True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-01-25
From the Edinburgh Witness, Dec. 30.
THE DECREE OF THE "IMMACU.
LATE CONCEPTION"

memorable war. Who that knows aught
of Papal history knows not the bitter con-
troversies which have SO often engaged the
polemical talents Of Councils, broken the
peace of converts, and stirred the bile of
monks, on the subject of the Immaculate
Conception. That is now all over and
ended. The Dominican may beat his spear,
wherewith he was wont to do battle for the
perfect impeccability of Mary, into cro-
zier, and lie down in loving repose beside
his umquhilc bellicose brother the Fran
ciscan.
The dogma that Mary was conceived
without sin, and at no moment of her ex-
istence was under the taint or dominion of
pravity, was promulgated under the dome
of St. Peters on the day We have named
So the same year which has witnessed one
great war commenced, sees another great
war terminated. Ifthe shores of the Black
Sea are shaken with the sounds of battle,
peace, with her soft and silvery accents, is
heard in the aisles of St. Peters. What
80 many Popes had feared to APPROACH
what 80 many Councils had left undcter-
mined what Trent discussed, but could
not decide, Plus TX. has definitely settled.
He has voted Mary divine honors, and so
the system of the Papacy stands perfect
and complete, and finds, after a progress of
thirteen centuries, its eliminating point.
We were mistaken when, three months
ago, speaking of the then expected and now
promulgated decree, We limited that very
probably this was an honor reserved for the
Lateran. There would have been fitness
in proclaiming Rome's last and greatest
dogma in temple where so many memo
rable dogmas,-transubstantiation among
the rest, had already been voted to be
true. But the roof which was privileged
to hear the 6rstaccen announcing Mary's
apotheosis was not that of the Lateran, but
st. Peters. The Pope has at present a
great many distinguished strangers on his
hands; like good bishop, he is bound to
use hospitality; the ride between the Va,
tican and the Lateran is two full miles
the streets of Rome are none of the smooth
est the Via ISdcra at this season gets
miry and deep, and the winds howl mourn
fully through the naked walls and arches
of the Coliseum; and at such distance
and through such difficult paths, the din
ner hour could not have been punctually
kept and the cooks in the "holy kitchen
might have been rufled by being obliged
to serve their dishes out of season, not tC
speak of those who were to partake; anC
so, for very prudential and cogent reasons
doubtless, less distant hall than the "sto
ried" Lateran was found in which to dis
cuss and promulgate this great dogma
even, says the Tablet, "thc PuREsT ant
greatest temple that hands of man have
reared to the honor and the worship of th'
Almighty" We think the Pope nigh
have done worse than decree the tcmpl
immaculate" too. When infalibilit,
was at work defining questions touching
the holiness of persons and things, it woulc
have cost little more trouble to have found
"for the greater glory of God," that St
Peters holds the same rank among tenn
pies which Mary does among mortals. l
is true that few things must needs b
forgotten in order 10 the implicit reception
of such decree. This pile sprang fror
the foul box af Tetzel. 1t is surrounde
by squalor and brawls, by beggary 'au
vice; its precincts are de6lcd by atomina
tions of all kinds; but it might have bee
held, on that very account, more suitabl
type of the immaculate purity--despite he
earthly origin-of her to whose worship
now solely devoted.
But to come to more important points
the Tablet says, that the day that witness
ed the proclamation of this decree was on
of the higNdays Of their church; indeed
the very greatest day in the annals of P'
paCy. There have been othervory notabl
days of late, he gives us to understand
1t was great day "when her hlerarch
was rendered back to England and
Holland, three centuries Of heresy;"-
was great day which saw "the structul
of regular Catholic Episcopate built u
in the United States of America, THE
were two great days when the regiun, plc
cit was abolished in Austria, and the Gal
lean liberties were surrendered in France
but none of these could compare in glol
to that Of tho immaculate Conception.
"The 9Th of December" says the Table
whose words sink under the weight
what they announce,-"the 9Th Of Decen
her, in the year Of grace 1854, was tt
perfect illustration and the crown Of a