The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-11-11
The Coming Catholic ConEreIS at
London.

seems that he has issued an Anti.Papa
manifesto in which he declares that tn
dogma Of Papal iniallibility Is totally In
consistent with good citizenship. Il
says that "the Catholic Emancipation
Act was passed under the belief that th
Catholic would give his allegiance to thr
Queen, but II Is now known that his frs
alegianCe!slS to the Pope" The man
Iesto denies that the Pope gains convert
among the people, His conversions Art
among the rich. It says: "He may con
troll acres, but he can not control the
hearts oi the poor" The manifesto reiert
to the religious condition Of Ireland, and
says: "Under recent legislation all thai
was due to ireland has been paid. Hence
forth that country will be treated without
reference TO Catholicism" The document
has caused great sensation, and ia the
leading topic in religious circles.
We must confess that we are at loss
to understand why such men as GLAD
STONE and DBRAEI1 should stand in such
seeming apprehension Of the Catholics.
We are not surprised that people whose
only information in regard to Catholicism
Is derived from Fox's book OF Martyrs
should entertain apprehcnsious that we
are on the eve OF some great reac-
tionary period In which the Pope
is to come to the front again and resume
his ancient dictatorship over tho Chris
tian world. But how and why men OF
such great intelligence as the Premier
aud ex.Premier Of Great Britain should
entertain any spprehensiOns Of this char
Rcter puzzles US exceedingly. Certainly
they ,aro familiar with the fact that the
history OF the PapacY for the last three
hundred years shows q gradual but sure
decline in it's supremacy. They must
know that it has been steadily losing
ground politically and spiritually all that
time. They must know also that in Ger.
many, In Austria, in France, and even in
Italy and Spain, the Papsl See Is to-day
practically without any political influence
whatever. Knowing all this how can
they entertain any apprehensions OF the
future. 1.-THE future Of Professionalism is
not seCHre against the possibility OF any
such reaction, then its history since the
days Of MARTIN LUTHER is the most stu.
pendous de!usion tho world has ever
seen. PfOtestantism is now supposed to
embrace between sixty and seventy mil
liona CT people. 1t is also under.
stood 10 include the most intel
ligent communities of Christendom.
Furthermore, it is supposed TO largely
control the finances OF the world, saying
nothing o! the most Influential avenues of
public information. The great journals
of Europe and this country are non.
Catholic. The common schools are in
the same category. There is hardly a
progressive agency to be named that can
not be identified in some way with
Professionalism. And this being 80, why
should fear be entertained OF q relapse
toward RomeH Common sense, 1t seems
TO US, should readily suggest to every in.
tclligent mind that Professionalism, having
started out when the PSpacy was all
powerful throughout the world, and hav.
ing made its way, despite persecution, up
to its present commanding and, we may
say, dominant status, is not likely to suffer
any important decline. II history proves
any one thing clearer than another, it is
that the popular mind has gradually been
freeing itself from oil ecclesiastical control
since the days of the Reformation. This
tendency was never 80 powerful rs at this
time. There is every probability that the
Papacy will continue to lose instead
OF gain ground. It's present restless
activity ia simply an evidence to
us that it recognizes its own
inherent weakness and Of its deter.
mination to struggle against fate. The
call for an International Congress is q sort
ol coup do grace to its prodigious and un.
successful efforts to make the nations tol.
crate tho dogma Of inIallibllity. It re-
quires no prophet to ioresee that the
movement cannot be success. Nopower
in Europe will acquiesce in such a danger
Gus pretension. Such men as Archbishop
PURCELL, the late Bishop WHELAN, and
the other prelates who Joined with them
In deprecating the enuciation Of the
dogma, ioresaw the feeling that it would
excite, and hence they protested against
its adoption by the EcumeniCal Council.
But the rule.or ruin Ultramontanes ofthe
Church forced it upon the Council, and
in doing so they dealt the Papacy the
most powerful blow ever struck Gt 1t.
Every Catholic government in Europe
was OF once alienated, and the breach
has been growing wider with every
effort Of the Vatican TO make the
dogma go down. The breach made will
never be closed unless the dogma is retract.
ed, which Is thing not to be expected.
An International Congress has no means
OF making it authoritative that the Ecu
meI!cal Council did not possess. Any at.
tempt to that end will be ridiculed and
resented with just as much feeling as ever,
by every nation In Europe. Tho dogma
is q dead fiat failure, and has proved itself
10 be q tremendous il not fatal mistake.