Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-15
AN EN|GMA TO ROMANS
Cannot Understand the New
Pope.
ALL SORTS OF RUMORS
RECOGNIZED THE CIVIL AUTHOR
ITY IN VENICE.
Has Announced That He Will Not Alb
dictate Papal Claims-His
Personal Desires.
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.


ROME. December s. 1908
The new pope is an enigma which the
Romans have not yet solved He Is 50 I'M
like anything that has ever appeared IN
their own experience or In the histories anu
traditions of the papacy that they cannot
comprehend his character or his purposes
and they are In a state Of continual wonder
as to what he is going to do next Ihey
are prepared for anything, evidently iof
the most sensational and absurd fumors
about his intentions and policy are conthio-
aIly in circulation and are given credit by
the leading newspapers.
The other day one of the most reiiaoie
of the Italian dailies announced In serious
double-leaded lines that RECOMMENDATION oe-
tween the holy see and the civil authorities
had already been arranged, and intimateo
that the pope and the King OF ltaiy might
dine together In a few days. IT.,
This mas provoked official denial from nus
holiness Indirectly. however. but indicates
the expectation of the public mlnd' whhcL
Ill not be surprised by ANYTHING tnat may eay
happen, and here Is 1ustincatioh ioa
MANY of these reports. Plus x has maoe
innnovations that are surprising and from
time to fine drops Incidental remarks thI'
9tve ground for almost any amount OF con-
lecture. ..,.. .ho
crown of his head to the heels OF his new
white shoes. His predecessor was an aIi Is
tocrat to his finger tips. and both exempt
fed their birth, their ancestry. thelr eouca
ton and their envir9 IN men ,b pr1oe anu ~
Leo XIII was patrician OF the nshest
type whose family has occupied the sdinS
residence and cultivated the same grouilu
for five centuries. and the same tenantLy
have titled their fields and gathered their
haryests Piux x was born a peasant, ana
his family belong to the humble, INDUS
trtous Intelligent and Independent popuia
ton Of the villages that are scaste ~
throueh the northern mountains OF the
kingdom: a hardy, cool-headed, practlcai'
self-reliant race.
The Pope's Ideas.
Shortly after his coronation 1t became
known among people who take active inter-
eat in the affairs of the Vatican that the
new none had radical and what most or the
cardinals considered revolutionary IDEAS
concerning the policy of the church toward
tho civil government of Italy. For those
who are not familiar with the SITUATION
will explain that the pope still claims tne
right of exercising civil as wen as spt nr,,,
ual authority over what were Formerly
known as the papal states or Italy. anu
the presence of the king, the ministry anu
the parliament in Rome is regarded as an
invasion of his territory ana usurpa.iH On
~ his authority AS he has no army ne
cannot enforce or defend his rlghts ana
hence he Is theoretically. prisoner IN
his palace (the Vatican) and his capitai
(the city of Romeo Is IN s.aee VI a Sies !.
small faction of the sacred coliege Is
favorable to the recognition of the au-
thority of the king and the estaoishment
of cordial relations between the cnurch
areconcilia tionists." and their leader Is
Cardinal Vincent Vannuteln. VINO Is re-
garded as one Of the ablest statesmen IN
the college and was the foremost spirit OF
Lob ala Cd
the combination wnich eiecteu 'oeep" Se' "
to the papal throne.
The other faction. which comprises at
least -fourths of the cardinais are
called "temporalists." because they INSIST
the none and Cardinal Rampolla, recently
secretary of state and the most prominent
Candidate for pope. Is the recognized lead
er. They are also so extreme IN theiI
vote at election. Rampolia Is not only
great power In the church and one OF the
ablest statesmen of this age, put Is heIo
responsible for the policy OF the hoiy see
during the last seventeen years wmie ne
has been secretary Of state. Cardnai
Sarto had been recognized with the recon
ciliationists for many years anu is tne
only member of the sacred coilege VINO
was personally acquainted with the late
King Humbert and enjoyed similar ia
lions with the present king. Victor I'm
manuel III. ,. ,
This, however, is due to peculiar circum
and his habit Of acting upon his own 1uog-
rent AS long ago as the fourth century
the pope granted neutrality-suspicious. IN spir--
itral things to the republic of Venice. IN
Guiding the right to choose patriarch 1or
the government of the diocese, who should
nioY almost papal dignity and the highest
eccIesia stical Jurisdiction. superior to that
OF primate. metropolitan or archbishop.
Triumph for Sarto.
The kingdom of Italy, being the successor
of the republic of Venice, claimed the
ar Client right to select the patriarch. and In
1899. when Cardinal Sarto was appointed
t., fill a vacancy In that office by the pope.
King Humbert refused to recognize him.
and a long controversy followed. which
ended In a triumph for Sarto. who IN the
meantime had been exercising the duties
of the office and had won the confidence
anc respect of the civil officials They
recc n mended his recognition on the ground
that no better man could be found for the
place.
Sarto naturally appreciated the compli-
ment, and during the last ten years has
maintained cordial and even intimate rela-
tons with the civil authorities at Venice.
although he has never attempted to inter-
fere in politics In any way
A year or so after this episode King
Humbert went to Venice to meet the EN-
peror of Germany. and In anticipation OF
that event Cardinal Sarto informed the Of
fc.als OF the Vatican of his intentions to
pay his respects to the king. The sugges-
ton was not received with favor by Leo
XIII. and Cardinal Rampolla sent him a
hint that such a recognition of the civil
power was unwise and inexpedient, and
that 1t would be more polite for him to
make it convenient to be absent from Ven
ice as long as the sovereigns were in that
city. Sarto thought differently. and with
on. further consultation with the Vatican.
upon his own responsibility. carried out his
original intention and paid formal visits to
the emperor and king. which were returned
by both of them.
Caused Sensation.
This incident created decided sensation.
The public expected that the cardinal would
be rebuked for the act and admon!shed not
to repeat 1t. but it is understood that RAM
polla avoided further reference to the mat
ter. A year or two later. when King Hum
bert and the Queen Margarita visited
Venice to witness the launching of q
cruiser, Cardinal Sarto not only again ex-
changed formal visits with them, but ac-
cepted an invitation from the minister of
marine to participate in the ceremonies.
He blessed the new ship, standing upon the
same platform with the king and the civil