The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-14

the spirit OF religion is a work which makes
a man exteriorily moral but not altogether
and thoroughly honest l.
II would conclude these reflections Dy
remarking:
First. that for these reasons the i~nstruc-
ton and education of the young is a work
of the highest Importance;
Second, that the young should be edu-
to the eIe m pri ne.hd an of morality and acs
cording to IA true religious spirit;
Third, that all good men should cooper
ate in this great work, so that the Amer1-
can people from generation to generation
may remain always safe in its political
and social institutions, sincerely honest and
.'One who cannot see. or would venture
to deny the justice of these considerations
would merit no attention from reasonable
and well-thinking men.
THE POPE'S S~OLICITUDE.
II have been happy to accept this recep-
ton. and it has given pleasure to the SUI
periors of the institution to offer it to me,
since in my unworthiness 1 have the honor
of representing the Holy Father as his
delegate. In the midst of the cares of his
spiritual government, which extends itself
to all the nations of the earth, for the
safety and profit of the institutions proper
to every one of them, he has no dearer
object nor greater joy than in promoting
in every possible way the education of the
young.
That is the work which he most warmly
ticipate in the work is the greatest and
surest title of his esteem. One might well
put in the mouth of the Holy Father the
words of st. John:
'Majorem graham non habes GUAM ut
andiam flios meas in veritate ambulare.
q have no greater grace than this to hear
that my children walk in the truth.)
~ will add that 1T is we'll that young
men should have from their earliest days
a just idea of what the Pope Is, how lofty
MS dignity, now great his AUTHORITY. now
beneficial his actions. His dignity and his
power come directly from Christ, and the
exercise OF this power can only be for the
benefit, religious, social, intellectual and
moral. temporal and eternal. of humanity.
WHAT HI POPE IS.
II could not more fttingly conclude than
by expressing this just idea of the Pope in
the words of the illustrious Cardinal New
man, who beautifully describes what the
Pope is viewed from a social standpoint,
just as st. Bernard beautifully describes
him from a theological point of view. Car
dinal Newman says:
Detachment, as we know from spiritual
books, is a rare and high Christian virtue.
A great saint, st. Philip Nerj, said that if
he had a dozen really detached men he
should be able to- convert the world. To be
detached is TO be loosened from every tie
which binds the soul to the earth, to be de-
pendent on nothing sublunary, to lean on
nothing temporal; lt is to care simply moth
ing what otner men choose to think or say
of us; 10 go about our own work because
1t is our duty, as soldiers go to battle, with
out a care for the consequences. = g =
Now, this detachment is one of the special
ecclesiastical virtues of the Pope. They are
of all men the most exposed to the tempta-
ton of secular connections, and, as history
tells us, they have been of all men least
subject to it. By their very office they are
brought across every form of earthly
powers, for they have a mission to high as
well as low. Under such circumstances any
mon hl1f thaU xynIll6 hoUn q Sfrnno Loo min -
towards what is called conservatism, and
they have been, and of course are, conser-
natives in the right sense of the word; that
is, they cannot bear anarchy, they pray for
the peace of the world and of all Christian
states, and they ,effectually support the
cause of order and good government. The
name of religion is but another. name for
law on the one hand, freedom on the other;
and at this very time who are its protested
enemies but socialists, anarchists and
rebels? But a conservative in the political
sense of the word commonly signifies some
thing else which the Pope never is and can
not be. 1t means a man who is at the top
of the tree and knows 1t, and means never
to come down., whatever it costs him to
keep his place there. 1t means a man who
upholds government and society and the ex-
listing state of things, not because it ex-
lists, not because it is good and desirable,
because 1T is established, because it is a
benefit to the population. because it is full
of promise for the future, but rather be-
cause he himself is we'll off in consequence
of 1t, and because to take care of Number
One is his main political principle. 1t means
a man VINO defendS religion not for reli-
gion's sake, but for the sake of its acct
dents and eXternals: and in this sense con-
sentative a Pope can never be, without a
simple berayal of the dispensation COM
mitted to him.
sSuch is the political and social character
of a Pope, and such a Pope, if ever one ex-
listed, is Leo XIII.
I'm his name, then, and in my own, /
thank you for this reception tonight. I
thank the Most Reverend Archbishop, the
Right Reverend Bishop, the reverend clergy
and the gentlemen of the laity for their
kindness in showing this respect for my per-
son. / beg the brothers of the Christian
schools and their pupils to accept my sin
cerest congratulations and best wishes, and
/ pray for them the choicest and most
abundant divine blessings, and in imploring
this blessing for the youth of this renowned
institution | ask it for the pupils of all
schools of this country under the care Of
the brothers,. and so feel that ! am asking it
furtherising hope of the next generation Of
Americans"