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Leader (1850-1860), 28th January 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 18, LETTER FROM GERMANY.. Hanovbh, January 2...

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      Letter From Italy. (Special.) Rome, 1.8t...

      defence of truth , and has discharged its ignoble quiver full of vituperations , without perceiving- that by such conduct it dishonours the holy cause it wishes to defend : but this hook is not of such a class , and had it been ' ttiicli I should not have given if my sanction .. But even had the book Ijreh such , I ask again why is such tenderness shown for a few schismatics Who disagree with us and among themselves , while none whatever is shown for the whole remaining population who agree in holding the doctrines of Catholicism ? Do you , perhaps , suppose that ' ¦ the conscience of the latter is too callous to feel , and that their hearts are not bitterly hurt by those shameless articles and those unworthy caricatures which are allowed to pass freely from hand to hand ; by those impious treatises , ¦ which come irorti abroad , and which now that the last barrier has been removed by you inundate us without stint or pause ; by those tracts which the new preachers busy themselves ih circulating , selling them for

      next to nothing , or even giving them away , and which are full of poisonous calumnies and impudent , falsehoods against the Pope , against the priests , against the saints , against the sacraments , against everything we hold most dear and love mpsc reverently . By such books , for example , as ' Impious Rome , ' the ' Cardinal ' s Cabal , ' the Priest and the Woman , ' the ' Cock of Caiaphas , ' the ' Errors of the Romish Church exposed by the Word of God , " the 'Bible and the Prison , " and such-like productions ? Would that your Excellency knew what deep and cruel wounds these things inflict upon the hearts , not only of fervent believers , but even of those in whom the distractions of the world seemed to have deadened the faith implanted and cherished by the piety of their mothers ! Would that you knew what indignation was arising and was ever swelling to more formidable proportions on , account of such intolerable licence , so that , in fact , greater indignation could not be created by open patronage of error ! I myself am so terrified at this

      indignation , that I have thought it my duty , as a Bishop and a citizen , to bear with patience the imputation of pusillanimity , sooner than strike a spark which might be followed by so vast an explosion ; and , instead , as I was strongly urged on every side , of exhibiting this deep grief of liiins to the public gaze ( with the certainty that my voice would find a solemn echo in every heart ) , I prepared to turn myself to you ^ alone , appealing to yoiir religion * to your political wisdom , to your justice . Xisten , 1 beseech you , to my prayers , and even if that be true , which some friends of yours go trumpeting about , but what I hold to be a grievous calumny , namely , that the desire or hope to win over the suppor . t of a great foreign Power , " and thus to further ypur political schemes , causes vou to disregard your duty as a Christian , and to offend the religious feeling of your fellow citizens—O then , I pray you , still remember that the Jews too , having rejected the kingdom of God , in the interest of their country and their nationality , lost both oiie and the other !

      As for what concerns myself , being ; appointed by God and by the Church guardian of the faith of-tins illustrious city arid of this noble people , celebrated above all for its religious glories , I am resolved to fulfil the whole of my duties ; and now that the gentle measures of prudence are exhausted without success , instead of that same charity which has made me gentl « and submissive , to the necessities of the time , and which , as' long as the faith was not in jeopardy my conscience approved of , I shall put on that fiery zeal which befits those who tight the battles of the Lord . I am prepared for all , and I well know that when I was consecrated Bishop 1 devoted myself to tribulation , to toil , to persecution , and to martyrdom . And what I have sworn , that , by the grace of God , I will perfortri .

      May your Excellency excuse the frank freedom of ray language ; but I believed that , by so speaking , I did you honour . May God give you good counsels , as the high gifts which adorn your mind render it an object of attachment to all , and to me especially , who hold you for , my son in Christ Jesus , and who would be thankful to show myself in truth what I have now the pleasure pf subscribing myself ; Your most devoted servant , Giovaccbino , Archbishop of Florence . At the Archiepiscopal Palace , 9 th . December , 1859 .

      Reply of Baron Ricasoli . Your Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Grace;—Your revered letter of the 9 th instant has kept me in much perplexity , because on the one liand it exhibits , the most laudable anxiety for the Catholic faith , while on the other your " zeal for the Loid > house" drives you beyond the ordinary Jlinits w hich define the relations between a Bishop and the State . As , however , your Grace has employed a frank freedom of speech ¦ solely for a good object , so I have resolved to answer without official phraseology , as my . desire too is loyally to appease your Grace ' s apprehensions , and to enter on certain public and private explanations .

