Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1903-07-29
TWO POPES, LEO XIII AND Plus TX.
AN APPRECIATION.

make friends. But be was as | said
no diplomat and had in fact a lofty
scorn for the sneaking methods of that
craft. The heroic old pope who fought
hundred fights for the truth and had
won every one was in no humor to
fraternize with the men of blood
and iron who had trampled into place
and into power over the murdered
corpses of thousands of men and over
the graves of human liberty, human
happiness, and human hopes. This is
why students of European history in
the first quarter of the latter half of
the nineteenth century revere the
name and the character of Plus TX
and why they do not allow themselves
to be misled by the vulgar rout made
in the newspapers over the career of
Leo XIII.
For Plus was the hardy pioneer who
made smooth the rough ways, the man
of iron nerve who made possible the
velvet path of diplomacy for Leo
XIII.
The Catholic people throughout the
world admire Plus IL as heroic fig
ure like the popes who died for the
faith under the prosecutions of the
Roman emperors, and like Gregory
the Great of later day, who compell
ed German emperor to Conossa even
as Plus himself at last brought Bis
mark to his knees and made the Iron
Chancellor confess that though he
might hammer Francis Joseph and de-
molish Napoleon III he with his two
millions of soldiers was no match for
the peaceful and unarmed head of the
infallible church.
The same Catholic hearts loved Plus
for the enemies that he made. They
love him for waving the banner of
Catholic truth in the faces of bigots
like PalmerstOn and Russell in Eng
land, of naughty tyrants like Nicholas
and Gortschakof in Russia, of bull
dozers like William and Bismark in
Germany, of charlatans like Napoleon
in France, and of cut threats and
traitors like Victor Emanuel and
Cavour in Italy.
When Leo came then to the papal
office all the heads of the European
states and governments were willing
to extend the glad hand. The new pope
being something of diplomat himself
was not indisposed to treat with them
in their own way and on their own
grounds. A new order of things had
arisen in Europe and a new type of
pope had appeared in Rome. Russell
and Palmerston, Nicholas and GOrt-
schakoff, Napoleon and Victor Eman-
uel were dead and of those who had
prosecuted Plus IL and the church
there remained Bismark only and even
he had learned how foolish it is for
man or even a chancellor to beat his
head against wall of stone. And
thus the world saw the strange sight
in Europe of a mutual admiration
society established between the vat
lean and each of the royal and i'm
perial courts. The queen of England
knitted pair of slippers for his holt
ness's feet, the car of Russia sent
golden crown for his head, the emper-
or of Germany gave him crosier
studded with precious stones, and the
Sultan of Turkey was so moved with |
the sanity character of the new pOntif |
that he insisted on sending Leo few |
of his multitudinOus wives. The pope |
gently declined this last gift and some
of the wits we're irreverent enough to |
say that one of the reasons why Leo
refused to receive these ladies was
that the Sultan bad added insult to |
injury by selecting for his offering |
the ugliest and the most shrewish |
women in the imperial harem.
Compared with Plus stormy reign
of thirty two years hiatt of Leo shows
only paths of pleasantness and ways
of peace. There was no great Euro
pean war or political disturbance no
deep social discomfort. The pope was
free TO give his great talents and his
great energy to the direct interests of
the church. Occasionally he was in
vited to act as arbitrator i'll disputes
between some pair of the great powers
and it must have tickled his sense of
humor when Great Britain aud Ger
many. the two states which had given
most trouble to Plus IN were among
the very first to entreat his good Off
ces in that regard.
Nor was the last quarter of the nine
teenth century distinguished for any
great intellectual achievement either
in the field of religious or in that of
scientific investigation.
In pure intellectual power and work
England and Germany led the march |
Of the late century. The 1ractarian !
is even now far from having
spent its force in England but it had :
lone its greatest work and had assum-
I'd its present shape long before Car :
final Pecci became Leo NH. Charles
Darwin published the Origin of Spec
es in 1859 and many years before the
leath of Plus IN the Christian world
lad recovered from the sharp shock e
,iven it by that famous book. !
In Germany the higher criticism of !
he Sacred Scriptures had been ably '
md successfully combatted both by
and by protestant contro-
-ertists. When therefore Leo XIII {
topped into the papsl chair he had ,