The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-05-27
CATHOLIC PETITIONS TO THE CIHIE
POWERS OF EUROPE.
SLonasn Tablet, April % !,

(tondon Tablet. April as>
The appeals of tie Catholic world to the
Civil Powers on behalf of the frepdom and
independence Of their Spiritual Head are
being multiplied on all sides. The cardi
nal Archbishop Of Maliues and the Bishops
Of Belgium have addressed the King, and
the Catholics of Belgium are following
their example. They respectfully request
his Majesty 20 call, by such mears as
his wisdom may suggest, the attention Of
bis own Government and that Of the other
Powers to the distress which the position
"the Pastor of Pastors ~ is placed causes
to the whole Catholic world. They have
| the more confidence in the efficacity of his
Intervention, az 1t was never called for to
defend q amOre righteous cause. "Belgium,"
observe the petitioners, "has more than once
had the honor to render o signal service to
Europe through the mediation of it's SOW
ereign. Often, Sire, has your august father
been the arbiter between divided nations.
1t would be for our country and for your
Msjesty a new and ct higher glory to con-
meet the name of Leopold II. with the es.
tabiishment of the rights of Catholics ard
the Vicar of Christ" In Spain numerous
protests in defence of the liberty of the
Holy See have appeared and thousands of
signatures have been attached to them.
That Published by the Sigso Faturo> has
received the appreciation Of many Arch
bisheps and Bishops, and q triple address. to
the King, to the Cortes and to the
Holy Father is shortly about to ap-
pear. And the Bishops of Austria,
who had an audience of the Emperor
Francis Joseph on Saturday, have made
so it is reported or about to make, q collec-
tive petition to his Majesty on this subject.
The petition, which is being signed by the
German Catholics, is of couree the object
of bitter attacks in the Prussian Ministerial
papers.
CARDINAL DECHAMPs ON THE POSITION OF
THE HOLY SEE.
The Cardinal Archbishop of Malines, in
Pastoral Letter just issued, has we'll sum-
married the grievances which called forth
this cry of distress from all Catholic Chris
tendon. "Those," says his Eminence,
"who pretend that tho Pope is free at
Rome, and proclaim his pretended liberty,
have wrested from him all the means of
governing the Universal Church. This s
what the Pope has just declared to the
world in his address to the Sacred College.
They have driven away from the central
houses of the great orders at Rome the
men who are the assessors of the admins
trative departments of Catholicity they
have taken possession of the Institu-
tions which Christian peoples and their
princes, and, above all, the Sovereign
Pontiff, have founded at Rome, to be for
the whole universe sources Of charity,
taken from the Head of the Church the
Roman universities and forbidden him to
open others they have laid the axe to the
root of the priesthood, by compelling the
Levites to military service; and now by
new law they have struck blow at this
priesthood in ite Head, by placing guard at
the gate OF the Vatican, to prevent the word
ofPeter from coming forth and reaching the
children which God has given him in all
lands. And when, ashamed of whatthey have
done they a bate their pretensions little and
profess to tolerate that this word-this
Pontifical voice-sha!l not be entirely
stifed, in order that they may still be able
to say that the Pope 'is free, they imagine
that the Catholic world will believe in o
liberty of which they are the arbiters, in q
liberty which they measure out according
to their own will, in q liberty which they
measure out according to their own caprice.
No, the world will not believe in it any
more than they do themselves, and it will
see in this liberty only a phantom, in
which there remains nothing of that inde.
pendepce, which they have nevertheless
themselves confessed to be necessary to the
Head of that Church which extends
throughout all nations"
THE TRUE NATURE OF THE CATHOLIC AP-
PEAL.
The French Radical papers are violent
in their denunciatioDs of what they call
the clerical intrigue and agitation, and in
this point they are in full accord with the
supporters of Prince Brismark's policy in
Germany. 1t is therefore more than ever
important that it should be clearly stated
and steadily borne in mind, first, that these
protests of the Catholic world are called
forth by very real grievance and the ap-
prehersion of a still greater and more in
tolerable wrong, tho rupture of free com
munication between the Catholic Church
opH HaoA hof xI,oo oh
ject of this appeal of Catholics to their re-
spective Governments is not anything in
the nature of disturbance of political re-
latons, but merely friendly representation
respecting the injury which certain kind
of legislation in Italy is certain to inf1ict Oh
the citizens of other States. To such
weighty representations, firmly though
temperstely made, the Italian Government
could not refuse to listen, and as they
could not be without influence on its coun-
sells, great responsibility will rest upon
those Governments which may refuse to
ha Z. con