pretentions to the exercise of tern,
poral authority, would fill a volume. The
briefest reply is the one mos* comprehensive*
Vaticanism is Papal authority in its organized
form, or, the will of the Vatican as expressed
through canonical and ecclesiastical laws ; a
system arrogating to itself the divine right of
governing, both in politics and religion, the
whole domaio of Roman Catholic Christen
dom. The Vatican decrees are held to be the
supreme command of God, through the Pope, i
to his faithful subjects, to be obeyed by them
on all questions of faith and morals, of civil 1
and religious duty. Therefore, whatever the
Vatican decrees becomes a law. imperative
absolute, to be obeyed and not to be gainsaid
by any within the province of the Romish
Church.
®l}e (Expositor.
Whaf is the nature of its power ? How far
can Vaticanism go in tho government of a
people ? These arc questions on which Cath_
olics are divided, and the solution ot which i
continually affecting tho unity of the Church.
The majority of the adherents of the Romish
Church believe in tho universal or supreme
authority of Vaticanism, are loyal to its de
crees, and subordinate their allegiance to their
country, to their higher allegiance to the
Pope, recognizing in him the only sovereign
who derives his authority from God, who
through such derivation has the right to com
mand their allegiance.
Other Catholics, no less sincere in their de
votion to the church than the ones mentioned
hold to the doctrine that Vaticanism has no
relation to the State, except through the force
of example; that its province is spiritual
and not in any sense political, and that the
Vatican decrees are simply directory in their
character, confined to church discipline, and
have no binding force over a citizen in his re
lations to the State in which he claims citizen
ship.
Here wo have a division of opinion in a
church that recognizes a common head. Both
sides of the question admit the spiritual au
thority of the Pope as the head of the church,
both agree in all matters of discipline, but a
line divides them on a question of temporal
power, the one claiming him to be above the
princes of tne earth, the other asserting that
ho has no political power. In Germany this
division is marked, and has led to a serious
split in the church. The result has been, the
dissenters from the accepted meaning and
scope of Vaticanism have banded together,
and under the name of Old Catholics are daily
gaining converts to what they deem the only
true doctrine on which Catholicism can stand.
But as these dissenters, or old Catholics are
largely in tho minority, we must accept the
assumption of Vaticanism, of its right to su
premacy over civil law as the vital point at
issue between the German Government and
the Church of Rome.
Gladstone, in speaking of these Vatican de
crees, says : “In the presenoe of these de
crees it is no longer possible for English Cath
olics to pay to their sovereign a full and undi
vided allegiance.” And again, “ The Vati
can decrees do, in the strictest sense, estab
lish for the Pope a supreme command over
loyalty and civil duty.” And again ho says
with great clearness :
“ It is, in my opinion, an entire mistake to
suppose that theories like those of which Rome
hs the centre, are not operative on the
and i -tions uien. An army of
teachers, the largest and most compact in the
world, is ever sedulously at work to bring
them into practice. Within our time they
have most powerfluly, as well as most inju
riously, altered the spirit and feeling of the
Roman Church at large , and it will be strange
indeed if, having dttfK) so much in the last
half century, they shall effect nothing in the
next.”
THE TEMPORAL POWER OF ROME,
It is with this power of Vaticanism—teach
ing to German subjects the fatal doctrine of
Papal infallibility ; dividing them in their
loyalty to the Empire ; disturbing them in
their civil relations to the realm ; and sowing
seeds of political and religious dissensions—
that Bismarck has to deal. It hus been said
that Bismarck is the power behind the throne,
but this is true only in the sense of his repre
sentative character. In this Bismarck repre
sents the spirit of progressive Germany ; the
soul of the new Empire that is shaking off
the chains of the past, and rising up like a
youthful giant to enjoy its liberties, enforce
its rights, and become tbe leader among the
nations of Europe. It is the irrepressible
spirit of the German people who long to see
the Empire supreme within its own borders,
that impels Bismarck, as its best and most
courageous representative to lead the move
ment, not against the Catholic faith, but
against the temporal power which Vaticanism
or Papal authority has exercised over the
civil law for more than half a century.
