The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-12-05
The Pope and the Emperor,
The following two letters recently
passed between the Emperor of Ger
many and the Pope:


have been adopted by your Majesty's
government, for some time past, all
aim more and more at the destruction
of Catholicism. When I seriously pom
der over the causes which may have led
to these very hard measures, I confess
that am unable to discover any rea-
sons for such a course. On the other
hand, am informed that your majesty
does not cOuntenance the proceedings of
your government, and does not approve
the harshness of the measures adopted
against the Catholic religion. 1t then,
it be true that your majesty does not
approve thereOf-and the letters which
your august majesty has addressed to
me formerly might sufficiently demons
trate that you cannot approve that which
is now Occurring-if, say, your majesty
does not approve of your government
continuing in the path it has chosen of
further extending it's rigorous measures
against the religion of Jesus Christ,
whereby the latter is most injuriOusly
affected, will your majesty then not be-
come convinced that these measures
have no other effect than that OF under
mining your majesty's own throne? |
speak with franknesS, for my banner is
truth. speak in order to fulfill one of
my duties, which consists in telling the
truth to all, even to those who are not
Catholics; for every one who has been
baptized belongs in some way or other
(Which to define more precisely would
be here out Of place. belongs, say, to
the Pope.
I cherish the conviction that your
majesty will receive my observations
with your usual goodness, and will adopt
measures necessary in the present case.
While offering to your most gracious
and esteem, I pray to God that he may
enfold your majesty and myself in one
and the same bond of mercy. Pro.
The Emperor replied as follows:
BERLIN, September 8, 1878.
am glad your holiness has, as in for
mer times, done the honor to write to
me- I rejoice more at this, since an
opportunity is thereby afforded me of
correcting errors which, as appears from
the contents of the letter of your hOli-
ness of the seventh of August, must have
occurred in the communication you
have received relating to German af-
fairs. If the reports which are made to
your holiness respecting German ques
tions only stated the truth, it would not
be possible for your holiness to enter.
tain the supposition that my govern
ment enters upon path which do not
approve. According to the Constitution
of my State, such case cannot happen,
since the laws and government meas
ures in Prussia require my consent as
sovereign. To my deep sorrow q pOr-
ton of my Catholic subjects have Or
ganized for the lA8st two years a politi-
cal party, which endeavOrs to disturb,
by intFigues hostile to the State, the
religious peace which has existed In
Prussia for centuries. Leading Catholic
priests have unfortunately not only ap-
proved this movement, but joined III it
to the extent of open revolt against ex-,
isting laws. 1t will not have escaped
the observation of your holiness that
similar indications manifest themselves
at the present time in several European
and in some transatlantic States. 1t is
not my mission to investig gate the causes
by which the clergy and faithful of one
of the Christian denominations can be
induced actively to assist enemies of all
law, but it certainly is my mission to
protect the internal peace, and preserve
the authority of the laws, in the States
whose government has been intrusted to
me by God. / am conscious that | owe
hereafter an account of the accomplish
ment of this, my Hngly duty. [ shall
maintain order and law in my States
against all attacks, as long as God gives
me the power. am in duty bound to
do it as Christian monarch, even when,
to my sorrow, I have to fulfill this royal
duty against the servants of o church
which suppose acknowledges, no less
than the evangelical church, that COM
mandment that obedience to secular
authority is an emanatiQn of the reveal
ed viii Of God.
Many of the priests in Prussia subject
to your holiness dis0wn, to my regret,
the Christian doctrine in this respect,
and place my government under the
necessity, supported by the great majeri-
ty of my loyal Catholic and evangelical
subjects, of extorting obedience to the
law by worldly means. willingly en-
tertain the hope that your holiness,
upon being informed Of the true posi-
tion of affairs, will use your authority to
put an end to the agitation carried on
amid the deplOPable distortion OF truth
and abuse of priestly authority. The
religion of Jesus Christ has, as | attest
to your holiness before God, nothing to
do with these intrigues, any more than
HAS bFuGus GO WMUSGs kftul1OI1 LnVOhCu NY
your holiness, / unfeservedly subscribe.
There is one more expression in the
letter of your holiness which | cannot
pass over without contradiction, al
though it is not based upon previous
information, but upon O belief of your
holiness, namely, the expression that
every one that has received baptism be-
longs to the Pope. The evangelical
creed which, as must be known to your
holiness, ], like my ancestors and the
majority of my subjects, profess, does
not permit us to accept in our relations
to God any other mediator than our
Lord Jesus Christ. A difference of be-
lief does not prevent me from living in
peace with those who do not share mine,
and offering your holiness the expression
of my personal devotion and esteem.
WILLIAM.
INHERITANCE OF Vicious HABITS.
We find almost as effectual and con-
tinuous an intervention of heredity in
the transmissions Of passions and senti-
ments of a very different ordeT-thOse
which incline to vice. The liking fol
strong drink, habits of debauch, pas
sion for gambling, acquire in some per-
sons adegree of force which can be ac.
counted For only by some fatal
organic predisposition derived from
their ancestors. A lady with whom
was acquainted 2 says CANA Machado
'and who possessed a large fortune