CARDINAL MANNING ON TOLERATION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 195, 22 December 1876, Page 8

CARDINAL MANNING ON TOLERATION.

HCabdinax Manning, in reply to a letter addressed to him by a Methodist minister at Harrogate' says : — So far as I know, the English Catholics have inada no representation to the government of Spain in reference to the Protestants in that country. So far as I know, the laws of Spain do not extend to the private conscience or belief of any one, but restrain only the public propagation of religious tenets or worship at variance with the religion of the Spanish people. Under these circumstances no Catholic would consider any representation to be justified. The Spanish people are united in faith and religion, and are fully justified in preserving their country and their households from the miseries of religious conflict. And, believing as they do that, this unity of faith, and of worship is a divine law, they hold it to be of the highest obligation to transmit it faithfully to their children. If the Catholics in England were a majority to-morrow they would molest no one in matters of religion by civil laws. In a phamphlet written by me last year, in answer to Mr. Gladstone, you will find this more fully treated than I am able to do now. The principles on which I answered then, and answer now, are these: — 1. So long as the unity of a people in faith and worship exists unbroken, it is the duty of such a people to preserve it from being broken by public law. 2. When once that unity is broken up by the religious conflicts of a people, no civil laws can restore unity, which can be restored only as it was created — that is, by the obedience of faith. 3. The public law of such a country can do no more than protect the freedom and welfare of all its subjects by restraining what is injurious to human society, such as the propagation of blasphemy, impiety, polygamy, etc. There is, therefore, no parallel between Spain and England, nor between a people united in one faith and a people unhappily and hopelessly divided.

An English magazine says : — " Scattered about the earth there are supposed to be 10,000,000 or 11,000,000 of Jews alive. Thousands of these persons are rich, some of them own colossal fortunes. Rothschild could buy up the fee simple of Palestine. Goldsmid might rebuild the temple of Herod, Monteflorehas money enough to cast a golden statue of King Solomon. But of these wealthy Hebrews, not one is willing to go back.. .. . *