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
then already the great Gorres 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 Church. Important meetings have
already been held for the Papal cause 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
attachthem 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 4 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 I
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. Foil 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
I and satisfactory. As it is for the first . time