New Britain herald., 1918-01-28

d brand Any student of religious his l tory knows that the first protesting
 against the authority of Rome and in l cident1y against the authority of | Jesus Christ, who saw fit to invest
 with his authority the Pope of Rome,
 hte first protesting took place in Ger kmony. The German Luther was the
 Ssuther and founder of Professionalism His religion was imported into the
 other countries without an embargo
 that their kings might have freed 0hand in indulging their lawless de-
 sires and incidently fill their OK
 chequers by despoiling the church of
 her possessions. And so the people
 who followed the new religion and
 relieved themselves of allegiance to
 the Pops and in most cases to the ten
 comm mondments, found themselves
 more than ever the slaves of their
 kings who played the part not merely
 of civil rulers, king, but spiritual rui-
 CTS Popes.
 Hence it was that in Germany we
 find the I.utherans acknowledging the
 king of Prussia as their religious
 head. even as the king of England is
 constituted the head of the Anglican
 church. The true American can nev-
 CT bow in allegiance to a. king, either
 in the domain of politics or religion. but there is one ruler that he can bow
 to without risking his dem ocracy: there is one Father to whom he can render spiritual allegiance, the Vicar of Christ, the Spiritual Father of all men, the Pope of Rome.
 That the Catholic church is the only hope of the future, because she alone is cosmopolitan because she alone fits in perfectly with American ideals, is beautifully brought forth from the skillful pen of Professor Sedgewick, a non-Catholic, in the At iantic Monthly, Volume s4, page 447: The Roman church has always been cosmopolitan. There have been
 Popes from England, Holland, Ger many, France, Spain and Italy.
 ".Her churches lift their spires from Norway to Sicily, from Quebec to Patagonia. Her missionaries have sacrificed their lives over all the world. Her strength has been that she is the church universal. England recognizes the king as the head of the Anglican church, Russia the czar as the head of the Greek church; but the Roman church has never been bound- ed by national boundary lines; she alone has been able to put betOre the western world the ideal of a church for humanity. This has been the source of her peculiar attraction. And in the next century, with the national barriers broken down, her claims to universal acceptance and obedience will be stronger than ever. Ameri- cans cannot kneel to an English king, nor prostrate themselves before czar of Russio or 0 kaiser of Prussia, but many will do both before him, who has the only claim to be cons1d- cred the High Priest of Christendom. Let all men of good will pray for the dawning of that day when peace and union will reign not only in the political life of the nations but in the vastly more important sphere of re- ligion. Then will the prayer of Jesus Christ be verified that those who, be- lieve in Him may be one, as He and
 the Father are one. that the world may believe that the Father sent Him.
 Then will the nations see Gods will accom- plished on Earth even as it Is
 in Heaven, when there shall be ono
 fold and one shepherd.