The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-22

threw both. Nor would sne' III
constituting a polity. have rehs'oa'
system that worked for its source 10 inc
deity. She conflscated and seized All INV
property OF the Church by state ae''O"
refused recognition of the Almigh''' "'''
such religious system as was 10 pie'""
| thereafter in France must look az '''
| creator. equally with the civil estaoiish-
mont. to the State. When the revolution
had done its work the reformatioh n"u
| also done its part, and old ci'ii i"''''
tons lay PROSTATE In the dust aio"e
with those OF the Church which hah
| ostensibly been the sole mark at which
| the reformation had aimed. AL tnat oay
| the Roman Catholic Church descehoeu
10 the lowest point that 1t mas ever
touched but In touching that point inc
day for a new rise in It's influence ana
position with mankind set in. the shocH
which the butchery and blood OF the
revolution gave TO the moral sehse VI
mankind predIsposed their minds favor
ably towards a revival OF the Churcns
influence by principle of reaction just
as a spring bent too far one way VIII
recoil a great distance In the other.
But this natural reactionary tendency
Of mems minds received powerful ala
and stimulus from the course into which
the events Of the next few years fell.
When Napolean Bonaparte came TO
the head of the French Government In
1900 he was the truly great Napoleon, en-
liehtened and guided by his splendid
genius. He really had the good Of his
country then at heart, and he saw and
knew that no people could ever become
great and prosperous where the consti-
tuition Of society put the religious wor-
ship of the great and living God under
ban. He accordingly negotiated the cele-
brated Concordat with the Pope, whereby
France re-established religious worship as
an institution Of the Government, with
the Pope as it's acknowledged head.
Here was a prodigious step taken towards
restoring the head OF the Church TO
that spiritual supremacy which 1t claim
work favorably towards that end. AS
Napoleon's despotic power increased his
nature changed and he began to throw
off any outward regard even towards him
whom he had deliberately and wisely
began his rule by recognizing as the
head Of the French Church. lie despoiled
him of all his temporal possessions and
formally annexed them to the French
Empire. He made the Pope, Plus VII.
close prisoner. depriving him Of every
physical comfort and denying him all
association with his counsellors. friends,
and advisers, all because the head of the
Church would not surrender conscientious
convictions that he entertained and per-
form his sacerdotal functions in comfor-
nifty with plan for advancing Napo-
Icons civil policy, to which he wished
the Pope to bow. Seeking thus to coerce
the Pope's conscience, he held him close
prisoner for four years. and until he
(Napoeon) was driven from his throne
by foreign bayonets.
The superb demeanor, the gentle piety,
the Christian resignation, but the invinci-
bic firmness OF the Pope throughout his
long Imprisonment and distressing pri-
vations. made a powerful appeal to the
devout in every quarter Of the globe
Savary, Duke of Rovigo, who, in virtue
of his Office Of Minister Of Police, had a
sort Of charge of him, tells us In his
memoirs that on going out one morning
entirely alone and darning his clothes.
resigned fortitude like this was neces-
sarily bound to make a prodigious i'm
preston upon the minds Of the faithful
and from that day TO this the influence
Of the Pope as the anointed of the Lord
and the head of the Holy Roman Catholic
Church has been steadily on the rise
Therefore, in the language of Taine
in his Modern Regime, according as
his temporal power diminishes his spir-
itual power expands TO such an extent
that In the end, after three-qaurters of n
century Che refers to the Vatican Coun-
Gil of 1870. Just at the moment when
the former is to fall to the ground the
latter is to rise above the clouds; through
the effacement of his human character
his superhuman character becomes de-
clared; the more the sovereign prince
disappears the more does the sovereign
pontin assert himself"
Finally this spiritual influence Of the
Pope grows until we have that wonder
full Vatican Council Of 1920 Whoever
thereafter-as Tame says-refuses to sub
NIT HIS mind and soul absolutely to the
dogma that the Pope, in his magisterial
pulpit, is infallible. is excluded from
the community and is lost. and when
the Pope gives his decision on faith or
on morals Jesus Christ himself speaks
itr1nes are ''irreformable." "They are
so of themselves. they alone, through
their own virtue, and not by virtue of the
Churchs consent" the language of the
decree. His authority is absolute. mot
only in matters which concern faith
and morals. but again in matters which
concern the discipline and government
Of the Church" Nobody shall appeal
from his verdict and judgment 10 any
ecumenical council. He is recognized as
the dictator of the Church, and, In
framing the DEGREES which declare his
resort is had TO the words of
the Latin tongue used to describe the