The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-24 00:00:00

POLAND.

(From No. 190 of the Northern Bee (a Journal in the
Russian language) of 18th August, 0. S.

His Holiness, the Pope, has addressed the following
brief to the Polish Bishops :
" To the venerable brethren, greeting, with our aposto-
lical benedictions...--We have received information of the
dreadul misery which the flourishing kingdom sustained in
the course of the past year, and at the same time have
earned that the only cause of it was the wickedness and
perfidy of the evil-minded, who in that unhappy time, on.
der the pretext of religion, rose against the lawful autho-
rity of the Sovereign, end by tearing asunder all the bonds
of lawful submission, plunged their country into an abyss
of misery. Prostrate before the altar of the Most High,
we, his unworthy representatives upon earth, have shed
abundant tears over the dreadful distress with which that
part of the flock, committed by Divine Providence to our
weak, but earnest care, was visited. In humility of heart
we sought by prayers and sighs to appease the wrath of
the most merciful Father, imploring him to send down to
us consolation by the pacification of your country,
which suffered by dreadful civil wars, as it had
revolted against his beneficent lawful authority. At that
time, venerable brethren, we sent you a brief to inform
you that your distress bowed down our hearts ; also, we
desired thereby to comfort and strengthen you with spiri-
tual care, in order that you might with new and indefa-
tigable zeal defend the true doctrine, and call on the clergy
and the faithful intrusted to you to abide by it. We have
learned, however, that in consequence of the obstacles that
occurred, that letter never reached you. Now that, with
the help of God, peace and tranquillity are happily re-
stored, we again, venerable brethren, open our heart to
you, exhorting you with still greater earnestness to exert
all your efforts to keep away from the flock intrusted to
yon the causes of the lase misfortunes. Your duty obliges
you to watch with the greatest vigilance that artful men,
propagators of false doctrines, may not scatter among
your flocks the seeds of lying and fatal doctrines. These
men, under the cloak of zeal for the general good, use for
bad ends the credulity of the simple, who, in their blind-
ness and ignorance, serve them as instruments to disturb
the tranquillity of the kingdom, and to overturn the exist-
ing order of things.
" It is fitting that, for the advantage and instruction of
the faithful, or followers of Christ, the malevolence and per-
fidy of such lying prophets should be placed in a true
light,—it is fitting on every occasion, and without fear, to
refute their deceitful principles, by the immutable words of
Holy 'Writ, and the authentic monuments of the traditions
of tl e Church. From these pure sources, from which the
Catholic clergy must derive the principles of their conduct,
and the doctrines to be inculcated on the people committed
to them, we clearly see that submission to powers ap-
pointed of God is an invariable principle, and that no one
can refrain from fulfilling it, except in the case that by
observing it he would violate the laws of God and the
Church. 'Let every
sone,' says the Apostle, be subject
unto the higher pois ers, for there is no power but of God;
the powers that be are ordained of God ; whosoever, there-
fore, resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God.
Wherefore ye must need be subject, not only for wrath,
but also for conscience sake.'—(St. Paul's epistle to
the Romans.)
In the same manner St. Peter teaches, " Submit your.
selves to every ordinance of roan, for the Lord's sake,
whether it be to the (Emperor (King), as supreme, or to
by
ye
him, for
toso sits
theth e Prince,"w
l Gaud n,
hence the ignorance of foolish men."( s,t
.Ep.i:tle of S.
Peter, chap. 2.) The Christians of the I rimitive Church
were faithful to these principles, to such an extent that,
even in the midst of persecution, they served the Roman
tothGatowveirthnorws)elal-edsoeinntg
Emperors, and so promoted the glory of the empire. Like
Jesus, they acknowledged no ruler but Him in Heaven ;
they knew how to distinguish between the eternal and tem-
poral Ruler ; and out of love for the Lord of Heaven,
they were subject to the sovereign on earth. The Holy
Fathers. as you, v notable brethren, well know, always
preached this doctrine ; thus the Catholic Church always
wrote and still writes. By such principles the early Chris-
tians were guided in their conduct, and their legions never
sullied themselves with treachery, which was so
common among the Heathen troops. Let us hear
what Tertullian says :---‘ We are calumniated to
the Emperor ; yet the Christians never were par-
'jeans of Albinian, or Nigrian, or Cassian. Traitors
were seen only among those who the day before had sworn

• " The Emperor," " the rrince," as in the German transla•
iona.the