Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-07-26
WHY VIZ orrosr ROMAN CArnoLOc1sx.

pening since the war concerning which the
country has been so deeply agitated as che
recent Catholic riot i'm New York. The
earnestness and promptness with which
the CHRONICLE took hold of the matter has
by some been attributed to our partisan and
sectarian prejudices. The charge, if true
| of us, is true of nine-tenths of our readers,
who sympathized very fully with us in our
feelings ON this subject. In justice to them
we feel called upon to state some reasons
why we shared the common Indignation
| and alarm.
Thespiritand theory of our governmental
that the people are the source of all power,
the foundation of all authority. We have
| opened our doors to subjects of every
| foreign government aud extended to them
nearly invitation to become citizens of
our republic. Coming as they have done,
ana are still doing, from every cline bring
ing with them their own.religions, retain
ing their national customs, speaking their
own Language and cherishing to some de-
gree at least their first love of home and
Fatnerland 1t is necessary for our own
safety, national harmony and power, that
we should exact from them all, full, fSee
ana patriotic recognition of the superior
merits and virtues of our government.
We accord to them willingly, full free
dom of conscience, abundant privileges for
religious organization and zeal, free speech
and thought, but demand unconditional
and unqualified recognition of the supreme
authority of our Government. We give
them freedom in all its largeness, but we
exact allegiance to our civil authority.
This we must have, or our heterogeneous
population becomes a source of extreme
national Dedkiless rather than power and
union.
Any Church which has for its founda-
ton stone doctrine at war with this great
vital principle of our government, we be-
N M 10 xr.ifh
tons, standing menace to civil and re-
ligious liberty, and dangerous to the theo-
! ry of our great Republic. We believe the
Roman Catholic Church, in the spirit and
| theory of its present Government, to be
hostile to civil and religious liberty in
! America, and hence we oppose it, not from
| sectarian prejudices, but from patriotic
| principles.
Let us examine its organization but one
| moment to see if we do it injustice. We
understand the Church to recognize the
| Pope as its supreme power both in tempo
RAJ and spiritual matters. We know de-
| signing ones often contrOvert this, but the
fact is that way. The whole dogma of In
fallibility, as recently promulgated, of ne
| cessty rested upon this theory. If the
Pope, in the exercise of his infallible pow
er, comes in conflict with the temporal pow
er, what is the dogma worth to the Church
| if he can not override it? If every tenn
1
is his Infallibility worth to him?
| The very PRONUNCIATION of such n super
| natural attribute, implies sovereignty over
the State as well as the Church But we
| are not left to speculation on this point.
The Catholic World, the recognized organ
of the Church in America recently said
"While the State has rights, she has then. only
in virtue and By the permission of the superior
| authority, and that authority can only be ear
| pressed through the Church-that is, through
the organic law nfallib!y ammo uced and un-
changeably asserted, regardless of temporal
consequences.
The Civilta CatOlicd, published under the
very eye of the Pope, recently said
at is a mistake to suppose that the spiritual
| sword belongs TO the church, and that the tenn
poral sword which Furnishes ofienses against the
alone. This is opposed to the dogmatic degree
imam sdnctdm of Pope Boniface VIII, in
which said: Both swords belong to the
church the spiritual is welded by the church
the temporal for the church. The former j.
welded by the priests, the latter rests in thu
, hands of kings and warriors, who employ it ac
cording TO the commands Of the priests, anC
, with the mercy they prescribe"
1t follows, therefore, that this church il
. constantly teaching its subjects that no
f only in spiritual but in temporal matters
they owe supreme allegiance to the Pope
! the head of their church-a foreign pOten
tate. Here they are in this country enjoy
ing it's blessings and its fostering care-it
| strong arm of protection, but spreadin!
> down deep and wide their roots, only a
such time as it suits their purposes, to de
J. nv the very first duty of citizens-suprem
q allegiance to the government OF thei
y choice and protection and transfer it t
a their Pope. A church which teaches sucl
y doctrines is at open war with our thcor
v of government, is a dangerous foe, noul
o ishing power from our breasts, only to dir
a. card us, and it may be to strike us whe
II we most need their strong arms and allie
IF glance.
This is why we oppose the Romis
q church and why we feel justified in warn
Is ing the public against its insidious purpos
d es We have no sectarian prejudices [
N prompt us to this course. We have fat
II enough in our government and in the il
10 telligence of our people to believe it stron
enough to hold together our heterogenol
masses, even if they are left to freely pro-
ogate religious doctrines per Sc, no matte
of what character, but we do not believe
n safe, to encourage church that aims
n political power, that robs our governmel
90 of its very foundation-the supreme oil
vi 0idnce of its citizens. This is more tia
Id religion-it is politics and of a very trea
Int enable cast We believe in full freedom
n conscience. We favor Jews, Infidel
IT. Christians and every denomination havI
" full protection and freedom, so long as the
v confne their teachings to religion, b
nj when they pass beyond that as does Il
| u 4, .-.. \ I,.