The Irish standard., 1903-09-12
Catholic Countries Will Not Permit Him
to Become Subject to Italy or
to Any Other Country.
Italy Like Other Nations Accords Him
First Rank and Precedence Over
Its Hereditary Ruler.

"Thc position of the pope in the law
of nations is Il peculiar one AS SOW
crcign head of the church and fore
most OF Catholic monarclls he is above
all law, yet Ills position is at once
guaranteed by the laws Of nations and
by the king and people of Italy," says
the Chic2xo Chronicle.
no 81 this fully we will have
to 80 back to the times when Rome
and the Roman provinces, otherwise
the states of the rch, did not vet
constitute an integr! part of the king
dom of Italy. AS long as the pope
remained a worldly sovereign there
could be no doubt of his position in
the European concert. The law OF
nations protected him and his rights
as it does those of the emperors OF
Austria and Germany, for instance.
But these latter monarclls are able to
! back up their will and prcrogativcs by
armies and navics, Il thing the pope
has been unable to do for centuries
past. The pope, then, was in reality
| not q power as Il sovereign monarch
title last of the kings" Mommscn
once called hfm-but only the supreme
head of religious society with mil
lions of adlcrents in all parts of the
world. The Catholic church is an in
tcrnatonal institution, governed to a
certain extent by the laws OF nations
| The exceptional position guaranteed to
| papal ambas sSldorS before and after
1870 proved that. Then, as now, they
| had ana have precedence over all other
ambassadors; even the imperial am
l'assadors of countries like Russia,
| that are opposed TO the Catholic
church. must give way to them. Be
fore 1870 they represented the interest
Of the states of the church as we'll as
the church itself, AS ambassadors of
a worldly kingdom they would have
ranked with the minister of some
small German prince, yet the proulcst
empires had to bow before them as
Wears Of "Christ's vicar on earth"
And so it is today, when the sue
cessor of st. Peter, prince of apostles
is no longer n mundane sovereign. The
dual capacity Of king of Rome and
head of the church was virtually ig-
norcd in olden days, the pope passing
as what lie was and is, emperor Of the
| A nh,
nations extended him every protection
and guaranteed his rights and privi-
| lcgcs for all time. When, however, in
I September 1870, the last remnants of
the papal states were annexed by the
Kingdom of Italy, the situation chang
ed, but for n moment only Italy was
Informed by the emperor of Austria
and other Catholic monarclls that the
loss Of Rome must not mean loss of
personal sovereignty and that the
DOpc's position under the laws of ma
tions permitted of no change.
Italy hastened to assure his majesty
of Austria and the representatives Of
Spain and France that it never had
any intention of curtailing the pope's
personal power and that modus WV
cndi pleasing to all concerned would
he found. In making these conces-
sions the victor saved itself the great
est possible complications. for the
Catholic church Is prc-emincntly inter-
national in character and the various
governments having Catholic subjects
must necessarily insist upon the Dope's
mundane and spiritual independence.
They cannot permit him to become
subject to the state of Italy, or to any
other country for that matter Their
own interests demand that the popc
exercise his high office without inter-
ference or hindrance from anyone.
At that moment international action
would have been in order, but, strange
to say, the powers took no steps what.
ever to assert their own and their
co-sovcrigis rights.
In the order of things they ought to
have called n congress to stipulate the
pope's rights and privileges before the
law of nations, but fear Of embroiling
themselves in one way or another