The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-01-30
interviewing the Pope.
His Friendsa and Enemies
The Crisis of the Church.
The Story Of Bazeilles.
An Awful Story Of the W i.
Etc, Etc., ETC.. ETC., Etc
His Friendsand Enemies
The Crisis Of the Church.
The Story of BazeiIIes.
Etc, Etc., ETC.. ETC., Etc
THE POPE SPEAKS.

American
Newspaper RepOTJer-The Great Crisis of
the Roman Catholic Church.
The N. Y. World publishes the results of a
long interview between one of its reporters and
the Pope, from which we take the following
passages:-
was now presented to the Pope in the man.
ner usually observed on such occasions, genu-
fectiDg on one knee and kissing the Pontif's
hand. Words cannot describe the sweetness of
the smile which lights up his benevolent coun-
tenance.
His Holiness spoke in his native language
which | mperfectly understood, but thanks to
the courtesy and linguistic attainments of the
eminent ecclesastic who accompanied me, l
am able to give your readers the opinions of
the Pope with regard to the crisis through
which the Holy See is at present passing.
C.-1s it true that the action of the govern
ment of Florence interferes with the personal
liberty of your Holiness?
The Pope-The action of that government
virtually serves to make me prisoner. AL
though-(and the Pope's benignant smile de-
prived his remarks upon this subject of suy
placed under lock and Key it would be i'm
possible for me to appear, for instance, in
the Piazza San Pietro without subjecting
myself to contemptuous treatment on the
part of the Kings troops or the misguided revo-
lutionary populace. In outward appearance,
perhaps, the troops might in obedience to
orders evince certain respect to me- but the
multitude, who have been wickedly deceived
would assuredly seize every opportunity of
insult. My own faithful followers experience
the full extent of this deplorable animosity
Several of my Swiss guards who ventured to
go ont into the Piazza San Pietro, were imme-
diately arrested and con veyed to prison.
C.-Does this animosity, then, extend to the
spiritual Office and administration of your Holi-
The Pope-Unfortunately, there is little reason
to doubt it. The Government of Florence.
and the revolutionary faction which urges
of the temporal power" to aim a deadly
blow at the spiritual independence OF the
Head of our Holy Church. This is clearly
enough shown by the arbitrary suppression
of the Encyclical and by the attempts to search
persons suspected of carrying letters into the
Vatican. At present am not allowed to COM
municate in the ordinary manner with the bsh-
ops and other adherents of the faith in foreign
lands. / am obliged, in order to maintain
correspondence, to employ Unusual channels of
communication.
C.-Your Holiness is. of course, aware that
the chief representation and plea that has been
made in excuse of the fOrcible occupation of
Rome by the Italian power was that the Holy
City and the outlying States of the Church were
misgoverned by the ministers of your Holiness:
pressed, discontented and anxious
for emancipation and political union with the
rest of the Italians. / state the proposition
thus plainly because of the wide currency these
reports have obtained in the United States, and
in order to solicit your Holiness to answerit, if
it should seem fit, with as much directness as
possible
The Pope-I will so answer it. 1t is not true
that the ma iority of the inhabitants of the city
of Rome and of the States of the Church were
discontented with my Government. On the
contrary the Papal rule was aimed to be espe-
cially mild and benefcent, and was-shall use
the term popular in an extraordinary
degree. As for the plebscite, which
was taken under the superintendent
of the invading army, it was deception
nay, mockery. There no proper con-
troll whatever over the voting For instance
for will descend to some details which are
furnished me, and which you can verify
by further Inquiries among those who are
personally cognizant of the facts), the
Jdcchino of one hotel put five tickets into
the urn. and many others were permit
ted to follow his example with impunity,
while those who came at the bead of deputatiOns
were allowed to deposit as many votes as they
chose. No lists were prepared, and no names
were signed to the voting papers. Nobody
could vote mo" without being inundated by
the presence of revolutionists deeply interested
in the election resulting in favor of the Sis.
All the nobility and the educated classes
indeed, did all who were devoted to
my person. One man who was directed to
distribute one hundred tickets in twelve urns
only succeeded in deposting eighty-one OF
them; and Padre Secchi (the renowned astro-
nomer, OF whom you have heard) has calculated
that 1t would be impossible to place in twelve
urns Al 600 tickets In the few hours during
which the poll remained open. A large proper.
tion of the voters were so-called 'poltical
eXiles," whom no one remembered to ave seen
in Rome before, and who were provided gratui
tously with railway tickets from Florence and
other places in Italy.
O.-Have the adherents of your Holiness
late government generally remained faithful?
The Pope-l have great reason to be grati6ed
with the conduct of the vast majority. Out o
twenty-six individuals employed in the exche
quer department, only four took the oath O
allegiance to Victor Emanuel. Again, out O
$50 persons employed in another department
m mi nd daltO thar
out of 1900 employees no more than 100 took it
The Papal Government, it may be remarked
exacted no oath from any of its employees, ex
cept those who were prelates.