The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-07 00:00:00

THE ROMAN QUESTION.

Letter of the Bishop of Orleans Requesting the
Prayers of the Clergy and of the Faithful of his
Diocese for the Pope and the French Army.
Gentlemen,—l have nothing new to tell you of
the grave events which for a month have caused
such grievous anxiety to all Christian hearts in
France and in the world. The public prints, from
day to day, have kept you well informed as to what
is going on. You know what pressing dangers sur-
round and threaten at this moment the capital of
Catholicity and the supreme head of the Church.
You know with what courage thousands of brave
men risk their lives and shed their blood in daily
combats for this great and holy cause, which is not
only the cause of God and of the Church,. but is,
at the same time, and in the highest degree, the
cause of European order, of the law of nations, and
of French honour, threatened and set at defiance
by the unchained bands of the Revolution, and
by the odious complicity of the Italian Govern-
ment, oblivious of its most solemn engagements.
You have heard that a French army and a French
fleet assembled in our great port of war in the Me-
diterranean, and whose departure was suspended
for some days in consequence of better news from
Florence, have again received the order, and this
time definitely, to carry our flag to Italian shores
in order to cause the faith of violated treaties to
be respected, and to avenge, if need be, our out-
raged honour, and the highest interests of our re-
ligion trampled under foot. In such solemn cir-
cumstane s you will easily understand, gentlemen
and dear fellow-labourers, the imperious duty which
weighs upon us. All among us cannot offer to
the Church and to society, so unworthily attacked,
the tribute of their blood or of their fortune. And
I am glad of this opportunity of offering a public
tribute of gratitude and admiration to those who,
day after day, and with such generous eagerness,
are giving so noble a testimony of their love for
the Church ; but all, at least, owe to this great
cause the succour of their most ardent prayers, and
this succour, so powerful with God, we ask at your
hands, and that you also in your turn will ask it
from all Christian souls in your parishes. And
what is happening in good sooth ? Will the
revolutiOnary bands, hitherto repulsed and beaten
in every encounter by the heroic defenders of the
Pope„' but reformed and increased by new
and abominable treachery, be forced to re-cross
the frontier? Or will the Italian army, which
is nearer to Rome than the French troops,
march on Rome ? Will the small and va-
liant Pontifical army, if it escape another
Castelfidardo, give time for our troops to come up?
These are questions which at this moment a de-
cisive engagement has perhaps settled. But in
spite of all that the Revolution may do, and though
its criminal attempts may for a moment triumph,
it is vanquished and dishonoured beforehand. Yes.
It is vanquished. We have seen it during many
months publicly organizing against the faith of
treatiesits odious invasion ; we have seen it add to
dishonesty impudence and lying ; disavow in ap-
pearance what it encouraged in reality ; arrest
derisively, and when all was ready, the man who
had prepared all. It believed that its bands would
march from victory to victory in the midst of
insurgent populations ; that the 6,000 soldiers of
the Pope would fly before them ; and that, deserted
and betrayed, the handful of Papal Zouaves and
of Swiss and Belgian volunteers would with ease
be crushed ; but no, the Revolution was deceived
in all its calculations. Four striking and decisive
facts redound to the eternal credit of the Pope and
to the confusion of the revolutionists. The fidelity
of the Roman populations, who have applauded
the soldiers of the Pontiff, and have demanded
arms to repel the invaders. The soldiers of the
Pope have in every encounter fought like heroes.
This very morning I read in an Italian paper,
foaming with rage, words which I will recite to the
honour of the valiant Roman troops. " Our Reds,
i nostri rossi, it is true, have not been conquerors ;
but they have compelled us to acknowledge what
we wished to ignore—the energy and the valour of
the soldiers of the Pope." As to the Zouaves—l
say it with pride, for they are almost all children
of France—they fought like the sons of the Cru-
saders, have covered themselves with glory, and
have won praise from all Europe for their gallantry;
and the Antibes Legion has shown itself worthy
the French army, which,,it represents. I give it
no other eulogy. And what has been seen after
the news of the first combats ? Courageous young
men hurrying to the defence of the Holy Father,
to take the places of those who have fallen—the
old combatants of Castelfidardo ; one leaving his
young wife, another his first-born, another his
betrothed ; and if at this moment there are mothers
who shed tears of joy and of sorrow over their
sons who have fallen martyrs in the sacred cause
of the Pontiff, there are others who weep because
their sons are too young to go to the battle-field.
And what, finally, shall I say of that noble en
thusiasm of Catholic hearts which is everywhere
manifested by the generous offerings for the
Papal army? "Such facts," even an English
paper, the Morning Post, acknowledges, " are de-
cisive against the Revolution and in favour of the
Pope, and Europe cannot but accept such a ver-
dict." Indeed, is there an honest man who would
not be disgusted with the infamous means to
which the Revolution has recourse ? how, then,
does faith or law,' or truth or honour, exist
no longer in Italy ? Were such lies and such deceit
seen before ? And what do these people take
France to be? And when tired out by the comedy
which is played before the eyes of Europe, while
the blood of her children is flowing in twenty
combats, France at last speaks of intervention ;
the Italian Government multiplies its promises and
assurances ; the Monitor takes note of it ; the tele-