The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1875-05-20
Priestly Politics.

Of the Roman Church in this country. q
task which we have also endeavored to
fulfill, There is, however, so general and
Just fear of even seeming to interfere
with religious liberty and the right of every
man to hold and profess whatever faith he
prefers that there is some reluctance upon
the part of many good people to favor the
discussion. But in the interest of the
very religious liberty to which they are
devoted, such persons should watch careful
ly the conduct of priestly politics. Do they
think the Roman Church friendly to re-
ligiOus freedom or to the careful separation
of church and state? If not, they should
understand that the aim and hope of the
Roman Church as a political power is the
control of the government, and when that
should be achieved, the union of church
and state would follow There may be
a very great difference of opinion whether
under any probable circumstances that
control could be obtained but there is no
doubt that it is sought, and sought with
great ingenuity, subtlety, and influence
The objective point, as we have often
shown, is the public schools, but that is not
the only one. In Ohio, as has been for
merl Y stated in these columns, an attempt
was made to repeal the prohibition of
sectarian grants to schools, and both in
Ohio and in New York an effort is making
to introduce the Roman worship into the
jails and hospitals This is done, as usual
under plea of that religious liberty which
the Pope curses, and which the Roman
party would at once destroy could it get
the chance. The bill presented in the New
York Legislature by Mr. NJ MGowan provides
that every prisoner or inmate of public
institution of confinement shall have the
ministrations of clergymen of such churches
as they may elect, and that in institions for
children they shall be deemed to belong to
the church to which their parents are at
tached, and all religious exercises except by
such clergymen are forbidden. The last
provision, of course, abolishes all the
chaplaincies in public institutions.
As the vast mass of the inmates of penal
institutions, except in the rural districts,
belong to the Roman Church, the chief
religious instruction would thus be under
the care and according to the rule of that
Church. The difficulty is, however,
unavoidable. If there be any religious
service or assistance of any kind whatever
in public institutions, it should be determin-
ed by the choice Of the convict or inmate.
as there is no state church. But it is not
a matter of majorities. The fact that the
greater number Of convicts in State-prison
are Roman Catholics would be very
inadequate reason for compelling Methodist
fIstp or. / oh to II,
mass. And the rule is, Of course, as i'm
perative and reasonable the other way. 1t
is true that the class Of people who fill the
prisons is not usually very careful of its
religious instruction and very few of them,
unless they have been brought up in the
Roman Church, have any knowledge of the
difference of sects or any choice among them.
Except for the peculiar tactics Of the Roman
Church there would have been no question
and no difficulty, for the inmates would
have been content with the ministrations Of
clergyman Of any denomination. But
when the question is raised the point is to
insist upon the equal right of choice for all,
and to take care that the whole religious
control does not fall into the hands of the
Roman clergy
The fact of the resolute political purpose
Of the Roman Church is one of the most
evident and significant facts Of the time,
and can not be too carefully considered by
every American. The one thing never to
be forgotten is that the purpose does not
depend upon popular whims and fancies-
that it is not the purpose Of party which
may tomorrow differ and disband, or which
is at the mercy of private ambitions and
cabals. 1t is the design Of one of the most
ancient and permanent and politically
unscrupulous of organizations, and is unac-
companied with any personal or temporary
or occasional aims whatever. The attack
upon the American public-school system is
a wholly foreign movement 1t begins in
Rome, and is the result of principles and a
policy which are utterly hostile to American
ideas and development. Its object is the
absolute control Of the schools as a means
of removing one Of the chief obstacles to
the supremacy of Rome in America Rome
never submits to divided authority in
church or state, and the contest in Germany
is the necessary result Of the presence and
perception of great statesman. He COM
prehends the character and design and
methods of Rome, and understands that it
is of necessity power to be resisted to the
end. In this country, with other traditions
and free popular government, the character
of the contest must be different, but it will
be as absolute and determined. The Roman
policy is distinct and consistent and thorough,
and will be pressed with unfagging vigor
1t must be encountered in the same way,
and with firm reliance upon those American
painciples which Rome would subvert. But
above all, ecclesiastical Rome must not be
permitted to cloak political Rome, nor
must it be forgotten that Rome urges in
American the plea of religious equality and
freedom only to gain position from which
it can overthrow them both.-HaIper'
Weekly.