The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-04
SPIRIT OF TEE PREss.
Editorial Opinions ofthe Leading Journals
upon Current Topios-Compiled Every
Day for the Evening Telegraph.

pious sects in this country, the Roman Ca
tholics excite the most hostility, and are
oftenest most severely denounced. Have
they not, it is asked, exactly the same rights
as all other sects Certainly they have; but
the difficulty is that the Roman clergymen
are not satisfied. They are determined to be
q political party also. Indeed, not only have
ali the sects equal rights before the law, but
the uniform tone of the press-except of
course, the religious press, which naturally
advocates its various theological views-is
one of equal respect for all communions
Neither the Methodists, nor the Baptists, nor
the Presbyterians, nor the Unitarians, nor
the Episcopalians, nor the Congregation
alists, nor the Roman Catholics, nor the
Quakers, can justly complain that, as sects,
they are not treated with the utmest impair
tiality and respect in all newspaper discus
sions. What is called the attack upon the
Roman Catholics is properly the attack of the
Roman Catholic clergymen upon an integral
part of our political system. The Government
absolutely sewers Church from State; and
everybody in dealing with the State leaves
his sectarian views behind him, except the
Roman priest The rest of us are not Pres
byterians and Baptists and Methodists when
we take part in politics; we are American citi-
zens only. But the Roman priest insists that
he and his sect shall be regarded by the State
as Romanists. 1t is the instructive opposition
the Roman Catholics.
The Roman Church, which for so long a
time controlled the chief governments in the
world has never rellnquished the theory that
the ecclesiastical, or what it preferred to call
the religious authority was, necessarily, supe-
rior to the temporal Hence the Pope claimed
the right to dethrone kings and release sub
jects from their allegiance. This was the
doctrine and the practice of Gregory VII.
ha Of
VIII from their duty as Innocent III had
absolved these of King John. Thus the
Roman Catholic leaders have always
chosen to be a political party, while
they have claimed the immunity of reG-
gious sect. 1t was this fatal folly that
led to the execution of Campian and the
Seminary priests in England under Elizabeth.
The country was full of the emissaries of
Philip and the Pope, stirring up conspiracy
against the Government. 1t was simply a
struggle for life and death. Campian would
not say that he believed the Pope could alb
solve the political allegiance of the subject
That was the notorious doctrine of the
Church; and therefore, when some one ex-
claimed SIN your Catholicism all treason is
contained" he expressed very general feel
ing. Campian declared that he was executed
for being Roman Catholic. The truth is
that he was punished for inculcating, at that
most critical moment, the doctrine that O
Roman bishop was the political superior of
the English Queen, doctrine which. at the
time and under the circumstances, was in
tolerable.
When the English Roman Catholics sought
release from their political disabilities CEN
tury ago they repudiated this doctrine, and
the ''seminaries" upon the Continent also ex-
pressy denied it. But the Pope now re-
asserts it, and unquestionably with great
logical force. The clergy of his Church in
this country support his position by demand
ing that one of the fundamental conditions
of this Government-nanely, the total
separation of Church and State-shall be
abolished. They deny, indeed, that they
demand it. Rev. Mr.. Preston says, in
urging division of the school fund: -''The
State has nothing to do with religion; it only
recognizes the fact that there are so many chill
dren who belong to particular communion,
and gives to them their proportion of the
fund" But surely Mr. Preston sees that
when the State does this it recognizes sects,
while non.recognltlon OF sects is the very es-
sential point. When the State does what he
suggests, it educates the children not as citi-
zens but as Methodists, Baptists, and Roman
lists. And precisely because experience has
taught the people the deplorable conse-
quences of doing this very thing did they pro-
hibit the State from knowing who belonged
to one particular communion" and who to
another. The people have imperatively de-
clared that neither pope, cardinal, arch
bishop, bishop, priest, nor deacon of any
sect, nor any person whatever in sectarian
capacity shall meddle with politics.
Do we therefore deny the right Of Roman
Catholic priests as American citizens, to do
what they can to persuade the people to
change the law, and to permit the State to
become sectarian? Not at all. They may
and they do argue for it, precisely as we argue
against it. But while they are doing this
they must not talk about persecution and re-
ligious liberty and the rights of conscience.
The State says that secular education shall be
freely provided for all children. The Roman
Catholic priests say that they think secular
education is irreligious, and claim to have q
certain share of the money raised, or to be
released from taxation. The State replies
that it is impossible to do that without
falling into immeasurabe difficulties; but,
of course, it does not oppose any kind of
religious instruction under private direction
it simply declines to give it. 1t cannot aban
don its system of free and unsectariar
schools because of plea that mere secular
instruction is irreligious, any more than il
can abandon its laws against bigamy, and the
taxation that enforces them, because of
plea that there is sect which holds poly
gamy to be part of its religion. The Stat
will interfere with no mans religion, but i
will punish bigamy. One class of citizens ma,
raise point of conscience against the teach
ing of this branch Of knowledge, anothe
against that. But the common sense o
all shows that as all must be educated
and can be best educated at the common eX
pense the only practicable and just and equa
method is to provide an elementary secula
10 1icrio, In