The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-27
AVAILABILITY OF POPE.
Father Gavisk Points Out that Those
Outside Church Are Confused.

At st. Johns Church yesterday morning
the pastoral letter of Bishop Chatard on
the death of the Pope was read by the Rev.
Francis III. Gavisk. In the prayers for the
civi. and ecclesiastical authorities was add
ed one for the repose of the soul of the
Pope and also the following collect for the
election of a new Pontiff:
with suppliant humility we beseech
Thee, o Lord, that Thou wouldst give unto
Thy most holy Roman Church worthy
sovereign Pontiff, one who, in Thine i'm
measurable goodness, may, in his pious
endeavors for us, be always found pleasing
in Thy sight, and who, by his zeal in the
government of Thy people in the way of
salvation may, for the glory of Thy name
be always revered.
In his sermon Father Gavisk said that
no formal eulogy of the late Pope is neces-
sary, for the universal topic of conversa-
ton during the past week had been the
Pope's death and the greatness of his per-
sonal character. Future historians will
confirm the judgment of to-day that among
the Successors of st. Peter in the papal
chair few have surpassed Leo XIII. He
said: Coming to the papacy at the age of
sixty-eight years, when most men feel that
their course is well nigh run, Leo seemed
TO have had new lease of life, and dur
ing the twenty-five years of his glorious
reign had given the papacy prestige it
had not enjoyed for four centuries. The
purity of his life, the greatness of his
charity, his wide view of the human race,
his brilliant intellectual powers, his states
manShip and diplomacy have been recog-
nized by all men and have marked him
as one of the greatest men of the century.
GIVEN RISE TO PHENOMENA.
1.-THE event of last week has given rise
to several phenomena. One was the world
wide regret at the loss of the Pope and the
universal tributes to Leo's greatness and
| goodness. These have come from crowned
| heads, from statesmen, from the common
/ people of every race, from every rank of
churchmen and from those opposed to his
religious faith This universally of eulogy
of the head of the church is unexampled in
! the history of the Christian church. We
| have had in the past week a demonstration
! of the sentiment of Christian unity, for
which no one had ever prayed more earn
eStiy than Leo XIII, the father of Chris
tians While this universal tribute is a tes-
| timony to the greatness of Leo, and in this
sense is personal, we cannot entirely sep
arate the personality of Leo and the Of
flee he held as head of the church. 1t is
therefore a demonstration to a Catholic of
the universally of his religion; the church
is not national, but catholic; it breaches
| to every nation and knits the most diverse
| peoples into the unity of faith, one
Lord and one baptism. The head of the
/ Christian church Is necessarily above ma
tionality, and his death affects diverse peo-
pies in a way that no other death could
affect men. There are very few men, how
ever great they may be. whose demise
would be felt seriously beyond the con-
/ fines of their own national or racial bar
/ rier. When to the exalted and world-felt
| station he occupied is added greatness OF
| character such as Leo XIII possessed il is
4 not marvellous that we should behold the
spectacle of the world in mourning for one
man.
Another phenomenon that must make ar
| impression upon the world outside the Cath
Ollie Church is the attitude of the church
| itself toward its dead Pontiff. From the
time that the aged Pontiff began his death
struggle and his eyes were closed in death
until his coffin placed in its temporary
receptacle in ST Peters there has been
continuous murmur of prayer for the reposs
of his soul throughout the Catholic world
and in will continue for a month after his
death IL is demonstration of the church'i
belief i'm prayer for the dead and a token OF
the democracy of the church. His obseQue.
have been conducted with the splendid cere
| monial BETTING his station as chief bishop
| of the church and vicar of Christ but tn,
prayers themselves differ not one syllable
from those uttered over the corpse of tn,
children.
VIEWS OF INFALLIBILITY
Outside of the Catholic Church man,
persons misunderstood the infallibility o
the Pope. confusing it in some way with i'm
peccability. supposing that we believe tn
Pope cannot sin. The prayers for the dyini
Pope. the prayers Tor the reposs Of his soul