The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-26
POPE LEO XIII. s PONTIFlCATE.
JyVDiWENTAL IDEAS or LONG
REIGN JUST ENDED.
>ol Likely to BE Changed Whoever May he
LpO's SuccessOr-PaDacy lmmutable,
Regardless ~ PODes.--Tho Church Must
Maintain the Christian Democracy Pol
Ic,--The Italian Catholic Socialists.

,c, The Italian Catholic Socialists.
rouE, July While Leo XIII. is in
NJ. death agony. the augurs are beginning
,,.pr To forecast the future Of the Papacy.
reaction will set in, say some, there will
T.. clr.rg" say others; both are mist; ken.
TN, HOLY See is not subject 10 such muta-
hav The policy OF the Papacy is based on
observation and experience of life. For the
r,r, life il the sum of the functions OPP
,o-,d to inmutability. The political goa
SINS of Prussia and of the reaction, In order
to guide their hopes. have invented "A sort
Of cratic psychology Of the chief power
IN tho world. Successive Popes are sup
posad TO contradict each other after the
+. -h,on Of parliamentary ministers The
present POntificate is imagined to be the
rn'thesi, of the last reign; the intransigent
Plus IN posses ON the keys of Peter to the
sGbrraI" Leo NH. 1t il precisely this
difference between the two Popes that has
given rise to the queer theories about the
succession to Leo NH,
ON the whole, however. if Plus lX., clos
ius a period of concentration, made ready
the period Of conquest OF which Leo XIII.
j, the representative" Pontiff. in the sense
of Emerson and of Carlyle, he traced, at
;hc utmost certain marks which his sue
ces-or did not initiate, but broadened.
Cardinal Mastai completed and crowned
three centuries of conservative policy.
marked by the broad lines of doctrinal
and disciplinary measures marked out by
the Council Of Trent. The change OF policy,
will not say of character, Is measured in
the Church by the turning points Of human
history. Thus, Leo the Great, Gregory VII.
Innocent LII, Sixtus V. and Leo XIII. have
arranged the inherent elasticity Of Chris
tianity in accordance with the demands Of
new eras At every historical epoch the
Vatican makes an effort to acclimatiss it
self, an fort that depends both on the fun
daucnln functions of the Papacy and on
the powers Of adaptability Of the Catholic
religion
This progress, or even this evolution
does not epend, no ever, on the personal
-vmpathies Of the Pontiff, nor on the i'm
perative force Of events; 1t arises from the
irrepressble necessity for the spiritual
ministry to adapt its methods of govern
ment and of influence to the times By
the laws of supernatural and Of human
dynamcs. a great Pope answering In a
way 10 the appeal Of facts or 70 a nominal
decree of Providence, has always been
there 10 preside over this renovation and
to settle it for a whole series of genera
lions.
Leo XIII. is one Of these predestined
Popes That is why his pontificate mod-
'ies the rules of wisdom and dictates the
precePts Of Pontifical practice. To re-
duce reign to one mans improvisation
wen though that man is a genius; to ma Ike It
come TO an end as soon as new Pontificate
lawns, is philosophic view that reveals
The partisan or the opponent The Papacy
bases its action on interests. needs and
powers. Interests create needs and needs
create powers; interests. needs and powers
supply to the spiritual organism the power
Of abduction and transformation that are
essential to make the Church breathe In
The external atmosphere
In the second volume of his History
Of the Popes Ranke ascribes to the Vatican
the Incompatible faculty Of corresponding
10 the general spirit" of each period OF
utilization. Now Leo XIII. has adapted
the central government to the democratic
peiiol Catholicism directed to the power
rul elements Of the time" such was his
den, and the idea will continue till this
period of ! fe has reached it's boundess
extension and a new cycle begins.
Whether his successor is Rampolla, D
Pelro Svampa or Gibbons, the Papecy
will keep step with the march of history
and will continue Leo XIII 3 reign. Such
is the true aspect of the Holy See, whose
action is inspired by the distinctly per-
'eved needs Of religion and OF society
and not at all by theory, still less by psy-
chology The factions which Villa am III.
and Franz Josef profess to be able to man
age in the Conceive can spread as much
as they please the fable Of Areactionary"
Pope, the facts will necessarily give them
the lie
This prolonged harmony between his
toric periods and the policy of the Holy
See, therefore, throws light on the true
figure of Leo XIII and marks out the sig
nifcance of his reign. Each Pontif pre-
serves the Interchangeable deposit and di-
reefs it toward the realities of his time.
The second part Of his ministry Is in turn
divided into three portions, current at
fairs, passing reforms and lasting policies
that are proportioned for a whole period.
Leo XIII. has 50 powerfully marked out
the conCentric lines Of Papal action; he has
correspondent with such faithful precision
10 the interests, the needs and the con-
dions of the new era; he has stamped with
~ firm an imprint the ideas and the tumult
Of the age, that he has opened the way
for the future and holds it with a steady
hand. Through his experience and his
ausere meditatious at Perugia. being pre-
destined to lead religious thought, he did
NOT create, but reflected the new existence
Of the Papacy in its relations with the
world He is above all the historic man.
The ideal of the white Man" is olears
to break with the old monarchical and
conservative conceptions; to watch and
guide the democratic social currents; to
fight y far as the necessities Of diplomacy
permit, the reactionary objects Of old
parties to map out this policy, at the same
Time wise and bold, in his instructions to
N" French Catholics; to prepare for his
country and for the regular mechanism
OF the Holy See form of Italian unity, out
Of which would arise federation that
would give the Pope more air and scope
and To Italy life more In accordance with
her genius and traditions.
Christian thus forml fha