The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-04 00:00:00

COLOGNE.

The most important affair that occupies at
this period the minds of all the Catholics in
Germany, especially those of the western pro-
vinces, " as well as everywhere else, are the
dangers that surround the Holy See. They
even rouse the slothful and the thoughtless out
of their lethargy, and spur them on to be zeal-
ous and to confess their faith. It is about thirty
years ago that the civil power imprisoned
Clemens August, Archbishop of Cologne ; but
Wen. already the greatGorres foretold that this
act would cause Catholicity to take a new
life in Germany. Experience has confirmed
his prophecy, and what the oppression of the
one bishop has effected for Germany that of
the bishop "of all the bishops will effect for
the whole Clnirch. Important meetings have
already been held for the Papal cause at May-
ence and Munster. Similar ones are taking
place in all the other towns of the Rhenish pro-
vinces. The most important one, which will
be, as it were, the crowning of the whole
movement, will be held at Cologne towards
the end of January. Generous and munifi-
cent donations are not wanting. The reason
why so few recruits can be obtained for the
army of the Holy Father is that all the young
men are obliged to serve in the army, and are
not allowed to stay a long time away from
their own country, nor to offer their services
to a foreign Power, much less to those who
would, perhaps, fight against our allies, the
Italians. It is true that our King has declared
in his speech that he would, in the interest of
his Catholic subjects, protect the. independ-
ence of their spiritual head. Numerous ad-
dresses in favour of the Pope's Temporal
Power have been quietly and graciously re-
ceived. But both the King's speech and the
reception of the addresses may be only cal-
culated to lull the Catholics into confidence, to
attach them to the present state of affairs with-
out the Government being obliged to act ac-
cording to the King's speech, in case that
other political interests, especially our
alliance with the Re Galantuomo, would re-
quire
it.
At the present moment we enjoy a perfect
peace with regard to the religious affairs of
the country within, and it seems, moreover, as
if the word had been given to satisfy the
Catholics in every possible manner. The new
school laws for instance, interfere in no way
with our interests. In the lately-annexed coun-
tries the income of the Catholic Church has
been partly increased. The behaviour of
the Prussian Government forms a great con-
trast to that of the Governments of Bavaria
and Baden, which do everything in their
power to injure the Church and to wrong the
Catholic people in their belief. However, in
this also seems to lie a system. South
Germany appears to imitate the former Neapo-
litan Ministry, who manoeuvred the country
into the hands of Piedmont. In fact there is
no better way of insuring Prussia the sympa-
thies of the people. The cunning of their
policy is really marvellous. But when it has
obtained its object, the South Germans can
hardly hope that they would be delivered
through Prussia from their injuries ; nay, there
is reason to fear that the friendly feeling they
have shown to her until now, will vanish com-
pletely, and that we shall share their fate un-
less Heaven interferes and directs human plans
to another object. For that we hope and
pray. Indeed, it appears that the annihila-
tion of the petty States would bring greater
advantages to the Church than to the political
or social life. Through the unity of all the
States into one, the moral weight of the Catho-
lics, now dispersed in the smaller States, will
be much greater, and the importance of the
bishops in relation to the State will increase
enormously, and their position'in relation to the
Protestants will be more defined. Who knows
whether the political reunion of the German
people will not be in the hands of God a means
for the religious reunion of the different sepa-
rated confessions ? Fifty years since, at dif-
ferent times, when the Church seemed down,
many conversions of the noblest and most
learned men and women took place. This
we may always take as a sure sign of the more
universal mercy of God. This thought leads
me to speak of a literary production which, of
all our German works, must be of the greatest
interest for the English. After the wish for a
similar work has been expressed long since,
Dr. Rosenthal, a convert, formerly a Jew, I
believe, has at last published his " Views on
Converts." This work is a collection of the
most important converts and conversions of
the nineteenth century. The first volume,
which is very large, and in which he speaks
of the converts in Germany, appeared a
few years ago. The second, which treats of
the converts in England, has just been pub-
lished. Both have cost the author infinite
labour, especially the second, on account of his
not being in the country ; but the fruit of
so much labour is, therefore, more valuable
44,1 satisfactory, As it is for the first time

that such a work has locen tried, neither com-
prehensiveness, generality, nor completeness
in the details have been as yet obtained ;
however, such as it is, it gives a general view
of the exceedingly manifold and grand effect
of the Holy Ghost, who has pity on the souls
in our century in so marvellous a manner.
It is a splendid testimony to the truth and
godliness of Christianity in general, and of the
Catholic Church in particular. Generally, it is
remarked that in many cases the converts
have not been struck by the grand and impose
ing outward appearances of the Church, but by
a marvellous inward spur and incitement ; the
souls have been urged without having come
into close contact with the Church, nay, even
after having been unfavourably impressed by
her.

The portraiture gallery of the German con-
verts begins with the celebrated Count Frede-
ric Leopold Stolberg, and enumerates a long
series of the most prominent names in science,
the fine arts, and literature. Most of them
are historians and artists. If the volume were
to be translated into English, which is cer-
tainly desirable, the very entangled process
of the philosophical development of some—
for instance that of Frederic von Schlegel and
others—should be given much shorter and
simpler. The volume which treats of Eng-
land would, no doubt, be better written by
an Englishman, but as, to my knowledge, such
a work does- not yet exist, Dr. Rosenthal's
book would greatly facilitate such labour. He
has described some of the conversions with
much pains. Those of Dr. Bramston, Miss
Anna Doffing, Kenelm Digby, P. George Spen-
cer, Frederick Lucas, Fanny Pittar, Dr. Ward,
Dr. Newman, Oakeley, Gordon, Earl of Den-
bigh, Dr. Manning, Dr. Bailie, W. R. Brownlow
and many others, are beautifully written.
A similar and still larger work has been
begun by the aged and learned Bishop of Stras-
burg, Dr. Boss. It is a collection of the most
important historical and philosophical docu-
ments—viz., biographies and controversies
about the converts of the preceding centuries
up to the time of the Reformation. Five large
volumes have been already published within
a year, seven others are yet to follow. This
is, of course, more a monumental work for the
learned and libraries than a lecture for the
general public. It is to be hoped that very soon
a skilful hand will work out the material here
deposited into a popular history of the conver-
sions from the time of the Reformation till our
days.
Would to God that the great work of the
reunion with the mother Church, which He
has begun with the scattered influences in
social life, which appears to occupy Him more
than ever, considering the events which the
coming year portends, would draw near to its
accomplishmentl—From a Correspondent of the
Westmiaster Gazette.