Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1917-09-12
POPE'S MANEUVERS IN Sending Paaa.ccE NOTE
Directed the Course Of Proposals Into ',ine Of
Action Compatible Only With Sovereignty.
By Gilbert 0 Nations.

While considering the motives
and subject matter of the peace
note recently submitted by Pope
Benedict XIV TO the Warning
nations, the public should not
overlook the demonstration afford
ed by the note of the status If the
pope as political sovereign un-
der the law of nations Apollo
glsts for the papal system deny
with much vehemence that the
pope is the sovereign head Of
political empire They contend
that the functions of the Roman
pontiff are soley spiritual and de
void of any connection with civil
and political institutions.
If the pope were not political
sovereign he could not possibly
hand to the bell1gerent govern
ments an officlal communication
through diplomatic charnels
Oaly political sovereisns aud the
executive heads Of republj,~ are
permitted to maintain dip'4mat-
lc avenues or ENJOYS through
whom official communica lions
can he transmitted to the guTern-
ments of the world.
AS spiritual functionary only,
the pope's relations wou.d be
identical with those of Other &c
clesiastics. The force of this
will readily appear if We IL ier-
take to think of the cl,-
bishop of Canterbury or a b5@1op
of the Methodist church { an
eminent minister in any othe. dc
nomination presuming to h / ID a
diplom matic note to the go" m
1nents of the warning natloa5.
All such bishops aud min: ers
are loyal subjects of their res, &c
ti7es countries. None of item
claim membership in the fa"-ily
of nations. None of them " ,uld
be permitted by their own 60 ern
ments to exercise the monst Gus
and reasonable prerogatives of
sending ambassadors or nur,iCs
to foreign governments or rcceiv-
ing such ENJOYS from those gov
ernments. All of them are an.en-
able to the laws as dutjful >;ti-
zens.
It is precisely this grotosque
condition of the pope as a politi-
cal sovereign exercising al: the
rights and functions of imp -ial
rank that differentiates Roman
Catholicism from all the res on
sible churches of Christenl'om ON.
It is the status of the paDacy
which necessarily renders its
subjects in all the countrie: of
the world incapable OF loyal citi-
zenship.
How did Pope Benadict
transmit his peace note to the vari
Gus governments? He se1t it
through diplomatic chats els,
identical with those through
which other emperors and h;ngs
send International messages
The pope could easily each
the government of Russia
through Baron Nelidow, who is
the Russian ambassador at the
vatican. He could reach japan
through Ambassador ia cora
Miuria, who represents that en-
pire at the papal court. Com
munication with the British gov
ernment was easy through
sir Henry Howard, envoy to the
vatican. He could like wise
reach the Teutonic er1:,ires
through their diplomatic repre-
sentatives at this court.
Neither the United Stttas
France nor Italy now maintains
diplomatic irelations with the
pope, though the former twn ma
tons did so in past years. CHse
quently, the British govern 1@nt
by requests of the papal secH' try
of late, Cardinal, Gasparri, or
wArded through it's own Gr 10Y