The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-02-22

4 -
ment that Romanism is an exotic has been
resented But hereis distinct avowal
of it,. The coming of this italian prelate
with the open purpose of setting up an
unaccredited spiritual consulate among
us. acknowledges all that Protestants'
have ever charged, and more. The Ro-
man. Catholic church in America is. es-
sentialIy and distinctly foreign church.
1t is foreign in its personnel, consisting
of a foreign pope, foreign College of
Cardinals a foreign episcopate, multi
tude of foreign born priests, and male
and female foreigners in subordinate or
ders, with following of people born,
with rare exceptions, beyond the sea.
1t is all of piece that an italian prelate
/ should now bring over a side show of
the Vatican and set it up among us.
HE is to have" says Archbishop Ire
land. 1.-TWO eminent clerical assistants.
His decision in matters of dispute is to
be absolutely without appeal. The au-
thority with which he Is invested is I'M
usual, but this shows that the Pope has
unusual confidence ip him. He is, fur
| thermore, to inform himself accurately
about American ecclesiastical affairs in
general, and to report thereupon regu-
laRly to Rome.
!
! the attitude of this spiritual consulate
win be toward the government of these
| United States. For such an impeySW,1a IN
| inaper5o is a novelty among us.
| = The first thing for Mgr. Satolli, our
American popelet. to do in clearing up
the relations of his government with
| ours, would naturally be to remind the
Roman Catholic citizens of this country
of those words in the Papal Encyc]ical Of
| 1885: "A perfect submission of will is
required to the Sovereign Pontiff, as to
God himself And if it were objected
| that an Acknowledgements of the supreme
authority of our civil government is the
tombstone of American loyalty, the re-
calcitrant citizen should be further re-
minded of what Plus TX. said in his
| Syllabus Of Errors: ut is impious to
| transgress the laws of the church under
| the pretext of observing civil law"
| The next thing for Mgr. Satolli to do is
to emphasize the principle laid down by
Plus TX. in that same famous Syllabus:
| 1T is an error to believe that the church
| ought to be separated from the state
and the state from the church" And if
| this seem to contravene one of the ele-
| mental principles of our government, it
| will be his business to solve the doubt by
pressing home the Pope's opinion as to
an establishment and his views of re-
| ligious federation as expressed in his
Allocution of 1851: 1--WE have taken this
principle for a basis: that the Catholic
| religion with all its rights ought to be
exclusively dominant, in such sort that
every other worship shall be banished
and interdicted."
The next thing for Mgr. Satolli to do
will be to announce the Pope's opinion
~. sa4, fl,o+s, hr1ryy
| free and equal, and with certain inalien-
able rights. That opinion is to be found
in the Encyclical of 1890 as follows:
From those pernicious and deplorable
revolutionary tendencies which were
aroused in the sixteenth century are to
be traced the more recent declarations
of unbridled liberty, invented during the
great upheavals of the last century and
laid down as the principles and funda-
mentals of the new law which is at vari-
ance with both Christian and natural
law. OF these principles the chief is this
that all men, as they are Of one species,
are also equal in practical life; that every
man is free to think as he pleases, to act
as he pleases, and that the right of gov
erning resides in no person." This is
clear and beautiful statement of the
American theory of government from the
view point of the Roman Catholic
Church.
The next thing in order for Mgr
Satolli to do is to enlighten the people as
to the Pope's purposes in sending him
over. This can easily be done by refer
ence to the Encyclical of 1890, in these
words: 1T is clear that there is just
cause for Catholics to take part in the
civil government: For this they dc not
undertake in such Il manner as 70 approve
what is not right in the conduct of pub ic
affairs in these times, but that they may
change those ways Of action into what is
fair and true, haxing it firmly in mind TO
infuse the wisdom and virtue of the
Catholic religion, as the most healthful
sap and blood into all the veins of the
state.'
And while this excellent monsignor is
busted thus with this hypodermic syringe
of papal authority, it may well concern
the rest of us to inquire, first, whether
true Roman can, under such conditions,
be a loyal American; and second,
whether an emissary of the Vatican has
really any business on American soil. If
be comes as other foreigners do, either
(a) to become anauuralized citizen, (b) to
represent his government as an aceredit-
ed ambassador or (c) to sojourn for a
season and depart in peace, he is well
come. But ii he comes without
recognized credentials to set UP a
spiritual cabal or council, whose
principal function shall be to pass
upon the proper attitude of some
ten millions of our American people tow
ard certain fundamental institutions of
the government that makes difference
There is no place in our American econo-
nv for consular settlement consisting
of emissaries of an uerecognized Roman
prince, particularly when it usurps the
solemn functions of a court of last APP
peal for one-fifth of our entire popula-
ton. 1t is by reasonof such intolerable
assumption that the Jesuits have been
driven in turn from almost every land.
We, therefore, taking Mgr. Satolli at his
word, are constrained to pronounce him
an unWelcome guest.
..1l,o ,I>c@s4 n =.