The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-06-02

N N s4lu aio tbey appeal to the distant Eastern
Emperor, at constautinople. He laughed at
| their misery, and abandoned them in the hour
| of their deepest affection and sorrow, whilst
wave inter we've of barbaric invasion swept
over the fair land, until life became a burden
| too intolerable to bear, and the peop,o cried
out, from their breaking hearts, for the Pope
OF Rome to take them under his protection, to
!et them declare him King, and so obtain his
safe guard and his protection for their lives
and their property. For many long years the
Pope resisted the proffered crown. It grew
upon his brows insensibly. 1t came to hun In
spite of himself We know that, year after
year, each successive Pope was employed send
ing letters, sending messengers to snpplicate.
to jmplore the Christian Emperor to send an
he did send his army they were worse, In their
hcretical lawlessness, more tyrannical, moro
blood thirsty over the unfortunate people Of
Italy, than even the savage hordes that came
came to pass that, in the dire distress of the
people the Pope was obliged to accept the tenn
poral power of Rome, and Of some of the ad-
might, in that day, have obtained, if he wished
it, the sovereignty over all Italy. They would
have been only too happy to accept him as
of empire guided him and the great st. Greg
DRY tells US that he was oppressed with the
cares of the temporal dominion, and that it
was forced upon him against his will.
Now he is acknowledged monarch-a reign
ing king amongst monarchs. And now let US
sec what was the purpose of God in TINS
establishing that ,temporsi power IN so early
tion. At that time there was no law in Eu-
rope. The nations had not yet settled down
or formed. Every man did as he would. The
kings were only half-civilized, barbarous men,
recently converted to Christianity, welding
enormous power, and only too anxious to ma ke
that power the instrument Of gratifying every
na OF of
themselves tho titles of Baron, Duke, Mar
grave, and SO on, gathered around them troops,
bands of mercenaries, and preyed on the poor
with confusion and with blood. There was no
power to restrain them. There was no power
to make them spare their people, There was
- one e and that was the Voice Of
the monarch who was crowned in Rome, the an
cient and powerful head ofthe Catholic Church.
Whence came his influence or his power over
themf All, it came from this that, with all
their crimes, they still had received from God
| the gift of faith, and they knew,-the very
worst amongst them knew-as history tells MS,
the voice of God. They acknowledged it, as
| supreme power over their condolences, over
their actions-as power that could be WELD
ed not only for their salvation, but even for
| their destruction, by the terrible sentence. of
excommunication, by which the Pope could
cut them off from the Church. The faith that
was in the hearts of these rude kings was also
disseminated amongst their people; and SO
strong was it, that the moment the Pope de-
nounced or communicated any monarch,
that moment, no matter how great he was as
warrior, as a statesman. as writer-that mo-
ment the people shrank from him, as they
would from the pest-stricken leper, and his
voice was longer heard as an authority
either in the battle field or in the council
of the Pope. Knowing this, the people looked
up to the Pope and it any king overtaxed his
people, and ground them to the earth, OF if any
| king violated the law of eternal justice by
Lab ma h1nOd of man yvithNUf mat
cause, Sor if any king declared an unjust and
unnecessary war, or # any king repndiated his
lawful wife, and, in the strength and power of
his passion, sought to seandalize his subjects,
aud to openly insult and outrage the law of
God-the people, the soldiery, society, the
abandoned and injured woman, all alike,
as the only power that could sway the world,
and strike terror into the heart of the greatest,
! the most powerful, and the most lawless king
| upon the earth.
History-from every source from which we
can draw it-tells us what manner of men were
| the kings and dukes and rulers the Pope had
to deal with. What manner of men were
they! In the eleventh century, the Emperor
auet; and whilst they were in the midst of
their festivity, in came one of the kings officers
| with a long list of the names of men who were
there present and every man whose name
and walk into n room adjoining, and there sub
init to an unjust, q cruel and an instantaneous
4 death. These were the kln0 OF men that the
i Pope had to deal with. Another man that we
| read of was Lothian. His lustful eye fell upon
a beautiful woman; and he Instantly puts away
and repudates his virtuous and honored wife,
and he takes to him this concubine, in the
face of the world, proclaIming, or suggesting
that he could proclaim, that, because he wa-
an emperor, or king, he was at liberty to
violate the Law of God, outrage the proprieties
| of society, scandalize his subjects, and take
liberties with their honor and with their. in
tegrity, which would not be permitted to any
other man. HoW did the PopeT in these in
| stauces deal with snoh men How did he use
the temporal power, 90 great and so tremen.
doua. with which God and society bad invested
him7 He made tho murderers do public PEN
| ance and make restitution to the families of
| those whose blood they had ahedf He called
| TO him that emperor, Lothair; he brought him
| before him /; be made him, in q public church,
and before all the people, repndiate that wo-
man whom lie had taken to his adnlterons eni-
| brace; take back his Ia wfnl empress and queen,
| pledge TO her again, by solemn oath; before all
the people. that he never would love another,
| and that he would be faithful to her hus-
band and Il man, until the hour of his death.
Lotbair broke his oath-his oath taken at that
solemn moment, when the PoRe, with the
ciLorium in dis hand, held up the body of the
| Lord, and said. Until you swear fidelity TO
your lawful wife, 1 will not place the Holy
! Communion upon your lips" He took that