The New York herald., 1864-06-19

| the ApPresoAing Death ef Rope Pius
| Ix.-Napolsea Insugurasang the Ail-
| leaaium.
Our latest sdvioes from Europe inform rs
that the rumors current iu Paris and London Of
the death OF Pope Plus TX. are premature.
His Holiness has been extremely Ill, 60 Ill that
the prayers Of all good Catholics have been
asked for him; but our more recent accounts
announce that hs has at least partially reoov-
cred. Illness 90 long seated and working upon
constitution already snfesbled BY age cannot
| be entirely removed, however, and We should
! not be surprised to learn as any moment that
Pope Plus is no more. In that case the plans
which Napoleon has been maturing for several
years past will be put in operation, and the
next Pope will probably be only spiritual
sovereign, divested Of all the troublesome re-
sponsibilities Of temporal power.
The Emperor Napoleon has the election Of
new Pope almost entirely In his own hands.
The withdrawal Of the French troops from
Rome would throw open the door to general
European war. The Italians have not rslin-
quished their idea of unity or their affection
for Garibaldi. Should they begin war for this
unity, as they would surely do II Napoleon gave
| the signal by taking away his troops, Austria
would be drawn into the struggle through her
hold upon Venetia; Spain and Portugal would
take sides in the contest, and war would be de-
clared throughout Europe. Thus holding the
key of the temple of Janus, Napoleon proposes
to use it or not, according to the disposition
which may be made Of the key Of st. Peter. II
| the College of Cardinals elect stubborn and
! ignorant bigot, blind to the spirit OF the age
and the teachings Of history, then the death Of
Pope Plus will lead to war. But, on the other
hand, should they select Monseigneur De la
Tour, the Archbishop Of Bourges, or the new
Able Bonaparte, or whatever candidate Napo
leon may favor, then the death Of Pope Plus
| will result in splendid reform in the Roman
Catholic Church, by which the Pope will re-
main spiritual monarch, and bis temporal
kingdom will be peaceably returned to the
nationality to which it belongs. Let Napoleon
but accomplish this, and he will inaugurate
the millennium.
During the first three centuries Of the Chris
tan era the Church of Christ, subjected to
the cruel prosecutions Of all pagan nations,
was kept pure and spotless. In accordance
| with the Divine command to "render unto
Caesar the things that are Casar's, and unto
| God tho things that are Gods" the early
Christians did not interfere with politics, or
seek to gain any earthly power, but simply and
| unselfshly devoted themselves to the work OF
teaching morakty here and saving souls
for heaven. In spite of bitter prosecutions,
their converts rapidly multiplied, until at last
the great Constantine bent his knee to the new
religion and united the Church and the State.
Then came several centuries of gradual degene-
racy, during which the churches of Rome, Con-
stantinople and Alexandra quarrelled with
each other for supremacy, and the leaven OF
temporal ambition leavened the whole spiritual
loaf. In the eighth century Charlemagne gave
the Roman Church, then separated from the
Greek Church, the patrimony which It still
holds, and the Pope became also temporal
king Without geing into those details which
will at once recur to every student of history,
we condense the record Of the Roman Church
for the next thousand years into series of po-
litlcal intrigues; religious prosecutions, grow
ing out Of political plots; sohisms and divi-
| sions, caused by the same struggles for tempo
| raj power, and slow but steady decrease
| in the strength and the extent of the
Pontifcal sway. The more any unpre-
judced person studies this record the
| deeper will be his conviction that when
Constantine united Church and State, and
Charlemagnc gave the Church an earthly king
dom, they innocontly sowed the seeds of divl-
sion and destruction in the bosom of Christianity
The whole religious world now protests
| against any further continuance in this error
| The schsms from the Roman Church are now
| almost as great as the Church ITSELF These
schsms have originated in efforts to use spiritual
authority for temporal aggrandizement. Thus
| the Pope drove all England into Professionalism.
Thus France was once lost to the spiritual
head of the Church Thus Italy has been upon
the point Of not only seeding from, but Of
fighting against, the Holy See. No church
can withstand these repeated shocks for the
sake Of q little temporal authority. il must
either relinquish its earthly treasures and hold
fast its spiritual power, or it must become all
corrupted, and fall whenever its earthly pos
sessions are wrested from It's grasp. Napoleon
comprehends this logical deduction from the
lessons Of the past. He sees that il the Roman
Church cliDgs stubbornly to her temporalities
| she must be torn to pieces in the struggle Of
| patonalties. But he also understands that il
the new Pope viii restore Rome to Italy and
shake from his robes all the dust Of earth, the
Roman Church wnl have future more glor-
Gus than her antecedents are. Sitting upon q
spiritual throne, protected by the great Cstho-
lilo Powers and blessed with the favor OF Prov-
dcnce, the Pope can sway The Christian world
Those who are now most prcjudiced against
him will be totally disarmed. Christians will
meet each other upon q common level, disre-
pardipC mere doctriual differences and unim.