The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-03-27
rHE FUTURE or ITALY.

The spiritual freedom Of the pope ~ the
head Of the Catholic church 10 more per-
fectiy assured today than II ever was be-
fore in the history Of the world, and the
civic freedom of the pope II ~ inviolable
and a. sacred today AZ that Of any oth r
citizen of Italy, neither more nor less. 1t
ought not to be moro and IL certainly IL
not less. The temporal power Of the pope,
the loss of which 10 so bitterly bewsiled by
. certain portion Of his devoted followers,
when Il had Its nominal existence was
really phantom. II was the football one
day Of a German potentate. the next day
of French king. The temporal power Of
the pope before the unifcation Of Italy in
1870 always rested for support upon the
foreign halberds Of the middle ages and
tho foreign bayonets of tho eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. What was the
temporal power Of the pope when
Ronaparte swept the face Of Italy
with tho bosom of victoryi 1t rested
upon the bayonets of the first consul, who
by turns caioled. wheedled or bullied the
pope. just as Frederick Barbarossa and
Henry ~, in Germany. and Philip the
Fair. In France, did in the middle ages.
When Garibaldi and Mazzini summoned
young Italy to arms in 1s4s-49 the tenn
poral power OF the pope fell PROSTATE ut
the feet Of the revolu,ionists. until France
sent IN army under Marshal Oudinot to
prop up the crumbling throne of the pope
with bayonets.
The temporal power of tho pope always
Sested on tho pixies or bayonets of foreign
mercenaries until 1870. The moment that
this prop was removed by the recall of the
French army the army of King Victor
Emanuel marched in and the temporal
power Of the pope marched out-neyer 10
return. The temporal power of the pope
not only received its death blow at the
hands of q Catholic king and the sovereign
OF subjects almost entirely Catholic, bat il
IVES consented 20 and automatically an
proved Of by the Catholic rulers OF France,
Austria and Spain as the best because the
only solution of the situation. The uoliti
cal unity Of Italy having been resolved
upon under a constitution whose corner
atone was the separation Of church and
state. i. could only be completed by ext,n.
gushing the temporal power of the pope.
Not TO have extinguished the pope as a
civic sovereign would have been 10 rsnu.
aiate the doctrine of the separation Of
church and state upon which the Italian
constitution rests, and 10 revive his tenn.
poral power would mean the undermining
and overthrow OF the whole constitutional
scheme Of italian unity. The accen,ance
IT tho temporal power theory by any poli,-
teal party in Italy would place it in the
altitude OF direct and complies negs,,on
Of the actual existence OF Italy as nation
and state.
France under the iead Of her great states.
man. jcst dead. Jules Ferry, ex,inrui.hei
the political power OF the church, although
the people of France. like those OF italy.
are Catholic ~ very large majority.
Italy logically had to choose between
unity as nation under > constitution ab-
solutely separating church and stale ard
the extinction of the pope as the civsc
sovereign of the papai states. She has
made her eho!re and she can not recall
her decision save by repudia;ing the con-
ssi'utlon uaeer which she became united
Italy. This she will no. do. for great
political revolutions do not roll backwards.
i, should not he forgotten ihs. as spir-
iiuaI figure The pope WAS never really
independent Until united Italy became
iaet. Whae the uniacasion OF It.
ally eXiing0ished the temporal power
of the pope i risced him in a position Of
absolute intellectual and moral iaaeren-
denoe As the spiritual head Of the Church
al Rome, such ss ,he pore had never he
ssrc really sn,oysd, and for sAi. suossAn-