The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1855-02-01

| es'ed IN It's object, viz : order, religion, and
prineely right, and sometimes, popular rights
have only to say that, of course no Pops
thus receiving and thus exercising his pow.
ercoud, with truth, assert divine righ, :
or, asserting it, be could not hope 10 have
that right permanently admitted. Il honc
follows that such right never was an ar.i.
Gle OF Roman Catholic faith. =
II cannot be denied that The spiritual row.
er of the Pope, the admitted jure d;Jiao, wss
motive among Others for conferrinp the
Political power, and, perhaps, also motiv.
for exercising that power, and tho rever.
ence in which the character of the Pope was
held by Princes and mobiles, as we'll as the
people, gave great consequence 10 The deci.
sions Of the pon,if, right or wrong, and in
sured prompt obedience, when otherwise
there might have been hssiianoy and even
ca'cltratIon: No doubt, the temporal power
conferred by temporal consen,tand BY con.
siiu'ion, was mistaken for, and admitted
by, certain weak persons at that lime as the
spiritual power conferred by Christ. and ST.
tanned by The Scriptures. But nowhere 10
the right 10 such pewer claimed, as of divine
right, by the Cathode church
Ia the Catholic church. as in all o,b.
churches, there have been found fsw in.
dividuals Of less discretion than zeal who
have, from mistaken view OF the Christian
duties, thought il merit on themselves ia
impu'e TO religion a direct secular power
which it was never intended by God, nor
understand by good, pttideht frian, 10 ex
ercise. We see il in the careless wiring.
of certain Catholic scholars, as we find Il
in the prsaching and discipline Of many
other denominations. But in the Catholic
church those individual opinionn have been
discountenanced by the bishops, and ir 9th
er churches they have grown much out of
practice; by all they are considered as re i, d..
dering unto God the things which are Cs-
sar's. The assertion by individuals, or the
practice BY few Popes Of any power,
does not make that power right. That on
ly is of faith which is so declared, and
which Is for all times and all circuns sian
ces
The most distinguished instance Of tie
exercise of the Papal power of deposihg i
monarch, is that by Gregory VII, (Gana.
aneli,) who exconimuuicated and dspo sed
the Emperor Henrylv. The peculiar char.
aoter of these times | have already motto ed
Tne peculiar character OF Henty may be
lsArna f-.%--A L:-.-.y.---ffv-- corrupt, vez-
nal, turbulent, cruel, blasphemous, hypocri,.
ical. He had violated bis cotonaton oath.
and was engaged in enofniilies that drew;
from every parl of Germany and the north of
Italy, appeals 10 the Pope for The exercise Of
those powers which The Pentiff held from the
Emperor and when the Pope was exerci:
sing his admitted legal powers against the
Emperor, Henry called council, and eau
sed.lo be passed and Promulgated sentences
of disposition against Gregory, the Pope. G
OF course, this drew from Rome sentence
of accommodation, and Recommendation
unless removed within year, was to assis,
in working out dispositions. The Princes OF
Germany, even assembled to elect success
sor 10 Henry but the excommuncaied En-.
peror, in full acknowledgement of the pow
er of the Pope, hastened 10 Italy, made sub.
mission, saved himself from dethronement,
returned TO his German home, fourfold more
q child oil the devil than he had been, was
deposed, and died a miserable ou,cast
Though those events took place at time
ard under circu instances when little regard
was paid 10 the niceiies of temporal distinc.
tions, yet the Pope Gregory did not claim
that his action in deposiling the Emperor
was by divine right, because he knew, and
all knew, thst, by law OF the Empire, Hen
ry had forfeited the Imperial throne, and that
the Pope was as much authorized TO deposs
him for violating law of the Empire as he
was 10 excommunic ale him for open vi
olation OF the commands of God and the
church. .-s-
In a letter from Gregory VII, to the Ger
man Lords, he, the Pope, expressly declares
thai he did not pretend 10 ground himself
merely on the divine power OF binding and
loosing, but on the laws of men--that is, the
constitution or laws OF the Empire, as we'll
as the laws of God, aud according 10 the last
named code, as we'll as The requirement. Of
the former, Henry deserved, not only to be
excommunicale, but also to be depUssd OF
his Imperial dignity.
The most distinguished writer Of the time
OF Gregory VII, Peter Daimler, shows tha,
Gregory die not depend alone upon his spir-
iiuaI power, but acled upon the authority Of
the constitution OF The Empire. II Gregory
had claimed, and others had admitted d.
vine right alone to depose an Emperor, his
apologist would scarcely, at such times.
have presented the smaller rgh, Of human
authority. .es w. vi
The following, from work on the TEN.
poral power Of the Pope by Mr.. Cossefin, is
directly TO the point, and will illustrate tins
part Of my remarks: & H'
From these observations it follows, IN
fact, first, that Gregory VII, the firrt that ev-
er pronounced sentence OF deposition
against sovereign, did not pretend To
ground his proceeding solely on the divine
right, but on laws both human aud divine
Secondly, lha, in the opinion Of Gregory
VII, and of his successors, ~ well as all
their cotemporaries, the deposition of an
excommuncated Prince was not neoess
safy consequences Of accommodation, and
did not follow from the divine power of
binding and loosing alone, but from spe-
ciai provision of human law, and princi-
| pals from the laws OF The Empire, which
declared deposed of his throne any Prince
remaining obstiuately under excommunica-