Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-08-20

rho Position of the Pope

From the Loadou Times. July %.
The Position of the Pope.
The Sovereign P,ndff has appealed to Europe in
diplomatic ntte The manifesto is not quite in
| the IIdebraud vein II no longer thunders and
threatens and hurls Recommendations and awakens
sleeping claims But if It's is less naughty, its
purport is not less than that of the 1nehaBging and
unchangeabe policy Of the Holy See. Il claims all
things and it reee6e5 ON nothing 1t acc It5 no
responsibility and it Ienounces no atom of power
II is like the cry of a weak snd wounded beast of
prey. It clDplans Of tho Interference Of stronger
Powers with the qualification Of It's instincts: but
it hears no for the past, aEd promise for
the future. 10 such document we ght have ex-
! pectad zone broad view OF the POpe's pc ition at
the Head OF the Catholic Church The circumstances
of the moment are such as 10 invite serious com
meDt. The honorary presidency Of the Italian
Confederation has just been offered to the accel t.
aace of Pic Mono. Desolation rtigus at Perrgs,
and the hal-heretiCal SEilzers Of the Pspal Guard
are yet handed from ne slaughter of the no
dox subjects of the great Far her of Christendom
Austria and France msy be supposed to be meditat-
ing retreat from the abnormal position which they
| have 20 long held in the States OF the Church. An
! opportunity has offered for exchanging small ma
! terial sovereignty for great moral empire, aud
| under the guidance of bold snl enlightened man
| the Popedom which now for the tenth time appears
to be in the crisis Of lis fate might have come forth
| reyiYifed ard stronger than it has been in
| these modern days This manifesto however, tells
us that DO such dreams passed over the mind
! of Plus IN in the days of his manhood ever now
to him IN his obstinate and UNI yiDg old
! He makes no apo ogy for the massacre committed
By his troops he gives hope bis ill-rulel
| people He satisfies himself by q solemn protest
against all interference wi the continuance Of bis
weary and wasting system Of tyranny, an he it
vokes the assistance and protection Of all the great
Europesn Powers to Caab,e him 10 do whGt be likes
with his owe,
Tbe Pope appears al this mOmeLt to be very sick,
more sick than the Turk Whea Nicholas
thought tine t. take cut administration 10 his ef
fec's H has no strength Wba ever in his dy.
Weak and tOtering, be sometimes leans upju one
strong man aud sometimes upon another. Au9vis
has held him up IN the L7gai ms. France has kept
him upright at Rome. the Swiss have spread The
terror Of his name in the CnYarike towns. To all
human foresight he the bril k ef disso.u-
ion, and should expect 10 see the crazy o!d bark
90 down in deep water if We did not remember
how often before the same crisis has appeared At
hard and Row wonderfully the waeIlogg,d and
dismanliei hull has got ina Pcri sgain. lt is wen
derfll and at the sane time piiab!e, 10 mark the
seni!e AMI impetsut euaciy with which this old
man c,ings to bis right II do ring at a mt
when the whole system teems ready 20 perish. II
France and Austin 10 retire, there would he
an end St once and forever to the States of the
Church. Unless the Pope received very different
assurances from those which Europe has received,
France and Austri must appear 10 hin very little
disposed to he az The Lense and odium of support
/ ing great European scandal which only be
upheld by their assistance. If there be any reality
in the project Of en- Italian Confederation It must
mean confederation Of Italian Sovereigas, advised
by Italian statesmen, aud projected by Italian SOL
Ciers In that the accomplishment of the Treaty
of Vilafrsnca must clear Italy of all foreign
soldiers, and must leave Pho Mono face 10 face
/ with the Italian EaiiOn. Yet II is this moment
that the Pope chooses to claim for himself all
/ h r-rh4 paufvE1 BaUar nd IN teet
against Sardinia IN that she has distributed
! firearms TO the insurgents and volunteers, and
( has Introduced cannon into the rcvole1 pro-
vnces "to CIcOursge the audacity Of the dis
turbers cf order" If Sardinia has done aught
to enable the citizens of the Roman States to de-
! ferd themselves against the Papal mercenares il
may afford good reason for the displ3asure Cf the
Pope sgaint her; but it can be no reason for the
| d,cument which we publish t.iay. So long as The
I Roman Government exists orly by the permission
/ Of France and Austria thst Government has no
| right to be considered sovereign State. The
! same Powers which protect have The tight to die
/ tate and, if they should choose, for reasons Of
their oWn delegate the exercise of that right
ary ether Power, they quite at liberty to do so
Tne dsmantliDg Of Ferrara OF which the Pope
complains is the best, if not the only course, open
to the inhabitants Of that city under existing cir
! cumsiaBcee There, as at Plicenzs, the Austrsns
extended the foTifclioBs in defiance of the stiIu-
lations of the treaties; they have now rStceated
/ and the fortfeRGOns being Of no use, unless to
hsrbor the meIcen8ries Of the Pope the inha6iaLts
arc wisely destroying them. Way should this have
the astonishing fleet Of 6lling TIE soul of the HO
| y Father with bitterness, ard provoking in him
lively and just indignation - Surely, he does not
| now once again pTeieBd TO amuse Europe with tae
foolish fable that be and his mercenaries able
to hold either Ferrara any ether city OF the Ro-
man States in The absence Of General GuyOD and
his GARRISON? 1t was absard enough ST any mo-
ment to imagine that IN a war which was ayow, d.
| II undertaken chal &c the destiny CT Italy, the
Roman States could remain neutra but it is still
/ more ridiculous TO talk of neutrality while the
whole country is more or less occupied by foreign
| tTOaps.
We can quite appreciate the difficulty of France
! and Austria in this mater. No person Is more
resemble to deal with than man who is ready to
staud still and be martyr, but who makes it point
Of conscience to continue to mar;yrize others. Pic
Nono cannot in his conscience prevent that cloud
of ecclesiastical locusts from deyouring the R-man
| people, AMI he cannot withdraw his cOunteraace
from the kidnapping of JeWs and the sack and pill
sge of Italian cities; but Pic Mono is quite content
to die upoH the staIs ct the Vatican if either Napo-
leon III. or Francis Joseph should wish to put him
| TO death. They may break him, but they shall not
bend him. They may demand from the Pope in
dispensabe reforms 10 his States" but he will refuse
10 do anytLi1g except to submit TO death or exile
edifying the Catholic world with the exhibition Ct
Pore by the tGo eldest of The Cburth
Now, If course, tdis Is precisely what no
wishes to do No ore out Of Rome has any de-
sire to irjure hair Of the head of this obsti-
nate old man But so long as the French rc-
main to protect him, he WILL by his ecclesias-
tics and his braves, drain the country aud destroy
the people and, If the French 60 away the people,
| exaggerated teyond all moderation will probably
expel him. This is the oil mmq Perh ips the So
luton may be fouUd in the formation of confel-
erste Italian army, which msy be strong enough 10
be guided by moderate couBssis, and may be trusted
to reprsss any violent reaction when the foreign
troops are Withdrawn But, however this may be,
the present position of France in Rome is too hu-
initiating to be long endured by high spirited and
civilized nation, whose symplh HES, when properly
touched, seldom fail 10 be excited by uumerited op-
preston. The Emperor must be anxious to fud
some way out Of this most sggrsvating difficulty
and every lsy Frenehmsn would in his heart be
glad to see the Roman garrison in Paris, and all
Roman questions left to be settled between the
Pope and his people. How it may end, nc msn can
foresee, but, in every event, have great to
congratulate ourselves that We Engishmen have no
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