The Irish standard., 1902-03-15

AStaAA iuS. Lie HAS uluue I'LL udllkluU
his debtor on account of his unselfish
championship Of liberty and labor.
"Under the specious terms, liberty
of thought and modern progress the
enemies Of the papacy contended for
the unchecked freedom of every form
of delusion, and every champion Of
scepticism, for all men and for all the
cries, except for the ministers Of the
ancient faith that has rescued Europe
from the darkness of paganism and the
chaos of barbarism. Leo is a most
enlightened champion of progress No
man of the twentieth century admires
more generously the marvellous prog
ress OF the age than Leo XIII. But he
cannot admire the hypocritical preten-
sions of that alleged progress that IA
yors freedom for vice and license for
error, while it FORCES letters for divine
truth.
LEO has not won the approval of all
classes and Of all nations in his day.
The uncompromising defender of right
cannot hope to win the approval Of the
champions of wrong.
''The national church of England has
felt aggrieved that Pope Leo Kill,
the lawful successor of him who ex-
communicated Henry VIII. for his
apostacy, will not condone that rebel
lion and declare valid the counterfeit
priestly orders of the Anglican church.
This church, established by law, not
by the authority of God, but by Act
of the Parliament of England, had
lent it's sanction to the prescription and
exile visited upon the Catholic peo-
pie in the English realm. The Mass
had been proclaimed superstition and
idolatry by thatsame servile parliament
and by the coronation oaths of Eng
lands kings. No more severe rebuke
has been given to the pretentious hyp-
ocrisy Of England's servile national
church, than Leo's final decision on
the invalidity of Anglican orders.
"It is mistake to imagine that the
temporal power is insisted upon for
the sake of worldly pomp Oh material
glory. Civil power, no matter how
comprehensive or imposing, can add
nothing to the plenary, spiritual au-
thority, with which the risen Redemer
clothed the prince Of the apostles, and
his successors. The pope must enjoy
absolute independence, as sovereign,
not as subject of any prince or king,
in order that his absolute freedom to
exercise his plenary spiritual power
may not be interfered with, and that
he may not be forced to feed the sheep
and the lambs of Christ's fold under
the protection, or by the favor of any
crowned prince or sovereign people.
'The inalienable rights of the papacy
to independence and freedom is all that
Leo demands. He can be satisfied with
nothing less. He cannot remain silent
while sacrilegious spoliation is COM
mitted against the church of all ma
tons and bitter blasphemies are spok-
Ell against God and religion. The bias
phemer is protected in his wanton H.
cense of speech in the city of Rome,
which the papacy has made glorious.
The common Father of the faithful
throughout the world will not be pro-
tected from insult and violence, by the
imbecile and frivolous government pre-
sided over by the house of Savoy.
should he insist upon his undoubted
right to appear in public in the streets
of the Eternal City.
'"The pope is not ambitious for 20
litical power; does not aspire to tenn
poral dominion from motives of pride
or vainglory. He is ambitious only to
serve the higher interests of the soul,
to promote the moral and intellectual
interests of man. The civil independ-
ence Of the holy see became a recog-
nized fact among Christian nations
before the foundations of any of the
existing dynasties of Europe were
laid.
"The kind heart of Leo is saddened
at the sunset of his luminous career
at the desolation brought upon his be-
loved country by the spirit Of irreli-
gion. The robber Piedmontese gov
eminent has not only despoiled the
church of it's possessions and robbed
helpless women in their clustered
homes of their lawful property, but
it has impoverished the people by ex-
cessive taxation, levied to support
prodigal administration, and poisoned
the italian mind by instilling the ten
cts of bold atheism into the minds OF
the children in the government schools.
Against all this iniquity Leo can offer
but the force of ideas.
"The misfortunes and sorrows of the
holy see have drawn closer the bonds
that unite the Catholic world to it's
center. But especial manifestations of
affection on the part of the children
must not be accepted as an indorse-
ment of the injustice that has brought
sorrow to the heart of the father.
"Leo's personal character has re-
Elected new luster upon the papacy.
His greatness Of mind and heart have
won the homage Of the world. Leo