The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-10-21
The CAPITAL Of Italy.

| Shall the capital OF Italy be Florence or
| Rome? This is among the last questions, and
| by no means the least of them, which recent
| changes in Europe have left for solution. IL is
| not to be solved by arms and the interest
concentrated upon it in Rome extends far be-
yond Florence and Paris. 1t is, in fact of world
| wide interest and importance, involving as it
| probably may, at least for time. the temporal
| sovereignty of The head of the Church. Shall
| the Papal See rest upon throne upheld, as it
has been tor seventeen years past by foreign
bayones, or shall it henceforth stand on Peters
rock? Is the hour approaching for separa-
| ton between Church and State, which shall
| free the Pope from entangling alliances, nay,
from almost servile dependence upon Euro
pcan princes, prevent the possibility of con-
1ict between the general interests Of the
Church and the private interests Of his crown,
and enable him to devote his undivided
energies to the spiritual elevation of mankind 7
This would seem to be the case. Even among
high dignitaries at Rome the non possunsus atti-
tude so bravely maintained by his Holiness is
beginning to appear questionable, if not
pcrilous. The London journalists declare the
situation to be "honeycombcd with perils,"
to Rome with the eagerness Of old fox hunters.
to be din at the death" Of the temporal power
Of the Pope.
From across the Atlantic we can look at the
situation more coolly and perhaps see it more
distinctly. To us, free from all prejudices, it
does not seem SO alarming. We remember
| that the greatest coneuests Of Catholicism were
made at q time when the Pope was not ruler.
| And we have witnessed in our own vast coun-
| try, where there is no official union between
Church and State, the rapid and prodigious
strides Of Catholicism towards prosperity and
spiritual power. We cannot feel that it is
presumptuous to express our conviction that
those worthy doctors are mistaken, from Dr.
Brann to the Archbishop of Westminster, who
denounce as "either bigots or iniidels, or vain
and frothy theorizers, or corrupt politicians, or
| Machiavellian statesmen, or restless dema-
| gogues," the men of our time who, as Dr.
Brann phrases 1t, shave even laid sacrilegious
hands on the crown of the sovereign Pontiff."
DR.. Brann, in his "Curious Questions" just
published at Newark, in New Jersey, says -
| at seems to US ss il modern paganism were
impersonated in the spirit of opposition to
the temporal power Of the Pope; for this OPP
| position is essentially unchristian. II aims at
the destruction of civil government, the rights
| Of justice, Che law of God and fman." But we
cannot agree with him that call justice-loving
men admit this A more enlightened view
is presented by an equally sincere and fervent
Catholic in the CaLtolic World for this month.
He believes that whatever temporal changes
| or inconveniences the Church in her external
relations may have to endure, in consequence
ofrecent changcsin Europe, they are accidental,
and by no means involve her destruction or
impair her power or integrity as the Church of
God or diviney instituted organ of the spiritual
order at is the prerogative Of God,' this
writer states, Ito override evil for good, and
| the Church, though immovable in her founda-
ton, infexible in her principles and unchang-
ing in her doctrines, has wonderful capacity
of adapting herself to all stages Of civilization
and to all the changes in States and empires
| that may take place; she il confined within no
national boundaries and welded to no particu-
lar form Of civil government; she can subsist
and carry on her work under Russian auto
cracy or American democracy, with the untu-
tored savage and the most highly cultivated
European, and is equally at her ease with the
high and the low, the learned and the I'M
learned, the rich and the poor, the bond and
the free.r lie agrees with the HERALD that
present appearances indicate that the Church
throughout the world will be thrown back. as
she was in the beginning, on her internal re-
sources as n spiritual kingdom: that she will
cease to be the official Church Of any nation,
at least for time, If not forever, and that she
will not henceforth govern or protect her chill
dren rs civil communities, States or empires
through their civil rulers, but simply as Catho-
lies. individual members Of her communion.
through her own spiritual ministry, her bishops
and prelates alone, without any official relation
with the State Che can even then exercise
her full spiritual authority over her own mem.
bcrs, as the independent kingdom Of God on
earth, free from all eniangline alliances with
the shifting politics Of nations.
The same writer thinks that The anti-papa
party may prove strong enough to deprive IN,
Holy Father OF his temporal sovereignty and
make Rome the capital OF the new kingdom o
Italy; that, he adds, is undoubtedly laid dowr
in the programme, and Is only natural, ,
logical result Of Napoleon's campaign of 1856
against Austria; and Napoleon holds that TIN
logic Of events must be submitted 10. All III
States, semi-Catholio and snti.CatholiG thi
writer thinks will abandon the Papal thron
! "a the ,oo,c NJ svents. aJJnder thp ~royideuc