The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-08-16

ems the members IF the Roman Cath
olic church outnumbeI by several mil
lions those of any other religious de-
domination in the United States The
faures are in the neighborhood of 10.
o00 000 exclusive Of the 1.OOO.OOO Of
catholics in Porto Rico and the con-
eidcrably larger number of the adher-
ents of the same creed in the Philip
mines. The personality of the prelate
who has just been appointed by Leo
XIII to assume as project of the pro-
raganda at Rome the ecclesiastical su-
nervision and control of the HIERARCHY
Of the clergy and of the Roman Catho-
nc aity in the great republic of North
America and its colonial ossessions
must, therefore, be a matter OF consid-
cradle interest and even Importance to
the people of this country.
II is the project of the propa ga nds
who determines the appointments to
the vacant bishoprics and archbishop
RIGS in all missionary countries in
which the United States and Great
Britain are comprised. 1t is the pre-
feet Of the propaganda, again. who de-
cides al disputes in connection with
ecclesiastical administration or doc
+rfne that may arise, either directly
or through the papal delegate at Wash.
ington. and, finally, il is the project of
The propaganda who constitutes the
channel Of intercourse between all
American Catholics and the pope. as
well as the representative and deputy
of the latter in his dealings with all
those members of the Roman Catholic
church who live and flourish beneath
The protection of the stars and stripes.
II is difficult to refrain from the con-
viction that in appointing Cardinal
Gotti to the office of project of the con-
grcgation for the propagation of the
faith-that is his official title-Leo XIII
had i'm view the United States and it's
colonial possessions. For the distin-
guished prelate in question. who is a
man Of the most humble origin, his
father having been a dock laborer at
Genoa. may be said to have won his
spurs and the good viii of the pontiff
nv The tact. the diplomacy and the skill
which he displayed in organizing
the Catholic church in Brazil
after its disestahlishment on the over
throw of the empire and the Inaugural
ton of a republican form OF govern
ment. The connection between church
and state in Brazil WAS severed when
Dom Pedro lost his throne and abso-
lutte equality now exists among all
forms of religion.
II was a task of considerable diff
Guilty to accustom the Brazilian hier-
archy and clergy to the new order of
things and to the loss of some of their
most cherished privileges while still
more arduous was the labor of bringing
the various monastic orders to com
prehend that they were placed, both
as regards the possession of property
and fiscal obligations, on the same
footing as ordinary corporations and
individuals. Yet Gotti accomplished
this without friction, by means of COM
mon sense and a spirit of Cancellation,
in such a manner as to give satisfac
ton alike TO the Brazilian government,
the clergy and religious orders in Bra
I'll. and to Leo XIII. receiving. indeed,
his red hat as reward for his success
in the matter.
The papacy is now confronted in the
colonial possessions of the United
States with a situation similar to that
which existed in Brazil at the time of
the downfall of the empire. The Ro-
man Catholic church has been discs
tablished in Porto Rico and in the Phil
ippines-that is to say, it has ceased
TO be a state church-and in the same
way the various religious orders.
which during the Spanish regime. en-
ioyed the most extraordinary preroga-
tives in the shape of immunity from
taxation, as well as from civil and
criminal jurisdiction, besides virtually
reigning supreme in all the rural dis
tricts. have now been deprived of all
their privileges and placed on the same
footing as the ordinary citizen, the sit
uation in the Philippines being aggra-
waited by the bitter animosity of the
native Catholic clergy towards the
frars.
Leo XIII manifestly hopes that Car
dnal Gotti, as project of the propa-
ganda, may prove as successful in ef-
fectiug 4 satisfactory settlement of the
questions that have arisen in connec-
ton with the establishment of the
Roman Catholic church in the colonial
possessions of Uncle Sam as he was ten
years ago in Brazil. and that he may
succeed in satisfying both the United
States government and the ecclesiasti-
cal interests concerned in the same way
that he managed to reconcile the con-
1cting interests of church and state
in the greatest of all the South Ameri-
can republics.
Cardinal Gotti enjoys an advantage
which none Of his predecessors have
possessed. He knows this country from
personal experience, having spent a
considera bic time in the United States.
traversing ii in every direction while
general of the Order Of Carmelites.
Those who had dealings with him on
that occasion were able to convince
themselves that his administration of
tho great Carmelite order had had the
effect of endowing him with prompt
and thorough buSinesslike habits. and
that he spoke not only French with a
inn nd r.n n 4
prelate. but likewise English. while his
knowledge of canon law is claimed by
churchmen to be superior to that of
any other member of the sacred col
lege
Neither Cardinal Ledochowski. nor
yet his predecessor at the propaganda.
Cardinal Simeone. had any knowledge
Of the United States. except through
hearsay. and were consequently unable
TO form any definite conception of its
conditions and Of its peculiarities This
has consequently. led in the past to
errors or judgment on the part of the
propaganda. which were all the more
COMPREHENSIVE when the fact is taken
into consideration that until a short
time ago there was not a single prelate
or ecclesiastical connected with the
propaganda who was even conversant
with the English language. Cardinal
Gotu therefore, enters upon his duties
as project equipped with an experience
of American conditions that is pos
sessed by no other members of the
sacred college. with the exception of
Cardinals Satolli and Martinelli.
o
Mgr. Cotti has been generally regarded
until now as destined to become the
successor Of Leo XIII. and there has
been much speculation in consequence
As to what his policy would be likely
10 be in the event of his becoming pope.
Far too much importance is attached