The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-04-25
Church and State.

M into the very high mountain and showed
Him all the kingdoms of the world, ne
c,asr,v claimed dominion over all those
Kingdoms and their glory, by promising 10
rive them in exchange for being worshiped'
Now, was this false assumption on MS
partf We think not. He was certainly the
ruling Spirit of all nations them ana
so far as We can see, has been 30 ever SIEGE.
In his grand battle with the Church IL
vould seem that, in order to give him
chance of maintaining the warfare on some
thing like equal terms, the concession mas
been made to him, that he should be Prince
of the powers of this world. By this means
be ia enabled to array them on his side IN
tho contest. Give the Church fair
chance, and she is sure to gain upon his
dominions from every side; but when he
sees such a movement in progress, he stirs
up the temporal powers to harass ana
hamper her, to assail and persecute her, go
az to drive her faithful army of spiritual
crusaders, by physical force, from the field
where he is meeting overwhelming discom-
future.
The theory upon which all this opposi-
ton is built up is the very popular one of
entire separation between Church and
State-a theory which the Pope has un-
equivocally branded as erroneous and
heretical. In this "entire separation is
embraced the recognition OF the
Church. Even a partial separation is
wrong, because the Church is to the State
like the soul to the body their spheres and
functions are totally diverse, yet their
union 10 necessary to tho preservation OF
life. A nation which practically, as well as
theoretically, divorces itself from the
Church is like dead body; it soon be-
comes o mass of moral decay and corrup'
ton.
A complete union of Church and State
has never been known outside OF the Papa
States, but it would take place wheneve
. the State should acknowledge three things
s viz: that there ia a spiritual order in
t dependent of the temporal; that tn
: Church of Christ is the Supreme au
9 thority in the spiritual order; that tn
. Roman Catholic Church is that Church.
There is no Government which bot
theoretically and practically recognize
these three facts.
The United States comes nearest to i
"a 1t recognizes the first, and practically til
second, but not the third. France, BeIgiu
50 and Austria, recognize the second and ii
IS third but not the first. That is, practical
g g they deny the total Independence in Il
~ spiritual of the temporal order. They q
IS demand Concerdats, and these Concorda
are compromises by which the Chur'
70 submits to be robbed of certain lswf
to rights and prerogatives, in confederation
"a, being maintained in the rest of them.
or this country, the Catholic Church is not I
cognized as being the only true Churc
p- but she is recognized as belonging to t
I'd spiritual order, and that order lie reco
on nized as totally independent of the tel
ier poral. Hence the Holy Father has 81
70" that he is more Pope in the United Sta
than in any other country.
IT., An entire separation of Church a
..s State lie that of Nero and Bismarck, VIII
ck the existence of distinct spiritual or
IN is denied. The State is made the source
IKE all right and law, or at least the arbiteI
ub- faith and morals. This is the logical
on. treme of the doctrine of separation
'srs tween Church and State, for if the t.
ned poral order merely recognizes the spiritu
sed there is kind of union.
Nothing can be more absurd than 9
an assumption, because the State, apart Fl
no all idea of authority communicated to il
"os some superior, is merely an aggregate
I'D men. Ifthose men individually know in
libby what is right, just and moral, then
II of State need say nothing about it; if I
ons are not infallible individually, the
100 which they compose cannot lay down
certainty doctrines of religion or mora
RS of 1t is an imposter in attempting SO to d
hilP Yet this absurdity of Bismarck's
correct and logical deduction from the
D. 70 trine of separation between Church
State. 1t is even more absurd than
,svi, Protestant idea of union of Church
forth State, where the Church land false OF
,ssitv that) is made to absorb the State and