New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-30

ono Of the main fears Of the Holy sec flucc
the very beginning OF this war, fear when
Influenced essentially its general political
attitude during the last two and hall years
was the cventualty Of disruption OF Aus
tria. Abou. the solcitudc Of the Vatican for
the Hapsburg dynasty there can be no doubt.
Many people arc, therefore, inclined to as
sumo that the neutrality" Of the Papacy has
been and is partly yet but surface attitude.
Others, placing the conflict between the prIn-
cplcs at stake above the conflict between gov
crnmcntS and dynastcs. recall to their mem
DRY the policy of Leo XIII, who favored dem
ocratc ideas, was sincere friend of the
Slavic race, and consequently, had concIli-
ated himself with the thought of the eventual
disappearance Of the Court Of Vienna. There
arc even some, particularly in Italy, who be
licve that the present Popc's anxiety ?bout
the fate Of Charles | and his archducal fam
lily can best be explained by Benedicts con-
viction of the identity Of the interests of the
Vatican and the Vienna IIofburg.
We arc not unmindful Of the fact that the
Catholic Church has 20 look out for the Tut
urc, even for the very distant future and that
in view of the certainty that there will be
new Austria after this war the problem OF
how a great autocratic and strictly Catholic
state could be tolerated in the centre OF hu-
rome is hard to reconcile with the presen.
programme of the Entente aiming at the re-
organization Of Europe on a progressive ana
democratic basis This complex problem
therefore. deserves the most serious consld-
orat;on on the part OF the statesman and stu
dent Of history.
Present Position Of the Church
Let us. then. first, in order to obtain the
right angle. consider impartaly the position
held in Austria Hungary by the Cathoi'c
Church. The latter, to a certain extent anu
quite in dogmatic harmony with ITS claim u
supernatural origin, stands in Austria above
the common law. The high clergy, constItu-
tionally. is an essential part OF the parl'"
mentary and governmental machinery Ger
tain bishops and abbots enjoy not only nooh-
larry titles and all the privileges OF the hlgn-
est aristocracy, but also an enormous income
from landed estates and other sources, re-
minding US OF the great ecclesiastical 1euda'
lords of the Middle Ages.
The lower clergy is respected and has real
political and social influence Religious IN
struction is obligatory for the entire Catholic
population. The world has not forgotten yet
tho splendors of the eucharistc congresses Oh
p few wears ago at Vienna and Agram, IN
which the court and the highest military ana
state dignitaries solemny participated
The Austrian Ambassador near the Vatican
is the real dean of the Papal diplomatic corps
IN the Italian capital. From the moment the
Austrian ambassadorial palace of the Piazza
Venezia had to be vacated tn Vienna court
missed no opportunity to redouble its regards
toward the Papacy. Whenever Benedict Nv
raised his voice in behalf of a Humanitarian
principle, pleading for war prisoners, WIDOWS
and orphans, or the saving OF churches ana
their art treasures, the Vienna government
was the first to heed the appeal in the most
respectful manner.
The sense of relationship of the Austrian
Catholics with the Pope is more individual
more filial, than that of the Catholics OF Ger
luany. At the Vienna Hofburg, even while
the Triple Alliance lasted, one never took
great pains to dissimuate the conviction that
the so-called laws of guarantee of 1870, at
present in full force and vigor, are not
suffcen. safeguard for the absolute inde-
pendence Of the Holy See.
While the temporary pro-Papal manlfestos
of the Catholic centre in the land of Luther
Hegel ard Bismarck quite naturally bear the
stamp of more or less constraint, the clerical
party in Austria openly and sincerely prays
and works for the reestablishment of the tenn
poral power of the Papacy.
Church and State
But in spite of all this we must not allow
ourselves TO be altogether deceived by the
brilliant facade Of the ecclesiastical Austrian
state structure. In reality, the state rather
than the Church is the winner. The opulence
and political influence of the Austrian clergy
are by no means conducive to the practice OF
Christian virtues. Has any one ever heard OF
a serious attempt on the part OF the many
multi-millionaire Austrian Church dignitares
TO use their wealth and pull with their
court and government to do some missionary
work even in their own Balkan provinces !
They leave the work to the consuls, who never
fail to inject the poison of politics into the