Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-11-05
POPE AND EMPEROR.

tween the Emperor of Germany and
the Pope. Their contents were brief
ly stated by cable few days ago:
THE POPE TO THE EMPEROR.
VATICAN, 7th August, 1873.
Your MAJESTY: Measures which
have been adopted by your Majesty's 5
Government for some time past all aim
more and more at the destruction of
Catholicism. When [ seriously pom
der over the causes which may have
led to these very hard measures, con.
fess that [ am unable to discover any
reason for such course On the
other hand, [ am informed that your
Majesty does not countenance the pro-
ceedings Of your Government, and
does not approve the harshness of the
measures adopted against the Catholic
religion. If then it be true that your
Majesty does not approve thereof
and the letters which your august Ma
jesty has addressed to me formerly,
might sufficiently demonstrate that you
canna approve that which is now oc-
curring-if, [ say. your Majesty does
not approve Of your Government con-
tinuing in the path it has chosen of
further extending its vigorous measures
against the religion of Jesus Christ,
whereby the latter is most injuriously
affected, will your Majesty then not
become convinced that these measures
have no other effect than that of un-
dermining your Majesty's own throne.
[ speak with frankness, for my ban
ner is truth. speak in order to full
fl 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 beIongs-in
some way or other, which to define
more precisely would be here out of
place belongs, [ say, to the Pope.
| cherish the conviction that your Ma
jesty will receive my observations with
your usual goodness, and will adopt
the measures necessary in the present
csse. While offering to your most
gracious Majesty the expression Of my
devotion and esteem, | pray to God
that he may enfold your Majesty and
myself in one and the same bond of
mercy.
(Signed) Pro.
THE EIPERoR's REPLY.
The Emperor replied as follows:
BERLIN, September 3, 1878
I am glad your Holiness has, as in
former times, done me the honor to
write to me. [ rejoice more at this
since an opportunity is thereby afford
ed me of correcting errors which, as
appears from the contents of the letter
of your Holiness of the 7th of August,
must have occurred in the communica-
ton you have received relative to Ger
man affairs. IF the reports which are
made to your Holiness respecting Ger
man questions only state the truth, it
would not be possible for your Holi-
ness to entertain the supposition that
my Government enters upon a path
which do not approve. According
to the Constitution Of my States, such
a case cannot happen, since the laws
and Government measures in Prussia
require my consent.
70 my deep sorrow portion of my
Catholic subjects have organized for
the past two years a political party
which endeavors to disturb, by in.
trigues hostile to the State, the relig-
ious peace which has existed in Prus-
sia for centuries. Leading Catholic
priests have unfortunately not only ap-
proved this movement but joined in
it, to the extent to open revolt against
the existing laws. It will not have
escaped the observations of your Holi-
ness that similar indications manifest
themselves at the present time in sever
al European and in some transatlantic
States. It is not my mission to In
vestigate the causes by which the cler-
gy and faithful of one Christian demo-
minatlon can be induced actively to
assist the enemies Of all law, but it
ceatainly is my mission to protect the
internal peace and preserve the autho-
rity of the laws in the States whose
government has been intrusted to me
by God. [ am conscious that I owe
hereafter an account ofthe accomplish
meut Of this my Kingly duty. l shall
maintain order and law in my States
against all attacks as long as God gives
me power. am in duty bound to
do it as a Christian monarch, even
when, to my sorrow, I have to fulfil
this royal duty against the servants
Of the Church which, | suppose, ac-
knowledges no less than the Evangeli-
cal Church, that commandment Of obe-
dience to secular authority is an eman-
alton of the revealed will of God.
Many Of the priests in Prussia, subject
to your Holiness, disown to my regret
the Christian doctrine in this respect,
and place my Government under the
necessity, supported by the great ma
jority Of the loyal Catholic and Evan
gelical subjects, Of exhorting obedience
to law by worldly means. [ willingly
antartain the hone that vour Jol;noco