The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-12-25

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church are making arrangements to open
fair here during the Christmas holidays.
the proceeds of which are to go towards
paying the debt incurred by Monseigneur
In its purchase three years ago.
English Statesmen On the Independence Of the
Popes.
Last week (says the London Tablet of the
10th ult.) we laid before our readers the
sopinions of Lords Granville, BrOugham,
sEflenborough and LandsdOwne, upon tie
: necessity of the temporal power OF the
: HOLY See, if the spiritual authority of the
Popes was to be exercised in freedom and
independence. We now proceed to give
testimony of men even more eminent, viz :
Burke, Pitt and Palmerston.
When, in 1871, the French Republicans
Seeized upon Avignon and the Comtat, mere
Outlying works of the Papacy, Burke ex-
pressed his indignation in terms which are
precisely applicable at the present moment.
This cruel and treacherOus outrage"
wrote he, " the Sovereigns of Europe, in
my opinion, with a great mistake OF their
honor and interest, have permitted, even
without remonstrance, to be carried to
sthe desired point on the principles on which
they are now themselves threatened In
their own States; and this, because, &C
cording to the poor and narrow spirit now
an fashion, their Gs9snsr S s mas asa
ssnstead Of being styled King. or Duke, or
td4andgraHa, ia .nanallY called Pope
IN 1876, Burke, writing to Protestant
Griend, said: The terms prescribed by
are what might be expected. He cannot
eaela, it, being intrinsically weak in himself,
.assd We have refused to put him in a better
position, for fear of the statute of pr@mu-
saiys. think we make more II figure
than the Pope"
In another letter, Burke says he has his
doubts whether the murderous exploits of
the Orangemen of Ireland against the Ca
,tholics "are quite to be compared with the
Protestant victories on the plains of Lom-
baryly or to the possession of the fiat OF
Bologna, or to the approaching sack Of
Rome, where, even now, the Protestant
Commissaries give the law. In all this
business Great Britain, to us merely secular
politicians, makes no great figure; out let
the glory of Great Britain shift for itself
as it may. All is we'll, provided Popery Is
crushed"
The next year Burke wrote: cit is not
for his Holiness we intend this consolatory
declaration of our own weakness and of
the tyrannous temper of his grand enemy.
That Prince has known both the one and
the other from the beginning. That VEN
cradle Potentate and Pontiff is sunk deep
into the vale of years; he is half disarmed
by his peaceful character; his domlnlons
are more than half disarmed by peace OF
200 years, defended as they were, not by
force, but by reverence yet, In all these
straits, we see him display, amidst the re-
cent ruins and the new defacements of his
Numbered capital, along with the mild and
decorated piety of the. modern, all the
shirt and iuagnanimity of ancient Rome
The narrow bigotry of his party pre-
vented Pitt from any pubic declaration o
his enlightened sentiments with regard I.
the Pope, "On more than one occasion,
said MIR. Pitt, :. I have seen the Continental
Courts draw lack before the divergences
of opinion and of religion which separates
u.s. / think that common bond ought tt
unite us all. The Pope alone can be this
centre. His authority, weakened fOf tins
moment by regretable causes, might easily
recover its lost prestige; above all, whet
Prussia and Russia, in concert with Eng
land, shall lend their hands to the work.
Thus we see that our great Englisl
statesman, far from rejoicing at the pros
s,ect of seeing the Pope a subject OF SOM
Jhird-rate Sovereign, or of some crew q
fnfidel Adventures, absolutely heio ina
the independence of the Pope was an ad
vantage TO Europe that the dlm 81 n, o
his authority was regretable )" and tina
the arms of Great Britain ought to be EN-
DIoyed to defend the freedom of the Hol
See. He promised that, in case of sue
4cessful French invasion OF the STATES OF Tn
Church, British feet should De at Tn
service of the Holy Father and of tn
Sacred College, to convey them either t
Sicily. Madeira or the Balearic Isles, an
to guard the place of their retreat. Piu
vi. accepted with gratitude this offer OF
secure retreat in case OF absolute necessary
but he declined to head any league. "Ad
mring the active energy of Mr.. Pitt,
wrote Cardinal de Bernis, the Pope re
signs himself to witness the evil, and wait
to be it's victim"
Although Pitt appeared to the arden
mind of Burke to put himself into tn
hands of the bigots, and to abandon tn
Pope to his enemies, yet the Minister O
England never did so willingly. AT on
period the 18th Light Dragoons were sen
20 Civita Necchia, where they RENAME
for some time; and during. an audienc
with which the colonel was honored b
Plus vi, the Pontitf, taking the helmet q
the English commander into his hands
gave his benediction to him and to III
regiment. This incident commemo
Nntnd IN q nicture by NnrthcOte, winch il