Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-03-31
GAvAzzI.
Lecture by Father Gavazzi on the Free
Italian Church.

taGler GaNaZZl, the leaQeE Vi tHo AAcs
italian Church, addressed a large audience at
the Congregational Church last evening.
After prayer by Rev. Mr. Henry. the
speaker was introduced by Rev. I. Z. Dwi-
nell, with complimentary preface. Father
Gavazzi spoke with strong Italian accent,
to which the audience did not become accus-
toned SO as to fully understand him until the
address was about half completed. He is
dramatic in his manner, frequently witty,
keeps his auditors in a merry humor, and
constantly deals in odd calculations, and pro-
longed high notes on single syllables, ex-
pressive of doubt, inquiry, surprise, mirth,
scorn, incredulity, or of unbelief. He is a tall
man of powerful frame, rugged features,
and for one of his advanced age, well
preserved. He began by saying that his
home is in Rome, in free Italy-Italy that
he remembered as under the mastership of
the Pope, andwhere there was no religious toll
erance, but where now the gospel can be
freely preached, and SO throughout Italy, as
freely as in America. He reviewed the early
political and religious condition of Italy. and
very bitterly inveighed against the former
and illiberal Papal rule. Italians, however,
had demanded their liberties and had gained
them, and enjoyed now as large privileges IN
religious institutions, schools and colleges as
are enjoyed by the people of America. The
free Italian church had succeeded thus far IN
all it had undertaken. In June. 1870, its
general assembly laid down its articles
of faith, which were the basis of
the once lost Christianity of Italy.
In 1872, the assembly met in Rome,
and was the first public assembly of free
Christian ministers ever held in that city
since the DAYS of Paul The church is an
evangelical church, and its object is the evan
eelization of Italy. 1t is Scriptural church
"a graceful, rounded and beautiful Italian
church. It is especially pleasing to the
Italian for being a church seeking his evan
gelization through his own language and
through Italian agency. He had always been
Of the opinion that one native evang elist will
do more coed in one year than foreign one
can in ten years. The church has for an aim
the rechristianizing Of Italy, and he used
that term TO correct prevalent
error, to wit: that the church is q
reformer, For himself he declines the
honor OF being called reformer.
The Free italian Church had nothing TO re-
form. and having nothing TO reform, and re.
forming nothing, cannot therefore be called
reformer. Young Italy learned from Young
America the lesson not to lose time and labor
for nothing. To reform the Church Of Rome
WOuI1, III Ift thbtuldbtD4 VI lib IlluECIt NC
loss OF time and labor, 30 IL did not attempt
It: but il she has evil and good, why not
drive out the one and preserve the other. He
replied that even the boa constructor has some
good about tits skin-but to get it to use
in covering houses it had to be killed. To
get the skin of the Papal Church, one must
Kill it. but as the Free Church don't want
the skin, it won't pay to kill til. e., reform
it, Italy was once the first Christian
country Of all Europe. She became Romish.
The scope of the new Church is to restore
to her her primitive and apostolic
church, without Popes-the Church of
Apostle Paul. It has no doctrines out
side of the Bible. So it is exclusively
scriptural church. 1t is scriptural
in its government, and as to its teachings it
has a catechism, but not from West
minister or Geneva. 1t is all found in the
Epistle of Paul to the Romans, and in it is
found nothing of masses or the real presence
in the sacrament. or of the Virgin,
or of relics, or of penance, or
auricular confession to priests, etc. 1t is
a letter to Romans written to their fathers,
and hence to Italians, national and patri-
otto catechism. As for ferms, without any
previous understanding or any preconceived
ideas, there has resulted adelightful mixture,
a bit of many things good, and all more
social than anything found in social Califor.
MIA or America or European mixtures. All
the churches are ruled by the General As
sembly, yet all the churches are free
in their individuality, securing or re-
moving ministers according to usefulness.
The church Is not corporal de-
The Italians of the nineteenth
century are wiser than those of the sixteenth
century, and make no compromises, as such
always lead to submission to Papal rule. The
- he nd
preached only Christ and Him cruci6ed. In
1870 they had but few churches. and many of
them obscure now they have strong churches
in all the leading cities and towns. Now
there are SO churches and 80 stations regu-
larly filed. In 1870 the membership was
400; now there are over 1000 communicates,
over 1000 Sunday-school scholars and 300
catechumens. All the present communicates
were once communicates OF the Roman Cath
Ole Church. This year the church of Geneva
has been received into the union. The Free
Church started without a cent. 1t has
subsisted and grown, trusting to God. To-day
it is without dollar of Indebtedness. 1t re-
ceives aid, however, from abroad. and must
do so for some time to come. Its member
ship is from the poor people, and they must
be aided. A Scotchman, Rev. John Nc
Dougal, Is the Treasurer, and close and
cautious man, who makes every cent go the
farthest and taxes all payments to the clergy
to support the sustenatioR fund. Regarding
the church schools, he had had to fight many
hard battles, and not the least difficult were
those he fought with Protestant friends. The
schools in Italy are many and are supported
by the State and municipalities. In
such they could not expect religious
teaching. The church must prepare for its
membership in the next generation by train
ing up that one coming on. Hence it has
schools from primary clear up to the Normal
and the Theological College. The church
has sixteen schools, twenty-one Supporters
over them, and over L, 800 pupils, and all
have had marvellous success. Roman Cath
Ollie parents, in very many cases, send their
children to the Free Church schools to receive
what is admitted to be superior moral and
general education. He pointed out with
great bitterness the contrast of Protestants
in England and America sending their
children to Catholic schools, the authori-
ties of which teach that such parents
are heretics and lost. On this point he dwelt
at length, and compared the education given
in the schools, and contrasted the condition
of countries under the dominance of the
Roman Church with those where there is
religious tolerance. He cited instances of
governmental Endorsement of the excellence
and high standing and success of the Free
CnutGn SGuOots ildtAc ny IbaAiau
authorities, who are ardent and devoted
Catholics. He cited instances of successful
resistance by scholars educated in these
schools against attempts to draw them from
the church, andone, very amusing one, where
a girl of 16 had an intellectual and theological
bout with one Of the Pope's princes, Cardi-
nal. and WOrsted him, according to the latter's
own admission. Ia the theological school
there are now professors and II advanced
pupils He described the location Of the Free
Church schools and buildings in Rome as
very near to the Vatican, and in an amusing
manner described his own rooms In the build
iugs, as looking toward the windows of the
Palace of the Vatican from which
Leo XIII. and himself recognized each
other. He declared that he is fighting
the Pope. and that the Pope is fighting him,
and that it is a mutual contest, and that the
Free Church is succeeding he knows because
the Pope shows his displeasure. Ii he re-
manned silent it would be evidence of the
failure of the Free Church. Gayazzi then
made humorous and earnest appeal for aid
for his church, and closed by a touching and
eloquent invocation of heavenly blessings
upon his hearers, their families, their churches
and their country. During the delivery OF the
address Father Gavazzi was frequently and
loudly applauded. In his denunciatiens OF
Papal rule and authority, and of the eduea-
tional institutions OF the Catholic Church,
the speaker rose at times to the terribly Sc
we're and at others convulsed his hearers with
o..f 81 Ia or7A