American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-06-14
CITY OF LANCASTER.
ThMrsday Morning, June II. 4.Is55
st. Louis Church at Buffalo, New York;
Intertlict, and Accommodation OF the
Bishop withdrawn.


of the newspapers of Buffalo; n
Sr. LOUIS CmrRoH, BUFFALO, MAY /. '55. Il
The pious, learned and jealous mission p
airy, Father Weniger, wishing to labor far /
the salvation of soulsin the only German
Church Of this Diocese, whirh has not yet T
heard his noble and truly Christian clo- I
Quence, requests me to Withdraw the In.
terdict from the Church of ST. Louis, and I
the Excommunicalon from the Trustees /
| can refuse nothing to this worthy priest q
OF God: eonsenting therefore TO this request
hereby declare that the interdlct OF st. l.
Louis Church is removed: and | also de- {
clare that the Excommunication OF the +:
Trustees will cease as soon as The holy Tri-
duan in the ST. Bouis Church slralt begin.
tJoHN, Bishop of Buffalo.
When this document is consilcred in
connection with late events; il is truly sig
niGcant; for it is so far revocation Of the
pretentions ofthe Papal Church to author
ity over its members, as regards temporal |
tiles. The controversy between the Bish-
op Of Bltfale an Trustees of the Church |
OF St, Louis at Buffalo, grew out of the re-
fusal OF the Trustees To yield their corpo.
rate rights under the laws Of the State Of
New York;--that is, they would not, rs
commanded by the ordinance Of the Ro-
man Ecclesiastical Council which met at
Baltimore in 1910, surrender their tile OF
their church property to their Bishop
In the discussion that followed w B. LIE
UourELEux was the champion Of the Trus-
tees and congregations against the Pope,
Nuncio Bedin, Archbishop Hughes, and
Bishop Timon; and as we have seen, he
has triumphed over this powerful combi-
nation
The Baltimore Council. remarks the
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser has taken
position defiant Of the policy Of the State
and u admitted Of no compromise. TIE
priesthood had too much at stake, to vol
unfairly surrender what they had strug.
gled SO hard to win. They looked to the con-
ceatration in themselves Of The power of at
least 20 millions of property, in donations
of the Faithful, to be enhanced for all time
to come; By every additional dollar inves-
ted in consecrated ground. Itwas bold
measure, looking TO nothing less than the
annihilaton Of the lay element in all mat
ters Of control, temporal rs well as spirit
nal, connected with tho Papal Church in
these States. TO sustain that position in.
tact was of the first Importance. If needs
be. st. Louis Church must bo victimized.
Better lose this independent body of Cath
olics, than sanction their resistance 10 the
now regime of the Bishops,
The State has proved stronger than the
Church, and the Baltimore Ordinance has
been impaled by the legislation of several
leading States; aud an over-w helming pub.
lie sentiment has utterly o'erlhrown th,
policy OF designing priesthood The
Hierarchy, in view of the yindication BY
the civil power of its own polcy,has deem
ed discretion the better part of valor, ant
beats a retreat. AS il to signalize th,
triumph of Senator Brooks, in his scarce
endod controversy with the railing Arch
bishop of New York, appears the motto,
with which this article opens. ' D..
The legislation of the last winter in diff
ferent States Of the Union, striking at til
very roots Of the Bal imore policy,
working out the revolution it contemplate
These representatives Of the Italian Potter
tate have learned that the civil power
yet stronger than their master, and that
council OF Provincial Bishops will not !
permitted to establish upon republican SC
despotic system of rulo in church ten
porallties. They made the issue with u
State, aud de6ed its power. The state mi
this arrogance, and we trust has sallsfie
both his Italian Holiness AMI his Amer
can representatives, that the day Of our h'
initiation and vanquishment has not yet a
rived. We rejoice to see the indications
better policy; and we trust that the Cat
olic prclates will abandon this attempt
override the policy of the State, and
content with tho relations which Protc
tant ecclesastics maintain, and wh'
good policy and the laws demand. Th
may in their blindness, SOW the wind, b
ftwiil DO TO reap the whirlwnd."
But let us understand what an 'Inte
dict" is,and what an "Excommunicaton
when they originated, for what, and up
whom these thunders of the church ha
been hurled and their effects in the old
time.
An Incrdict is an Ecclesiastical proc
nation, by which the Popes reduce
through the supcrsttious fears Of the pt
pie, individuals and States, to the most Il
cct submission to their will In the mi
die age il was the most terrible blow whi
could be inflicted upon tie people or /
Prince.
Spiritual services ceased; the churcl
were shut up; the sacramcuts were
longer administered; the dead were burr
without funeral rites; and all tho minst
OF tho church which pas then believed
be the only channel Of soioalian was {,
'bidlen to be- exercised. These intcrdi
were used by the bishops, as early as
ID. 370, but the first memorable occaSi
on which this method Of warfare was
.dopted. was the marriage Of King Rob
Of France, with Bertha his cousin, wi
Gregory ", A. ID. 939 issued an int
dict against the whole country, and &C
PEELED the sovereign to dissolve the uni
The ban under which England was lai,
the reign of John, by Pope Innocent
is well known 10 tho readers Of history
The latest pretension to the exercise
.N 'sltis power, we believe, was by Pope I
VII, when he issued an Inefficient dec
against Napoleon A. ID. 1909. In
Pope Alexander III. also put England
der an iuterdct, forbidding tho clergy
Derform any part Of divine service, exc