The Irish standard., 1916-06-03

lllcFeSIS. Ill ldCI, udtlOIldl Interests
| were made supreme. Richelieu. a
| prince Of the Church, leagued with
Protestant powers and struck Cathol-
, icism a mortal blow in Germany,
while he ruthlessly crushed the Huge
nots at home, and all for the aggran-
dizement of France.
Still, in the seventeenth and eigh-
teenth centuries nationalism was a
matter of dynasties and governments;
leading thinkers in many nations
were very cosmopolitan in spirit
Oliver Goldsmith, Montague Rous
seau, Goethe and Schiller were all
more or less citizens of the world"
The French revolution started as a
movement for the rights of man; it
ended with the Napoleonic era and
the dream of French world-empire.
Napoleon trampled on the national
feelings of other peoples and reused
national consciousness in the op.
pressed nations; the whole nineteenth
century is dominated by national
struggles, especially the struggles for
German and Italian indications. Cos
mopolitanism was swept away a
fierce nationalism took it's place. Sus.
picion and distrust reigned instead of
universal brotherhood. Europe be.
came an armed camp and each nation
regarded its national interests as para.
mount to all others. International
law becomes farce when it conflicts
with these sacred interests. Witness
the controversy between England and
| Germany now raging
Only one institution is still interna.
tional, the Roman Catholic Church.
1t resents the idea of being affiliated
with any particular land or people
its head resides in Rome, but the
Church is not Roman in the sense of
being Italian or Latin or anything ex.
cept universal. OF course, nationalism
strives to dominate the Church. It
has done so in the past in the days
of Philip the Fair and Napoleon, and
each time the Church suffered. But
it has never succumbed.
'Today the position of the Pope is
more difficult than ever. Crazy ma.
tionalists demand she shall bless the
cause they hold sacred and anathema.
tie their foes. But the Pope remains
neutral; he is not merely local
Bishop tied up with the interests of
any single land or race.
And what obligations rest upon the
Pope to become a partisan? What
does he owe to the governments of
Protestant England or Prussia? Or to
the atheistic. bitterly anti-clerical rul
ers OF France who are driving priests
ana monks into the trenches to serve
as common soldiers? Or to the states.
men at the helm in Italy, lnfidels and
freemasons who let no occasion pass
to insult the Supreme Pontiff? And
atrocities do not fail under the pope 6
Jurisdiction. For him the cruelty with
which the Russians prosecuted the
innate Catholics of Galicia is far more
important than the nationalistic vapor
ings of French or Belgian Bishops
In Belgium, Catholics have suffered
no persecution on account of theil
faith. but in Lemberg the Russians
during their occupation did everything
to drive the Catholics away from
Rome. The noble Archbishop of Lem
berg was promptly sent to kursky
near Siberia, where he is prisone
even now.
And the relations between the Vatl
can and Quirinal have not improved
Italian natfonalists view the Pope ant
all his acts with distrust; they vir
tually demand that the Pope shall &C
as an Italian Bishop.
: And. above all. they fear that tn
Roman Question may be made the sui
ject of international discussion; tina
the law of guarantees may cease to b
: purely Italian affair to be attlrme
or abrogated at the pleasure of a.
Italian parliament. And it is wei
known that Italy gave it's adherence
to the London compact on condition
that the entente powers shall see t
1t that these laws shall not be altere
In favor of the Vatican. There
, nothing that Italian patriots resen
more than international Pope. TIL
grand master of Italian Freemasons
Ettore Ferrari asserted recently tina
the internationalism of the Pope is
constant menace to the existence an
prosperity Of the nation. and that tn
Papacy is an unnatural institution
which troubles the consciences of tn
faithful. Catholics may take heed
they ought to know where their ir
terests lie.
Because the Pope is internationa
and really neutral. he has been abb
to do the many acts of charity tina
stand to his credit. He has effecte
the exchange Of disabled prisoners
he has proposed truce: he has OF
dered prayers for the cessation of til
|