The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-07-30

Ntu " 40 t\Ot Ouiy OuS OI inc NlOSt
Learned Theoloaians of Ills Age,
But He Was Also an Enlightened
Statesman Possessing Qualities
Which Would Have Enabled Him to
Achieve Eminence in the Field of
Diplomacy.
Baltimore Sun
While the announcement OF the
death of Leo XIII will not be receiv-
ed with surprise, in view of his ad-
vanced age and the feeble condition
of his health for sometime past, the
removal of SO important and COM
manding a figure from the scene OF
earthly activity cannot but arrest
the untersal attention of civilized
mankind and provide food for re-
fection, both as to the man himself
and his official relations to the world
at large. That a man OF his delicate
organization should have lived so
long under the burden OF the immense
responsibilities which he was obliged
to sustain, is in itself an eXtraordi-
nary fact, and a wonderful illustra-
ton of the triumph of mind over
matter, of intellectual and spiritual
energy over physical weakness and
bodily infirmity. The sound mind
in a robust body unquestionably, as
a general rule, produces the highest
results, but it happens occasionally,
as in the case of Leo NH, that the
soul dominates the physical environ
ment and shines more clearly and
powerfully for this corporealfrailness
like q pure flame through some pecu-
liarly delicate and transparent me
dunn.
The Pope, as head of the Catholic
Church, is the ruler of a spiritual
empire worldwide in extent. In this
respect he occupies uniqueposition.
The President of the United States is
the head of n nation who's citizens
have one politicalideal-government
by the people. The King of Great
Britain rules over q nation which
clings to the monarchial form of
government. If any of the Kings
subjects should rebel against mon
archical institutions, the sovereign
could use force to bring them into
subsection to the crown. The Pope
is the spiritual sovereign of q religi
Gus communion which includes many
millions of people with conflicting
political ideals and of various races.
He is the head of the Catholic Church
in republican France and the United
States of America, and in the repub-
lican states of South America. He
is the spiritual sovereign of the
church in the empires of Great Brit
ain, Germany and Austria-Hungary,
in the kingdoms of Spain and Italy
and in Russia, the land ofautocracy.
In Asia and Africa, where the CathO-
lie Church has fits missions, the Pope
exercises supreme spiritual authority
over those who are of the Catholic
faith. There is no secular ruler who
exercises a sovereignty comparable
to that welded by the head of the
Catholic Church, no King or Emperor
whose DEGREES in temporal affairs are
accepted SO unhesitatingly as are the
DEGREES of the Roman Pontiff in
purely spiritual matters. 1t is not
surprising that the whole civilized
world is interested in the choice of
the successor of the great man who
died yesterday. Leo XIII was not
only one of the most learned theolo-
gians of his age, but he was also an
enlightened statesman, possessing
qualities which would have enabled
him to achieve eminence in the field
of diplomacy. Only man of pro-
found intellect, thoroughly balanced
Judgment, deeply versed in secular
affairs, could have guarded success
fully the interests of the Catholic
Church throughout the world in the
crises which arose after Leo XIII sue
ceeded to the Papacy. The marvel
of the Pope's worldwide influence is
that it is exercised without the tenn
poral power and without the mater
ial authority with which Kings and
EmperOrs assert and maintain their
sovereignty.
Notwithstanding the differences in
creed that separate Protestant and
Catholic Christendom, Leo NH al
ways enjoyed the respect and good
will of all religious denominations,
and his benevolent and kindly per-
sonal qualities endeared him as an
individual to large numbers of non
Catholics who had been brought
within the sphere of his influence.
His policy as the head of the Roman
Church served to strengthen this
personal influence and to give TO his
official character an unusual measure
of popularity. To distinguished
scholarship and literary culture OF Il
high order he united a philosophic
and luminous mind which under
stood great social and economic as
well as theological principles, and
could apply them with singular
felicity and force to the situation be-
fore him. Eliminating ali purely
doctrinal points from his various
encyclicals, it will be generally con-
ceded that many of them displayed
broad craftsmanship, great wisdom,
foresight and conservatism. There
will be little dissent from the prop
OsitlOn that those portions Of them
which referred to strictly worldly re-
latioas, responsibilities and obliga-
tions were remarkable for their sound
good sense and justice, and persons
OF all religious denominations and
subjects OF every country will cheer
fully admit that the general princi-
pies which he urged in connection
with such themes tended strongly to
the promotion of good morals, hap
piness, good government and good
citizenship. He was, as Cardinal
Gibbons accurately described him in
a sermon upon the celebration OF the
Pope's golden jubilee, man of the
age. In the language OF the Cardinal,
''he understood the times in which we
live; he appreciated the fact that we
are living in the nineteenth century
and not in the ninth. He adapted