THE NEXT POPE—CLERICAL EUROPE.— CATHOLIC POLITICS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 47, 21 March 1874, Page 8

THE NEXT POPE— CLERICAL EUROPE.— CATHOLIC POLITICS.

(Communicated. ) A Cabiegeah by last mail tella us that Victor Emmanuel has officially announced that ho will not interfere with the liberty of the conclave at the next Papal election on the demise of Pius IX. Some time ago Bismarck made a similar declaration, coupled with the proviso that Germany reserved to herself the right of " examining the legitimacy of the election." But both these great men omit to shew whence they derive the "right" to interfere with the election either before or after it is made. Supposing, however, it were otherwise, how can Bismarck ©r Victor Emmanuel be assured that they will not die before th-e Pope, old though he be ? Almost all the leading enemies or false friends of his Holiness have gone down to the grave before ; Count Cavour, La Farina, Batazzi, and last, not least, Napoleon 111 are dead and buried. Garibaldi and Ricosoti are on their last legs ; and who is to Bay that Bismarck and Victor Emmanuel will out-live the present Pope ? Why all this nervous anxiety about the election of a mccessor to Pope Pius

IX? 'i'he°Papaejr"isan effete, wora out institution, as powerless 4 for good as for evil, if we are to believe the "liberal party" everywhere, and the " liberal press " everywhere, irtcfuding foitr frfend the' Dunedin • Star.' It would appear the Papal power a more formidable even in this enlightened age than it ever w&» aft arty fbnnVr period* if we are to judge from the solicitude which Bfcmarcft and Victor Emmanuel shew with reference to th!e election of a successor' to Pop* Fluff IX. Have not all the great power* of Europe, save ofl*, tferntfl against the Pope ? Are not the gftat leaders of public opinion, especially in the London and Dunedin Press, dead against him and' all the Catholic hierarchy ? Are n6t the rabble and the scum of Continental Europe all burning with indignation against him, and tome' of them even thirsting for his blood. Are they not really crying but away with him ! away with him and all his belongings f The world! wish no more of him and them. What, then, are his enemies afraid of ? Who are his friends, and what can they do for him or his cause ? Perhaps the Dunedin ' Star' or • Guardian ' will enlighten us oa that There is one thing especially worthy of ,remar*. Not only have many of the most conspicuous enemiei or false and hollow friends of thi present Pope died out before hind j but tome of them ha»e come to their end in a very sudden and awful manner, as if the hand of God had strock them. •* I , will give &0O francs," said the unhappy Ratazzi,. "totne messenger who shall announce to roe the death of Pius the 9th. A few days afterwards he himself was. a corpse. His wife watf anxtoos that a prießt should administer the rites of th« Church to him and that he should; thus make his peace with God 1 ere he died; biit noi His infidel associates, Orsini, Monsani and other •• liberate," Alter* fered to prevent it. So he died, and made no* sign. May God forgive him. The sudden death of Count Cavour.some 15 years- ago, sad the melancholy circumstances attending it, must be yet in tb» memory of ' aaany. Theetill more melancholy deatifi of 111, and thtf awful events preceding it, must have made » deep impression on the minds both of the friends aud the enemies of the Pope. Thten, who" are the Pope's friends that they should appear bo formiidaWe? WW are they, and wherein lies their power ? The world is ruled now by money, and blood and steel, and the printing press. But all these' tenible instruments of power are in the hands of the Pope's enemies—--if not altogether, at least very nearly so, Then why ft he so formidable ? It is because the, moral power of his friends and supporters is other words, their political power — is increasing so visibly wherever' the sound portion of the people have an opportunity of making themselves heard— as in Ireland, Belgium, France,- and even Germany itself. In every country of Europe, with representative institutions* and in the United States of America, there is a Catholic political party' This party though in the minority possesses a power and commands an influence everywhere greatly in excesß of its actual numerical strength t And why ? Because it is united together by a bond of unity peculiar to itself— such as holds no other political party together. It is ever' ready to act with any other party as circumstances suggest. In Che 1 British Houae of Common* this party is an object of dread to all other parties, who are often fain to out- bid each other for its " block vote." In this way the Catholic party often becomes " master of the situation"' in spite of its own inferiority in numerical strength. We have ho Catholic party iv our House of .Representatives, but we have or might have one in every polling booth in the Colony? There is no mincing the matter, a Catholic party means a clerical party. Its opponents call it an " Ultramontane " party. Never mind. There is not much, though theie may be something in a name, aud if our opponents— l will not say euemies— x-hooge to designate a CathoHe party by this name, so be it. There is no such thing aa antagonism 1 between the Catholic laity and clergy in any great public questions vitally ailecting the interests of religion and justice: The Catholic laity know even by a sort of instinct the mind of the Church on such questions, and they will shape their public conduct accordingly. It itf not even nesessary the clergy come openly into the political' arena. On certain c; itical occasions they have come openly and boldly forward to exercise their rights as citizens, by taking part in a political contest. They did thu nctably during the struggle for Catholic emancipation ; and it was probably in a great measure owing to their influence that the "Iron Bu-kc" and his party were at last forced to surrender so 1 much against their will. They have begun to do the same in the Home Rule agitation, and may possibly succeed in carrying that measure too, though but a few years ago the hope of success wasvery faint. Even in Germany the Catholic party in Parliament is vnusteriug strong, while in Fivnce the same thing ia seen. The longer tranquihty reigns in France, no matter under what form of government, the better chance of success will the clerical party have. Henry | V. is, like the Pope, lying on his oars and letting things " drift," as iMr Stafford would say. Providence has a policy no less than Bismarck j aud Victor Emmanuel. The Pope is content to acquiesce in the policy of Providence. To Him he has committed his cause, iv tho confident hope that He will not forsaku him for ever— however severely he may have chastened him and the Church for many a long year. Even Popes and Bishops may learn wisdom in the school of° afflict ion and adversity. If I mistake not your friend tho ' Guardian ' lately admitted that the Papal power was never so strong as in the present ago. Will he kindly tell us how we are to account for its- present strength, and how it should be increasing in the face of such stron" opposition even in defiance of the c Guardian ' himself? Fas crt ah post docere I for one am willing to take lessons iroro him, but I do not say I will ■ take them as gospel truth. It is in one sense a fortunate thin» for the Papal cause that the Pope should now have so many and luch powerful enemies. If he can tiiumph in defiance of all the Princes and Cabinets in Europe ; in defiance of the London 4 Times' and his satellites of the presß; down even to the twinkling ' Star' of Dunedin his will be a triumph indeed. It will be thus seen that his power' humanly speaking, rests on the favour of tho people ; the educated) just, orderly, and religious portions of the people. Of course his power, as Catholics regard it, is " ordained of God." Protestants wha cannot regard it in that light, but look upon the Papacy as a mere ■ usurpation— a human institution— must accouut in some "way for the i | revival and rapid progress of the Papal power among the educated

