The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-22 00:00:00

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exuberant a burst of Liberalismas that. in which the Are
bishop indulged at Birmingham. Other things aro alleged
against Rome by its enemies besides intolerance and perse-
cution. Mental reservation, equivocation, prevarication,
and "Jesuitry" in general, are all believed by thousands of
Englishmen to be peculiarly characteristic of and insepar-
able from Catholicism. If Dr. Manning leaves the matter
where it now stands, it will resound from our pulpits, ring
from our platforms, and pass round and across our dinner-
tables, that his policy is to work his Church up byprofess-
ing a love of religious equality in his speeches, and at the
same time to keep alive in his growing flock, by means of
articles addressed solely to them, a spirit of persecution
which, when by insidious arts they have grown into 5
majority, may lbws forth iu persecution, and burn 11P
fiercely and for ever the liberties of the Protestants. Of
course these are contingencies which very few rtasonable
people will entertain. But then the ni,jority of people are
not very reasonable on questions of religious rivalry. An
earnest religionist must be a very enlightened man indeed
never to have to cheek some remnant or upipringing of
bigotry within him, and many a man is quite earnest
enough to be a bigot who is not earnest enough to be re-
ligious in any sense. With all such the espousal of in-
tolerance by Archbishop Manning, aggravated, as it will
be deemed to be, by his artful speech, as it will be called,
at Birmingham, will do not only the Catholics but the
general cause of religious freedom the greatest injury.
We put it to the Archbishop—WO know we need not put
itlto the majority of English Catholics—whether this is not
a result most deplorable in itself and most adverse to the true
interests of religion and liberty alike. Nay, we go further;
we usie wiletuer some consideration is not due to the really
Liberal generation which has grown up since the Eman-
cipation Act was passed. They know little of the bigotries '
of their fathers. They can hardly conceive that it was
ever thought worth wale to forbid Roman Catholics poli-
tical privileges lest the,s, should get the upper hand. They
ridicule the folly of the opponents in having supposed that
in these latter days the Catholics would over persecute as
all religionists used to do in times gone by. But how are
they to remain in this wholesome, liberal condition of
mind- -how are they to be prevented from going back to
the old prejudices, and regretting the credulity of those
who emancipated the Catholics—if Catholics of the highest
mark and authority distinctly tell them that persecution
is still the doctrine of their Church, and leave us to salvos')
that the hateful and abominable doctrine was only laid
aside dishonestly, and far a time, with a view to gain poli-
tical and social advantages ? Who would guarantee the
continued liberality and toleration of a thoroughly Pro-
testant nation thus distinctly and almost officially told that
it had been induced to abolish the disabilities of Roman
Catholics upon false pretence; and that it was the distinct
policy of the Roman Catholics to advance from equality to
predominance, from predominance to supremacy, from
supremacy to the forcible suppression of error ? Nay,
what claim can Catholics who talk thus have to the liberty
which is essential to the practice of their religion ? Only
the claim which malignant but powerless fanatics have to
th tolerant contempt of a generous and invulnerable Power,
hose indulgence they would fain ungratefully abuse. 'l'o
ppreciate the justice of these severe words it isonly nacos-
ary to read the article in the Westminster Gazette which Dr.
