THE POPE’S FLAG ON THE SEAS

New Zealand Tablet, 22 February 1917, Page 55

THE POPE’S FLAG ON THE SEAS

- - Since the . war v began, sundry daring ; prophets ; have been lecturing the Pope on the harvest of ill-will to- '**■ •' % - -. t "'..1 x .- 1 •■' ■ • w>-v.'•-: •.-■*,>-**• ■.■•*•-'• *-* «w. .i-M- *•«;• wards the Church that his action iin maintaining a strict neutrality between the belligerents - would reap; i (says the Catholic Magazine). 7 If these would-be Jeremiahs have any real knowledge of ; European affairs, .. , « » •■ - - ‘ • - f • ,- .. . , _ ■ they must have felt very small, when the following important cable appeared- in our papers a short time back: —• -■ ' , DaCK .

i * The first appearance *of the Papal flag at sea since the loss of the temporal power has now taken place on board? the steamer Nuncius, which has been brought by the Pope with a view to safeguarding the diplomatic representatives of the Holy See from war risk. The ship, which is painted white and : yellow, is making her first voyage to Buenos Aires,- carrying, the new- Papal -Nuncio, Monsignor Torregrossa. . The Italian Government has permitted the Ase of Civitavecchia as a permanent harbor.’ r -

, The importance of this ( news . can only be fully appreciated by those who know the history of United Italy. It speaks fifst*o£yill,.of a hew era of cordiality between the Pope and Government. Evidently the Government.; is willing .to , acknowledge publicly that his Holiness .by his wise neutrality has shown himself a ' true friend to the Italian people. With this idea in mind, the Italian authorities have made a friendly concession in allowing the use of their port to, his Holiness. . : On the other hand the Austrians, who according to our papers now largely dominate the Adriatic with their fleet and submarines, are prepared to respect the Pope’s flag, whilst they are at war with the Italian Government, . They too . recognise that his Holiness has played the part of friendly neutral. And thus the policy of Benedict XV. has fully'vindicated itself. The spiritual ruler of the subjects of Austria and Italy has succeeded in retaining the friendship of both governments and peoples at a time of terrible rancour between the two peoples. And the Pope’s flag upon the seas to-day, sailing at peace between the Italian and Austrian , fleets, is the symbol of the increase of that spiritual power, which is the real strength of the Papacy. The white ensign of the Pope, used at sea, has a pure white ground but the half nearer the staff has embroidered upon it figures of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul. ‘ . St. Peter has the keys in his right hand and a volume of the Scripture in his left; he wears a deep yellow garment and a crimson cloak. St. Paul has his left hand upon the hilt of a large sword resting upon {the ground: he, is arrayed" in ’’ pink with a blue cloak. ' .. The chief function of the Papal flag has always been to protect the Papal nuncios and legates in their travels abroad. Two years ago we gave, in -this magazine, a translation of Cardinal Pacca’s account of his eventful journey from Lisbon to Civitavecchia, when he called at Gibraltar on the way and was the guest of their royal highnesses the Duke of Kent (Queen Victoria’s father) and the Duke his brother. Cardinal Pacca tells us how he had the Papal flag prepared for use at Lisbon before starting, and as they entered the harbor of Civitavecchia, which was then the chief port of the Papal States, it was unfurled. * Though for a thousand .years the Popes had full sovereign and territorial rights, they never kept a fleet that would be of any use for aggressive purposes. - The biggest effort that any Pope ever made in this direction was at the famous battle of Lepanto in 1571. And here certainly; there was every ; motive-^-religious, patriotic, and cultural the Head of the Church to use' every means possible to roll back the tide of Turkish invasion. This was the period when the Ottoman" power

seemed about to overwhelm the great Christian powers ■ -" " of Europe. The Turks had already overrun Hungary and Greece, and had made ; various attempts Lto sub- ? jugate Malta and Cyprus, With a view to. complete pos- < session of the Mediterranean. The time was critical for religion and civilisation, and the Pope saw it.' . Venice and Spain were then the two strongest Catholic maritime powers, r and if the Turkish attempt ; to dominate the seas were to be ", frustrated, it must be by the co-operation of these that the work would be : ; done. The Venetian ambassador Su'riano gives us an idea of the earnestness of the Pope in promoting this naval crusade. ' When I received permission to nego- > * tiate with him onthat subject,' says Suriano, 'and '■). communicated my instructions' for that purpose; he . lifted up his hands to heaven offering thanks: to God, - and promising that, his very thought, and all the force ..he could command, should be devoted to that purpose.' » At the time Pope Pius V. was. very short of money, and he had no ship or munitions. Yet he was determined to make great sacrifices, in order to contribute something to the common fleet of Christendom. Ho levied a tax upon convents and the clergy, and * was .._ thus enabled to send a few Papal galleys, to reinforce the quota of the great Powers. It was not a great fleet, but it was the greatest the Popes have eyer f possessed. .■■■?''■.. '" ' -' |j£f The command of the Christian armada was en- ,' trusted to Don. John of Austria. ~!. The , great battle took place at Lepanto, an island in the JEgean Sea due south of Salonika. The opposing forces, were about equally matched in ships and men but the Catholic fleet achieved a brilliant victory, which sent the Catholic nations wild wijh delight. |, It was the first time that they had conquered the Turks in a big- sea battle. ; The .joy of the faithful at this great feat has'been well voiced by G. B._ Chesterton in his fine poem Lepanto. A few verses will show the spirit of it: ■( '' t •"*•"•■' Don John pounding from the slaughter-painted poop, - Purpling all the ocean like a Woody pirate's sloop, - Scarlet running over on the silvers and the golds, .v , ; Breaking of the hatches up and bursting of the holds, Thronging of the thousands up that labor under sea ,; White for bliss and blind for sun and stunned for ■• liberty. "- -: ■ . , ■ .;■-:■ Vivat Hispania! ■-'• v • : . - Domino Gloria/ x ; -\.,-. ..-.- ,•"'• -;; ; *. y' Don John of Austria .: -v Has set his people free! vThe outcome of this battle was such a triumph for the faith, that Pius V., who had ordered the Rosary to be said for the success of the enterprise, f added, a new - , invocation to the Litany of Loretto as a thanksgiving.. Help of Christians! was the added invocation. It is extremely improbable that a Papal ship . will , ever take the seas again for any purposes of. aggression. >• But it is a hopeful sign, in the midst of much dark- - ■ ness, that the nations are showing themselves more and • more considerate to the rights of the Holy See. It « seems a natural, consequence- of I the ..sovereign status -A of the Papacy, acknowledged by the Italian "Con- ' stitution, . and legates of the Pope . should be able to go where they choose under their own fla g- _

