The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-02-25
Lecture en- the Papacy.

Lecture en- the Papacy.
Tie able and very interesting lecture on
tao greatness OF tine Papacy, delivered by
Hon. T. }. Srmnts in St. Patflck's Hal!
last Saturday evening, will be fonnd pub
lished in full in this issue OF the MORNING
STAR. We heartily commend its perusal,
As giving without exaggeration or high
coloriDg a clear appreciation of the contest
now being 30 bitterly waged with the
Church on the part Of secular powers 1t
10 manifest to every reader of newspaper
paragraphs that this ago is witnessing an
extraordinary struggle between tue civil and
religions authorities, a Rtraggle in which
csch nation, with few exceptions, vies with
every utlcr in originating snch system Of
eAi4la ton as shall naoet efsctnally circnm
scribe the field of Church authority ard
Ip;ritusl Independence. Bus tha sec:e;
spTlng Of this activity, the fu1l moaai0g OF
tina antagouam, is n 1t 40 nnp&raAt "u TIE
surface.
Nr. Semmes gives an insight into tie
true significance of tho situation by c>n
sidernX it in three aspects, viz: the cause
pons Of his defense tho character Of iis
friends and enetnies.
His cause 10 the cause not only of God
and religion, but of man and society. 1t is
the cause ef true liberty-individua and
national, moral, social and political. So
cety consists of the strong and the weak,
and the selfish instinct of strength is to prey
L - t;n
in its nature and tendencies. Kings and
governments WELD the civil power, and in
all ages the tendency Of that power has
been to aggrsndize itself at the expense of
the musses. Not only the Roman, but the
German EnperOTs, were tyrants; not only
10 Pagan ;lespotiem but in Christian feudal-
ism, the strong hand was nerciless alike
amid savage anarchy aud EXTREMIST civ
llization, brute force shows the instinct of
lawless contempt for the rights of the weak
OF course whatever stands in the way of
despotism il hateful to it. Civil power,
reaching forward TO still greater mastery
over the subject, grows impatient of every
obstacle. The Church Of Christ has always 8
been the Champion of the poor, the weak,
tHS HSlSHGf|SsS' $40 hhS AWAY SSopo
tween her tlmid, helpless children and the
hauglty POsscssoIs of power. AS she ele-
waited woman to be the peer of man, 30 she
struck II tho sEackles Of the serf and
madu hlm n freeman. She curbed the
pride Cf Princes aud checked the rapacity
Of .lurds. She destroyed the arbitrary con
troi of desrots, petty or great, and replaced
it with fixed syst",us OF law. As she was il
the days of CoLriantne, of Attia, of Bar
barosaS, Of Henry VIII, as she now is, tie
champion of weak ness against power, the
buIwark of every right, social, civil aut
religious.
Therefore the temporal power hates he
and wars upon her.
We have not space to follow Mr.. Senme
in his lucid sketch of the wonderful way il
which the Church of God, without armie
or treasures, always brayely resists ant
gloriously triumphs over the mightiest an'
hercest human power. We again commend
to general perusal and calm reflection tn
eloquent periods of his lecture in whc
that singular fact is elaborated and il
which, as well, the equally significant fac
ia dwelt upon, that all reprobatee, of ever,
class, band together unGer the flag of tn
temporal power in its war oE the Pope.