Manning's speech so flatly contradicts. That article in-
sists that " Catholic doctrine teaches us that a civil ruler in
no respect transgresses his province by punishing offences
against the Catholic religion as such," and says that as "it
is impossible by direct argument to make Protestants
understand the reasonablerAess of this principle, because
they do not, of course recognise the terrible evils which
ensue from a natio...es rejection of Catholicism," the only
way of " argninr,; with them is to take an illustration from
some religio;us doctrine of which they themselves admit
the sacre :mess and the vital importance." It is surely not
necesary to proceed further to prove that the doctrine of
p.ersecution is broadly advocated by Archbishop Man-
ning's organ, as, indeed, it has been ere now, as we under-
stand, by the Archbishop himself. We have not space to
follow the argument, which is simply an attempt to prove
that it is as essential for Catholics to repress Protestantism
as it is for Protestants to prevent polygamy ; but we alai
at once say that in the only sense in which a conscientious
Protestant could admit its force, it would bind him to
withdraw every privilege of worship, or even of expression
of his opinions, that a Catholic now enjoys. And with
this in our memory, we take up the report of Archbishop
Manning's speech at Birmingham. In that speech we find
not only rejoicings over the liberality of
,Protestant
ma-
gistrates who have adopted the Prison Ministers' Bill, but
we find it attributed to " equity and Christian justice ;"
although, according to the article in the Westminster'
Gazette, for a Protestant to give, or even allow, Catholio
prisoners a Catholic chaplain can neither be Christian nor
reasonable. The Westminster Gazette says that " those
principles on the State repression of religious error which
the Church authoritatively teaches are those which reason
by itself would indicate as alone sound and true." Bat
Archbishop Manning says, "if wo cannot re-enter into a
perfect unity, we may at least enter upon that silver period,
less perfect than the first, in which, though we are n°t
united in one faith, we may be united in kindliness, in
mutual consideration, and justice one with another,
and equity to those who differ front us." The
conduct of Protestants in not adopting the Prisoa '
Ministers' Bill is obviously justified by the Westminster
Gazette, but Archbishop Manning condemns it, though he
charitably adds—" I am quite aware that those who
hitherto have not carried the statute law into effect have
not done so with any deliberate intention of depriving the
poor Catholic prisoner, or the Catholic pauper, of hie
religion. I believe that it is the effect of old passifs
habit, of old immobility—that old stagnation which, if it
runs, runs like those streams so thick and turbid that their
motion is hardly visible." Is that stagnant, turbid,
stupid, un-Christian, and inequitable in Protestants
which would be in the highest degree Christian, on-
lightened, wise, and just in Catholics ? Or is Dr. Man..
ning content to accept from Protestant; and even t°
praise as Christian and wise, a liberty which he would
deem himself un-Christian and a fool to grant to Pro
testants were he in absolute power? We fear to weary
our readers with quotation; but the positively ludicrous
character of the Archbishop's alleged inconsistency can"
not be appreciated without reference to the following
passage :—" The Sovereign Pontiff, the Vicar of Our
Divine Master, stands alone, by a power which depend
not upon empires, nor on dynasties, nor on legislatures,
nor upon the will of man, but he is walking on the water
—walking by a supernatural power—suspended by the
providence of God, which is the will of His divine laW;•
Here is the only point of stability in the world, for i;
nations are to be stable, it is to be in justice, and
justice DO done, the religion of men must 1)(3
respected. Look at Australia and at Canada, the Of°
most flourishing outskirts of the British empire. Why
aro they peaceable and prosperous? Because perf°ct
equality and equity prevail between Catholic and
~
Protestant, and they all stand alike upon one lev,
The mother country has to learn a lesson °I
wisdom of her daughters. Australia and Caneda
may teach England and Ireland in like manner, t.°_
walk hand in hand in equity and in charity." Now, it is
absurd enough for an advocate of persecution as obvious
policy and undoubted Christian duty to point to Amerioat
Australia, and Canada as examples of nations which eat
the Divine favour by the perfect equality and equity with
which they respect all religions ; but what are we to Of
when we find the Pope quoted in the same connection
with an artful hiatus in the reasoning which leaves us S.°
believe that he too owes the stability of his Government'
forsooth, to the same cause? We know what we
tempted to think, and what we must think, unless the
Archbishop explains himself. We shall simply hold tho
head of the Catholic community in England to be self-
convicted of the strangest disingenuousness, as well to 4:f
!,,
advocating retrograde and reactionary ideas which it l
equally unjust and ungrateful for an English Catholic; tos
promulgate.