Evening star., 1870-01-01
THE ECUMENlCAL COUNCIL
How the Bishops BSO0k-S0me Speeu-
latiOms On Results.

lRome December 19th) Correspondence OF the
New York World.
All the most intelligent Catholics whom 4
knew here seem TO agree with Cardinal Anto-
nelli in regretting that the Council should ever
have been held; and most Of them pretty plain
ly express a hope that the new dogma OF the
Papal infallibilty At least may be smothered in
committee, a. Yesterday wrote you that it was
likely 20 be. The Papal allocutiOn, OF which 4
send you copy, (it will not be published here.
mark You, until Saturday. } has the same vague
and almost irritating character Of mystic oh
scurity which marks most OF the spiritual utter
ances OF the Holy Father. A. I read IL Z find
myself wondering how i'm the world the Pope
contrived TO take such interest i'm himself
as he assuredly manifested in delivering it.
The great majority Of the prelates here Assem-
and there IL good reason TO believe. think. that
they arc perfectly ready 10 support any preten-
slons whatever which the Holy Father NAV in
sist upon putting forward; 30 that. III the peril
ous proclamation OF articles utterly inconsistent
with the maintenance OF friendly relations be-
tween the Church and the secular power An
various European States II avoided, IL viii bee
thfOhSn tle Skill OF a Few strangers rather than
through the enlightenment and liberality OF the
PREDOMINANT number of the hierarchy. Sooth
TO say, the Church of late years seems 10 have
been carefully wedding out OF her spiritual
peerage all men of conspicuous and dan
gerous ability. Nothing was more note
worthy I'M the august assembly ON which
j yesterday gazed than the general meli-
ocrity Of the faces and heads Of the episoopacy
With the exception of Dupanloup VIII ose ieen
aggressive eyes and the sensitive lines about
whose mouth mark him out sharply from his
fellows, and Of Antonelli, whose head would
command attention, III not exactly admiration
i'm any assembly in the wOrld-the cardinals
archbishops and bishops are quiet and inof-
lelisivelooking a set Of personages a. an aver
age . intelligent jury i'm London or New York
Anu YET they embrace pretty nearly the whole
body OF the directing clergy of the most pow
erful Christian Church in the world. I was
not less struck by the general absence in the
faces-and, for the matter OF that, i'm the
conversations which I could not help over
hearing among them-of anything approaching
TO earnestness or exaltation i'm regard % th.
grand occasion which has called them together
They went out the conclusion OF the service
Chatting and discussing matters and things in
general as composedly and after as commonnlare
a fashion as their reverend brethren OF the
divers Protestant denominations among Us on
eAerging from an average Nav anniversary
meeting IN New York or Boston. Vet how
literally tremendous is the difference between
the assumed importance of this council of the
Inhabited world and an average MAY anniver-
sary meeting in New York or Boston, As 90 the
outlines OF the great parties I'm the episcopacy
here assembled, il begins TO be generally under.
stood that the American, English, Italian and
Hungarian prelates are practically a unit i'm sup
porting the EXTREMIST propositions of the Sylla-
bus and the dogma OF the Papai infalIibitx.
With them will act in body such of the Oriental
prelates as are present here. But the number
OF these Is comparatively small, and, small a. il
Is, II represents still smaller real constituency
In the Oriental Churches. OF the ten Jacobite
bishops, including the Patriarch at Diarbekir,
not one Is here not one Of the HISTORIAN bishops
Is here nor one Of the Armenians. The Cop,ic
Patriarch Of Alexandria and the recently
emancipated Patriarch of the Bulgarials
replied TO the Papal invitation almost as
curtly and as coldy rs the Greek Patriarch
Of Constantinople, Of whose extremely and
elaborately frigid treatment of the Papal envoy
I some time ago sent you an account
The most important Of the Oriental bishops now
here Is Monsignor Ealerga, the Latin Patriarch
Land falls far short Of the numbers OF an aver
age parish i'm New York. IL IL not wholly a con-
ISOLATION for this abstinence Of the Greek AMI
Eastern Christians that Geneva, the Rome OF
Calvin, should be represented here by bishop,
and London, the Rome Of wicklifie, by an arch
bishop. The Galhcan prelates are divided ON
questions OF most moment before the Council,
the strongest Of them following Monseigneur
Dupanloup i'm his opposition 70 the dogma of in
fallibility, and the German bishops arc i'm the
same case.