The Express.
London, England, 1865-04-15 00:00:00

[Stamped, Id. Additional .1

• question often raised sad vaguely answered--
What is the doctrine of the catholic thumb with

respect to the condition of those who voluntarily
gamin aloof from its communion l—find* her. fall
and precise determination. In 1847, as we kern
from the Allocution LIU primes% some catholic'
lied inferred, from a certain leniency elsown by the
Pops to persons of various opinions, that be held
" that not only the children of the church, bat
LINO others, however far removed front the
catholic unity, were equally in the way of
salvation, and eapable of attaining to the
_ _ _

life eternal." Upon this subject the Pope observes :
-"Tip. sentiment of hawser which we led

depriVel us of power adequately to denounce this
detestable calumny." 80, again, in the ♦llocution

, .. .
Singulari quads.,
it is noticed with regret that
many oathollor ere falling into the deplorable error
of supposing that men who are sot in their church
may, nevertheless, be saved, an opinion which is
thus ienonneed—" It is to be held as of faith, that

out of the Apostolic Raman char* no one can be

- -
saved ; this is the only ark of salvation ; be

who does not enter this will perish in the deluge."
Bo again in the Allocation, Quante conficiamer, it
is said, "The eathoiio dogma is well knows, that
no man can be saved out of the catholic church,
and that those cannot obtain salvation who know-

imgly rebel against the authority or definitions of
the church, or are separated from the unity of the
church and 'the Roman Pontiff." The rigour of
this declaration is tempered by the remark that
those who may be hindered by "invincible igno-
Moe' trots acknowledging and obeying the church
will not be held culpable on this account in the day

of judgment.
It bas already been remarked that the Pope does
not regard himself as at issue merely with this or
that school of opinion, but with his age: This truth
appears conspicuously in the Allocution Jamdudum
cernimus, in which be states that he has been very
much pressed to reconcile himself with Modern
Civilisation, and declares that he cannot do so be-
cause it is the parent of so many deplorable evils

