Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-02-27
NUMBER SO.
From the New York Courier and Enquirer.

held on January 23d, ON the subject of the contem-
plated sale of Church property by the Piedmontese
Government. This address contains the following
passage:
''And last Of all as you are aware, there has been
proposed in that country bill directly contrary TO
natural and divine right opposed in the highest de-
gree to the welbeing of human society and ayoriDg
in every possible manner the perncious errors Of
socialism and communism. BY that bill il Is pro-
posed to destroy almost totally all the monastc
and religious associations of both sexes the colegi
ate churches, and simple benefces--even those
dependent on private patronage and to deliver over
their property and revenues to the administration
Of the civil power. The same bill also attributes
to the lay authority the power Of prescribing the
conditions which such associations as are not des-
troycd are to be subjected to. Words fail us to
express our grief at such criminal and almost in
credible acts against the Church, and against The
ingioiable supremacy Of the HOLY See in that king
dom, where there are so great number offervent
Catholics, and where formerly, and in particular
among the Sovereigns such examples were to be
found of pety, religion, and respect for the Chair
of st. Peter But the evil having arrived at that
point that it is not sufficient to merely deplore the
injury done to the church, and that we are bound
to do everything in our power to put an end to
this state OF things, we again raise our voice with
an apostolic liberty in this solemn assembly and
already issued by that Government to the detri-
ment Of the rights and authority Of religion, of the
church. and of the Holy See, but likewise the bill
lately proposed, and declare all these acts to be
entirely Worthiess and invalid Furthermore we
warn in the most solemn manner not only these
persons by whose orders such decrees have been
published, but also those others who may not fear
to sanction, favor, approve in any manner what
ever the bill recently proposed--we warn them, we
say to consider in time Uhat penalties and censres
the aposotoical constitutions and the Of the
Holy Councils, and in particular the canons of tho
Councils Of Trent, have established against the
plunderers and profaners of holy things-agajnst
the vioiaters Of the liberty ofthe church and tho
Holy See and against the usurpers of their rights
May It come to pass that the authors of such
great evils may be touched by our words and
warnings and may at length determine to cease
their audacious attacks on the liberties of the
Church, and save us the great aifliction of turn
ing against them the arms which have been
divinely intrusted to our holy ministry"
This is the language addressed by the Holy See
to the independent and constitutional government
of Sardinia while engaged in legislation upon tho
manner in which church property shall be vested
In all candor we would ask, what prevents the use
Of similar language to the government Of the State
OF New York while engaged, it now is, in legis-
lation upon the tenure by which church property
shall be held How comes it that "penalties and
censures" which are applicable to the one arc
not equally applicable to the otherg 1t is not
on account of any peculiar concordat with
which Sardinia is bound to the Holy See, for there
is no such concordat and in the very nature of
constitutional government be none which
acknowledges what the Pope claims as " the in.
violable supremacy of the Holy See in shat King
DOM The government from the beginning has
repudiated every such relation; and the Pope
himself lays claim to it on no such himsy grounds
nApt H.
bni because II IS directly contrary 10 natural and
diVihe nght ana tho.e is no reason why he may
not pronounce a similar jadomen. upon'tde NtW
York bill The power OF rsgula,ing the propri-
etorship Of Church property in one manner carries
with 1t the power Of regulating 1t in any other.
In fact the St. Louis Church Of Buffalo is at this
moment cut off from ecclesiastical privileges, by
the authority at Rome, for insisting upon precise
ly the same mode of vcsting and managing its
property as the bill itself now before the Legisla
tue not only authorizes but requires. ...
Why, then, are not our legislators exposed to
the same warnings and menaces as the Sardiniang ?
Why may they not as well be visited with "the
penalties and censures" which the apostolical
constitutions and the canons of the Holy Councils,
and in particular the of the Council ofTrent,
have established"p Is il because the great body
of the New York Legislators are not Roman Catho-
lies while the great body Of the Sandman legisla-
tors are Are we to understand that the oxemp
ton Of our State government from the Papal ban,
when IL dspleases the Papal will, Is to depend
simply upon the fact whether or not the majority
of those who make its laws consider themselves
within the pale of the Roman Catholic Church? 4?
Is il true that the mere ascendency Of Roman
Catholics in our legislative halls, or among the mass
of our population, is to establish "the inyiolabs
supremacy Of the Holy See" in our midst? We
are that the great mass Of intelligent Catholics
in our country would emphatcaly deny any such
tLa Ltau Is.
they are to avoid II in consistency with the language
here employed by Plus 1XH In all soberness, we
desire an explanation.
Nothing is more common than TO hear respccta-
BILE Roman Catholics deny that the Pope makes
any claim to temporal power and yet what is
such denial worth in face Of the fact that he
sumes the right to overrule the civil DEGREES and
enactments OF foreign States. His language to Sar-
dinia is, We declare all these acts TO be entirely
porthiess and invaid' These are the identical
words. IL he can thus inyaldate legislation, he
can, by the use Of his dispensing power do away
with all obligation to obey IT, and thus directly
control the civil conduct of all who acknowledge
his supremacy. What.matters It whether that su-
premacy be called temporal or spiritual so long as
II has this practical, political effectY 1t is time
that this matter should be definitely understood.
Nothing can be further from our mind than to fan
undue prejudice against the Roman Catholic Church.
We are quite ready to admit the claims of our cor
respondent in another column that that Church
has often, in centuries past, used lis mighty power
for good. We consider that the Papal dynasty was
again and again, in the middle ages, the triumph
ant antagonist Of dcspotism the most CALLING, the
most debasing, and otherwise the most irrcmcdia-
BILE, Europe ever sufered-we mean the despotsm
Of the feudal oligarchy, dcspotism which never
made, like the Papal sovereignty, appeal TO tho
moral impulses religious sentiments Of the race,
and whose sole end and operation we're 10 degrade
men into beasts Of prey and bcssts Of burden.
But the question of the day Is not hox often in
the past the Papal power has been used with good
effect, and how often with bad effect, but whether,
in this age Of the world, such power Is 10 be used
at ALL to the disparagement Of the entire sovereign
ty and complete independence Of Kingdoms and
States. This question has been raised in England
in connoxion with the ecclesiastical title bill In
this country In connexion with the church proper
ty tenure bill; in Sardinia and Spain in con
ne1ion with various measures affecting the tem-
poraties Of the church. Now that the question
has been raised, we trust that il will be set
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