Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1854-02-09
John Mitchell and the TWO POpes.

Never man came to this country with such fat
tering antecedents and such wide. spread popu.
larity, who has so suddenly fallen from his dan.
gerous elevation, as John Mitchell. Added to
strong sympathy for his misfortune, there
was high respect for his character, his abil-
ity and his consistency. He started his news.
paper with prestige Of success scarcely ever be.
fore attending such an undertaking. He has
only published three numbers, and in that
short time has contrived to undermine repu-
tation as widespread as it was enviable. In
his second paper he announced himselfa friend
of the slavery Of the cOlored race in terms so
revolving and heartless as to send thrill of
loathing and indignation from Maine to Mexico.
Not true.hearted Southerner but despises
such sentiments as coming from a man who
has not inherited the evil. and who complains
to have suffered in his own person the oppres-
sion of others.
In his last number. Mr.. Mitchell is equally
unfortunate. He undertakes to trim bis sails
between Professionalism and Catholicism, and
in the effort has mortally offended both par
ties. In the following extract he has endeav-
ored to separate the Pope as a Prince, from
the Pope as a Bishop, and to appease the ieal-
Ousy of the Catholics by acknowledging the
authority Of the Pope as Bishop, and to mol.
fy the Protestants, by opposing the Pops as e
Prince. His plan does not lack ingenuity but
it is too absurd to excite any feeling more fa-
vorable TO his views than rdicule and derision
He says
But our friendly correspondent assures us
that the Pope and the Catholic Church are ran.
ged on the side of Despotsm. There is some
mistake here. 1t may help to clear up the mis-.
take if we consider that the Pope of Romeo a
double parsonage, and has two distinct char
acters. Or rather there are two Popes-the
one is bishop; the other is prince-the bish.
op- Pope is Gods vicegerent upon earth-the
prince, Pope is Austria's vicegerent at Rome
The Bishop has the power of the spiritual keys
the power to bind and to loose, to bless and to
ban-Snd derives it for ought we know from
divine commission. The Prince has the
keys Of the castle of st. Angelo, and has pow
er to lock up mems bodies there, power to tax
and 10 fine, power to hang and to shoot, and
derives these latter powers from the bloody
bayonets Of Austria, and we are ashamed TO
say, France. But there is no occasion why the
Bishop of Rome should also be Prince Of Rome.
And perhaps he would be more Bishop if he
were less Prince. While the Pope was in
exile at Avignos, while he was a prisoner TO
Charles ", he was not the less head of the
church, and had not the less power to bind and
to loose. Moreover, the temporal power is
one which may at any time and even soon, be
taken away from him-because as Prince he
is merely one of the small fry of kinglets and
Serene Hghness, walters upon Providence and
the "Great Powers" but as Bishop his see is
founded upon a rock and neither Red Republi.
canism nor The very Gates of He'll can prevail
against it. Democracy has no desire, and no
power to deprive the Bishop of any particle Of
his spiritual dominion-but Democracy in |
Rome assuredly seeks to dethrone the Prince. |
And of course the Prince seeks to crush de. |
mocracy.
Now we know that We are treading on peril |
Gus ground; but we shall go on without shrink
ing because this is point on which many
well meaning persons want clear ideas. We
say not ne.wOrd about the doctrines or the d.
ciples of any church: we would not. If we could
disturb the faith of a single Catholic in any
single dogma ofhis religion. But We say it's
not true that the Church or the Pope rs Head
of the Church. is at all concerned in the cause
of ofdespotism, or at all averss from universal
On the contrary. Republican
ism claims the Church for potent ally: and
one at least ofthe greatest Catholic divines has
long since given his voice fos accepting that al
lance and guiding the inevitable movement
70, good and salutaFy ends.
That no true Papist will admit the idea of
Ht u n AN - III f.tH "