The Irish standard., 1915-07-10

the practice Of their religious duties
The spirit of reform which ami
mated this able emperor was exem.
plif1ed in a yet more striking manner
in the person of the heroic Hide.
brand, Pope Gregory VII, heir to the
teachings and traditions of that great
seminary of the medieval reform, the
monastery of Cluny.
Raised to the papal dignity at a
most critical period, he at once under.
took complete scheme of ecclesi-
astical reformation. Coming into
conflict with Henry Nv he vigorously
repealed the attacks of this aggressive
ruler upon the rights of the church
and the spiritual supremacy of its
head. Despite the indignities heaped
upon him by this emperor. and by
many princes and ecclesiastics, he at
length liberated the hierarchy and the
papal Office itself from the servile
condition into which it must have fall
en- If he had not defeated the AFRO
CANT pretensions of the emperor.
The fearless Pontiff was at length
driven into exile, where he died. He
nevertheless accomplished in great
part what he intended.
The papacy was again raised to the
pre-eminent position which it had &C.
cupied in the reigns of Otto l and
Henry III. The succeeding popes
were thus enabled to carry forward
the work upon which Gregory and
these illustrious emperors had spent
themselves; thus too did they come
within measurable reach of accom-
plishing the design which Gregory
and the great founder of the Hohen-
staufen dynasty endeavored to real
ize, namely,-that all the Christian
nations should form together a unit
ed world-empire having for the pledge
of its perpetuity system of law and
government in which the imperial
power should be Joined with, and be
supported by, the pope as the repre-
sentative of Christ on earth.
That it was never fully realized was
due to the incidental obstacles put in
its way by certain popes and emper-
ors who, for the time being, lost sight
of, or neglected to use the proper
means of forwarding the work en-
trusted to them; factors quite extrin-
sic to the design were introduced by
the papal, as we'll as by the imperial
authority, evidently in view of ad-
vancing the immediate personal, or
political interests of the parties con-
cerned.
A case in point was the attempt of
Otto III to make the pope vassal of
the empire; another, the attempt of
Frederick II to consolidate Italy with
Germany; third, the overthrow of
Frederick's son, Manfred, as king of
Italy, by Urban Nv, and the introduce
ton of a new dynasty in the place of
the Hohenstaufen in the person of
Charles of Anjou, brother of Louis TX,
King of France.
Some historical critics attribute
what they are pleased to call the "fail-
ure of the plan" to its idealistic char
acter We are told that the whole
scheme was quixotic, unavoidable, and
therefore foredoomed to failure. This
judgment, however, is not substan-
tiated beyond question when put be-
side the actual facts of the case: For,
the scheme was in actual operation in
the reigns of Otto 1, Otto Ill and
Henry III, and that, too, with highly
beneficial results both to the empire
and to the papacy. The execution of
the design was based upon the dual
combination and cooperation of the
imperial and the papal authority. The
imperial authority, however, was to
be subject to the papal authority in
all matters affecting the religious and
moral interests of the empire and its
subjects. The independence of and
supremacy of each authority in it's
proper domain of Jurisdiction was mu-
tually recognized, not only in theory,
but in the actual administration of
ecclesiastical and civil affairs the the
ory of conjoint authority with sep
arate jurisdiction was carried into eff
feet quite uniformly.
There were indeed some deviations
from the true lines of achievement.
These irregularities may seem to give
some color of truth to the assertion
of certain authors, to the effect that
the scheme was destined to fail of
permanent realization. Such devia-
tons are plainly marked in the moral
alterations of Popes Benedict TX and
John XII; in the unjust and impolitic
course pursued by Frederick Bar
barossa and Henry Nv and in the un-
scrupulous acts of Philip Augustus
Of France, Edward I, Edward III and
King John of England in respect of
their covenants for securing the indie
pendence of the hopes and the suprem-
acy of their lawful authority within
the royal domains.
Thus the permanent and unbroken
application of the theory was thwart-
ed likewise by the personal quarrels
and political dissensions of which it
was the occasion, not the cause. The
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