The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-12-15

years the Popes held temporal sway
in the Eternal City and made it what
1T is to-day-the Mecca of the civil
lied races of the world. Did the Pope
leave Rome and carry off the treasures
OF ages which it contains, what would
be left to attract visitors beyond tho
great temples, the catacombs, and the
pagan ruins? The aged occupant of
the Vatican is the magnet that draws
people to Rome and makes the city
famous.
THE Pope to-day" continues the
Journal" is absolutely independent in
the exercise of his spiritual functions. :"
1t then adds that the Italian parlia.
ment enacted the law of papal guaran-
tees, setting apart large fund for his
use protecting him in the exercise of
his sacred office, and granting him the
possession of the Vatican and n line
country residence in the vicinity of
Rome
All that is true, and yet the Pope is
treated more as a subject by the Ital-
ian king than an independent ruler of
25o,O0O,OOO people who recognize him
as the vicegerent of Christ upon earth.
The young king Of Italy objected to
the Pope as member of the Hague
peace conference when he was pro-
posed by the Car of Russia. WHY
did he do so? Merely to show that he
was subject of the Italian monarchy
The day may come, and that ere long,
when Victor Emmanuel III may exer-
else a censorship over papal encycli-
Gals and interfere with the Pope in the
discharge of his functions as the head
of the universal church.
In relation 10 the guarantees refer
red to by our esteemed contemporary
we will quote the following from Dr.
Moynihan's able article on the tenn
poral power Of the Pope in the Catho-
lie World for this month:
'The law Of guarantees is nothing
more than a sop thrown to the con-
science of Christendom; if proof Of
this be needed, it may be found in
that utter contempt for the spirit of
the guarantees which the government
has steadily manifested. A penal
code has been enacted which the Eng
fish press characterized as a challenge
to the Italian clergy to choose between
God and Caesar Funds bequeathcd
by the piety of generations of the
church have been Withdrawn from
ecclesiastical control, and this at the
bidding of a man who had preached
an open propaganda of infidelity
against Christianity in the towns and
villages of Italy. A funeral process
sion which in the stiffness of the night
was escorting to their last resting
place the remains Of the venerable
predecessor Of Leo was set upon by
gangs of ruffians who, taking advan-
tage Of the reign of license and VIC
lence tolerated in Rome, fought to
throw the dead body of the Pontiff
into the Tiber And how far the
Italian government goes in it's perse-
cution Of the Pope may be inferred
from the fact that a mayor of Rome
has been dismissed by the ministry
for a simple expression of good will
towards the Sovereign Pontiff, and
that the Holy See, which possesses
more moral force than all the rulers
of Europe combined, has been exclu1-
ed by the Vaccinations of the OUR
inal from the greatest peace congress
of the age. These are but the most
fragrant instances of the ceaseless
warfare waged against the Pope by
those who point to the law of guaran-
tees as a security Of the Pontiff's indie
pendence. Truly the modern Magma
Charta Of the papacy guarantees moth
ing. Even if Leo We're willing to
barter the patrimony of Peter for
Italian lire lie would not be safe
against the infringement Of his most
elementary rights. The very cXis-
tence of the law of guarantees is a
presumption that the Pope is a subject
The Pope, if any man, must be his
own master, and his own master he
cannot be if he becomes the pensioner
of a secular government, with rights
safeguarded only by an act of parlia
mcnt"
The Journal will see that there are
two sides to the papal question, and
on reflection it may agree with Arch.
bishop Ireland that lat Il period not
so remote the Italian people and
christendom at large will give back
to the papacy its wonted dignity and
liberty" When Il few years ago the
italian troops were slaughtered and
captured by Menelek of Abyssinia.
that dusky monarch readily granted