The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-01-10
IDEAS.

The first month of the twentieth GEN.
fury has witnessed an incident which typi-
fes one of the great conflicts Of the times.
eral hundred English Catholic pilgrims
to Rome on Tuesday. The pilgrims were
headed by the Duke of Norfolk. who read
an address to the Pope, in which occurred
the following passage: w pray and trust
that the new century may witness the
position of temporal independence which
your Holiness declared was necessary for
the effective fulfllment of the duties of
your worldwide charge" The publication
of the address created a sensation in po-
liticai circles of Rome, and the liberal
IAN ex-minister of the government of Great
Britain, whose friendly relations with
Italy are often referred to as constituting
an alliance, should in Italy's capital pub
licly express a desire for the restoration of
institutions which would involve the de-
struction of the kingdom" There was so
much danger of a popular demonstration
against the British pilgrims that precau-
tionary measures were taken to protect the
hotel where they stopped. In replying to
the address the Pope said:
You all deplore the evils which afiict us
in the painful position to which we submit
rather than renounce the sacred rights and
independence necessary for the free exer-
else of our apostolic mission to the world.
In these last days fresh cause for grief has
been added to our sorrow. Under our eyes
is this holy city, which should be the in
violate center of Catholicism, ii is per-
mitted to associations for religious propa-
cation to take advantage of the sad eco
nomic conditions of the country to corrupt
the faith of our children in the name of a
81 cious doctrine of Judgment which pre-
tends to leave to each person the right OF
interpreting in his own fashion the doc
trine of Christ.
That the aged Pope, now nearly ninety
one years DID,. should signalize the opening
of the century by asserting anew his OBJ
solete claim to temporal sovereignty and
protesting against individual freedom in
matters of religion shows how little he
! appreciates the temper of the times and
the coming solution of great questions.
He has read history to little purpose if he
thinks that the work of Garibaldi and
CaVour, or victor Emanuel and King Hum
bert in the establishment of unified Italy
and representative government will ever
give way to the reactionary conditions i'm
piled by the temporal sovereignty of the
Pope. He fails as completely to read
Alright the signs of the times If he does
not see that the twentieth century is to be
one of constantly widening individual lib.
erty Of thought and action in religious
matters. The world has moved a long way
from the doctrines of all the middle ages
and will move much further. Judging from
present indications, the end of the present
century will see what the Pope calls 9Th:
specious doctrine of judgment which pre-.
tends to leave to each person the right OF
interpreting in his own fashion the doc,
trine of Christ" far more widely recog
nized than II now is. The world moves. ant
If the Catholic Church is wise it will NOV
also. The next Pope should look forward
instead of backward.