The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-06 00:00:00

LATEST urrELuonica

OPINIONS OF THE ITALIAN AND FRENCH
PRESS ON THE POPE'S ALLOCUTION.
The Nazione speaks in the following terms of the
papal allocution :
We find in it the usual lamentations, the customary
circumlocutions which, ®der cover of pompous and mys-
tical language, veil earthly ambition, false and unjust
sensations, vain griefs and impotent thresh. This to
not worth, and indeed does not permit, confutation. We
prefer rather to observe that while the exile of some
bishops, the canoe of which is studionaly kept concealed, is
made one of the strongest points against us, the circular
of Baron Rimed had put an end to this exceptional state
of things seven days before the publication of the slime-
lion. But what is a small matter of dates to one who is
the master of eternity.?
The Diritto says :
The Papacy has clearly declared its intentions in the allo-
cution just published. Rome has demaestrated once more
that in its eyes catholicism is smatter of pure interest which
must be defended by all sorts of weapons—lawful and un-
lawful ; and that whoever attacks that interest, that is to
say, whoever would take away from the ecclesiastical
power the ground and the means of its temporal
dominion whether by the suppression of the monastic
orders or the confiscation of ecclesiastical property or the
annexation of provinces—aims • mortal blow at the soul
of the papacy, which no longer reposes on the essence of
morality, but on the purely mundane interests of a sect
and a power.
The Journal des Debate remarks :
The language of the Pope surpasses in violence all that
could be expected, and let us add. all that could be feared,
for we cannot view without a certain degree of terror all the
evils which may be produced by these reiterated defiancea
of the church to the whole world. We say the church, for
it is the church that bee spoken in the person al its chief.
Henceforth it is idle to draw artificial distinctions be-
tween the so-called parties within catholic society. Rome
allows no controversy, and calls the least hesitation rebel-
lion—Rena lama, omen finite. We are not surprised
that those who saw the holy father leave the con.
sistory remarked on his countenance traits of un-
wonted marines, and severity. The act which he had
just performed—the words which he bad just launched on
the world—were indeed terrible enough to cloud the human
visage. It is not against Italy only that the Common
Father of the faithful has launched his anathema, but
against the whole of civil society ; against the modern
world, its laws, its manners, its constitution, its organise.
tine against all that it is even with the concordats and the
assent of the church itself.
The article concludes as follows :
The Holy Father at least cannot be reproached on ac-
count of want of clearness. He withdraws his benedio-
tion—which had been misunderstood—end he replaces it
with • declaration of war.
The 44 reitir National observes :
It must be admitted that the quertion'has been clearly
put by the Pope. He was asked to reconcile himself with
Italy, that is to say with the civilisation of our epoch.
It was to ask for the impossible. To desire Pius the
Ninth to extend his hand to • civilisation which denies the
infallibility of the Pope, which recognises freedom of thought,
freedom of worship, and the supremacy of reason, was to
ask him to extinguish himself—to sign his own abdication
and the condemnation of doctrines in the name of which
the papacy has for 300 years been engaged in a struggle
which it looks on as a necessity and a duty.
The recent allocution the Arettir regards as the
"agony of the last momenta" of the papacy.
The Temps remarks :
It must be admitted that the Pope sticks to the logic of
his rife as spiritual and tempered pontiff, and we should
be entirely out of place if we expressed the least astonish-
ment at a manifestation which is in such rigorous con-
formity with the doctrines and traditions of the church.
The Litkerti doubts whether the Pope will put
into execution his threat as to quitting Rome, as
" it would be an acknowledgment that he could not
maintain his authority there without the aid of
foreign bayonets."
The Nord says :
The allocution is the 50th edition, unrevised and uncor.
rected, but considerably augmented, of the complaints,
lamentations, and sombre prophecies which the Holy ffe,,
for the last seven years has been uttering against Italy
and all the friends of Italy. Its painful to see the head
of a religion of peace and charity preaching insurrection
and wishing for the convulsion of the world.
The Persevere tiza says that the allocution was
written by Padre Picirillo, editor of the etriltit
Cuttolica.

The Roman correspondent of the Union men-
tions that Mr. Gladstone, at the audience which he
had with the Pope, recommended his Holiness to
take refuge in Malta.

THE POPE'S ALLOCUTION RESPECTIN
RUSSIA.

In the address concerning Russia, his Holiness,
after mentioning several instances of what he looks
on as individual ill-treatment practised against
catholic ecclesiastics in Poland, goes on to say :
In addition, my venerable brethren, the Russian govern-
ment has promulgated decrees by which the catholic
church, its authority, its laws, and its discipline, are
trodden under foot. By them, almost all the monasteries
of the regular orders of both sexes have been suppressed,
all their property transferred to the public treasury