The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-03-24
From The Republic. VAWsRN u0
The Roman Hierarchy and
the Public Schools. gar


The organization OF the Papacy is
perhaps, one Of the most compact and
effective which human ingenuity could
ordain. Its head, the Pope, ranked al
a spiritual and temporal monarch until
claim of infallibility made earthly po'
tentates afraid of him, and deprived
him of his temporal power. As an in,
stitution the church Of Rome has two
distinct divisions with totally differen,
objects, yet both uniting in the end
which is temporal and spiritual domi.
patton wherever it is strong enough to
secure it. To the Papal church as a
spiritual body no allusion is made. 1t
is to its political character only that
reference is had and in that character
it employs its hierarchy down TO the
as. officer attached to its service.
The world moves because the spirit
Of progress is abroad and loss of polit-
zeal prestige by the Papacy is an evi.
dtnce of the march of free ideas. But
the Papacy has been wounded in the
house of its friends. It's political gov
erDment was SO bad that it had to be
transferred to other hands, for the peo-
pie of Rome, and Italy, and other coun.
tries where its ascendency existed found
that sacerdotal craftsmanship destroyed
popular advancement and unclaimed
popular thought. Nations which for
centuries bad been under Papal control
were unlike nations which had had their
freedom. 1t was not pleasant to the
leading minds of Europe 10 find that
the Latin race. while it hai universal
semblance of thought obvious enough to
all who would take the trouble to exam.
inc, was, nevertheless. behind in every
essential advantage of modern civiliza-
ton and the cause was traced to the
political attitude of the Papacy in plac
ing the Church before the State. The
effect of this in countries where the Vat
lean held sway was to permit its SER
wants to step in between the people and
the monarch, and to divert the loyalty
due to the throne, or governing power,
to the head of the Papal church. A
people thus trained gave not only di.
vi6ed obedience to their rulers, but were
led to believe that the chief end of citi-
zenship was loyalty to the head of the
Roman church, a resident in foreign
land. But loyalty to rulers at all was
made dependent upon their loyalty to
the same foreign power and if there
was any doubt of the monarch's being
true to the Pope, it has occurred more
than once in history that the Pope has
absolved the people from all allegiance
to their legal rulers on that account,
and may do it again.
Situate as this country is it does not
feel or see the struggle going on abroad
wherever Papal authority exists. 1t is
not satisfied with obtaining the protec.
ton of the law, but it commences an
effort to be superior to law-to the law
under which the people live-with a
view to be law to itself The nations
of Europe have forced the Vatican to
obey their laws; but it is done with a
bad grace, and it is always intriguing
to get the upper hand of the secular
power. A struggle has been inaugural.
ed in this country of the same charac-
ter, and it will 90 on if the people do
not do their duty now and prevent any
further encroachment on their preroga
tives The Pope is foreigner who has
never been out of Italy What he
knows of this country as a new and en-.
terprising one he has learned from
Others He has been informed that the
American people regard him with great
veneration are readys to do his bid
ding; are only waiting to welcome the
slightest wish he may Indicate in order
to carry it into effect The Pope has
elevated DR.. McCloskey, native of
Brooklyn, or Ireland, but certainly of
Irish parentage, who went to Rome
from New York as an Archbishop, and
who returned to New York as Cardin.
al Prince of the Church, whose allegi.
ance is given, three or four times deep
IL oaths, first 20 the Pope, and what re.
mains, if there is any, maybe given to
the Constitution and the country. The
Pope has had conveyed to him the
gratitude of "the American people" for
this condecension. The probability is
that he has made it impossible for the
child Of Irish emigrants settled in
Brooklyn, and who is an American citi-
zeu, TO be loyal to anything or any one
else than the Pope. How can citizen
of this republic be prince, sworn to
the performance of political duties
1t is to tie performance of the polit-
ical duties of the Romish church by the
priests that we desire attention to be
drawn. The shrewd priestly servants of
the Pope have mapped out the United
States into districts and parishes, in
which all our public schools are situate.
Not a movement has been made by this
priesthood that has not been ordered
from Rome. But the hierarchy in
America has probably represented to the
Pope that the people are anxiously wait
ing for him to interfere in our domestic
concerns, and that the more vexatious
the interference the greater will be the