The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONOAY EVENUNG, JUNE 12, 1565.

Archbishop Manning's Pastoral.

The following is a copy of the newly-consecrated
Archbishop's Pastoral read at all the Catholic cha-
pels yesterday :
Henry Edward, by the Grace of God and the favour of the
Apostolic See, Archbishop Elect. of Westminster, to the
Clergy, Secular and Regular, and the Faithful of the
said Diocese,
HEALTH AND BENEDICTION IN THE LORD.

The Sovereign Will which, by the assistance of the Spirit
of God, rules over the Church on earth, has seen fit, in
spite of our manifold infirmities, to lay on us the burden
of giving account, at the last day, of this great Flock.
When first these tidings reached us, all other thoughts
vanished before the consciousness of our great unworthi-
ness to be set as a Pastor over you. It is from you,
and from your exampleS of . fidelity and zeal, of your
fearless inflexibility and childlike docility in the faith,
that we have been learning for these many years
past. We have looked to you, reverend and beloved
brethren in Jesus Christ, as Counsellors, Guides, and
Fathers. And now, for our humiliation—we trust
not for your confusion,—the Divine Will of Him who calls
the " things that are not" as if they were, has placed us to
be to you, so far as He helps us, that which you have so
charitably been to us. Two things alone, under God, have
given to usany adequate consolation in this time of anxiety
and fear : the one, that what has fallen upon us comes from
the hand of the Vicar of our Divine Master; the other, that
in this manifestation of His will you have lost sight of our
unworthiness, and have come around us with such an ex-
pression of your fraternal charity and filial acceptance of
the choice of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to leave nothing
we could desire. To our Venerable Chapter of the Metro-
politan Church of Westminster, to the Reverend the Secu-
lar Clergy of the Diocese, and to the Religious Orders, and
we must not fail to add, to the faithful of every condition,
from the highest to the poorest, who have been forward in
their filial and loving sympathy, we desire now to offer our
heartfelt thanks, and to implore for them the abundant
graces of our. Heavenly Father. If anything were needed
to demonstrate the unity of the true and living Church, and
to dissipate in confusion the dreams—perhaps the wishes—
of those who watch us, it would be the manly Christian Ca-
tholic loyalty, docility, and obedience as of soldiers to their
Chief with which you all, Reverend and dear brethren, as
one body, and you, dear children in the grace of Jesus Christ,
whether born of our noble and invincible stock of
Confessors and Martyrs, or called at tho eleventh hour by
the loving kindness of our Redeemer, have all alike ranked
yourselves in one array to support us, who before God can
have no claim upon your love or your allegiance, save that
the Vicar of Jesus Christ has invested us with the mission
and office-of the Apostles. And here we would affection-
ately and gratefully ask you to bear with us, and not to
harbour for a moment tho thought that we have been in-
sensible to the expressions of kindness and confidence
which have reached us in these last days, by word and by
letter. They have so far exceeded in number both our
time and power to answer them in writing, that we can
only ask you to wait until, either by letter or in person, we
can hereafter express to your our gratitude.

Thus much we have felt bound in conscience before God
to say in rendering you our thanks. It would be a cheap
and trivial thing to use professions of devotedness to you
in return. We have no more ardent desire than to die in
the midst of the flock, pastors, and sheep together, like the
great Pastor and Father of this Diocese who now is resting
in the midst of us. A few short years—and few they
must be—spent like the many years of his great Pontificate,
under the splendour of his memory, and in the path which
he has traced for us,—this is the most fervent prayer we
make to the tender love of oui• Divine Master.

Having already had twice, in the most public manner, the
happiness of expressing the love and veneration we bear to
our late illustrious Pastor and Father, we have purposely
refrained from doing so again at this time. Nevertheless,
we cannot forbear in this place to say with what joy we
made it our first public act to promote the building of the
Cathedral which your gratitude and love has resolved to
erect to his memory. All that we can do to forward this
work of your filial piety shall be done with our whole
heart.

Bear with us for speaking thus far of ourselves. It has
been forced upon us by our first entrance among you, and
by your charity. I may say " Vos me coegistis." If fault
there be, it is your kindness which has caused it. And as
t is the first time, so we hope it may be the last. It would
be a fault to say less, or more. We will now turn to
other thoughts, which from henceforth will be our daily
work.