The Irish standard., 1903-03-07

~ UCNulSSSc III llC vi ~ |
ciple; he would sacrifice IL sacred
right of the Church, and would be-
come an mwise ana an unjust stew
ard
The principle of papal sovereignty is
not affected by problems of finance.
The generosity of Catholics through
out the world will never fail to fur
nish the Holy See with ample revenue
to care for its material needs. AS Il
matter of principle, Plus IN. and his
successor, Leo NlII, persistently re-
jected the proposition of the Italian
government to pay an annuity of |
100000 for the support of the Holy |
proval of the whole Catholic world.
to be Il beneficiary of the Italian gov
ernment that has robbed the Church
of it's treasures and impoverished Italy
by it's extravaganza and incompetency.
The vast hOrdes of wretched italian
immigrants that land yearly upon our
shores bear convincing testimony to
the American people of the utter fail
ure of the flag of Savoy to provide
for the needs of the Italian people.
The ignorant and unhappy wretches
that voluntarily exile themselves from
their sunny cline are the fruit of the
revolution in Italy during the past
generation.
When Italy was governed by the
fatherly care of the papacy no tax
| hurdened and heart-broken Italians eN-
lied themselves from their fair and
happy native land. The kind heart of
the aged pontitf is saddened at the
sunset of his luminous career by the
desolation brought upon his beloved
Italy by the spirit of irreigion. The
robler Piedmontese government has
not only despoiled the Church of it's
possessions and robbed helpless wom-
en- in their cloistcred homes of their
lawful property, but it has impoVer-
ished the people by excessive taxa
ton, levied to support prodig;'l
administration. and poisoned the 1tal-
ian mind by instilling the tencts OF
bold atheism into the minds of the
children in the government schools.
Against all this iniQuity Leo can
offer but the force of ideas. He
can protest INCREASINGLY against usur-
. patton and injustice. He refuses to be-
come a subject of the Italian king
dom, and so remains unfettered and
free. with dignity unimpaired. The
, Pope. the recipient of Italian favor,
would no longer he contided i'll as the
spiritual father of the faithful
!, throughout the world. The govern
ment that makes concessions. that con
fers favors, can also withdraw then
at will. The independence of the Hol!
See. guaranteed by concession of an!
government. would certainly he al
:, anomaly.
= The hollowness of the Italian LAW
+ of Papal Guarantees, passed by tin
!, Italian Parliament in 1871, and pro
q mulgated with much pretension o
f generosity and justice. has been dem
O onstrted to the world repeated,
o during the past thirty years. Prao
Il tically every provision of that hypc
- critical law has been violated. Th
=. fund set aside for the support of tin
~ Holy See has been dissipated by dis
honest officials. and the whole civ
~ lized world now appreciates the sag:
II city of Plus IN. who refused to az
G cept any favors at the hands of thos
who had, even then. been false
y. their pledges and whose insincerit
i, was evident. The civil sovereignty
&c the supreme Pontiff is the only effe'
, tive guarantee of the independence
&c the Holy See in the spiritual govern
,f ment of the kingdom of Christ in til
,s world. Greater affection and loyalt
IF toward the person and the office
ri the Pope have never been witnesse
ne since Peter was enchained in the Nj
10 mertine dungeon. The Affections
~ the father arouse invariably the affe
l. tion of his children. But speci
y. curing in the city of Rome soemnll
NJ manifestations of affection on the pa
;,o of the children must not be acceptt
m MS indications of their endorsement
~. the wrongs that have caused suffe
co ing and sorrow to the father. III
,s+ misfortunes and difficulties of t.
ba Holy See have drawn closer the bon
ro- that unite the Catholic world to
od center. The prestige of the Papa
IFS has been greater during Leo's pom
ra ticate than ut any other period of t
nm |,nineteenth century. From this
nj must not be concluded that the spil
.vo nal power of the Pope is greater, Il
ro- more respected, when freed from te
or poral responsibilities. Leo's persol
~ character has reflected new lus
I'm. fupon the Papacy in these later yea
MI. His greatness of mind and heart hi
op- won the homage of the world.
,ns wrongs that he suffers have won
the him the tilial sympathy of his spil
crc ual children. But sympathy for
,er- sorrows and compassion for his
iro ferinSs, cannot. and will not condo
ms the injustice inflicted on the Cat
ino lie world by robbing the Holy See
yod it's absolute. sovereign independe