The movement is not a sudden one. It is
the result of deliberate judgment formed from
the experience of years. Leading German
statesmen for the past twenty years have seen
in the assumption of the Romish Hierarchy,
a danger which would eventually, unless
checked, destroy the integrity of tbe State.
They saw, with alarm, a church which Had
been invited to enjoy the freedom accorded by
Prussian laws to other churches, abusing the
spirit of toleration, and transforming what
was granted as a privilege into a divine right
above the laws of the realm and responsible
only to Rome. They beheld a ebureb which
had come to them humbled, shattered, desti
tute, glad to accept their hospitality and tbe
protection of their liberal laws, grow, not in
sympathy with the nation which sheltered it,
but in sympathy with a foreign potentate,
whose commands taught its followers not
gratitude and loyalty to Prussia, but supreme
loyalty to Rome.
From 1821 to 1837, the Roman Church
quietly acquiesced to those civil laws which
Prussia had established for her own safety
In lact, one of the conditions on which the
Romish Church was re-established in Prussia,
shortly after 1815, was a willing submission
to Prussian laws. This was eheerfully given,
and the Church and State lived in harmony,
until about 1844, when the secret intrigues of
*he Order of Jesuits began to bear fruits in
the shape of new demands and
on the part of the church. The Constitution
of 1850 gave the Papal Hierarchy its first
strong hold upon the State. Under the plausi
ble plea of “ the freedom of the Church,” it
secured certain rights which became the levers
to overturn restrictions placed upon it. The
power of supervision, still retained by Prussia
in her Constitution of 1850 soon became a
dead letter, so far as it applied to the Romish
LET US HAVE LIGHT! HE WHO CANNOT REASON, IS A FOOL-HE WHO WILL NOT REASON, IS A BIGOT.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER, 30, 1875
Hierarchy, and tho church as it grew in
strength increased in arrogance, until its pre
tentions of authority and open defiance of law
made it absolutely necessary for the State tft
surrender its authority to Home, or at oncef
take such steps as would subordinate the
Romish Church to the same laws which gov
erned other religious organizations in the
realm.
The measures necessary to restrict Papal au
thority wero delayed from year to year. Italy
under the finger of the Pope ; Austria obedi
ent to his oommands ; France tho natural en
emy of Prussia, and governed by Napoleoi),
who drew his inspiration frrm Rome, made
the work of self-protection, not only hazard
ous to the peaoe of tho realm, but perilous to
national existence.
In the meantime the Papal Hierarchy grew
in boldness, and became more exaoting in its
demands. Romish Bishops entered Govern
ment schools and instructed teachers, appoin
ted and paid by the State, what they should,
and what they should not teaoh. Whon called
to an account for this abuse of a supervising
privilege granted thorn, they arrogantly re
plied, that every Catholic teacher was subject
to their control, and this, not through the
laws of Prussia, but under tho laws of the
Church.
[continued in our next.]
wa.t -4
THE PAWNBROKER’S STORY.
Asa pawnbroker in a popnlous suburb
ot London, I have bad occasion to see
painful, and sometimes not unpleasant
phases of society. Just to give au idea of
what occasionally comes under the notioe
of a person in my profession, I shall de
scribe a little incident and its conse-
quences :
One evening I stepped to the door for a
little fresh air and to look about me for a
moment. While I was gazing up and
down the road, I saw a tidily-dressed
young person step up to our side door.
She walked like a lady— and let me toll
you that in nine eases out of ten it’s the
walk, and not the dress, which distin
guishes the lady from the servant girl—and
first she looked about, and then she
seemed to make up her mind in a flurried
sort of a way, and in a moment more was
standing at our counter, holding out a
glittering something in a little tembling
hand covered with a worn kid glove.
* Inaaus, wnn stepping 1(11-
ward to take the seal, when I came in and
interposed. The poor young thing was so
nervous and shy, and altogether so unused
to this work, that I felt for her as if she
had been my own daughter almost. She
couldn’t have, been above eighteen years
old—so frail and gentle a creature.
