Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-07-27

Pecci was elevated TO the dignity OF
cardinal priest.
At the consistory held in 1877 Card
inal Pecci was appointed camerlingo
OF the Roman church, which gave him
chief charge OF the temporalities of
the holy see. In this capacity 1t fell To
his task TO make the necessary ar
rangements for the conclsve fc<-the
election Of a new pope after the death
OF Plus TX, in February, 1873. The
conclave lasted sc hours and on the
third ballot Cardinal Pecci was elected
supreme pontiff and took the name or
Leo XIII. after the famous pope Leo
Y for whom he had a great venera-
ton. He was crowned on March with
the tiara, or triple crown, the cere-
mony taking place not in st. Peters,
where all his predecessors but one had
been crowned since 1855, but in the
Sistine chapel in the vatican, where
the conclave had been held.
Public opinion regarded the new
pope as characterized above all things
BY a love of peace, and il was expect
ed that departing from that non pos
sumus policy of his predecessor, he
would speedily conclude a compromise
with the Italian government and thus
put an end to the antagonism between
the vatican and the quirinal. But, the
world was soon undeceived, and in his
first oncyclical, promulgated at the
Easter following his accession, Pope
Leo XIII unhesitatingly maintained
his demand for the restoration of the
temporal power of the papaey, nor did
he ever recede from the position then
taken up.
AT the same time, the policy of the
Roman Curia certainly underwent a
development in the direction of mod
Grafton, which greatly contributed to
increasing the influence of the vatican
abroad. From the very outset, the
new pontiff displayed the greatest In
terest in the social questions agitatins
the world of today and in an encycli-
cal, issued in December, 1878, appealed
TO the intellectual forces of Catholicit9
TO contest the propaganda of doctrines
which his holiness described as sub
servient OF social order, alluding espe-
cially TO the socialists in Germany and
the Nihilist movement in Russia.
The cooperation afforded by the
pope TO the various governments in
opposing the growing forces of social
democracy paved the way for the set
/ Element OF disputes existing between
those governments and the vatican,
both spiritual and civil authorities be-
ing, as it were, called upon to merge
their differences and make common
cause against the common enemy. The
first great political achievement Of the
pope was the settlement OF the differ
ences with Germany which had given
/ rise to the famous Kulturkampf.
The rapid spread of anarchic doc
trines in Germany and the attempts
made upon the emperor's life in 1878
/ induced Prince Bismarck to make ap-
proaches TO the ultramontane party TO
secure their support for his economlL
policy. Herr Falk, the famous author
/ of the May Laws, was removed from
Office and other concessions were made
to the Catholics. Finally, diplomatic
relations with the vatican were re-
sumed and the late Emperor Fred
erick, then crown prince, signalized the
restoration of an harmonious under
standing by visiting the pope at the
vatican. A still greater tribute was
paid by Germany TO his holiness by
her selection of him as arbitrator in the
dispute with Spain regarding the Caro-
line islands, and her deferential &C
ceptance of his decision in favor Of
the weaker power. His success in this
arbitration induced the pope to declare
| his readiness to act as arbitrator in
other disputes for the benefit of the
whole of Europe and of christianity;
but, for this, his holiness declared it to
be essential that he should be restored
his liberty as an independent temporal
sovereign. This demand, however,
met with no response, as far as foreign
governments were concerned, and the
hopes which had been expressed in
some quarters that the German en-
peror's visit to the pope in 1888 might
lead TO Germany advocating the tenn
poral claim OF the holy see were soon
dissipated. The pope himself, In let
ter to the German bishops, declared
that he regarded the presence OF EN-
peror William in Rome as the guest OF
the quirinal as a "deplorable recogni-
ton OF accomplished facts"
The interests of the triple alliance
were not compatible with those of the
vatican and even Catholic Austria
could not afford TO offend Italy by
espousing the pope's cause, although
the emperor Francis Joseph abstained
from visiting King Humbert in the city
OF Rome and thereby openly recogniz'
ing the legality Of the italian occupa-
ton.
Perhaps the most remarkable feat
ure of the late pope's policy was the
/ change in the attitude which the vati-
can had hitherto preserved in regard
TO the French republic.
At the beginning of Pope Leo's reign
the Identification of the CLERGY with