and fatal opinions.
Long since we bavp rem, venerable brethren, by how de-
plorable a conflict civh *minty is ravaged, especially is this
our most miserable age, betimes contending truth and
error, virtue and vies, light and darkness. For Some os
one side uphold certain tenets el modern divillatios, as
they call it ; others, on the other, defend the rights of
jetties and of our most holy religion. And the Unt-
urned men demand that the Boman Pontiff should
reconcile and harmonise himself with promos, with
liberalism (as they all 10, and with modern civilisa-
tion. But the others rightfully claim that the immoveable
principles diploma' justice be preserved pure and inviolate,
sad the most healthful influenos of our divine religion be
fully preserved. . . . Bat the advocates of
modern civilisation do not acquiesce in a contrast of this
kind, because they affirm that they are true sad sincere
friends of religion. And we should be willing to credit
them, did sot most miserable facts which are daily
before the eyes of all show the very contrary.
For there is one tree and holy religion upon earth, foneded
and instituted by the Lord Christ himself, which, the
fruitful parent sad muse ed all virtues, writhe expeller of
vies, and the liberator of souls, and the guide to true feli-
city, is called the Catholic Apostolic Baguio. .. . But,
now, of those who invite us to stretch forth our hand to the
civilisation of the day for the good of religion, we ask
whether facts ar •of sash a nature as Gould induce Christ's
divinely appointed vicar, without a most grievous viola-
tart of conscience and the greatest scandal to all,
unite himself with the anillation of the day, by the agency
of which ao many depkcable evils come to pass, so many
most foul opinion, errors, and principles are promulgated,
in oppositioa to the catholic religion and its teaching.
But this modern civilisation, while it favours every non.
catholic worship, and does not keep back the very infidels
from filliog publio offices, and opens catholic schools to
their children, exercises its wrath against religious orders,
against institutes founded for the direction of catholic
schools, against very mazy ecclesiastical men of every grade,
even those invested with the highest dignity . . nay,
eves spinet eminent laymen, who being devoted to us and
to this Holy See, defend zealously the cause of religion and
justice. This civilisation, while it gives largesse, to non-
catholic institution, and persona, robe the catholic church
of its most just possessions, and devotes its whole thought
and study to the diminution of that church's salutary in.
finsoos.
The position which the Pope takes up in the
latest Encyclical and elsewhere is that citizens have
no right either to liberty of worship or liberty of
the press. The Allocution Acerbiasimum is devoted
to the affairs of New Grenada, and it is there de-
plored, among other grievous circumstances, that
liberty of worship is permitted by the new consti-
tution of the republic, and that immigrants are
permitted the free exercise of their religion. As
the Pope condemns, as contrary to Scripture, the
churoh,and the fathers, all who say that it is not the
duty of the state to restrain offenders of the catho-
lic religion by means of penalties, it is no wonder
that he is at issue with the government of nearly every
catholic state in the world. The notion that liberty
of conscience and worship is each inane personal
right, which ought to be asserted and proclaimed in
every well constituted society, is stigmatised by
the Pope as resting on a totally false view of
social government. Gregory XVI. had before him
denounced the same opinion as " insane," and Pius
IX. quotes the passage and adopts the declaration.
It is no wonder that he finds himself unable to
make up his quarrel with modern civilisation.
These papers will be found to throw light on
another subject of a certain interest at the present
time, when some are disposed to believe that the
special recognition and endowment of the catholic
priesthood in Ireland would &dint* thegoveroment
of that country. They will show what form of the
union of church and state ban the approval of the Holy
See. They will convince all readers that the only rela-
tion really satisfactory to the Pope is the complete
subjection of the State to the Church of Rome, in
all matters which the latter may choose to declare be-
longing to the moral or spiritual domain. And as
every public act has its moral aspect or relation, the
whole sphere of public interest may thus be drawn
into the purview of the Pope's jurisdiction. Protes-
tants looking over this volume, and observing that
France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Mexico, and
other countries of the new and old world devoted
to the catholic faith, are constantly accused by the
Holy See of invading its rights, may be disposed to
think that the complete freedom which the Roman
catholic church enjoys in this country and in Ire-
land must be far preferable to the bondage of which
the court of Rome is constantly complaining. Cer-
tainly nowhere else does the catholic church enjoy
so much liberty as here. But in the countries
we have mentioned that church, notwithstanding
all its outcries, has contrived, by incessantly put-
ting forward its pretensions, to command an enor-
mous amongst of influence and authority over the
affairs of the State and over domestic life, which it
would not exchange for the merely moral influence
to which it would be restricted in a state
of freedom. We must not be deceived by
these loud wails Isom Rome. The Pope never
fails to Wean the world that his agents are

TWOPENCg

oppressed, persecuted, and horribly afflicted 'soften
as they are not allowed to govern their fellows
with a high hand. If in Mexico the clergy are made
amenable to the ordinary tribunals for their offences,
if liberty of warship is proclaimed to non-catholcs,
or if monastic vows are forbidden, the Holy Father
declares that he stands aghast at such impiety. If
in Italy the priests are required to conform to
municipal laws, its government is accused of serf.
lege. Nothing but the complete subjeetion alike
of the individual conscience and the public legis-
lation can satisfy the demands of Rome. Nor, in
fact, do we perceive how the ruler of a church, insti-
tuted sad appointed to inform the eouseisaces of
the world, and to be the infallible guide of
its children in the moral order of things,
can claim anything leas than the somplete
control of public opinion from its lowest to its
highest manifestations. It is impossible for a
Protestant Englishman to peruse this volume
without being impressed with the uniform exag-
geration and intemperance of the language
employed. Swift was equally struck with this
feature in the papal documents of his day, which
he has described in a inemccable "Tale." It
is probable, however, that this peculiarity is a
mare habit of style, and that the dreadful words
we meet with do not represent as much real passion
as they seem to exposes. Reny of us know people
who lard their (limonite, with expletives that appal
without meaning any particular harm, or being
ly the worse neighbours on that account.

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