The Portland daily press., 1895-09-28
POPE'S TEMPORAL POWER.
Its Nature and Historical Origin.
The Vatican Stronger without Temporal
Power than with 1t.

The Vatican Stronger Without Temporal
| Power than with 1t.
Chicago Tribune.)
| The Tribune prints in another column
a letter from a prominent Democrat IN
defense of the political power OF tho
papacy over Rome and Central Italy. He
claims the Pope has perfect title to rule
Rome and the States of the church pol1tl-
cally, regardless of the opposition OF their
citizens, and that to deprive the Holy
Father of that privilege is an outrage,
and that his spiritual power is not safe
unless he has that authority. The Tribune
take issue with any such contention.
The papaI abstract of title to political
lordship over Rome and Central Italy is
a long and curious one-too long to give
here in full. 1t is needless to pay any
attention to the so-called donation of
Constantine. 1t is admitted to be
forgery by all Intelligent Roman Catholic
writer's. 1t is enough to say that prior to
the year 754 the Popes had managed, by
methods which will not always stand ex-
animation, to acquire some vague, I'M
defined measure of temporal power in and
around Rome. In that year "a. D. 754)
King Pepin of France, having defeated
Lombard, King of Italy, took portion
of his dominions and handed it over TO
Pope Stephen, 'sto be held and enjoyed by
the Pontiffs of the Apostolic See for
ever.'' A few years later the papal title
to Central Italy was confined by Charlie
mango, a French King, to whom Leo Ill.
gave in return the imperial crown and
the titles of Emperor" and Augustus !"
Where he got the authority to crown him
Emperor is not known. Certainly not
| from Christ or Peter.
| But, strong as this sort of papal title to
Rome was, it did not protect the Popes
from domestic violence or foreign in
yasion. The discussions of Roman mobiles
drove them to Avignon in France in the
| fourteenth century and they remained
away from Rome for seventy years.
| Then came the s'schism" when there
were two and sometimes three Popes at
| the same time.
At thu close of the last century, 179S,
the French took back their gift OF Rome
to the Pope. The French Directory seized
the Pope and carried him off to France
prisoner. His temporal power no more
protected him than it had protected Other
Popes before him on different occasions.
Part of the Papal States were taken by
France, and Rome was made republic.
A little later, 1885, Rome itself was an
nexed to France. In 1914 the Pope was
restored by the allies. In 1913 the
| Romans expelled Plus x, notwithstand-
| ing the title he had from King Pepln OF
| France and King Charlemagne of France.
| The French put down the republic In
Rome in 1910 and garrisoned the city.
| Again in 1867, after the French troops had
been withdrawn, the Romans sought to
get rid of papal political rule and upset
it. and again French bayonets came to the
relief of the ssVicar of Christ, and the
Romans were again conquered and the
Pope put on top of them. But in 1870
twenty five years ago, the French being
no longer in a condition to bayonet the
Romans into submission, the temporal
mower of the Pope came to an end and
Rome became the capital of united Italy
Inv the wishes of its people and all Italy !:
land that anniversary they have been cele-
Ebrating for several days past. Thus 1T
appears that many years ago the Roman
citizens began to take exceptions to the
right of French conquerers to decide for
all time who should be the political rulers
of Roman citizens.
/ Two reasons actuated them. One was
the notably New Testament passage :
ssJesus said, nay kingdom is not OF this
world.
The Pope is called the "Vicar OF
| Christi AS such he cannot possess
create r authority than Christ claimed for
himself. But unquestionably the Popes
claimed greater authority, an 8. at the
time 1t was often from Pepin accepted.
For instance, Christ also said: "Render
INTO Caesarythe things that are Caesars. -
pIn.1155 Pope Adrian. ", issued. .a.bull.. by
which he gave Ireland to Henry II. of
England. Twenty two years later Henry 3
son John was made Lord of Ireland, and
Cardinal Vivian, the Pope's Legate, con-
yened synod at Dublin and promulgated
the papal grant of sovereignty to Henry,
whom the Irish mobiles accepted as their
political lord. Mr.. Onahan, himself an
Irishman and familiar with real estate
matters, hardly thinks that spapal bull
and it's confirmation by the Pope's Legate
conferred on England an indefeasible
right to rule politically over Ireland for
4 over afterwards
The editor of The Tribune does not.
Nor does he think that grant of sover-
eighty by Pepin or Charlemagne or the
HOLY Alliance or Louis Napoleon or
French bayonets is worth copper. as
against the wishes of the Italian people
over whom sovereignty is claimed.
A Pope, dividing the world. gave Cuba
to Spain. Her title rests on papal grant,
discovery, settlement, and long aoccupa-
ton. Does Mr.. Onahan think the United
| States should assist her to retain the is
land and put down the .CubansS The
| Tribune does not.
There was another reason why the