‘lf you please, will you tell me,’ she
said timidly, in a very sweet, low voice,
trembling with norvousnoss, ‘what is the
value of this seal ? ’
•Well, .Miss,’ I said, taking the seal into
my hand und looking at it—it was an old
fashioned seal, such as country gentlemen
used to wear, with a coat of arms cut upon
it—.that depends upon whether you wnat
to pledge it, or to sell it outright.’
‘I am married, sir,’ and she said the
words proudly and with dignity, though
still so shy, and seeming ready to burst
out crying ; ‘and my husband is very ill—
and—and—and—And then the tears
wouldu t bo kept back any longer, and she
sobbed as it her poor little heart would
break.
‘There, there, my dear,’ I said to her j
‘don’t cry; it will come all right in time
and I tried to comfort her in my rough
and-ready way. ‘I will lend you, ma’am,*
I said to her at last, ‘a sovereign upon this
seal ; and if you wish to sell it, perhaps I
can sell it for you to advantage.’ And then
I gave her a pound; and she tripped away
with a lighter heart, and many thanks to
m;,~and I thought no more of the matter
at the time.
The very next day, the day before Christ
mas, there came into our place of business
a very eccentric gentleman, who s
called upon us pretty often before, not for
the sake of pawning anything, though he
was generally shabby enough to. But he
was a collector—ono of those men who
are mad upon old china and curiosities ol
all sorts.
‘Anything in my way to-day, Mr. Davis ?’
he said, in his quick, energetic manner,
with a jolly smile on his face, an I pntting
down the cigarette he was smoking upon
the edge of the counter. The Rev. Mr.
Broadman is a collector of gems, and
rings, and seals, and, in fact, of any stones
that have heads or figures upon them.
And I had been in the habit of putting
aside for him whatever in this way passed
throngh our han s, for he gave ns a better
price than we should have got for them at
the quarterly sales. ‘The fact is, Davis,-
he said to me, ‘these things are invaluable;
many of them are as beautiful, on a small
scale, as the old Greek scriptures ; and
some of them even by the same artists.
And they are made no longer; lor, in this
busy nineteenth century of ours, time and
| brains are too precious to be spent on
- these laborious trifles.’ Now, although I
1 had no stones of the kind he wanted just
then, it entered into my head that I would
tell him about the seal which had come into
my possession the evening before.
I I told him the story somewhat as I have
just told it to you. He listened attentively
to all I said. When I had done he looked
at the seal, and said, ‘I observe that it has
been the heraldio emblem of a baronet. ’
He then congratulated me upon tho way in
which I had acted. He asked, too, for
this young lady’s address, which she had
given mo quite correct, and then left' the
shop withou; another word.
You must give me leave to tell the rest
of the story tn my own' way, although it
may be a very different way from that
which the reverend personage employed
in relating it to me afterward.
It seemed that it was a runaway match.
A couutry baronet's son had fallen in love
with the clergyman's daughter iu the vil
lage where his father lived, and they had
run away together and got married. Then
.‘hey otgue up to London, these two poor
•yk.ajg things—for neither his father, nor
her’s either, for the matter of that, would
have anything to say to the mutch—he,
full of hopes of gotting on in tho literary
and artistic ltne, and she, poor creature,
full of tmst in him.
Tho project of living by literature did
not turn out as was expected. The young
fellow without experience or friends, spent
much timo in going about from ouo pub
lisher to anothor, and Bonding his writings
to the various magazines—which I noed
not say were always ‘received with thanks.'
And then ho foil ill; typhus, I fancy,
brought on by insufficient nourishment
and bad drainage, and disappointed hopes.
The registrar-general does not givo a re
turn of these cuses in any list that 1 am
n ware of; but we see something of them
in onr line of business nevertheless.
ft was just at this time that Mr. Broad
man found out Mrs. Vinoont, for that was
the name of the young lady who came to
my shop witli the gold seal. Cambridge
Terraco is not very far from the Angel ut
Islington, and there, in a little back stroet
of small, respectable houses, inhabited by
junior clerks, with here and there a lodging
house, Mr. and Mrs. Vincent lived.
