The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-04-02
Ron gious onstruction-Ohurch Trsublca
In Europe aud AmeIIcn.

In Europe aud Amcrlcn.
| Very few Of our readers who take any in
terest In orr attempts to reflect the religious
world of the hour, and who ars daily and
conscientious readers of the HERALD, but
must teel that religiously the age in which 1t
it is our good or bad fortune to liye 10 like the
heather Chnee-"pecuiar. Ours is an age
which has had few parallels in history. At
time when, az we thought, we had good
reason to conclude that an era Of peace and
good william era In which the smiles OF
Heaven and the wishes of men were In
wondrous harmony--it has been found that
the world is altogether out of joint, and that
politically, scientifically, reigiously, things are
all wrong.
Rome is still grand religious centre. The
! Christian w0rld-which means the civilized
world-thinks of Rome, and sometimes feels it
difficult to tell the reason why. II man
thinks OF English literature he thinks Of
Shakespeare, and he cannot help 1t. Not more
naturally does man when he thinks Of reli-
gion, particularly of the Christian religion,
think of Rome-of Rome. rather than Jeru-
the best reason he can give is that he cannot
help it. Speaking Of religion, we have little
to do with anything but the Christian religion,
and the Christian religion cannot yet afford to
despisc Rome. After all, Rome is yet the
centre Of Christianity. In speaking or writing
about Christian movements and agitations, 1t
is not therefore unfair to begin with the old
centre. How, them is it with Romep Bad.
II has seldom been worse. II was bad when
l Pope Stephen the Second craved the assistance
of Pcpin; it was bad when Leo the Third well
coined the aid of Charlemagne; it was bad
when Ohio the First was crowned at Rome by
Pope John the Twelfth; il was bad when the
Monk Hldcbrand came to the rescue it was
bad during the Avignon period; it was bad
during the tyranny Of the First Napoleon; but
it never was worse than now. The
government Of Victor Emmanuel has brought
more sorrow to the Holy See than was
brought to it during any of those periods;
and It is fair, we think, to say that Pope Plus
the Ninth, considering his extreme old age,
has had to bear fair proportion of the sor-
rows which, according to the DEGREES Of the
All Wise and the All Powerful are TO fall to
the lot of the Vicar of Christ. Clear it Is to
all who know anything of history that the
Pope is in a worse plight to-day than be was
when the grand schism took place between
the East and West, some ten centuries ago;
when the Reformation took place in the six
teenth century; when nfidelity. like another
deluge, rushed over the world in the eighteenth
century, or when the present incumbent OF
the chair Of ST. Peter fed to Gasta in 1918.
All our latest news shows that tho situation
as between Italy and Rome, between Victor
Emmanuel and Pope Plus the Ninth, is painfully
uncertain. The Pops will not leave Rome.
He will not accept the terms Of the Italian
government. The Italian government occu-
pies palaces, invades nunneries. and does "a
| il pleases with all things sacred in the once
Holy City, and the Pope is virtually prisoner
in the Vatican. What does the Pope moan to
| do? Germany has refused to interfere in the
matter. Austria and Italy are of one mind
on the subject. Spain and Portugal are indf-
ferent. France is helpless. The Catholics Of
America speak loudly but what can they do?
| II the Pope is to remain at the head of tho
Catholic Church, from what centre is he to
govcrn? From Rome? From Malta? From
Sardinia2 From Fuidl? From New York;
Who can answer? All that We can answer is.
that while the spiritual sovereignty Of tho
Vicar Of Christ il recognized by the adherents
Of the Catholic Church in all lands, his tenn
poral sovereignty is on almost all hands aban-
inf NJ tba II
sovereignty Of the Pope without the temporal
sovereignty--that is a leading question in tho
Christian world tho leading question in the
Roman Catholic Church.
If we look at the religious world aside from
Roman Catholicism, apart from the Papacy,
we find things not one whit less perplexing.
1t is chaos all over. Over the face of the
waters we find brooding not shadow of sun
light. The Eastern Church, involved in all
the unquestionable ccrsainties Of Eastern
decay offers to hope no eacourag cement. SO
far as the Eastern or Greek Church is idcnti-
fled with Russian aggression it cannot be said 10
be dead but, while the Russian Church is torn
by division and enfeebled by dissent it has
to be admitted that eastward, beyond the DR.
danelles, Molammedanism is more powerful
than Christianity. Ia the Lutheran and other
Protestant churches Of Germany, in the same
churches in Holland, in Denmark, in Sweden
and Norway, the spirit Of inquiry is stronger
than faith. That they should believe these
peoples all admit; but with stubborn per-
sistency they insist ON knowing the reason why.
1t is the SAME in Great Britain; 1t Is no. other,
wise in these United States. The theories
broachsd by the authorof the "Vestiges Of Gre
ation," the laborious synthesis Of Owen, the