The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1876-01-11
The American Cardinal and Home.

a Dublin correspondent Of the New
York Herald, reports . conversation
with Cardinal McClosky which every
body will regard as interesting and
which some persons may consider sig
nificant. Speaking OF recent changes,
the Cardinal said that the religious
atmosphere which pervaded Rome, and
which made it the city that il was, was
quite gone;" and he gave this curious
illustration Of the new manners and
customs:
when formerly q beggar asked you
for an aims, il was invariably with some
pious speech, ms per romor di DiO (for
the love Of God); per Ia Madonna (for
our LADY,. Aud when you dropped in
TO his box or placed in his hand your
benefaction. however small, it was al
ways thankfully acknowledged, with
the addition OF some pious prayer for
the benefactor. All this has disap-
peared.
Ii may be doubted whether the inter
csts OF religion will suffer much from
this change. The picty of the Italian
peggar often was rs impudent a false
pretense as the piety 90 .ha italian
brigand, who paused in the work OF
plunder and throat-cutting to murmur
prayer at the sound OF the vesper
bell. Strangers in Rome and the Ro-
mans themselves may well spare the
sham benedictions Of the LdzzdroHi.
There will be little cause to regret the
loss Of the religious atmosphere" of
beggary when the beggars themselves
shall have disappeared from the Etern-
nj ma ha hA. 10 IN he
better Italian times which have begun.
The Cardinal observed other melan-
choly changes than those which have
occurred in the habits OF the beggars.
THE government. he said, ''have laid
their hands on the schools and have
quito seized upon the education of the
rising generation;" and "sducation has
been taken out Of the hands OF ecclesi-
astical persons, and "it is intended
that religion shall utterly be excluded
from the schools" The Cardinal re-
CARDS sadly the most promising OF
italian rsforms--the furnishing Of lib.
eral, non-sectarian education, the bene.
fits OF which may be shared by Protes.
tants and Roman Catholics alike, while
its agencies shall be perverted 10 nc
ecclesiastical purposes by any seci
whatever. II soems n strange confes
sian of weakness for the Cardinal te
say, as he does say in effect, that tn,
| Church OF Rome, with all her spiritual
and traditional influence, in her Owl
capital city, cannot maintain her relig
ious hold upon men, women and child
rem, unless she is allowed to contro
their secular affairs. In laying "handI
on the schools" the italian government
is doing what the American state gov
ernments did long ago, and what j,
necessary to be done in every fre'
country.
It is acknowledged and enforcing tn
principle that the state may wisely ed
ucate its children and tax its citizen
to do so; but that il may not tax then
for the maintenance Of any form o
sectarian religion. To this principl
the American people are thorough,
committed. We take for granted tha
the Cardinal is too intelligent a MAJ
and too good q citizen to object to on
practice in this respect, or TO say 10
newspaper reporter in New York wha
he said to newspaper correspondent
in Dublin. The system which he oh
jects to when applied TO Italy is th
system which works admirably in tn
United States, as liberal Protestant
aud Roman Catholics alike admit. A
to the remedy for the evils which h
found TO exist in Rome the Cardinl
said:
'They (the Roman Catbolics) fe,
they must do as the Catholics have I
do here and in America. They mu:
make use Of their position aud turn
to account. We are novices,' the
say; we have everything 10 learn; W
have to begin now what you have bee
always engaged in doing They al
: now beginning 10 take part in the mt
nicipal elections.
This is n very wise thing for them
do-provided they take part simply 9
citizens. For them 10 join in the ele,
tions as Roman Catholics, to accom-
plish 4 religious purpose, would NAL
the situation worse than IL was befor
The Cardinal surely would not advii
Roman Catholics in America TO tak
! part in the election as Roman Cath,
lies. They and Protestants and adhe
! ents to whatever faith are simply cit
zens. They stand upon a civil equal
ty, and their political rights and priv
. leges are wholly independent Of spiri
! ual and ecclesiastical consideration
SO good n Democratic republican
> the Cardinal sees that herein consis
8 the safety OF the republic. III Meth
: dists and Prssbyterisns and Romi
Catholics voted only so as 10 promo
: their interests OF their respective sect
the public would soon be succeeded
anarchy or despotism Of one kind
i another. In. Y. Post.