They were rather shy at first of a stran
ger, and a little proud and haughty, por
haps. People who have seen better days
and are down upon their luck, are apt to
be so. But the parson with his pleasant
ways and cheery voice, soon made it all
right; and, in a jiffy, he and Mr. Vincent
were talking about college, for they had
both been to the same university. And
there was even soon a smilo, too—a wan
smile enough—upon the poor invalid’s
sharp-cut, thin face, with tho hollow, far
away eyes, which looked at you us if out
of i, cavern. Ho was tho wreck of a fine
young lellow, too; one who had been used
to his hunting and shooting, and all the
country sports which make broad-chested,
strong-limbed country people the envy of
us poor, thin pale townsfolks.
Mr. Broadman came direct to me when
he left them. I did not live far off, and
lit thought that I might lend them a
neighbor's help. ‘Davis,’ says he, ‘that
peer fellow is dying; I can see death in
hj-i eyes.’
‘What is he a-dying off?’ I replied.
He looked at mu steadfastly u moment,
and I could see a moisture in his oye, as
ip said, slowly and solemnly, ‘Of starva
tion, Davis—of actual want of food.”
'A gentleman starving in London, in
Islington, a baronent’s son, too ! Why it’s
jiicredible.'
‘Not at all,’ said Mr. Broadman, ‘these
are tbe very people who die of starvation
iji London, and in all great cities. Not
lie poor, who know where the work-houHe
b, and who can get at the relieving officer,
jf the worat cornea to the worst; but the
well-born, who have fallen into destitute
poverty, and who carry their pride with
.them, dive into a back alley, like some
wild aininal into a hole, to die alone.
Mr. Vincent wants wine and jellies, and
ail sorts of good things; if help hasn’t
come too late. No, no, nay friend,’ ho
continued, putting back my hand, for I
was ready to give my money in a prope
cause. 'No, no; I have left them all they
want at present, Davis, But I’ll tell you
what you can do; you can, if you like to
play the good Samaritan, go and see them,
and cheer them up a bit. Mrs. Vincent
hasn’t forgotten your kindness to her, I
can assure you And I think her hus
band would like to thank you too, aud it
would arouse him up a bit, perhaps. ’ And
then Mr. Broadman told me, shortly, some
thing of what these two poor things had
gone through—she, loving and trusting
him so; and he, half mad that he had
brought her to this pass, and could do
uothing for her.
Mr. Broadman wrote that very day to
the baronet, a proud, hard man, I’m told.
But the letter he wrote back was soft
enough, and melting to read, it was go
full of human nature, yon see the father’s
heart swelling up at the thought of get
ting back his son; and bursting throngh
the thick crust of pride which had pre-
J vented him from making the first advances.
And the parson says to me:
‘Well, Mr. Davis/ he said, 'there are
; many people kept asunder only for want
jof somebody to go between them, you
see, and make peace. ”
And I said partly to myself: ‘Why
shouldn’t Christianity itself be such a
generous peacemaker as that 7
‘Ay,’ replied Mr. Broadman, ‘if people
only believed in it properly.’
That very day we got the baronet’s let
ter, I was on my way in the afternoon to
Cambridge terrace to pay my respects to
Mrs. Vincent—and I had sent in a few*
bottles of good wine from my own wine
merchant—at least as good as could bo
got for money or love. Well, when I got
near tho door, I saw an old gjentloman
walking up and dowu, a little disturbed,
apparently, in his mind, at finding him
self In such a queer locality, and ns if
looking for something or somebody. A
short, rosy faced fellow he was, clean
shaved as n pin, and very neat and old
fashioned in hi, dress, with that sort of
air about him which marks an English
country gentlomnu wherever he may be.
Well, we soon got into a talk, for I’d
spotted the baronet in a moment, and he
was anxious to find out something about
his sou, ns soon ns he heard I knew a
little of the young couple.
‘And you, do you think, sir, that my—
that Mr. Vincent is dangorously ill ?’ said
the old baronet; and there was a sob in
his voioo ns bo spoke, and his hand trem
bled as he laid it upon mine.
‘Here is tho house,’ I said, ‘andjyou
will be able to judge for yourself.’
We wont in. At least tho bayonet went
into tho room, trembling in every limb
with the excitoment of seeing his son.
