The Irish standard., 1898-04-30

slightest degree of arrogance or show Of
desire to participate In the temporal at
fairs of the nation. AS the government
does not sustain any official relations
with the Vatican the keen requirements
Of diplomacy would not permit the Pope
to offer any sort of mediation in matters
foreign to religion. But he has mace hi;
position understood to the extent that il
such mediation were requested he would
exercise his moral powers in the inter-
csts of truth and justice.
That he has Il mighty influence With
some nations must be admitted, and It
was never better evidenced than when
few days ago Spain agreed at the Popes
| request to grant an armisticc in Cuba.
after tho representations of the lnij,T
States and the combined powers of Eu~
rope had failed to bring it about.
When President Cleveland sent to the
Pope through Cardinal Gibbons; a mag
nficcnt bound copy of the constitution,
which was presented by an American
| dcputation, his Holiness said:
"1n your country men enjoy liberty
in the true sense of the word, guaran-
tccd as it is by that constitution of
which you have given mo a copy. In
] your country religion is free to extend
every day the empire of Christianity,
and the church is free to develop its
bcncficcnt action. Your country has be-
forc it 4 future full of hope, your GOV
ernment is strong, and the character Cf
your president arouscs my most genuine
admiration"
That Leo MIL should be invited by
Spain to use his good Offices for the
preservation of peace Is both natural
and proper. in that Spain has always
been intensely Catholic and loyal to the
Holy See Its sovereign is termed
Most Catholic Majesty" and the pres
ent king, Alfonso KILL, Is the Popc's
| godson. Then, again, Spain has IL rcu
resentation of four members in the Col
lego OF Cardinals, and maintains an en-
| bassy at the Vatican, as does the Vatican
| at Madrid.
In the consideration of important uucs-
! IONS Leo Nil. is surrounded by body
OF the most accomplished diplomats the
world can produce. His secretary of
state, Cardinal Mariana Ranmola del
| Iindaro, is described as having "thc man
ners OF a prince, the courtesy OF Dip
| lomat, and tho quick, penetrating intel
| llgence of modern statesman. He Is
; candid and frank, and is we'll spoken OF
| as u good man by those who know him;
Is trusted by the Pope and quite enough
man of the world to be competent to fill
his present post" His Holiness also fro
| qnently seeks the counsel and advice OF
his vicar general, Cardinal Llcido Mary
Parocch, who IS said to be lavorably re-
| gardcd as Ilco's successor in the chair of
| ST. Peter. Ilo is Il man of tremendous
| 1Orco or character, and is said to be much
| like the present Pope In temperament
ana stcadfastncss OF purpose. Anothc"
broad-mindcd and widely experienced aG-
wiser of the Pope is Cardinal Mccsns
| Lcdochowski, Prcfcct of the Propaganda.
| Amazcmcnt has been frequently cx-
pressed that the Pope should select Arch
bishop ireland as his medium of COM
munication with President Mckinley,
thus seemingly passing over the heads
OF the delegate, Mgr. MnrtineIIi and the
primus Of the American hierarchy, Cardi-
nal Gibbons.
TO those who are convcrsant with The
ways of the Vatican diplomatic mnchIn-
cry there is no cause of surprise. Leo
| XIII. has frequently been alluded to as
the most astutc statesman of modern
| times, and his right to this distinction
has never been challenged even by those
who arc opposed to his policy. I.cos pn-
ation in the world or temporal affairs
| is more astonishing when it is con, rd"d
| that in attaining his high political po-
sition he has forfeited no right to be
| considered the greatest chlrchman of his
time. Consequently when he desired to
| reach the car of the chief executive Of
the United States tho Pope did not seek
| to do so through the mouth of him
whose functions are peculiarly of an cc-
clcsastica nature Mgr. Mnr,inell rep
roScnts the Pope and the Vatican only in
matters pertaining TO the church rs Il
| religious organization; and when matters
concerning tcmporaiticS are to Ec con-
aidcrcd other means Of communications
are sought. For this reason also, Car
| dinal Gibbons was passed over, because
his cmincncc's reputation is that of II
clurchman who has had little or nothing
to say concerning the tcmp0ralitics. 1t
was quite natural, then, that the Popc
| should select his spokesman from among
those prcatcs who have an Hcknowl-
edged influence in political affairs, and
this was the reason why Archbishop
ireland was made the medium of COM
| munlcatiOn, and it may be taken for
granted that what Rome has seen fit to
say to Washington has been said by the
| prclatc of ST. Paul. For years Arch
| bishop Ireland has been recognized
factor in American politics, and while
his acts have never shown suspicion that
he was less fcathfuI to Rome, he has
certainly made the American public un-