Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1855-01-25
EBENSBURG, JANUARY %, 1866.

late DR.. England, Roman Catholic Bishop of
Charleston, divine whose erudition and whose
established fame gave consequence to all he
asserted, and whose zeal for the church of which
he was distinguished prelate, and whose lofty
position in the estimation of the sovereign Pontiff
rendered it unlikely that he would underrate the
Papal power.
Extract from a letter from Bishop England to
an Episcopal clergyman, vol. 2, pages 250-'51:
This charge which you make upon the Papists
is exactly the same charge which the Jews were
in the habit of making against the Apostles. From
that day to the present we have met it as we meet
it now. We have kingdom, it is true, in which
we pay no obedience to Cesar but our kingdom
is not Of this world-and whilst we render unto
God the thin that arc Gods, we render unto
Caesar the things that are Casar's To the sue
cessors of the Apostles render that obedience
which is due tethe authority left by Jesus Christ
who alone could bestow it. We do not give it to
the President we do not give it to the Governor;
we do not give it to the Congress; we do not give
it to the Legislature of the State-neither do YOU
nor do they claim it-nor would we give IT, if they
did, for the claim would be unfounded. We give
to them everything which the Constitution re-
quires; you give no more-you ought not to give
more Let the Pope and cardinals, and all the
powers of the Catholic world united, make the
least encroachment on that Constitution, we viii
protect it with lives Summon general
our electing but an assistant to turnkey of pri
son-we deny its right We reject its usurpation.
Let that council lay tax of one cent only upon
any of our churches we will not payit. Yet we
are most obedient Pdpists-we believe the Pope is
Christ's Vicar ON earth. supreme visible head of
the church throughout the world, and lawful sue
cessor to st. Peter, Prince of the Apostles. We
believe all this power is in Pope Leo XII, and We
believe that general council is infallibe in doc
trinal decisions. Yet we deny to Pope and coun-
Gil united any power to interfere with title of
our political rights, as firmly deny the pow
er of interfering with one little Of our spiritual
rights to the President and Congress. We will
obey each in its proper place; we viii resist any
encroachment by one upon the rights of the other
Will you permit Congress to do the duties of your
convention 2'
Here is another extract from the writings of tie
same Roman Catholic prelate:
Kings and Emperors of the Roman Catholic
Church have frequently been at war with the Pope
Yet they did not cease to be members of the
church, and subject 10 his spiritual jurisdiction, al
though they resisted his warlike attacks. Any
person in the least degree acquainted with the
history of Europe, can easily refer to several in
stances. The distinction drawn by our blessed
Saviour, when he stood in the presence of Plate,
was the principle of those rulers They were
faithful to the head of the church. whose kingdom
is not of this world, but they repeled the attack
of an enemy to their rights. You, sirs, acknowl-
edge the authority of bishops. Suppose bishop
under whom you were placed, proceeded to take
away Your property; could you not defend your
rights at law without infringing upon his spiritual
authority Are you reduced to the dilemma of
being plundered, or of denying article of your
religion Can you not keep your property, and
deny the right of the bishop to take it away, and
resist his aggression. at the same time that You are
economically obedient? Can you not be faithful to
him as bishop. and to yourself as a MANI Thus,
suppose the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal
Church of Maryland claimed some right which he
neither had by your church law nor by the law of
theStates. Youmay, and ought to, resist the ag
gression. Yet you would not be unfaithful to
him. Let the Pope be placed in the same pre-
dicament can be faithful to the Pope and to the
government under which live. | care not wheth-
er that government be administered by Papist,
by Protestant, by Jew, by Mohammedan, or
by Pagan. 1t is, then. untrue to assert, as you
have done, that consistent Papist, and dutiful
subject of Protestant administration. must be in
compatible"
~ Kenrck Archbishop of Baltimore, of
the most learned of the Roman Catholic Church,
asserts, positively, that the temporal power of
which we speak was never claimed by the Church,
and he challenges the production OF single de-
cree of definition in which this power was pro-
pounded article OF faith. ''Such," says the
learned Bishop, '-does not exist.
DIR. Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, in his Supple
ment to the Pastoral Ins truction, says, 1.-The de-
posing power of Popes never was an article OF
faith, or doctrine of the Catholic Church, nor
was it ever proposed as such by any eeancli' or
by any Popes themselves who exercised it,"
Archbishop Hughes Of New York, is equally
explicit on this point And might bill volumes
with citations to prove my position
A council of the Catholic Church in Baltimore
has expressed the same idea in the most emphatic
TERMS
T
have received treatise by Bishop Spauldng, OF
Kentucky, ON this very subject, sustaining my
view In it is a timely and acceptable offering,
by lady in the gallery, to the spirit OF truth,
and her influence will assist to promote and re-
ward attention throughout the House, as the
woman's offering of ointment from the aiaoaster
box was scattered over the head of the Author OF
truth, while its fragrance diffused throughout
the chamber in which the offering WAS made.
But shall, of course, be asked, whence the
boldncss of the assertion against Catholics, and
whence the readiness to believe the charges, if
they are altogether unfounded2 Has not the Pope
exercised the power of deposing monarchs, and
thus of releasing subjects from their allegiance
Has he not interfered with the temporalities of a
sovereign, and thus exercised power sufficient
to Justify the apprehensions OF the timid, and to
give some appearance of probability to the asser-
tons of the bold reckless, and unprincipled party
politician of the present and recent time!
Mr. Chairman, as a Christian man and an
American legislator, have nothing but truth to
utter; and scorn to utter less than the whole
truth.
Undoubtedly, the Pope has proceeded TO de
throne Kings, and thus to release subjects HIS
tory declares that more than one monarch mas
been made to decegd from his throne by the ec'ct
of the Pope and that the allegiance of his subjects
has been transferred, by that edct. to succeed
ing monarch, who, however he may have obfainr
ed his crown. might have been compelled to lay
Il doxun at the bidding If the same authority that