But when he set eyes on him, tho poor
old man was so startled that he could
scarcely speak. His son saw him and tried
to rise, but fol. back feebly into his oliair.
‘Dear father,' he murmured, stretching
out a thin, trembling hand, ‘forgive ’
But tho father was on his knees by
the chuir iu a moment, clasping his sou's
head in his arms, and fondling him as
he had done when tho man was a baby.
‘What havo Ito forgive. You must
forgive me for boing so hard, my dear
boy, and got better soon, Wilfred, my
son, my sen!"
1 had come into the room; I could not
help it, I was so interested and excited.
But I saw that in tho young mun’s face
which made my hoart gink into my
bosom like lead.
The young wife saw it too, and gave
one, two, threo sharp scroums, as if a knife
had been thrust in her side.
Mr. Broadman saw it ; and quiotly
kneeling down, cominendo 1 to God—as
well as he could, for sobbing—tho soul
of his servant departing this life.
And I—well, why should I be ashamed
to confess it? I knelt do mi too, and
cried like a child; for tho young wan
had died in his father's arm* at tho very
moment of reconciliation.
THE origin of munjr r.— attriK'**- 4
to Hpontane us combustion ** J those who h">
carefully investigate*! the general subject.
Many instances have recently been made pub
Ho which indicate plainiy in what way many
“ mysterious” conflagrations may have origi
nated. Not long ago a tire occurred at Mar
shall, Michigan, in a store where drugs, medi
cines, paints, oils, etc., were kept in large
quantities. It chanocd that it was extinguished
so thut investigation into the causes of it was
possible. And it was evident that it origina
ted in a box of shavings that had been satu
rated with linseed-oil, turpentine, and theleuk
age of barrels. The character of the com
bustion was such that there seemed no reason
to doubt the exciting cause. Rags used to oil
machinery are a fruitful cause of fires ; when
left in a heap, the interior will often become
charred, and perhaps, after a while, will begin
to smoke, and a slight current of air will fan
it into a blaze. It is well known that Are
will often oirginate in large quantities of bitu
minous coal if it is wet. Many kind of dress
goods are now charged with different substan
ces to increase their weight, and some of these
substances are exceedingly inflammable, and
make the goods liable to spontaneous oombus
tion. A few years ago a largo fire occurred
in a warehouse in this city. At first tho fire
seemed very mysterious, and the general im
pression was that it must he the work of an
incendiary. But a careful investigation proved
it to be a case of spontaneous combustion,
originating in a case of silk twist tightly
packed, with two layers of thick paper and
one layer of oil-cloth between tho case and
the goods, thus entirely excluding tho air.
The goods had evidently been packed while
damp, and the intense heat of the weather
made the conditions favorable for combos
tion. Those who were skeptical in regard to
this origin of the Are were entirely convinced
when a fire broke out a second time, which
was traced directly to another case of silk
twist. Many kinds of goods when closely
packed are exposed to spontaneous combus
tion. Special care may well be taken in ware
houses, factories, and in all places where the
heat developed by some slow process of oxi
dation is confined and compressed. In such
cases a temperature may be reached which
renders spontaneous combustion possible.
When the Roman Catholic Church in this
country undertakes to dictate the policy of tho
Democratic party, it becomes the plain duty
of every Democratic paper to stamp its ac
tion with the seal of public condemnation,
and give it to understand in terms not to be
misunderstood, that the Democratic party has
no sympathy with it, and that it will be the
first to help crush out anything that tends to
give RomanDh a step in advance of what has
already been conceded. Our New Constitu
tion wisely provides for a settlement of the
Catholic school question, so far as Missouri is
concerned. It says there shall be no division
of the public school funds for sectarian
schools*
The colored parson of a Georgia church
gave out a hymn which did not accord
with any tune known to the congregation.
An old old darkey in the corner rose up
and aaid : ‘‘Parson, I’m pretty sartin I
kin reech to both eends o' them varses."
“Brudder Jones will raise de time and
the old man gave out a series of shrieks
to out rival a cahope with a drunken en
gineer. “Hold up, brudder,’’ cried the
frantic preacher, “de singing will be ad
journed to do next meeting.
YOL. 1. NO. 2.
