The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-21
Leo XIII.

To LEO XIII. belongs a memorable
place in the annals Of the Papacy an one
of the Pontiffs who have found the Cath
Ole Church threatened with ruin, but,
by their abilities and character, have
restored to it strength and influence.
Many tine-twice in the last century
has the occupant Of PETERS chair
seen the Eternal City subjected to secular
control, but it may be doubted whether
any Of the late Popes predecessors
have assumed the tiara under more
difficult conditions, or have surmounted
them more triumphantly.
1t was, in truth, dismal Inheritance
that was transmitted in 1873 to Cardinal
PEccI by Plus TX. Scarcely had the
Vatican Council proclaimed the latter's
infallibility than, by the irony Of fate, the
latter was stripped of the last remnant
Of the so-called Patrimony Of PETER.
For the first time since the days Of the
0strogoths-save for the five years be-
tween May, 1909, and May; 1914, during
which, by a decree of NAPOLEON l., Rome
and all the remaining Papal territory
was annexed to the French Empire-the
whole Italian peninsula was in the hands
OF a monarchy inle1ibly determined to
withhold from the head of the Latin
Church the smallest shred of temporal
dominion. Residing thenceforth in the
Vatican, no longer as sovereign Prince,
but as a crowned prisoner or unwelcome
guest, the Holy Father could only sup
port his household by the offerings of the
faithful, or by stipend, the acceptance
Of which would have debased him into
the pensioner Of the House of Savoy. De-
throned and Isolated in Italy, the sue
cessor of PrUs TX. could derive in 1878
but little comfort from the exterior pros
poets Of the Papacy.
France had witnessed the fall OF the
Second Empire, which, whatever may
have been It's ultimate concessions to
Liberalism, had tried steadily to assure
TO the Pope a remnant of temporal au-
thority. There were already many signs
that the country, once distinguished as
the eldest daughter Of the Church, was to
undergo, for many years to come, a
strong anti-clerical reaction. Germany,
which for so many centuries, had sub
mitted TO the ascendency Of the Catholic
House OF Hapsburg, had now been re-
constructed under a Protestant head,
and it had been demonstrated that there,
too, as In Italy, a resolute effort would
be made to subordinate the Catholic re-
ligton to the civil power. In Russian
Poland it was equally easy to recognize
the Governments intention to place tho
Catholic hierarchy under the hand Of tho
Gar. No longer was 1t possible for tho
Roman Curia to lean upon those Catholic
Powers which had been additionally
active in it's defence. Austria's SOLE
chance OF retaining it's political unity was
TO enter into close coalition with the
court of st. Petersburg or with that OF
Berlin. At Madrid the Freemasons had
been lately dominant, and might at any
hour recover their ascendency. Only
in pdrtibus infdeLium, namely, England
and the United States, were there any
| indications that Catholicism was gaining
ground Such were the omens portend-
ing, in the eyes Of all non-Catholc on
lockers, the speedy disruption OF the
Papacy, regarded as an organization,
when Cardinal PECcI issued from the
Conclave to assume the pontifical office
A quarter OF century has elapsed
since LEO XIII, already an old man
when he put on the tiara, and at the
hour Of his death almost a centena-
rian, undertook the seemingly impos-
sible task Of saving Catholicism from
collapse. Even the least friendly OBJ
server must acknowledge that, in and
out Of Italy, the task has been accom-
plished The position of the Papacy il
incomparably stronger and its influence
il far more potent than it was on the
death OF Plus TX. On the one hand
LEO Kill showed himself no less inflexi-
BILE than his predecessor with regard TO
the fundamental principles which, az
he held, could not be surrendered with
out sacrificing the independence Of the
Church. He steadily refused to accept
a penny OF the large annual subvention
guaranteed by the Italian Parliament as
reparation for the loss OF his temporal
possessions. He repeatedly renewed the
Injunction, first issued by Plus TX,
whereby faithful Catholics throughout
the Italian peninsula were forbidden to
recognize the new political order, either
by voting or by accepting public office.
except so far as municipalities might be
concerned. The result Of this stringent
prohibition has been that, of the Italians
registered since the latest extension OF
the franchise, only about one-half have
taken part in any Parliamentary election
The continued absence OF a moiety OF
the adult male population from the bal
lot box not only has produced the effect
OF a weighty moral protest, but II
has rendered impossible the creation OF
a Conservative party in the Chamber
OF Deputies, and has left tho Savoy
monarchy exposed to the Unsuitable de-
mands Of extreme Radicals and Social
lists. Inasmuoh rs the limit OF concession
to such elements was quickly reached
King HUMBERT's Government soon found
itself in a dangerous predicament, be-
tween the implacable hostility Of the
Clericals on the one hand and the vim.