Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-12-16
The PapaI Dimculty.

The Papal question appears TO be ap.
a crisis. 1t is impossible, in the
present temper Of the Italian people, and in
the circumstances in which Victor Emman-
nel is placed, that the present neutrality can
long continue. Our own decided impress
sion, as already expressed, is that Napoleon
except under the pressure of contingencies
which we have not yet been able to foresee-
will not withdraw his troops from Rome
during the pontfcate Of Plus TX. Every
one knows that Pope Plus is retained in
Rome only by French bsyonets, and that,
the moment Napoleon withdraws these, the
Sovereign Pontif may as we'll prepare also
to leave, or submit, at the dictation of Vic
tor Emmanuel, TO great change in his
government and power. A difficulty is to
be found in the impstience of the people to
occupy Rome as the capital of their newly
organized, independent, and united Italian
Kingdom. 1t is said that the Pope is in bad
health, and that he is aged. People some-
times live long time with bad health, and
the Pope, who will not complete his "three
score years end ten" until the middle of next
May, can not be looked upon as extremely
old. His Holiness may live tor many years.
The session of the Italian Parliament was
commenced at Turin on the 2lst of Novem-
ber, and Baron Ricasoli, who became Prime
Minister on the death of Count Cavour, ex-
plained the present state of the Roman ques-
tion-sdding that the Emperor Napoleon,
who had been requested to intervene, as
mediator, between Victor Emmanuel and the
Pope. had his nvertnreeS so coldly received at
the Pspal Court that his overtusss bad been
discontinued. Notwithstanding, Baron Rica-
soil had drawn up project Of arranging the
Roman difficulty which had been transmitted
to Cardinal Antonelli, through the medium
of the French Government, with request
that it might be placed in the hands of the
Pope, to whom it had been addressed. The
Pope had not accepted it. The articles pro
posed for the acceptance of the Pope are as
follows:
article l. The Sovereign Pontiff pre-.
serves the dignity, the inviolablity, and all
the other pIerogatives of the sovereignty,
and, in addition, the precedence established
by custom over the King and other Sove-
reigns. The Cardinals of the Holy Church
shall retain the title of Prince, and the hon.
ors which are attached to it.
"Art. 2. The Government of His Majesty,
the King of Italy, pledges itself not to in
terpose an obstacle on any occasion to the
acts performed by the Sovereign Pontiff in
virtue of the Divine right as Chief of the
Church, and in virtue of the canonical law
as Patriarch of the West and Primate of
Italy.
"Art. 8. The same Government recognizes
the right of the Sovereign Pontitf to send
nupcios abroad, and undertakes to protect
them so long as they shall be in the territory
of the State.
"ART. A. The Sovereign Pontiff shall have
full liberty of communication with the
Bishops end all the faithful, and reciprocally,
without interference on the part of the Gov
ernment. He shall also be able to convoke,
in the places and in the forms that he shall
ha ;ls ii 81.
siastical synods.
"ART. 5. The Bishops in their dioceses,
ard the curates in their parishes, shall be
exempt from all government interference in
the exercise of their ministry.
"ART. 6. They shall live, Notwithstanding,
in subsection to the common law in regard to
offenses punished BY the laws of the king
dom.
"ART. I. His Majesty renouuces entirely
the right of patronage as respects ecclesiasti-
cal benefces.
"ART. 8. The Italian Government re-
nounces all interference in the nomination
of the Bishops.
"ART. 8. The same Government under
takes to furnish to the Holy See a fixed and
irrevocable dotation, the amount of which
shall be regulated by mutual consent.
"ART. 10. The Government of his Majesty,
the King of Italy, in order that all the Pow,
ers and all the Catholic people may contri-
butte to the maintenance Of the Holy See,
will open with those Powers the proper ne
gotiations for determining the quota of each
OF them in the dotation spoken of in the pre-
cedipg article.
"ART. IL. The negotiations shall also be
directed to obtaining the guarantees of what
is established in the preceding articles.
"ART. IL. In accordance with these condi-
tions the Sovereign Pontiff and the Govern.
ment of his Msjesty, the King of Italy shall
come to an agreement by means of commits.
soners delegated for that purpose"
The articles of this programme much re.
semble the suggestions contained in pam
| phlet recently published in Paris. apparently
semi. officially, on the best mode of adjusting
the difficulty with the Pope. On one hand
right of veto upon ecclesiastical appoint
| ments made within his realm by the Pope
he comedies a great deal more than could
have reasonably been expected-more than
France, which maintains Plus TX, in Rome
has conceded since the Concordat granted by
Napoleon to Plus VII, in 1902. On the
other hand, the programme, while it would
continue the Pope as supreme head of the
Church of Rome all over the world, would
have him merely aspiritual Prince, deriving
no revenue, as his 259 predecessors have
| NSASt avn PSsoS9oAOhol dhN
| ported on pension.
This is the difficulty. The Pope will
scarcely submit, even though the States o.
the Church have passed out of his dominion
to accept less than even the nominal terri
tory which former Pontiffs have ruled over
as temporal princes. We shall be surprised
il Pope Plus accept the terms proposed by
/ Baron Ricasoh.
1t may be urged, with truth, that Ricasol
very we'll knew, when he forwarded hi
propositions TO Rome, that the Pope would
reject them. But the. mere publication o
articles 90 liberal and 30 moderate will ia
miliarize the Catholic mind to the pressing
fact that sooner or later, if Italy is to con
tinue under the goepter Of Victor Emmanuel
Rome must be its capital-natural, histori
and national-and that the power of tn
Pope as temporal sovereign can not lonI
continue. The Pope, we are sure, will re
main firm to the end-whateYer that may be
PhiIadeIphia Rrss, ''. OFT
The flag OF truce from Bucknsr, asking per
mission for his wife TO come TO our city
bury dead child, was very properly refused
| Whatever The DreteYt fer getting within on