The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-03-10
the credit: Mosdamea A. L. WlllIle, A.
], Yahn. NJ. j. McFadden and ]. d. Nc
CARDINAL GIBBONS LECTURE

Council. follows:
/ happened TO be tho youngest bishop
that attended the council of the vatican,
and, while my youth AMI inexperienco
imposed on me- q discreet silence among
my elders. do not remember TO have
missed single session, and was an at
tentive listener Mt all tho debates,
The council was held in the LEFT tran
spet of st. Peters BlJllica, which was
partItIoned M and suitably furnished
with all the requirements for a dellbeTa-
tive body. Pope Plus IN presided IN
person nj the opening. as well as Mt all
the solemn sessions. and - bench OF i've
cardinals presided ut the business scs-
gionS, or general congregations, At inc
close Of the first solemn session the pre-
lRteS plGSsCd out from the council cham
her Into st. Peters church, and min
gled with the crowd OF some $4,000 spec
tatOrs. In advancing toward tho front
door OF st. Peters, l became separated
fTStm Archbishop Spalding. who always
favored me with scat in his carriage
was rs much bewildcred Us n stranger
would be In London fog, and did not
attempt to find my way to the carriage,
which WINS awaiting us In one Of the
many cOurt. yards around the vatican.
a carriage could NOT be secured at any
price. and, cncumbered as l was with
the impedimCRtl OF cope and mtre, n
tourney on foot to the American College,
a mile or more away, was out OF the
question.
/ applied In vain to the occupants OF
several carriages, hut all the seats were
engaged. At last, when It was growing
dark, a solitary carriage remained on
the piazza, occupied by a bishop. II was
my last chance. ! requested him TO give
me seat, and explained my helpless
condition, speaking TO him In French, as
that was the most popular language
among the pFelatcs. The bishop looked
az me with a EoDd-natured smile, when
seemed TO say: II think you understand
English quite "a well as French" And
then no replied to me In English: Tho
carlage. my lord. is engaged for 1--WE OF
rs. but we cannot leave you stranded
We must make room for you Rarely
did our English tongue sound 80 sweet
to my ears, and seldom was an act OF
kindness more gratefully accepted My
good Samaritan proved to be blShop
trim the wllds OF Australia.
A Cosmopolitan Gathering
When the council was convened In
Rome, December s. 1869, the Catholic
bishops OF Christendom. resident and
t!tular, numbered about loo At an
early stage OF the council, the number OF
prelates in attendance was 73T. Europe
was represented by 5ll prelaies. North
and South America by llS, Asm by Sj'
Africa by IA and Ocelnia by IL bishops.
Every coEtinent. every island Uf I'M
portnnce. every nation on the face OF the
globe. except Russia. was represented by
its hierarchy. The bishops kneeling TO.
gether around the altar In the COUNCIL
chamber. could exclaim with truth IN the
language Of the apocalypse: Thou mast
redeemed III, O Lord. TO God in Thy blood
out OF every tribe and tongue and people
and nation"
No prelAtes attracted more general at
tention tfan the venerable patriarchs
and bishops Of the East. may here OBJ
serve that the Oriental Christians COM
prise two classes, the schismaucS, VINO
sc,nrnted from the Catholic church
chiefly in the fourth, NTH and ninth CEN
turies, and are not now in communion
with the See of Rome. and the orthodox
Christians who acknowledge the judicial
supremacy Of the pope. Only the latter
had representatives at the cOuncli,
though the former had been Invited by
Plus TX, but they chose to decline.
These venerable prelites had nothihS IN
common with their western colleaEues
eXcep, their faith. Their peculiar rites
and ceremonies their liturglcal and pop
ular language. their dress and long
flowing boards, stamped them win Il
personality all their own. some OF tncIn
recalled to mind the patrinrchS OF oId. oil
whom we read In the Sacred scriptures
and they might sit for a Moses OF an
Aaron. The Eastern Christians IN COM
Tnuniop with the Holy See are divided
into the following rites: !. The Greek
rite, itself subdivided into Pure Greek
Ita1n-Greek, Roumaulan, bulgarian
Ruthenlan and Melchit9 Greek; :. Inc
Cbaldean rite: 3 The Syrian rite; !. Ine
Syro- Maronite: i. The SyoT-MalnbAr: b.
The Comic, subdivided Into Copdc prop
or and Coptic- Ethiopian.
These OrIentals came from the banks
Of the TiErls and Euphratc' the cradle
III the human family; from the banks oil
the Jordan, the cradle of Christianity;
from the banks Of the Nile. the home OF
the oldest historic civilization Lhey
came from Chaldca, from to LANDS OF the
Nedcs, the PersIanS and the Ahoyssln.
iaus; from Mossul built near the SITE OF
tho ancient Nineveh, and from Bagdad,
En,nded not far from the ruins Of Baby
ian, They assembled from Damascus
and Mount Libanus, and from the Holy
Land, sanctincd by the footprints 81 our
blessed Redeemer. What Spectcle
they presented. what reverence they eN,
cited! Interchangeable aS the hills ana
valleys OF their native soil, they wore
the same turban. the same pale ana
thoughtful cnuntenancc that their faith
ors wore In the time OF John the BaptIst:
they exhibited the same simplicity Of
manners that Abraham did nearly 4'UOO
years ago. when he fed his ilocks in the
valley Of Mambre and gave hospitality
to angels.
Compared with Trent.
Tho vatican council incidentally afford
ed us most striking md gratifying evil
dence Of the growth Of our language
among the nations Of the earth during
the last three centuries. and Of the cor
responding expansion OF the Catholic re-
Ugion throughout the English speaking
world, We can form n just estimate Of
t1fis lncrnasr by comparing the number
Of EnElish-s speaking bishops who at
tended the vatican council with the num-
Der Of the same tongue mt the council 0f
Trent, which assembled $50 years ago. At
the council Of Trent the whole continent
Of America was without single repre-
sentative. having been discovered only
fifty years before. Ocelnia was then
terra inc1gntl. There was no bishop
from Scotland. England sent one pre-
late and Ireland three n that council.
There were. consequently, only four En-
glish-spoaklnE representatives at the
TrIdentine Synod.
At the vatican council there was an
English Episcopatc numbering upwards
Of 100 members PrCl1tca speaking one
tongue assembled in Rome from Eng
land, Ireland, and Scotland, from the
United Statcsand Canada, from Occanld,