Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-10-12
NUMBER POI
ron THE AMERICAN ORGAN.
Review Of Hon. Reyerdy Johnson's Letter.
BIZ ). '. FOLK.
TcoScLuDED.1 !

[coScLUDED
| Mr.. johnson asks: Supposing the Roman Cath
olics Of this country dc owe paramount allegiance
TO the See Of Rome, " Is therc anything in that 10
alarm us Y Is there not much? When We CON-
template the history Of that Church, let II be nm
derstood that when speak of the Roman CatLo.
nc Church, mean the ruling power. not the mass
OF the people who are subject to itslaves to ID
when we consider It's history and learn that in al
ages y mas been necessarily grasping after power
ana wealth; that II must be ntocrant of eyery
other sect or cease to be what II is, that even 4
partial federation has never been practised by Il.
except In obedience to some irresistblc antaooui.
tic influence. When we consider all this and ba
hold the floods Of immigrants who owe Il a nara.
mount allegiance pouring In upon us in a ceasee
stream, increasing continually in arthmetcal prc
gressIon, and worst Of all the sweeping polical
influence they exert, powerful as to dra " over
to their standard the very executive f the nation
and whole hosts of the wisest aud brightest man
in all the land who follow Ewning, and are ready
at their bidding to lick the dust from their feet
and when, too, we have good and substantial rea-
son TO believe that the despots Of Europe have
conspired to destroy our republican institutions
and that the hierarchy of Rome and the Propara,i-
dy Society OF France and the ST. Leopold Fouada-
ton of Austria, and the Maynooth College of Jrs-
land, constitute the mighty agent of their opera.
tons Seeing and knowing all this II is with ~
no longer question whether, by such paramount
allegiance, our liberty could in any measure he
endangered"
but 10 truth, " he says, "what ground Il there
Tor charging such alegiances Can any one believe
that Catholic American citizens entertain it ~
IL is not to be disputed that in several Roman
Catholic countries In Europe, on certain occasions
many within the pale of the Church Of Rome have
manifested the absence of such allegiance have
disregarded the arrogant mandates Of the church
and IN defiance Of accommodations and anathe-
mas have marched under arms against the CITY of
Rome itself, and even assailed the palace and the
very person of the Pope, derding all the thunders
oil the vatican But these transactions demon
strated the fact that they who were thus engaged.
IT Roman Catholic were Anti- Papists; as a gene.
raj thing Roman Catholics in Protestant countrics
are the most devoted and faithful Of Papists; and
1t is because their fidelity, unlike that in Roman
Catholic countries, is unrestrained being subject
TO no penal infections for heresay, they yield a
voluntary obedience, genuine, conscientious relia-
be-.and therefore are the more to be feared by
the friends Of religious liberty
This true Catholic faith, out of which none can
be sayed," Is part of the creed prepared and
promulgated for the " faithful" by Plus w. in
obedience to decree Of the Council of Trent:
and is OF course, with them, perfect and inviol-
BILE law, good Catholic as well as good Protes..
ant, considers the securing of his salvation to be
OF infinitely more importance than all other con-
siderations For what profit hath man if he
gain the whole world and lose his own soul ~
Now, here follows part of that true ,tho'ic
faith, out OF which none can be saved" viz: AZ
promise and swear true obedience to the r.
mish bishop, the successor of ST. Peter, the Prince
of the Apostles, and Vicar of Jesus Christi This
obligation or allegiance Is without restriction or
qualification. II Is implicit obedience-or as some
Of the Jesuits define it-blind obedience"
Daan Aata th..x a.. r.
the Church-speaking er cathedra---must be obe,-
cd. II will not do to say the person required TO
obey may test It's propriety by his own judgment.
He has no right to do this. He cannot decide
to the propriety or improperly Of a Popes bull,
without exercising his private Judgment, without
having an opinion, and this Is heresy. Heresy
renders him liable to accommodation and anath-
ema and If he die under the curse and without
reconciliation to the church, he Is lost everlasting.
y. The true Catholic believes this sincerely. who.
then, can be 30 unreasonable as to expect him, for
any confederation, to disobey the PopeY
But, u s argued, II IL is not reasonable TO sup.
pose that persons born and brought up, like Amer
lean Catholics, under all the Influences OF our free
institutions, and Of oil those social relations with
which they are necessarily encompassed, would
obey mandate incompatible with the sentiments
and feelings which such circumstances must IN.
spire. The Protestants Of France entertained the
opinion that their Papist neighhors possessed
no hostile feelings towards them personally TO the
very hour preceding the commencement Of the
massacre Of Sc. Bartholomew's-an SO did those
of Ireland till the moment when the butchery, mn
der the direction Of Sir Phelim O'Neale began. in
l647. All this was done in obedience 10 the Pope.
and as unreasonable as such obedience appears TO
us, who have had different training. it must be
admitted that IL wers still less reasonable to sup
pose that any consideration could induce person
voluntarily 10 put his souls salvation In such awful
jeopardy as the Catholic must by dsobeying the
Pope.
True, the trustees Of the church Of St. Louis, at
Buffalo, New York, haye--lke true Americans.
resisted his mandate in matter Of no higher i'm
portance even than the church temporalities, and
have incurred the inliction Of the major excom,
munication, which they continue TO endure like
good herctcs But this only proves that there
are among MS Catholics who have the good sense
and the independence Of mind and soul. not 10 DO
trampled on without murmur by any despot in a
foreign land. These trustees are French aud Ger
man; II Is yet to be proved whether or not we
have native Catholics possessing like indepen-
dence; and, 10 view Of the nature OF their obli-
CATION to the head Of their church, the conclusion
Is irresistible, that these trustees are convinced
that this article OF their faith is unreasonable
incompatible with republican Independence, and
therefore Is not obligatory. Let the Roman Cath.
olics OF the United States declare this publicly,
and we will be satisfied We ask no more With
their religious dogmas we have no concern, any
farther than TO the utmost Of our power 10 sup
port them In the enjoyment and the free exercise
thereof
When the Popes Nunco In Paris told DR.. Frank
lin that, as soon as Mr. Carroll should be ordained
bishop he would be perfectly independent Of the
Pope, (which the Doctor says he could not exact
ly comprehend IL he did not intend to deceive.
he must have thought there could be no doubt
that Mr.. Carroll would follow the example Of the
Gallican bishops; that 1t would not be possible for
the Roman Catholic Church, under government
independent and free like that Of the United States
to surrender itself voluntarily into the iron clutches
OF the Transapines and Jcsuits. But what sad