Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-11
CLERGY !! STIRRED UP
Over King Edwards Visit to
the Pope.
PROTESTING TELEGRAM
SOME OF THE FICTIONS OF THE
VATICAN.
They Contribute to the Gaiety of the
Italians = Foreign News
and Gossip.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

arrangement to call on the pope gives great
umbrage in Protestant quarters in England.
Most Church of England people look with
anything but friendly eye on such a visit,
but since the king can do no wrong in
the view of ardent loyalists, little is said
or published on the subject.
AT the annual meeting Of the Church AS
ISOLATION last night however, expressions
from established religion added itself to the
non-conformist protest the subject, ard
today King Edward has received at Rome
the following message of which the meet
ing approved after stormy discussion:
THE members of the Church Association,
in annual meeting assembled at st. James
Hall, wish to express their dismay that h.e
majestys advisers have deemed 1t consist
ent with their duty to play into the hands
of the Roman curia by arranging for the
king to pay formal visit to the pope,
whose religion his majesty has declared to
be at once superstitious and idolatrous."
This pleasant little message will not in the
least interfere with the kings plans nor
swerve him from putting himself on friend
ly terms with the head of the Roman
church. of which thousands of his subjects
are members. This journey of the king is
accomplishing much that is favorable for
England, because Edward VII knows al
ways what to do and does 1t without MAX
ing mistakes He is the best ambassador
that the country could send anywhere.
For1nalities Which Seem Ridiculous.
The formalities under which the king will
see his holiness, however, seem ridiculous
to republican minds, but he will be by no
means the first sovereign who has been
compelled to recognize the practical value
of the diplomatic fictions which govern the
relations between the Quirinal and the Vati-
can. From the point of view of the plain
man these pretenSes grotesque: but
since they serve the useful purpose of
bridging over the gulf between the papal
and the royal courts at Rome. and more
over, afford entire satisfaction to the sup
porters of both parties in the Italian capt.
tai. their value need not be questioned.
Briefly, the facilities of which the King of
England will AVIAN himself are created sole
ly for the convenience of Protestant mon
archs. For Roman Catholic sovereigns
there is no convenient side door to the Vati-
can; they must either come to the pope
direct from their own dominions aban-
don the hope OF passing through the coos-
sal bronze gates of the pontifical palace.
That is to say mo- guest of the house of
Savoy can be received in audience by the
head of the Roman Church, for now as
thirty years ago. the King of Italy is. in
the eyes of the Vatican, a uSurper MAIN
tanned upon his throne by military force
alone Hence sit IS that King Carlos of
Portugal cannot go to Rome to visit his
royal granddaughter and that the aged EN-
peror of Austria is 9debarred from return
ing the visit which King Humbert paid
to Vienna in 1885. They cannot go to
Rome without visiting the supreme pontiff,
and a slight to- the reigning sovereign is
equally out of the question.
Fortunately, Protestant monarchs are in
better case, since the diplomatic fiction has
been set up that the embassies of foreign
Protestant powers shall, for the time be-
ing be regarded as the actual territory of
the countries concerned.
Case of the German Emneror
Thus when the German emperor last
visited his ally and neighbor he drove from
the Quirinal to the residence of the Prus-
sian representative at the Vatican, and
thence in a Prussian carriage to the Vati-
can. In this manner was maintained the
theory the idea that the>kaser had pro-
ceeded direct from his own country and
not from the palace of the communicated
King of Italy. When the King of Servia
went to Rome he far DESTROYS Of
complying with the requirements of the
vatican that he proposed, after quitting
the Quirinal to travel to Naples and thence
back to Rome as plain M. Alexander. But
the papal authorities put their heads to-
gether and the night before the king
was to terminate his stay with King Hum
bert it was decided that the precedent
set by the German emperor might be fol-
lowed. Here, however, a serious difficulty
presented itself inasmuch as the Servian
monarch had no representative at the Vat
lean neither had he carriage of his own to
ride in. Hurriedly came the Prussian am
bassador to the rescue by declaring his
temporary residence at the Hotel Quirinale
Servian territory for the space of three
hours.
Modern Rome smiles, of course. at these
ingenious devices and the Vatican GER
tainly contributes something to the good
humor of the populace thereby And there
are other solemn pretenses with which the
resident In the Italian capital soon becomes
fop examine driving through
the streets he may meet carriage. driven
by servants in black livery, and leaning
well back he may catch a glimpse of the
figure of a cardinal. Yet once beyond the
city boundary he will see the carriage stop,
the cardinal alight and proceed to take
his walk without fear of meeting the gaze
of his fellow man. All the privacy and Sc
clusion which marked the journey through
the city was merely a means by which the
cardinal might avoid receiving the salute
of the military, to which, as a prince of
the church, he was entitled
s'The Prisoner Of the Vatican"
Inside the Vatican the same air of make
believe prevails, generated by the necessity
Of keeping up, far as possible, the le-
gend of 1.-THE prisoner of the Vatican"
In the south of France and Spain this
legend obtains currency to such an extent
that commercially minded secular clergy
drive a brisk trade in medallion portraits
representing the venerable pontif lying on
a straw bed in a gloomy dungeon his
hands stretched out in supplication for his
prosecutors OF course, the authorities at
the Vatican are not responsible for these
productions; but they do nothing to prevent
their circulation. In theory the two courts
in Rome are absolutely isolated, and inter-
course between them is supposed no to
exist. In reality, too, this is merely a f1c-
ton. for the cotrtiers have arranged that
certain houses shall be regarded assneutral
territory, within whose walls "blacks" and
whites" meet without constraint especial
Iy as it often happens that members of the
same family owe allegiance to different
courts. 81 -
The famous Colohna family affords a
curious illustra tienof this easy adaptable
ity to circumstances. The eldest son en-
joys by hereditary, right the post of "as-
sistente al sogffo,'' the highest office at the
Vatican; while not long ago the youngest
son was master OF the chamber at the
Quirinal When the elder brother died the
younger at once. relinquished his post in
the royal household In order to assume the
office which his ancestors had filled for SO
many centuries.
Yet one more fiction. and not less useful
Although for thirty years the Qurinal has
lain under an interdict which forbids the
inmates to enjoy the sacraments or bless
ings of the church, yet, as Duke Of Savoy
the King Of Italy regularly receives the
sacrament Moreover. every Easter. in ac-
cordance with italian custom, the priest