The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-05-20
A Conquered Banner.

| ColoUToJiOu' Auo CouQuoEeu DoDuei 1o
ferred to is the Banner of the Cross. Gu
Presbyterian neighbor considers it ire
trievably Overthrown. 1t is true that ther
are more Catholics in the world to-da!
than ever before it is true that there arr
more bishops and priests, and that M
general council ever equalled in nnmber
the recent one of the Vatican it is tru'
that the foreign missions were never NOR
vigorously prshed than at this momen
and that the Church, while reaching boldly
forward into the Pagan strongholds o
Asia is fast re-occupying the European
regions from which she was forced by the
frenzy of heresy. All this is true, and
yet, because Victor Emmanuel mas made d
prisoner of the Pope, our wise neighbor
finds that the Cross, which the Catholic
Church holds aloft for the guidance of the
world, is a conquered banner. Says the
Presbyterian.
Deprived of it's political power, the Roman
ism of to-day is fatally crippled. So far as we
can see it has no future. if deprived of soldiers,
political intrigue, police, prisons aud artillery.
None who understand the genius of the Papacy
will, therefore, make light of the loss of the
temporal power.
Wonderful pyescience $50 far as we can
see." And how far has the Presbyterian
looked! The future of Romanism is nil
because it is deprived of soldiers lit never
had enough of these to take the field against
such a power as the Comanches, for in
stance), political intrigue (wby it has not
as good an opportunity. as ever for intrig-
uipg is not explainedj, police Gt bad about
as large a police force as kellogg's was, and
we saw what power that was to rnle the
worldly, prisons (of all our Protestant
friends who have visited Rome we never
knew one to be converted by the prisons),
aud artillery. Well if Romanism is gone
up by reason of the loss of that old, rusty,
cracked service of artillery that used to be at
Rome, we can only imagine remotely what
its grandeur and power would have been
with half dozen of krnpp's biggest and
oest.
"None who understands the genius of the |
Papacy" says our neig Dor, twill therefore,
make light of the loss of the temporal
Dower." The Presbyterian understands |
hat genius, it does. Napoleon's genius
vas absolutely notbiSg to it. He was sup
,osed to handle things to wonderful ad-
'antnge, but what could he have accom-
'lished at the head of the Papal States,
md limited to them /? His star would |
lever have shohe beyond the Pontine Mar
hes, but Plus TX or any other man of
ighty odd years at the head of those
tates as Pope, rules the world. What
enius! What genius!! How can we
hauk the Presbyterian for discovering it ?
Other people think this doctrine of
genius" to be nonsense. They say that
he Popes lived in tho Catacomb bs for the
rst three hundred years; that since the
riumph of Christianity they have often
cen imprisoned, exiled from Rome, car
led off ss imperial captives from the days
Constantius to those of Napoleon. For
they resided at Avignon. Yet
le Catholic Church has never ceased to
lg in its giant strength. They say that
lis very day, when the Pope is prisoner |
nd has no temporal possessions, his soon
uered banner" is planting itself over
'rtress after fortress in England, wrested |
ON the bigotry of that hot bed of Pro-
that il is marching ire
stably forward to the conversion of theee
'nited States and the rapid extinction of
resbyterianism therein.
If all this is SO far as the Presbyterian |
an see" the annihilation of the Church,
hen the Presbyterian is as much deceived
8 were the Pharisees when they thought !
destroyed by the Crucifixion.
he Croes was, for them, a a"conquered ban
err" banner not only of defeat but of in
amy; yet from that day to this, in its hu-
lility, under its stigma of defeat, it has
leekly and irresistibly pushed forward it's
utworks aud steadily narrowed down the
ominion of Satan.
" So far as we can see" cannot be very
ar. If our neighbor would only look for
'Srd to the termination of the first general
European war that may occur-perhsps
tready opening-it may sec several nation-
boundaries changed and some restored.
oil irhh hhnr =