The Irish standard., 1903-03-07


reac ched the advanced age when retire
lnent from active responsibilities is
to most men. lie is Us
wears of age. The irreligious world
that had good reason to know his rear
less courage in the cause OF truth ana
Justice, consoled itself with the reflec-
ton that this venerable man, bent
with the toll and burden OF 1orty
wears i'm the sacred ministry, couiu
nor long survive the cares and ankle
ties of the exalted position to which
the Senate of the Church had sum
moncd him. The Catholic world that
knew Cardinal Pecci, by his services
to religion and civilization, reJoiced'
and with cNultant hearts inploreu tlle
God of mercy and justice to spare Leo
NIL many years to battle against
the forces of unbelief, anarchy, lire
ligion and injustice.
Tie prayers of the faithful nave
been needed, and one of the most IL
l,,strious pontitfs. in Il long line oi
illustrious men, given to his Church
by the Great Shepherd of SOULS mas
been spared to complete the twenty
fourth year of his reign, ana the 2-Ho
ycar of his age, bent with the Durueh
of years and of care, but l'lll OF llle
and mental yiyor, the marvel of his
generation, IL miracle of the nine
tecnth century, the admiration OF ;'ll
honest men, the generous patron OIL
learning, the noblcst champion OF re-
Hrion. thc fearless enemy of wrong,
the outspokcn defender of TRUTH the
strongest support of authority, the
protector of vested interests, the SYM
pathetic friend of labor, the people $
I.ope, the compassionate friend OF the
multitude.
With the culture of the hl%heSt
learning he combines the pety OF the
saint With the humility of hermit
of the desert, he uniteS the courage
| of IL Plus VII when he rejected the
insolcnt demands of the First Napo-
leon. i'm his castle mt Fontaincblcau. LII
his masterly arbitration of the dis
uute between Germany and Spain, al
tl,c request of his old enemy. l'rlnct
bismarck, he revealed the prudent dis
cernment and impartial Judgment OF
the great Popps of the Middle Ages
who were by the common consent OF
t,hristcndom. chosen arbiterS between
nations. 1t would be Il blessing Il
our modern civilization if the example
gwen by PrusSias $ Iron Chancellor il
1888, in the case of the Caroline is
lands, were more generally initiated
and the great problem of arbitration
might easily be solved.
Popc Leo is known best to the gen
eral public by his masterly encyclicals
or public treatiSes. on great, impOrtan
topics of the day. His first encycl
cal letter which had been looked TO
anXiously, both by the friends an
enemies of the parncy, was publishe
on Easter Sunday. the 21st of Apri
1878. 1t outlined the policy OF Lee
1t inspired the souls of the faithfl
with courage, and instlled fear int
the hearts of the enemies of religion
Under the SpeciOus terms, 'moder
progress" and "libcrty of thought
the enemies of the papacy accOrde
5 unchecked freedom to every form {
t ,lclusion and to every champion {
f, Skcpticism. to all men and to all TIL
: cries. except to the ministers of IL
ancient religion, and to the fait
: that had rescued Europe from ii
' darkness of paGAniSm and the cha'
t of barbariSm. With no unccrta
: voice Leo stoutly protested again
such hypocritical pretensions of Ii
y erty and universal equality, asscrtt
l. the claims of the Church to the gl:,
$ itudc of mankind. and appealed to Il
G enlightened conScicnceS of mt
Z against the injuStices inflicted upt
t tho Apostolic See. Leo is Il most q
i lightencd champion of progress.
!, man of the 2Oth century more gene
s ously ndmircS the marvellous progre
$ of the age than Leo Nil. But
= cannot admire the hypocritical prctc
l, sions of that alleged progress. til
# favOrS freedom for vice, and lcen
for error, while it forgcS fetterS [
e divine truth.
# He insists upon the revival of cal
# est study of st. Thomas Aquinas. t
y greatest intellectual genius the wOl
fl has ever known, that sound principI
If may guide the minds of thinking mt
II In IL mastery letter addressed
T. the Archbishop of Cologne, German
T. 1850, Leo declares: "'Thc pest of
H. cialism. which SO deeply pcrvcrts
lc sense of our population, derives
20 it's power from the darkness it eau!
+. in the intellect by hiding the light
lc eternal truths. and from it's corrupt
IL the rule of life laid down by Christ
IS. morality. 1t can never he cNtirla
III till the minds of its lupcs are hrou!
lis back to clear knowledge of the
Id prcmcly true and the suprcmcly 90
&C. 10 bring them thus back is our ,lut
of In his practical analysis of the in
III cate labor problem. in 1891. Leo y
III, gives the most lucid definition o
,re "minimum wage" and of the right: