Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-07-22
PROCLAMATION FROM
POPE Plus EXPECTED
Said That Head of Catholic Faith viii
Deal With Doctrine of Assump.
tiOn of Virgin Mary.
CHURCH DIGNITARIEs
ENDORSE PROPOSITION.
Plan Is to Have it incorporated as
fundamental Doctrine Of Catholic
Faith.
By Henry Wood.
UNITED PRESS LEASED wIRE1

lamation, in the very near future, as
part of the fundamental dogma of the
Catholic church, the doctrine of the as.
sumption of the Virgin Mary.
Should his holiness succeed in carry.
ing out his present desire, it will be the
first time a dogma has been proclaimed
by pope since 1870, the last time pre-.
vious to that being in 1854.
1t is now known that since his re.
cent illness, Pope Plus, realizing that
his active pontificate is practically at
an end, has expressed the desire ia
some Of the highest dignitaries of the
Catholic church at Rome to round out
his career by this last great act Dur.
ing his entire pOntificate, Pope Plus X
has devoted practically his entire time
effort and energy to the building up of
the religious side of the church only,
paying little, if any attention, to the
political side which had been the sole
concern of his predecessor, Pope Leo
XIII. He has promulgated reform aft.
er reform amongs the clergy, he has
sought to stamp out all the modernistic
and progressive tendencies that he says
would weaken the fundamental doc.
trines of the church, and he has reor.
ganized ali of the congregations and
working machinery of the religious side
Of the Vatican.
The proclamation of this new dogma
by him now, as the last great act Of
his pOntificate would be in perfect har.
mOny, he is said to feel, with all that
he has sought to accomplish up to date.
1t would stamp his entire pontificate
as one essentially and wholly religious.
As the matter now stands, it is learn.
ed on high authority that the digni-
taries to whom his holiness has ex-
pressed this desire have replied that
there is no reason why it should not
be fulfilled Although not dogma Of
accepted traditions and beliefs of the
accepted raditiOns and beliefs Of the
Catholic religion that the Virgin Mary
upon her death assembled to heaven
as did Christ-anl that her body was
not to be found in the tomb afterwards.
Fer Pope Plus K TO proclaim this now
as a fundamental doctrine of the church
would merely be giving the official
sanction to what the church fathers,
almost from the foundation of the
church, have always accepted as true.
The right of Pope Plus to do this is
also not only fully established, but un.
der the doctrine of the infallibility of
the pope, which is now part Of the
fundamental dogma of the church, such
a proclamation would carry with it
what would be considered nothing less
than divine saction It was this doc
trine of the infallibility of the supreme
pOntiff that was in fact the last dog.
ma to be proclaimed by vicar of
Christ. This was in 1870.
Previous to that time, this belief, the
same as the belief in the assumption Of
the Virgin Mary, had been accepted by
the church from the earliest days with.
out, however, ever being officially in
corporated into the fundamental creed.
When, towards the close Of his stormy
pontificate, in which Rome had been
taken from the popes by the new king.
dom of Italy, and the church was being
assailed on every hand, Pope Plus TX
felt it imperative that the position of
the pontiffs be strengthened he startled
the entire world by proclaiming this
dogma It's proclamation was later af
firmed by the cardinals, archbishops
and bishops Of the entire Catholic
world, and it is this infallibility of
the pope-this affirmation that every
act of the vicar Of Christ is the direct
inspiration of God-that would lend an
unusual significance to the proclama.
tion now by Pope Plus X of the dogma
of the assumption of the Virgin.
It would be the first proclamation Of
this kind made since that which estab-
lished the infallibility of the pontiffs.
Barring this latter exception, it would
also be the first dogma proclaimed
since, as has been stated, in 1854 when
Pope Plus TX just beginning his ponti.
ficate, proclaimed the dogma Of the i'm
maculate conception ofthe Virgin. This
also was Immediately affirmed by the
entire Catholic world.
The feast Of the assumption Of the
Virgin Mary is now set down in the
Catholic calendar Of established feast
days for August 5. II is on this day
it is now believed, that Pope Plus will
make his proclamation. Aside from the
appropriateness Of the occasion, the
pontiff himself is declared to have ad
mitted recently that he fears his owl
life may not continue much longer ant
he desires to carry out in person thi
last contemplated act Of his pontlfi
cate before IL is too late
It's cas- to fool the man who think
he knows II all