' There has been astounding progress in every ; department tof the human mind in ; the last 300 years; <; there has been astounding \ progress in the Catholic Church in;the; last 300 years (writes the Rev. Thomas F. Coakley, D.D., ~\ in the ; New York Truth). The more the world progresses the more the Catholic Church makes progress for progress : and Catholicity -go hand-in-hand. The Catholic Church has kept steady pace with 1 the r increasing progress of the age, and \ the remarkable U progress of the scientific world has been a real help to J the progress of the Catholic Church. 1 : L The Catholic' Church has made her-most wonderful ;.progress in the United States, Germany, England, that :.:is;in precisely those enlightened countries of the modern V world -! where scientific ; progress has reached its greatest heights.'--,\;r y ;.,-v' ..;";-.;-.;;..• =^^ : ..V.'vV; •-' '...■-./-'. ;. : The r Catholic Church loves education, and her : greatest conquests have been in those" countries . where - there ,has. been a high degree of education, such as in. the United States, 'Germany, and England. ... ■The Catholic Church.has made its greatest gains in those very countries where there is ; compulsory education. -."■' ;'•/'.-' "'■"'- ''";"• ■ '.' '■'"' : ' In countries where there is no compulsory educa- : tion, .the-Catholic Church has made gains only in. proportion.,to the lability of the people to become enlightened ; !" ignorance has always " been a hindrance and a handicap to, the progress of the Catholic Church. The Catholic -J Church' has made unexampled progress, in spite -of the fact that in. her doctrines she is irrevocably committed to the past. She cannot change her truths to suit the whims of the latest theorizer, or amateur theologians, any more than the multiplication table can be changed to suit the whims of dishonest stock gamblers. The Catholic Church has the burden of nineteen centuries on -her shoulders, but no one can accuse her of losing her influence over people and nations because . she is old. : No j? other form of religion made enduring conquests at all comparable to hers, none-can keep-pace with her, and she still is 'up-to-date,' with an answer for every difficulty, a solution for every problem and a solace for every ill of the modern world. '•"-. The Catholic Church has . made this immense progress because she preaches the Gospel of Jesus-Christ, and Him Crucified, and has not ; betrayed her divine Founder by .turning the Institution established by Him into an uolift organisation, a social welfare club, a community centre or a scholastic group for the dissemination of merelv humanitarian doctrines. • ~ 1 The Catholic Church . has made immense progress ' in the United States simply because she has steadfastly kept before her eyes the one great purpose of Christ, in founding - the Catholic Churchnamely, to . save men's souls. . To develop their bodies, .to keep them clean, to teach them to play, to instruct them in folk dancing, to entertain them at the ' movies,' to become an adjunct for political parties, may well be the object of other organisations, but it is not the end for- which the Catholic Church was instituted by Christ. The Catholic Church has made: ; immense progress in the United States and. in other parts of the world, in spite of enormous difficulties. She has not had -wealth on her side, she pays double rates for the education of her children, she has. been the victim of organised subsidized opposition on a -colossal scale, and her ; children have been deliberately; excluded from positions: of prestige and honor in both public, and private life. No human institution could make progress under such terrifying conditions; therefore the Catholic Church must bo divine. "„"' * The > Catholic ; Church now numbers more than 300,000,000 human beings.. That is more than three times the ~ total number of all other forms of Chris- ; tianity combined. * In ,: other words, all other forms -;. of • Christianity h taken together to - not number r more -.than; 100,000,000, or u just about one-third the number of -'Catholics in i the world. " - ' *

• , , The progress of * the > Catholic f Church orfithe last 300 years presents the ■ riiost' • remarkable" : phenomenon of all time. She is the only institution in the world’s history that has never revised her constitution, recast her doctrines, nor reshaped her truths to suit the changmg;fancies of : the hour. 'ffi She . teaches to-day, the ceri-tury-old truths ■ that Christ taught, and those ; will she teach forever, for, ■ like Christ Himself, she )is : the ■ same yesterday, to-day, and forever. y