Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1854-12-13

crown. The king and his court went three miles out
to meet the Pope, and layished upon him the most
extrayagant honors. Pepin alghted from his horse,
and attending him on foot part OF the way, and
performing the ONCE of his groom or equery. In
1853, Aistulphus, king Of the Lombsrds invaded
the Exarchate, laid siege TO and took ito capital
the city of Ravenna, aud eonsummated the con
quest Of all the remaining possessions Of the
empire in the West. Flushed by his success, the
conquering Lombard despatched heralds to the
Pope, demanding the submission OF Rome, and all
her dependencies- that they had belong
ed to the emperor and were his by the right of con-
quest. In this extremity, Stephen applied first,
but unavailing to the emperor and then revisited
France to see in person, Peps for his protection.
The French King sent powerful army to accom-
pany him across the Alps into Italy, and to beat
back from the Eternal City Its warlike invaders.
The willy Pope, in the midst of the honors show.
cred upon him by the court Of Pepin, had the ad-
dress to obtain from him promise that the cities
and country which might be conquered from Ais
tulphus should not be restored to the emperor but
should be freely possessed by st. Peter and his sue
cessors. The invincible arms of Pepin scattered
the power Of the Lombards, and he set down in
siege before their metropolis, Payia. Aistulphus
was forced TO sign treaty, which bound him to
deliver up TO the Pope the Erarchate, with all the
to be forever held and possessed by the Most Holy
Pope Stephen and his successors in the apostolic
see of st. Peter"
After hesitation and further resistance, the Lom-
bard was forced by the resstless Pepin to execute
this treaty literally, and the Pope was put in pos
session Of all that it ceded to him as the successor
of St. Peter, and thus to his spiritual he united a
temporal crown The first was acquired through
the fundamentally of Phocius, the second ofPepin,
hxtl. bad
ton with usurpers and men Of blood.
This was the midnight Of the world, and the little
learning of Western Europe was confined almost
wholly to the Monks; it's people, besides, with in
considerable exceptions, were sunk in seemingly
hopeless ignorance and superstition. The Popes,
the Monks and all orders Of ITS clergy, made avail
able every opportunity 10 enlarge its territory and
its spiritual and temporal authority and the Papacy
went on steedily increasing in wealth. influence and
power to the accession Of Gregory VII, in 1918,
when IL reached its eliminating point. For centu-
ries yet it receded not, but continued to perfect
and consolidate its vast powers II spread over
Europe, and in every country exhibited itself with
grandeur which dazzled the imagination and a
strength against which no power could stand. 1t
exercised direct and absolute cognizance in all
matters Of church and religion, and one paramount
and discretionary over all temporal governments
and claimed both to be of divine authority and in
fallible. Kings upon their thrones trembled under
the frowns of its dspleasure and the world Of man
kind sunk in despair under its terrible excommun
cations.
Gregory TX accommodated Leo the Isurian
Emperor; Gregory VII denounced a sentence Of
deposition against Henry w one of the most pu-.
issant of the German Caesars and forced the proud
monarch to perform pilgrimage across the APP
penines and to await bare-footed in his ante-cham-
Der at Rome for three days before he would deign
to notice the pentent Celestne Ill excom-
municated Henry vi, Emperor ofGermany. Leo
pold, Duke Of Austria, and Alphonso x, King Of
Gallicia and Leon. Leo III Numbered an excom-
munication against Philip Augustus King Of
France, because he hesitated to execute the com
mand Of the Pope, that he should take back his
wife, whom be had divorced Two successive
Popes accommodated Henry H. the ablest and
one of the best of the German Emperors, because
he would not submit himself and his power to
them, and to enforce their DEGREES they arrayed
against him other monarchs in long and DESC
lating wars. Bonifacc VIII pronounced decree
deprving Philip the Fair, King of France, of his
kingdom; as Julius ii did Louis XII, Henry ii,
one of the noblest men that ever sat on England's
throne, was constrained by the power of Pope
Alexander to be scourged with rods upon Becket's
tomb, Paul Ill and Plus respectively, Numbered
bulls Of accommodation and deprivation of crown
and kingdom against Henry VIII and Elizabeth Of
England but the reformation had dawned upon
that proud island and her disenthralled monarchs
threw back their contempt upon the arrogant pre-
tensions Of the successors of St. Peter.
But these imperial pontiffs invoked the Catholic
Philip III; Of Spain, to their subsection, and Eng
land and the reformation successfully withstood the
shock of the Grand Armada Urban ii, inter-
dicted bishops and priests from promising allegi-
ance to kings and princes. Martin v, swed the
Emperor Sgismund into violation of his safe con-
duct to Huss on the argument that faith Is not to
be kept with heretics; and against the violated
word Of that sovereign, and with his extorted con-
sent had the great reformer burned as hereto by
the order of the council Of Constance In the be-
ginning of the 18th century, Pope Innocent Ill,
compelled John, king of England, to surrender to
him his crown and then to receive it back, as the
vassel Of him and his successors. The same Pope
had, by his power, given the empire to Philip Duke
of Brunswick, he constrained the emperor, set up
by him, to take an oath in this form ~ promise
to honor and obey Pope Innocent as my predeces-
sors have honored and obeyed him" Appeals TO
Rome shall be made freely, and freely pursued"
~ promise to extrpste all heresies, and to restore
to the Roman church all her possessions" &c.
[ro Br Continued.