Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1855-01-25

their allegiance to their own CIVIL government by
the DEGREES ordinances of their spiritual superior
Of the cruelty of disturbing the public mind with
such questions, and disfranchisng we'll disposed
citizens, shall not now speak. / shall leave to
other times and other persons and in other places,
too, the task of impeaching and developing the
motives upon which such discreditable and un-
righteous proceedings rest. shall leave to those
who have more bitterness of temper than possess,
to show that, though newly revived, the charge
is a. old as the hostility of Paganism to Chrstiani-
ty; and that those who vitiating public senti-
ment in thus ministering to the appetite which
they have made morbid, have their prototype in
the mali6npants who would cruelty the Savior
:. lest the Romans come and take our city from
u.s." in the Titus Oates of later times, who dis
turbed the public mind of England by discoveries
of plots that existed only in his Infamous invention,
and who by his perjuries, sent men to the scafold
whose innocence is now as generally admitted as
is the corruption OF court in which such fantas-
tic tricks were played, and as the infamy of the
wretch who could destroy the peace of an excel
lent portion of the community, and send to the
scaffod and block men of immaculate purity, mere
ly to give himself a temporary notoriety, and a
sort of political aggxandizement. That branch of
the discussion turn from with loathing and dis
gust at the offensive Details and with horror at its
intimate association with the men, the motive, and
the means of modern times. leave such consid-
erations to others, and proceed to take notice of
that part of the subject which concerns the poti-
of the Roman Catholic Church-the character of
the fealty which l, and all of the Catholic creed
in this country, owe to the Bishop of Rome.
The question raised by the gentleman from Mas
sachusetts is of political power, and that i'm
agne, is the leading objection to Catholics and to
Catholicity with gentlemen who venture ON the
dangerous movement of dragging religion into the
political arena. Mr.. Chairman, deny that the
Bishop OF Rome has, that he claims for himself,
the right to interfere with the political relations of
any other country than that of which he is himself
the soveregnl / mean-and have no desire to
conceal any point-I mean that / deny to the
Bishop of Rome the right resulting from his divine
Office, to interfere in the relations between subjects
and their sovereigns, between citizens and their
Governments. And while make this denial, /
acknowledge all my obligation to the church Of
which l am an humble member, and recognize
all the rights of the venerable head of that church
to the spiritual Difference of its children and
desire that part of what l may say, what
may concede in my remarks, may be considered
yielding a single dogma of the Catholic Church,
or manlfestlng, GA my part, desire to explain
away, to suit the spirit of the times, the preju
dices of my hearers, any doctrine of the Catholic
Church. l believe all that that church believes
and teaches religious dogmas, but am not
bound by the imputations of its opponents. am
not bound by the assertions of those who would
make political capital out of denunciations of her
children, or misrepresentation of her creed Nay,
my disayosyal. | am not bound by any action
which the Pope takes as a temporal sovereign, or
which he performs as Bishop of Rome, or Pope,
when he is only carrying out contract with Kings
and Emperors to secure to them the integrity of
their POSSESSIONS and the perpetuty of their pow
er.
AS / cannot accept the honorable gentleman's
discrimination between me, Catholic, and
other members of the Church as Roman Catholics,
l must regard myself as involved in the general
censure, and feel that / stand charged a nafiopal
Representative, with holding opinions and owing
fealty that may demand from sacrifice of pa
triotism to higher obligation pointed at, sir, as
man who. while he swears to maintain the Con-
stttion OF the country, and processes to make the
fulhllment of his obligation to that country his
paramount political duty yet cherishes in his heart
the principles of latent treason. may be allowed,
without the imputaton of vanity, to make one
more direct allusion to myself and my creed And,
sir, clearly and distinctly do deny that the pow
er Of the Pope extends one grain beyond his spir-
itual relations with the members of his church. or
impresses, in the least degree, upon the political
allegiance which any Roman Catholic of this
country may to the Government and Consti-
tuition of the United States.
And, sir, that this disavowal of dividend feal-
ty may not be regarded as mere generality. 1
giveit explicitness by declaring that if, by any
providence, the Bishop of Rome should become
possessed of armies and feet, and, in a ssirit of
conquest, or any other spirit, should invade the
territory of the United States assail the rights
of our country, he would find no more earnest an
tagonists than the Roman Catholics. And for my
SELF if not here in this Hall to vote supplies for
defending army, or if too old to take part in the
active Defence should, if alive be at least in my
chamber or at the foot of the altar, implo1;ng God
for the safety of my country and the defeat of the
invaders. Applause
Mr.. Orr reminded gentlemen that applause was
not becoming in a deliberative body
Mr. Chairman Or, if the spirit of conquest and
cruelty should seize upon the wearer of the tiara
and he should seek to subjugate Italy by improper
assumptions, and. by ermine, provoke the arms of
other nations against his own city, could look
ON the chances of the defeat of his army as cooily
and complaoenty as on the misfortunes and
punishment of any other ambitious monarch, and.
safe in my love of right, and in the enjoyment Of
my religious creed, and the comforts of my bone.
| could say, :. Let the Volscians plow Italy and
harrow Rome.'
Mr.. Chairman, ] do not wish to attract atten-
ton by defamation; | wish to state simply and
distinctly, but very cmphaticaly. what are the
opinions of Roman Catholic as to the influence
of the dogma of the Papal supremacy on political
allegiance, and my own opinion have given
But since some exception made in nv behalf
-an exception which / cannot admit. though /
thank the honorable gentleman for the courtesy
with which it expressed-and since it may he
asserted that, as Republican and layman. Icould
not be supposed to understand all the relations
and influences of the dogma of the supremacy of
the Pope, let me add, that what l assert as my
belief of the entre political independence of every
Roman Catholic out of the Papal States-political
independence, / mean, of the Chief Magistrate of
that State-is fully held, and openly asserted and
approved by every Catholic bishop and archbishop
in the United States.
have not time here to quote from the writings
OF all those who have published their opinions