The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1919-07-26
THE REAL CRlJX'
Papist Rome Correspondent Tells
What It Takes to Make
Popes Independent

rTHE PAPIST PRESS is
I'll making much of an article
h contributed to the June
LIZ Atlantic Monthly by one L.
j. s. Wood, Rome correspondent
Of the London Tablet (R. C.) which
purports to set forth what popery
needs and must have to secure its
liberty and independence. The es-
sence Of the article is contained in
the following paragraphs there
from:
But when we come tp consider the con.
troversy between Italy and the Holy See
and Catholics, we find that far more i'm
portant than the material occupation Of
the temporal possessions Of the pope Is
the resultant question of the liberty and
independence Of the Holy See. That ID
the real crux. The papRcy, the pope, the
church, the Holy See, can live without
this or that particular piece Of territory
but the supreme pontiff must be pos
sessed Of complete liberty and mdepend.
ence, effective, apparent to the world
and satisfactorily, guaranteed.
For many years this side Of the ques-
tion was generally disregarded; yet It Is
the one that really matters. The facts
Of the material occupation were under
men g eyes, and to most people the whole
question was summed up In the phrase
"temporal power.'' If, however, 1t is
to be understood, there must be q reali-
zation that Temporal Power was not an
end in itself, but means to an end
and that end was the, liberty and indie.
pendence Of the Holy See.
The Catholic contention may be
summed up thus: The pope must be
free and independent; hs 10 sovereign
pontiff, and can not be subject Of any.
body. He must have, too, an effective
and apparent guaranty Of that liberty
and Independence. Divine Providence
gave him what is called temporal pow.
er"--possessions, armies, the attributes
of civil sovereignty,-and for . thou
sand years these served % guaranty,
Now Italy has taken these away; the
pope is not free and independent; even
IL be Is shown to be 90 on paper, there
is really no effective and apparent
guaranty.
So the reigning pope wants to be
free and independent. But there
are others-other persons, families
races and nations that yearn also
for freedom and independence
The pope speaks for himself and
his line Of autocrats just as the
Prussian ex-kaiser might speak fol
desired liberty if he could get q
hearing.
Liberty and independence are a:
much desired by the italian people
and other peoples as they are by
Benedict; and If the world has
been deaf or Indifferent to what
popes want it is because human be-
ings everywhere have wanted the
same thing and have had to fight
popery as well as other forms Of
monarchism to get it.
Temporal power, like financial
power, may be regarded as not ar
end in itself. The job Of ruling
and debating makes the dictator
measurably Independent like any
other job that brings in revenue
or wages and fixes a source Of in
come. The end all strive for i.
security Of life, liberty and pur
suit Of happiness; but the way
each goes about it is what makes
the difference between a despot
and democrat.
The trouble is that popery, act
ing either temporarily or Esprit
ually," makes its self and it's mon
arch secure in the matter Of liber
ty and independence by making
the human masses insecure, de