masses of the people in Europe and America, during an age like the present, pre-eminent above all that have preceded it for inquisitive intelligence and free thought. If the Catholic religion were like Mor monism ; or 6ven some of the more intellectual forms of heresy which gratify the sensual appetite, Or footer intellectual and epHtual pride, the explanation might be easy. But seeing that the Catholic religion is so well calculated to mortify the senses, and to humble the pride of man, the explanation is not co easy. Lord Maetiulay studied the history of the Papacj , deeply. Etc has told us what he thinks of it. He points out that Protestantism advanced rapidly for about fifty, years after its birth, and then came to a dead halt* It not only never gained ground after that, but it lost it, and has since continued to recede. France, one of the* most enlightened nations in Europe, renounced the Catholic faith, sottfe eighty years ago ; but she did so, only because she renounced the Christian faith altogether, and even the belief in a God. She subsequent y returned to the Christian iaith ; but it was to the Catholic and not to the Protestant form of it. All this was not ds rattny fancy from ignorance. The leaders of the antl-christian movement, or anti-catholic movement in France*, vfere learned men ; some of them had been even educated aa Protestants. liOtd Macauky considers that there is no necessary connection between the Catholic religion and popular ignorance. That form of religion has been professed by men eminently distinguished for their intellectual power and extensive learning ; and he instances Sir Thomas More as one proof of this. At the close of lust century, the Catholic Churchy to all human appearance, was swept from the earth for evur. The Pope was dead, and his successor for some time did not appear. Everywhere throughout Europe the Church had been robbed of 1 her property. He* priesthood trere proscribed, exiled, or Bent to the scaffold. But the storm blew over. A Pope was duly elected, and the Church everywhere began to regain her influence. Again a storm has arisen against the Pope and the Church in our day, but only to prove their vitality and irrepressible power. Explain all this on the supposition of mere human agency, ye Dunedin philosophers.