Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-08-06

Two great American ideas arelhere. cnuncisted ; |
first, that there shall DO no counsxion between
Church and State; and, secondly, that religious
liberty the rights Of consciencc, freedom 70 wor-
ship God according to the dictates OF ones con-
silence, guaranteed 70 the citiseas Of the oni-
heAcsnstitution OF each State Of the Union, with
one exception contains similar provisions, uttered
in different forms Of expression but all concurrng
in these two fundamental principles. The const-
tuition Of the State Of Alabama, In its Declaration
of Rights,p 10, perhaps, clearer and more emphatic
than any other In ia enunciation OF the principles
Of civil and religious liberty. II says:
ARTICLE I.
SEC. 3. No person within this State shall, upon
any pretence be deprived Of the inestimabie pryl-
l,gs Of worshpping God in the manner most agreea,
aSsc' q No humau authority ought in any case
whatever 10 control interfere with the rights OF
conscience" :,
"sEc y. There shall be no establishment Of reli-
zion by law: no preference shall ever be given, by
fiw 10 any religious sect society, denomination or
mode Of worship and no rclgoua test shall ever be
required AS qualification 70 any Office or public
trust under this State"
All these constitutions aim to provide against
spiritual domination aud to establish full personal
religious freedom. In this, the nation agrees In
all It's utterances-- constitutions and un-
written Law. The general sentiment, and the set.
tied determination-the profound convictions Of
the American people are, that there shall be, for
ever under this government, an entire and abso-
lutte separation between Church and, State and
that perfect full religious liberty shall always ex
ist The four corner-stones Of the Temple Of Ame-
rican Liberty are, social freedom, civil freedom,
political freedom, and religious freedom. Let them
stand firm, solid, and deep in the earth. Let the
mighty fabric rise, its majestic DOME swelling in
all TIA magnificent proportions, until 1t reaches the
heavens.
True, pure liberty ia this--the right Of private
Judgment and the right Of acting upon the con.
illusions Of that judgment. The right Of private
,dgmcnt was theoretically established by the Re-
formation. The principle and practice Of entire
liberation Of later growth. The people Of the
several States of the Union were not entirely i'm.
bued with it's spirit at the time Of the Declaration
Of Independence. II required the toll and suffer
ings and experience Of the seven years Of the war
Of the Revolution to root out all intolerance from
the land. They wcre however, determined upon
a separation bet,ceen Church and State. History
spoke to them in tones OF thunder on this subject
They inherited this sentiment Those who were
descended from the Netherlanders, the Huguenots
Of France, the Puritans of England and the Pres
byterians of scotland, remembered the oppression
which had carried misery and carnage into the
homes Of their ancestors. They knew that the
church establishment Of Rome had been the in.
s,run,ent in the hands Of princes and prelates,
ID destroy human liberty, crush individual action,
and reduce mankind to the condition of slaves.
The fortunes Of the Inquisition, the massacre Of
. st. Bartholomew's day, and the fires OF Smith
field had taught our fathers the dangers and hor-
rors of any connection between Church and State.
Idesre Always to have it distinctly understood,
that in speaking Of the Papacy, intend the Ro-
mish hierarchy" not the religion of the Catholic
people of the United States" am very sure that
the foreign hierarchy In the United States, set up
IL. ,,nts Ia
with the views and feelings of thousands of the
la;ty. There is a wide difference between our
Catholic fellow-citizens, who are imbued with the
principles Of institutions, civil and political
and the foreign hierarchy which rules in the Papal
Church Of the United States.
The Roman hierarchy is the most gigantic polit-
ica association on earth. Its huge machinery is
better adapted to ensave the human mind, and to
crush individual Intelligence, than any other ever
devised by man. The people are no part of this
association. They are the mere subjects Of the
oligsrchy. The members are the Pope the college of
cardinals, the archbishops the bishops the priests,
and the different orders of monks. This associa.
t;of Is spread all over the globe, wherever the
Papacy has any foothold at all. It's field is the
world, it's purpose the government of mankind.
Il 10 broad comprehensive system closely united
compact steady in its counsels, untirng in its ex-
ertions, and energetic in its action. Never losing
sight Of its great end-yet II adspts ITSELF with
infinite fexibility and skill, to the exgencics of
each age and the characteristics Of each nation.
The subordination among its members is complete.
Each is obedient to his superior aud all answer to-
and are centralized In Rome. Its fundamental
maxim Ia that the Pope, by virtue Of being Gods
vicegcrcnt on earth, ia infailibis, and by divine
right rsigns over all Kings princes md govern
ments; aud that to him all the people Of the earth
owe allegiance and obedience. Each bishop, at
his conservation takes solemn oath Of allegiance
TO the Pope, which, among other clauses, has this:
"H9reticos, schismaticos, ct rebelles sidem Dom-
no nostro, vel successoribus predicts pro posse
persequar ct impugnabo." "Herefics, scsisnatics
and rebels to our said Lord (the Pope) or his
aforesaid successors, IsiH, according 10 my por-
er, psrsccrts and fight agaima."s
am well aware, that extraordinary efforts are
made 10 produce the impression that the Pope and
the Roman Hierarchy make no claim TO exercise
power 10 temporal or political matters. Such a
pretence Is contrary TO the whole current of Eccle
siastical History, from the time when Gregory
VII. deposed Henry w., of Germany, and Inno-
cent Ill declared John Of England usurper, and
subsequently cancelled Magma Charts, commanding
the Barons on pain Of accommodation, to come
70 him for redress OF their grievances, down TO
the Seventh Provincial Council Of Bishops, held In
Baltimore, In l849, and 10 the delivery by Plus
TX, In 6ecret Consistory, on the 22d day Of Jsnu.
AIRY Of this year, 1886, Of his "Allocution" re.
specting the sale Of Church property by the Gov.
eminent Of Sardinia
The assertion Of the doctrine Of infallbility,
from It's very nature, Inherently assumes political
power a. well rs spiritual Il is utterly impracti-
cable to separate the two. The assertion Of the
one involves the other. And 10, the chief organ
In the United States Of the Roman Hierarchy re-
CARDS Il. "Brownson's Review" 10 published In
Boston. II bears upon its cover the endorsement
of two Arch-Bishops and twerty-three Bishops Of
the Roman Hierarcy in the United States. Il con.
tains, In the October number Of the year 1884, a
letter addressed TO him by Pope Plus TX, dated
April 2sth, 1854, in which occurs this passage:
"And az a token Of our 80 great benignty, and as
apledge Of our gratitude 10 you, for The scrrcs you
Ace done for rs, add apostoical bcnediction
which lovingly impart, with the poured-forth az
lection Of frsernal heart to you, yourself beloved
son, and to your whole family"
Rrownson's Review" il, therefore, the recog.
Missed organ ofthe Roman Hierarchy in the United
States. Let US see what II says on the subject Of
temporal and spiritual power. At page 4s, Of the
number issued in January, in 1858, we have the
following passage:
Tho Pope, then, even by virtue of his spiritual
a,fharitv has f,dr. NIL s.oroL uuas-