The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-02-18
Church Universal

noticeable. This does not make his ap-
pearance less disquieting, however
especially to those who hope for great
tnlngs from the deeply religious sim
pl1clty Of the new pope's character.
Inc question of the pupe's health be-
came still more interesting when 1 rea-
| llzed, after learning more of the present
| STATE OF mind in Rome. that it may pos
! slply furnish a solution for the prob
lem OF the relation of the Vatican and
/ Ihe Qulrinal, which occupy so much at
/ tehtlon in the Italian peninsula. To an
Ilallah ecclesiaStic, who is very promi-
rent IN papal circles, 1 expressed my
sorrow that the pope's health was not
petler ana my fear that if he did not
secure more outing in the near future
NC physical condition was likely to suf :
Ter seriously for it. The italian clergy
man, with suggestive shrug of his
shoulders, replied, Never mind. the
holy father will spend next summer at
Castle Gondolfo."
This, for the information of Ameri-
can readers be it said. is a small italian
town some twelve miles from Rome
Nhere the, popes own a palace that
used TO be their summer residence i'm
.iie oays oil the temporal power. At the
'lilie OF the supposed arrange
pIelit OF papal affairs, at the
pesHlIlhS of the reign of
me mouse Of Savoy in Rome. in 1871.
TINS paDal palace was left to the pope
ana was made eXtra-territorial. Within
us precincts, as within those of the
vatican the pope is still TEMPORAL as
ven as spiritual ruler. The Italian gov
eIllihent does not claim to exercise any
9l ,;,ty tnere. as it is not within the
kingdom of Italy
Inc popeS have never gone out to this
gunner palace since the usurpation of
thelr Kingdom, for on the Journey thew
would have to pass through q nortion
oI the kingdom of Italy, and even this
qudsl acknowledgment of the de facto
SoNeFhnent they have never been sat
lsHeu 10 make. II would be- therefore.
d complete break with the policy of
previous popes if Pope Plus X should
pass the. next summer at this country
Iesloence. OF course, the definite set
llng OF the date so soon is entirely
MItHouta any authoritative substantial
tlon' found, however, that not a few
eccIeslastlcS in Rome seen. to think
next summer as not TOO early fo antici-
pate some such change of policy. AS
matter of fact, there seems to be a. dis
.iilctly growing standardization with the
Iuea OF the present pope leaving the
Vdlcan for time at least before very
long. There even seems to be some
.hlllg like deliberate attempt to make
II easy for the loyal Roman mind to
entertain such a notion.
a rdther interesting story that is 60
ing the rounds in Rome and that illus
tFdtes the pope's personal attitude to-
ward the possibility of his soon leav-
ing the vatican. at least temporarily.
seems worth while repeating for the
sake of the light it throws on the situ-
aIlon. Before his elevation TO the papa
cy Pope Plus X, then Cardinal Sarto,
used TO spend a happy week or two
every year at the old Benedictine mon
dStely OF Monte Casino, situated very
beautifully on a hill some hundred
miles south of Rome on the road to Ma
uies. Shortly after he had been made |
pope the abbot of Monte Casino, for |
long close personal friend, came to
make his ceremonial visit to the vati- |
can. Before quitting the audience |
chamber he said that he was very sor-
~ that his holiness would come no
more to visit them, since they had al
ways appreciated his visits so much. |
His holiness said: But why shouldn't |
come again?"
"Ah, holy father replied the abbot. |
IF you only would, it would be a source |
Of the greatest pleasure"
Pope Plus replied: Never mind.
then; 1 shall be with you before long
After leaving the vatican, as there
had been no implication of secrecy, the
abbot quite naturally repeated the
pope's expression. Needless to say it
created no little sensation even among
those who did not take it quite serious
y. 1t was repeated over and over again
and became one of the nine days won
1ers of the Italian capital. Finally it
came to the ear of one of the editors
II the Osservatore Romano, whose duty
[ is usually considered to be formally
% repudiate all. rumors supposed to
from the vatican. but that
nave no proper standardization. The
leXt day there appeared a formal de-
lial of the story in this journal, which
s considered to be the official organ of
he pope and the Roman Curia.
The pope saw the denial and. as the
story goes, sent at once for the manag-
ng editor. He asked who was respon-
ible for the denial that had been
printed. He was told that it was a
member of the editorial staff one of
whose duties it was considered to be to
axe up such stories and whenever he
bought it advisable, deny them if they
lad no basis in fact. The pope asked
hat the editor i'm question be relieved
# his position on the staff. and that
anne evening the young mans resig-
ation was accepted. The story is told
With such circumstantiality that it
GEMS impossible not to believe it. AS
0 the hint it gives in regard to the
uture papal policy of remaining in the
atican or going out of it for good rea-
on if deemed advisable, there seems
o need to attempt to add anything {
Alnnr-