Star.
London, England, 1814-08-24 00:00:00

IRISH ROMAN CAIIHOLICS.

e LETTER OF cosGRAITLATioN FROM THE IRISH RO-
NAN CATHOLIC fIu:LA [Ts, Tr., 1113 HOLINESS PO'E
plus VII.
To his Holiness Pope Pius VII. the Roman Catholic Pre-
lates of Ireland. wishing Prosperity.
The hope of Christians is at last revived, and the
Catholic Cfruch has regained its state and integrity,
ID your well-being, good and glorious man of Goo,
Pius the Seventh, our Sovereign Pontiff, who, by re•
signation .not less than.by chieftaincy, have brought
home CHRIST io our view ; and in your most provi.
dential deliverance .from those afflictions, which,
through one and the same outrage, abased and held
captive the supremacy of your holy function, and the
majesty of your personal virtues. .
To all the several nations' which, weary of their
enslavement-, have burst forth into exertion for the
overthrow of Despotism, this event has proved grate-
ful— to all the good, a snatterff delight; as for the
Catholics, it had been the grand object of universal
wish, and demand, and prayer. But to us, Holy Fa-
ther, .who, in :he desolation of the Christian Com-
monweal, were the foremost to expresi such sorrow,
that the v.. ry lamentation of your gloved people of
Rome was fully re-echoed by our sighs, on your ac-
count—who dared to intimate, that such enormous
6-Ituity must be short-lived—who solemnly pro-
teste.i against any -usurpation on your inviolable
riOns during such capnvity--this event has intro-
&iced more than a return of the Common joy : it has
reauzed even the peculiar merit of a victory, humble,
in eed, yet allied with, and attendant upon, that ad-
nit a ,le triumph,. in Which you reign. In the extre-
ulity of all misfortune, we have proved our adhe-
%eke to unconquered;' we therefore shall be
uriviieved to avow, with somewhat of ostentation,
ol,rattachtitenT, and our jubilee, iiithis corjuncture
eu all happiness.—Thy right hand, 0 LORD hath
wrought for itself renown in mightiness. Thy right
hand, 0 Loan ! bath beat in pieces thine enemy ;
and in thy multiplied grandeur thou bast laid them
IoW who warred against. thee; thou breatliedst thy
storm, and a'sea covered them."

Ntxt, After the homage of your Holiness, the illus-
trious *nate of your Cardinals will demand our best
and most honouri,ng acclamation. But, in truth,
neither would any encomium that we could utter,
nor any possible expression of praise, be enough to
set forth' the heroic perseverance of that body. Torn
stn Ay from your paternal embrace, immured in sepa-
rate prist:ns. collifined to distant places of banishment,
fir from crouching under' the trial, they have gained
throughout world
.an eminent consideration for
ni4giv4nim:iy,allegiance, principle, duty, and incor-
rnptible character: in a word, they have purchased
an exceeding renown, and they have saved and res-
cued this renown ,from the ruin and conflagration
wLieli overwhelmed their exterior dignities. Such
renown must endure, and be worshipped in time to
came.

Through the intervention of your Holiness, we
now beg to congratulete our venerable Colleagues,
tf3e Bishops of Italy. They also !rave encountered
misery, and privations,• and -terror: They have felt
lawless authority and expatriation. Their claim is
that of Confessors forthe faith.—aheir reputed crime,
(a splendid one, assuredly!) had been allegiance to
your Holiness. But, ere this, they will have expe.,
rienced x consoling change.
'Nor ran 'We t'mir to mention your invincible and
R : vercilt! Clergy of Role, and of the States perse-
cattds .is they have been. by thefrantic excess of ty-
r.;rnt, with deportation into Corsica, or banishment
to-the Valtelline. These latter, on their return, will
undoubtedly share a distinguished partiality of your
Itllittess, now restored. As to fair fame, they will
fully .possess it, for they have deserved •nobly. The
result of manifold pr.:recce:ions has been to place in
esidence this truth--;that the mighty power of CHRIST
iii the Catholic Church .cennot be worn out. by the
force of time—that in you, and those united with you
ties same energetic spirit still survives. which of old
give.defiance to death, and trampled it down-in the
WesSed Martyrs; that wheresoever dwells the.seirit
ofCattieq, there also his freedom abides, which knows
his immortality to be its own.
Let Rdme, the asylum of canonized. Saints, .and
• the last strong hold of Religion, lift henceforth the
Lead,, which a sanguinary and ignoble domination
had. weighed doWn. She may now with safety re-
collect, that within her precinct the federal altar of
Christianity is established for everlasting ; that Apos-
tles sit these enthroned to deliver judgment to the
nations until the world shall end. Let the ashes of
her Martyrs exult, artil her Apostolic shrines
.give
tokens of rejoicing! .And you, the partners in foi.ed-
ing an. imperishable. Government under CHRIST'S
sway, 0 Peter and Paul shall not even your relics
be.agit.ited by this joy, for the re-establishment of Pius
the Seventh in the place of his home, • and of your
tefiose?
And, glorious Britain, although divorced from our
faith, well may she feel proudly under her burthen
of trophhs, and in the enjoyment of her high ambi-
tion. Is4g,grinciple had been to repulse the strides
of Despotism, to vanquish Usurpation, to give back
Peace to the world at large. This principle never
declined or tottered during the protracted struggle.
It but justice to assert, that Britain, as the promi-
nent lcackr, and the presiding spirit, was that one
which raised the standard of Unanimity and Enfran-
chisement to an utterly despairing world; that she
prodigally expended her immense resources and the
blood of het pepulation, in sending forth, and in every
direction, renowned Generals and invincible armies,
of which brave Irish Catholic legions formed a part;
whose achievements in Egypt, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
and in the heart of France, will, stand forward in his-
tcry. The measure of Catholic gratitude due to such
an. empire is no other than that which may be claimed
upon mankind by the deliverer of the human race.
We remain persuaded that you, Holy Father, not
only are the most 5t to repay this debt of gratitude,
on the behalf of all, but may do so with the most
splendid effect. •
In conclusion, embracing heartily and affectionately
the knees of your Holiness, and demanding for our.
selves and our Churches your apostolical benediction,
we pray that our Loan GOD, JESUS CnersT, as he
has miraculously rescued you,' a successor of Peter,
from the arrest of Herod, may prosper you in length
d establish your throne in peace.
coney, marioott,o
.ssost.Fress
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