The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-08-24

| fFlDC6 CnuTCn laws nave
been enacted too late for their true object
No doubt they will produce much outrage
| suffering and scaudRi. But instead Of dc
stmying the spiritual power of Rome in
Germany, they will tend only to carry for.
ward the work of the suppressed Jesoits and
Religious Orders. They will energize the
| faith of Rome more and more, and render
! the glorious obedience of the Catholic mind
to the Holy See heartier than ever. Prooft
of this have already strongly manifested
themselves. That peculiar disease to
which, says the Gcrmanid, the Liberals
| are annually subject in summer. and which
| it calls Febris antiproccssionalis has this
year broken out amongst them with extra
ordinary violence. Corpus Christi, in a
word, was every where celebrated with un-
usual fervour by the faithful. Con-
temptuously ignored by the State author
tiles as the public professions pretty gene
| rally now are, they appear to excite only
the more popular devotion in consequences.
AT Munich. such q stronghold rs il now is
of Liberalism aud " Old Catholicism" the
procession of Corpus Christi, though It was
shown this year more than ever of it's old
off cial pomp !; though the Court, the min
istry, the bureaucratic body, the univer
sity, the municipal authorities were all
conspicuous by their absence; yet made
up for the loss by such a display of new
Catholic clubs and associat ons in addition
to the ancient ones, that the Bavarian Lib
erals might well be seized, as they indeed
were, with symptoms of anti prOce ssioual
fever of the worst kind. What aggravated
the case, too, was this, that an order, given
by the Protestant military commander,
General Won der Tam, on his own respon-
sibility, for the troops not to do duty any
more at the proce sslon unless the King
himself attended it, was suddenly aunulled
by his Majesty, who seems to have thought
it too much of q good thing under the cir
cumstances, and superseded it by a count.
er-order for the soldiers to turn out under
arms as usual at the procession irrespec-
tive of his royal presence. The spirited
conduct of King Lewis the Liberals did
not tail, OF course, in face of the Prussian
church laws, to denOunce as violation of
the rights of conscience, while General Won
der Tam is said to have rendered his re-
signatlon, but on receiving from the King
II most fattering letter of congratulation
on his 57th birthday, he consented to be
pacItied and rem ain at post.
PROFESSIONALLY the Bavariaus are a
deeply Catholic and religious miHded- peo-
pie. Nobody who sees how zealOusly they
crowd to the solemnities of the Church, to
the confessional, to the communion rails,
but must feel edited in the highest degree.
But when it comes to eyincing public spirit
in defence of the rights and liberties of the
Church against her aggressore, how disap-
pointing is the result What apathy,
serving, what regeneration abound on
all sides! One way or other, the most
important interests, at the critical moment
are left IN the lurch, position after position
is surrendered to the enemy! What in
stances, only of recent date, might be
mentioned! Never was Liberalism 30
completely triumphant in the country as it
has been ever since strong CoDserva
tive Catholic majority was returned with
so much difficulty to the Bavarian Parlia-
ment at the last general elections of 1869
expressly to put Liberalism down. At
the Catholic casinos and political unions
the most enthusiastic speeches may be
heard in assertion of religious rights, in |
honor of Plus TX, and in reprobation of
his oppressors. But organization, leader
ship, funds, are wanting. High ecclesiasti- |
cal encouragement and corporation are |
wanting. The South German Hierarchy |
are more or less averse to popular agitation, !
however constitutional. in the cause of the |
Church. Bishop Hotfstatter of Passau de.
nounces 1t utterly us rebellious and revo. |
lutionary, and forbids his clergy to take
take part in, or encourage, Catholic casinos |
or clubs of any sort. His doctrine is tuat |
the Bishops alone are entitled and CONNIE |
tent to defend the Church against the az
gresslons OF the State, while 1t liz the duty |
of the clergy and laity to mind their devo-
tons and keep quiet. What Contrast ia |
BISHOP Hotfstatter of Passau to Bishop
hetteier OF MenlZ! But all the Bavarian |
Bishops do not hold such stringent views
of religious politics as their brother or
Passau. They differ ON this point, as thew |
do unhapply on so many others, and |
good Archbishop Scherr OF NJ unich even sub |
scrlbes to the central casino of his diocese. |
Jealous Bavarian Catholics, however, fully |
agree in the opinion that, until the Church |
In their country has been actually driven
to bay in such IL style as only a ruthless
persecution like that inaugulated in Prus-
STA will b.. capable of, they must wait il,
vain for that thorough rousing up of pub |
lie spirit on the part of both clergy and
lnity which the interests of the faith i'm
perativcly require, but which hitherto has
been, and still ls, SO defective, so i d adequate
to the occasion. The spectacle of the act
ual breaking up of the various Redempto
rist converts in Bavaria has already bro
duced fruit. No doubt with an eve to the
present crisis of the Faith in Germany,
Reinhold Baumstark has produced his book
on Daniel O'Connell, which see 30 highly
praised in the Catholic journals. Nothing
In fact could have been more to the pur.
pose than such n book. Reinhold Baum
stark OF Constance, an ardent convert, is
one OF the ablest literary champions the