The sun., 1896-01-26
LEO xI1I'S REVOLUTION.
1ErnssF sFvTkrIvE eovERNNBNr IN
l.-at THE CATHOLIC CHURoH.

,Yr<ak with Tr~ditiens IN HIS Metu FRO
, % ,-vso for the Geverrment OF the Essterr
sH Churches Orientais Admitted 70 the
rros.en Commission-what she Reform
ro,pts to with Regard 20 Ansiiea. Uaion.
RoNE. Jan. s.-For q New Years gift Leo
XIII. has given tho Orient its organ OF life, the
commission established at Rome under the
personal presidency of the Pope. and composed
like the great Roman congregations. the minis
tries founded by Sixtus ". of councillors. some
taken from the occidentals and designated by
the PontiT. others selected from among the
representatives at Rome o. the Eastern patri.
srchs. and appointed by them. 1t is the rcali-
xation OF . Pontincal plan whose general out
tine THE Sun was the first to indicate.
Tho snotu proprio is historical as we'll as q
governmental act: II marks a date and creates
an institution. What the encyclical Prgcldrd
and the Apostolic constitution for tho Orient
meant intellectually for the union Of the church
tho notu proprfo means from the administrative
side. II is the ministry whose offco IL 10 to
conduct in q stable and permanent manner the
affairs Of the Orient and above all to bring
about the union.
What marks out this now function, this Pom
tifcal organ, is the union Of East and West in
carrying out tho work undertaken a year ago
at tho conferences In the Vatican. TIL to-day
Latinity alone directed the churches Of tho
East; like other parts Of the world, tho Orient
received from Rome life. inspiration. COM
mauds, execution. Henceforth tho Oriental
churches arc an integral part Of tie central
government Of Catholicism In what concerns
their spiritual interests.
That is an immense step, both in the direc-
ton of union and in the governmental "interna-
tionaization" Of the Papacy. Since the Coun.
N H. T., haa s%A ltlvuh ho1H lr<,f
from Rome because Rome alone governed. It
meant the invasion. the rule Of Latinity, It said
and Latinity was not at all in favor on tho
shores of the Bosporus, of tho Red Sea, and
Of tho Dneiper.
It is also q cause Of separation. an unsur.
mountable barrier as It were, for tho dissenters
who accused the Papacy of tending to absorb
tho East. to an ecclesiastical heeemony, to tho
ruin of the national traditions Of which those
countries are so proud. Created, directed once
by the Apostles, these churches reproached
Rome for its mathematical uniication.
These causes for dissent are about to fall
away. Not only does the Pope promise that
the traditions. sites. and hierarchical organ
also gives these churches a share in the very
Inanalement Of the religious affairs Of tho
It Is taking up again without faltering the
government Of the Church: as 1t was consti-
iations to the rights Of Rome and to the par
ticular interests Of the Eastern communities.
Such Is . the hi historical meaning Of this s motu t.
the history of the Papacy and of the East.
Is universal Significance is this: Thi:
Rome may be looked upon as tile first step in
giving, an international character to the
prelude to progressive. more and more serious
and broad: representation Of the churches Of
nj "a nf
The work OF Capitalization. completed in tho
last three centuries. and crowned with so mach
ticeably. will say totally. the effective inter:
penetration OF the provinces and the capital
St Sdn or aosms Of not s4n Sny sns n of aG
pent and direct course of business Of ali kinds
This enlargement of the sphere Of work will
bring about logically the extension of the or
es tho I'D .-tm ran. are in fact represented in
tho government at Rome. the Papacy will be
e. .a much u, mHsterpsse Of the science and psae
divine delegation OF Christ: In this. as in so
many other things Le1 Nil viii have Sesn
est sense of the word. In its external and hu-
man side Is Is not the faDacy the only truly i'm
The Transformation OF the Papacy for the ad-
would have been further advanced il the case
itself All equitable and satisfactory solution.
An intellectual and political initiator. o sower
able. to be an organizer and reformer. rs he
would have wished to be. Face to face with
the Quirinnii ri encamped at hs gates watching
It, the POPE has not dared to inaugurate the re-
forms which filled his great strong brain. and
fruitful solitude Of Perugin. In reading the
diplomatilc comrrespondences RE Of the Venetian
news satherers Of their time. we see the S strns rug
gle. and the opposition Of interests against
which Sixtus Y. Ind to contend from the day
admirable organs whose wonderful action and
latest splendor we can still to-day. Cardi
litcal. factions they called them then all per-
sons OF Importance all selfish and vested inter
Phtlip II. and Henry iV. To accomplish a
task SO delicate and so complex. security and
character
To be master in ones own house is the first
more imperous the demand for the adapta-
ton TO new circumstances becomes. the higher
are the almost unbreakable barriers raised.
To try to carry out these reforms now. TO try to
adapt TO the more numerous functions OF the
Papacy, the mechanism of the government.
would be not only to bring down the storm OF
personal interests. but to create conflicts and
confusion by which the Quirinal would profit
sosrsts 50 Constantly and eloauently us
by u Leo ;so Mi: that he does not enjoy at Rome
handing independence and a material bull;
carry away with him probably thoughts for
the futuie which the present situation will not
allow him to put into effect in this world
But these germs will come to flower. The hour
will come when either he or his successor will
be .ie - take up in security this ecclesiastical
From the English and American standpoint
she position Ia ken In the m0tu prOprio has deep
meaning. 1t Is Il new and clearer witness to
the persistence Of Leo XIII. in carrying out his
evangelical work Of bringing closer and recon.
cling tho churches. The irreconcilable of
all classes are strangely mistaken II they hope
that resistance or dificuities will have any
effect on the Pontif's soul: In vain are re.
ports from London or New York addressed TO
The noble old man on the impossibility Of union.
His will does not bend: it stands upright, vivi-
fed. ns 4 borne by an unyieldinu thought, an
irresistible sentiment. In Paris itself. the
centre of the Old World. an Anglo Roman Re
ctep has been founded under his auspices whose
object will be to discuss, develop, and ripen
the noble iden! OF peace and unity OF Leo XIII.
Deeds will follow promises. Nothing proves
this better than the last motu proprto.
INNoMIHATo.
GOOD FORM FOR COLLECTORS.