TTITOff and TTr.oiKs :il JlHCM'Tlltnmd'
iwu in the South. Goon Pianos for
to *275 ; Elkoant I’inuos for S3OO to
Superb Pianos for $350 to $375,
est Pianos for S4OO to $450. All on
Terms, with from one to five years
yment. New Pianos for rent until
or.
Mason [& Hamlin Organs.
Styles. Better and cheaper than
| New Cases. New Solo Stops. Bril
jKffocts. The oni,y stbictly reliable
is manufactured 1 Extremely Easy
s for payment.
e of Charge, Address
BATES,
SIC HOUSE,
S-eorgia,
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THE INCITJIBITION.
A Catholic papor, Le Monde, tho organ of
tho Papal Nuncio in Pari*, suggests tho ro
ealnblishinont of the Inquisition In tho fol
lowing terms ;
“ Tho Churob has tho right to resort to the
employment of foroc, being in direct possess
ions of socuiar power, mu ~ , , .
vvro \ I 1 .1 I so byllahus (Art.
XXIV.) condemned the opposu. iJoa j
true, however, to say that it will not make any
use of such procedure to oompol the conscien
ces, for whenever the Churob does exercise
such power, she does so only as to those who
indorse such measures. The right thus to pun
ish was confirmed by Jesus Cnrist, when he
said : “If thy right hand offend thee, out it
off, or if the right eye offond th©, pluok it
out; for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish, und not that thy
whole body should be oust into hell.” We find
Him with the scourge in His hands, driving
tho money-changers out of the Temple, and
Peter, the first Pontifox, beheld Ananias and
his wife dying at his feet, because they had
lied against the Holy Ghost. The Church can
not refuse to use extornal force, except she
deny her origin. Ignorance, however, may
take offense at tho employment of such force,
though before we are ready to make it out
persecution, we should fully understand where
and when the Church exercise such power.
“ Our opponents do not nor will they kuow
this limitation. The Church hus alwas refused
to extend it to the unbelieving, for of what
avail is force, compulsory, belief proving
nothing. God not being willing that violence
bo done to the conscience of men. I/aec po
tettuH non data eat a ('hr into .* In this way
tho church but proclaims her right over
Christians, over such as, by baptism, have
come within her jurisdiction. But every honor
bestowed has its obligation—that of the
Christian or that of tho Frenchman. By vir
tue of his nationality, not of his own election,
every man is bound to perform the duties im
posed. And the Church, impurting baptism
without waiting until the child develops his
intelligence, cannot grant the benefit without
its corresponding obligation. Such are the
consequence© of thut right, which e\Jls down
the curses of thoso on the Church who have
nothing to fear from her. Its canonical form
in a Christian state is the Inquisition. The
Popes have established, and always main
tained, this tribunal. Pius VI., to whom the
choice was propounded by the directory,
either to sacrifice his freedom or the Inquisi
tion, sacrified the former. But what is the
Inquisition? The Inquisition is not torture.
Declaring the articles of faith, it is a tribunal
which exercises its jurisdiction on all who,
being Christians, have subscribed them,
while the worst punishment it declares is ex
ile and imprisonment. Tho State classifying
heresy as a social crime, tho secular arm, as
in the middle ages, is bound to go further,
though torture and capital punishment never
proceed from the Chureh, but were adminis
tered by State law. This law may go too far.
The Church has abnegated the cruelties of the
Spanish Inquisition, passing the bounds of
its authority. In short, it is a power which
can be exercised only over those who have
acknowledged it; a tribunal sitting in judg
ment on the articles of faith, and is impotent
to apply either torture or death. Such is the
Inquisition. We repeat that but by means of
moral force the Church exercises its influence
over the conscience. Its outward necessary
guaranty of puolic order in a Christian state
never passes beyond the limits drawn by free
dom. That power is never exercised as to the
unbelieving. And as there are Christian
States professing to be such, we ask the
friends of general franchise : What sort of a
right do you appeal to against a people who
recognize the rights of the Churcn securing
them respect? Is it tbe right of dissenters ?
Is it the right of minorities ? Then con
cede it whether in politics or religion.”
•Christ never gave such power.