The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-22
WORLD OF
RELIGION
Christian Democracy
And Vatican.
THE RELIGIONS IN JAPAN
Presbyterian Creed Revision in France
| Famous Roman Catholic
Astronomers.

| The attitude of the Roman Catholic
Church toward the modern spirit of social
liberalism known as Christian Democracy
deep interest and speculation both with
in and without the church. 1t could hard
ly be other than matter of great sig
nificance to the whole of Chrstendom
what position this great religious organ
ism assumes upon this vital subject; and
yet 1T has not been wholly clear what
this attitude would be. During the past
few years a party known as the Demo-
cratic Christians, of which in the earlier
years of the century Chateaubriand, De
Maistre, and Lamennais = eminently
Catholic thinkers-were the precursors,
has become prominent in almost ali coun-
I tries. The official attitude of the church
toward this party is the subject of an
article by an Italian writer Prof. q. NJ
Fiamingo, in The Open Court (August).
Upon the accession of Leo XIII. in 1878,
says the writer, the Pope presented q
benevolent attitude toward the represent
atives of advanced social views, and his
encyclical Rerum Novarum, published a
few years later, openly manifested his adj
herence to the principles of the Democra-
tic Christians. Archbishop Ireland, whom
Professor Fiamingo calls 1.-THE leader OF
the new Christian movement in the United
States" at conference held in Paris in
1892, said: "All hail to Leo Kill, the Pope
of the century, so providentially at the
head of the church in this great historical
;.,;e To A.
at the supreme moment of her life. The
schism between the church and the GEN.
fury was continually widening. She had
been rejected and combated by govern.
ments, the people no longer confided ir
her. Social movements had perfected
themselves without her consent; Catho-
llica, alarmed and discouraged raised iso-
lation to a law, nay, almost dogma
Then Leo spoke, Leo acted, Leo reigned
THE church is launched upon the world
her presence is again felt everywhere, she
,enforces respect, she is listened to will
an attention that is entirely new" II
short, says the writer, the ideas of the
Democratic Christians were accepted b,
Leo "as an expedient for propagatine
THE Catholic faith" and in this he wa:
reinforced by Cardinal Rampolla, th'
papal Secretary OF State, who, it Is wei
known, exercises a powerful sway at tn'
Vatican.
earlier policy of the church has now beer
materially altered. Gradually, he says
the Christian Democrats showed more anC
more a leaning toward pure socialism
land the church, especially the Vatican
0 has become distrustful of the aims of th
: party. Says Professor Fiamingo:
: This is what has happened to Chris
. tan Democracy especially IN the Unitet
States on account of the initiative takel
by Monsgnori Keane and Ireland. Chris
tian Democrats leaned more and NOR
Z toward socialistic theories, and it wa
owing only to the influence exercised il
Rome by the United States that the work
of Henry George were not placed upon tn
Index and hence forbidden to be read b.
Catholics. Thus the works of Henri,
George are exempt, while publications o
infinitely more temperate view fgur
: upon the Index among others, as an ex
ample, the poems of Ada Negri, which
altho they were received with much favo
g and printed in thousands of copies, we
S will never bring about a social revolution
n Two Catholic schools of thought ar
y now found In every Catholic country
= that of the conservative Catholics, t
: which almost all bishops belong. and
e minority that upholds the Christia
: Democracy, encouraged by the attitud
s first assumed by the Vatican toward SO
: lcial questions. Discussions and difference
caused by the disparity of opinions be