The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-12-05
THE PoPE's BULL.

the 2Ith utlmo, unueT INC siSnseu'S " ~'
introducing your readers the aposoiicai iet'er Oh
Pope Gregory 10TH Of the Sd Of Deeemoer, 1889 has
been lying by for several days awaiting an hour
of leisure to enable me t. throw together lew OBJ
servations which II suggested, and which, as Ca'ho
lie and .ubscribr 1 think have some claim on
your editorial courtesy 10 give place IN your
columns.
NV knowledge of the Latin language is too limit
ed to enable me to decide whether the translation oil
the original, as published by Roane." Is faithful
one or not but whether faithful or not, presume
that il is the same as Roane" found prepared to his
hands in other papers. may be permitted to say,
however, that the common partisan trick oil resort
ing to skfu Of CAPITALS and italics, has often
the effect Of mparting different character to pa
per from that which the author of il designed, and
causing the casual reader 10 put construction upon
il which the plain text would not warrant. That
Roane" has thus been imposed upon is evident from
the vast Importance" he supposes this paper is
likely to have upon the world in general and the
United States in particular. Roane" evidently has
fallen into the erroneous suppostion that Catholics
are bound in conscience to yield implicit obedience TO
Pontical DEGREES of whatsoever character they may
be, and whether they concern their religious or civil
conduct. and into gross misconception OF the OBJ
iect and design of the Apostocsl letter alluded to-
do not blame him for falling into such mistakes, for
the history Of the past Shows how difficult it is for
Protes ants to comprehend the true relations subsst-
ing between Catholics and the Chief Pastor OF the
Church Nevertheless, think that % oane" has
rendered proper if necessary, for Catholics to
avow their own construction of the PaPal rescriPt
This Bull, or rescript, or Apostolica letter, or
however else it may be styled first found ITS way
into the American newspapers some time IN the year
is4O Every Catholic Prelate, Priest and Layman,
who read il, understood il applicable only to the
tr de in slaves carried on, the coast Of Africa
and, so far, intended to cooperate with the Gov
eminent of the United States, which had de-
clared those concerned in that Infamous traf
6c to be guilty of piracy, by bringing mo-
raj and religious influence to bear upon SUCH Of
concerned as proIcsstu 10 pe members oil The Cath
Ollie Church. That this was fair and prasewor'hy
object, xesume neither Rosns," nor any other cit
izen of the United States, ia disposed to deny. No
Catholic dreamed that there any thing contained
in tie letter which affected, design ed 10 affect
the social relations Of the People Of the nted States
or TO cncroach upon their erl rights interfere with
the relations master and slave they sxis, in these
States 1t was read pondered over and laid aside to
be forgotten as in truth it forgotten, until, fol-
purposes which shall not characterize, il has been
resusciia,ed and SYSTEMATICALLY paraded in news
papers in New York and elsewhere, avowedy hostile
To the members Of the Catholic church. Had il been
the purpose Of the Apos,olca Letter to interfere with
the individual rights of he members Of the Church in
this country and had the authority Of the Pope so to
interfere been acknowledged, the fruits would have
been long since visible Blu, where those fruits
II was published here nearly four years ago, and yc,
is IL known that Of the multitude Of Catholic slave
holders in Maryland, the Di,trict Of Columbia and
the Southern States, single one has manumtted his
slaves in obedience to this supposed mandate. Or
has one meu Der Of the Catholic church, in any part
OF the country, been known to ally himself with the
abolitionis,s 2 Not one, no, one. Then wha, fea-
ture ofihis celebrated paper il that gives to II an
influence vastly more imporian, than that oruassd by
In per1i Rome and Csnsuaie Romesfren at her great
est point Federation" Or far greater than the nar
ofthe Repoulion the adoption Of Uritn Stale Consfi-
buttons, Ire Deoi Irain Of .9nerieon Ind pende ,cs
&c. &c.l
But grant, for the sake OF illustration, what we Ut
tcrly d,ny--,hat the Popes Bull intended 10
command Catholics TO set their slaves free, and tina,
Catholic citizcns Of the United States acknowledge
their obligation TO obey the command. Wba, then
Does Roane" or any else to say that is
uaIosJai to msnumit .laves7 Surely not; for that
is done every month almost In the very heart Of the
Southern States. Before and during the Revolution
the Quskers in Maryland, at lea.t the majority o.
hem, were shareholders. In obedience to a lac %
tte;r C,ureh enacted some sixty years ogo they al
numiited their slaves at once. Did any body cve'
complain Of this exercise Of their undoubt,d tight p
Or il found tina, the rights interests Of o,hc
shareholders were cncroachcJ upon or rendered les,
secure thereby Then why should The submissor
of Catholics TO law Of their church-supposnu il t,
be slsw--ds,urb the peaceful slumbcrs of Ro me
or any body else The Bull Of the Pope is addre.se,
to Catholic. only and It's requirements, however the,
may be construed concern them alone, and il may b.
safely left to themselves to deal with IT,
In constituting the Papal Bull the Catholics Of lh
country have pursued their uniform mode Of arriving
a, its true intent and purport They have read Ii,
whole paper, and construed all its parts together an,
not, by the plentiful Of CAPITALS and ifa'as,
by any other unfair means, separated into dctacbe
parts and given TO each paIt separate and indcpcn
dent Specification. They look uIon the prohibition
"io reduce into slavery in wideiy separated and rtmot
lands Indians, Blacks, other mrefched ndirduais,
the very gst and subject matter Of the decree
and retaining in slavery" they understand refer
ring exclusively TO such shall have been reduced :,
slavery by fraud and riolsnes," and not as havin,