      Whenever your Grace . condescends to examine coolly the times in which , we live , and the present * political conditions of the State , which knows how to unite liberty with order , you will soon be convinced that no -religious creed , and lcastof all the Catholic creed ( being in bur country tliat of the majority ) can henceforth even dream of , and still less dread persecution of any description whatever , either from individuals or from Government . In consequence the " crown of martydoirt" can only bo the object of unavailing aspirations , since even if you could find anybody ready to shed }\' u blood , you could hot find f ny one who would care to take it , In our days ilio question is not about the persecution or the protection of religion , but about liberty of conscience and freedom of worship , provided nlwuys that public order is not disturbed . This liberty , which belongs of right to every being responsible to God , which is a fact acknowledged by the conscience of mankind , and which ia a principle of public Inw in every civilised state , does not hinder the Catholic religion , though no lunger the dominant creed , from being at once the prevailing faith , and the creed professed by tho Government and honoured in eyery

      manner . Tho only limits imposed on tliis pro-eminence ami those honours consist in the non-exclusion of other creeds and in non-interference with other forms of worship , All this without question is a novelty in our country , but tho Cutholio Church will not lose ground in face of this now ( not , us it has not lost ground in those Status where the fact in already oli ) nnd long established . I will support my case by the words of a great Cutholio anil a groat statesman , whom Pius the Ninth chose as his minister , mid who , iii truth , for 1 'itis the Ninth sacrificed his life ,

      "Is it necessary , " so wrote Count Rossi , " to go through a course of history in order to prove that the Church , in its external action , has always taken facts into account ; has always followed with admirable prudence and high sagacity , the different developments of society , and has known how to . adapt thereto her action and her influence ? Such is the plain truth . Let no one , therefore , come and dare to describe the Church as persisting blindfold in a beaten track , taking no account of outward facts , and considering mankind as beings condemned to absolute inaction . No ; the Church has read more wisely the laws of Providence . Providence which has made mankind and society , susceptible of improvement , has prescribed for them change and progress . In consequence , the conduct of the Church must inevitably be subject to change , unless she is ito find herself in opposition to the laws of Providence . "

      Hence , your Grace ought not to consider the Catholic religion as opposed by the State , even if other religions are allowed to exist , and other forms of worship . are carried on unmolested . This permission for all creeds to exist together , is , I repeat , an abstract right , and an unalterable fact . I can with confidence affirm , that the Government never has permitted and never will permit the right in question to be abused or converted into a source of public danger or detriment . Proselytism is forbidden and punished ; any incitement to mutual ill-will is forbidden too and punished ; Any opportunity that might give rise to public disorders is forestalled or removed . Even my recent proceedings on this subject are a proof , that though the Government acknowledges no authority in the State save its own , yet it knows how to stand firm in the faith of our forefathers without persecuting any one , and without permitting anyone to violate that liberty which of all is most sacred , the liberty of one's

      own conscience . ; The acts , however , of a lay Government , independent of all external authority , cannot be censured as directed against any creed , as long as they preserve that public order which it is the "duty of Government to maintain . What tends to promote or frustrate this object is a matter on which Government alone , and none else , is competent to decide . If Government forbids the publication or the republication of any work , it is actuated by some pressing motive which may not be ^ apparent to the public . This , however , is no obstacle to . the publication of such sentiments , for , as your Grace is well aware , in the perilous matter of the press , there are two courses established by our existing laws—publication namely , either with Government permission , when the work has less than

      a { certain number of pages ; or subject to the restraint of the censorship when ^ he work in , question is too large to be one of . those pamphlets which pass at once from hand to hand , and which , sometimes , however unobjectionable in themselves , may be dangerous at the particular moment . To speak . now of another matter to which your revered letter alludes , I have the honour to remark that if the State thinks fit , in these times , to remove the possibility of such embarrassment as ought occur if our pulpits were occupied by other than Tuscan subjects ; the State has no intention whatever of depriving Catholic believers of their religious instruction , ( which certainly canrbe administered abundantly to them , and of sound quality by the Tuscan priesthood , ) but ra » her fulfils a duty , which , the " Servants of the Sanctuary" themselves ought to recognise as equally sacred a one with . any other .

      It is difficult fora spectator to . form a correct j udgment of the acts of Government , more especially when his investigation is not altogether unbiassed by preconceived opinions . When , however , these acts are considered impartially , in their real aspect ihey will appear to be caused by sound reasons ,, and always directed with a view to the public good , never with the intention of giving offence to religion . The franker are the relations between the Bishops and the Government , the more certain is this object of being realized . I therefore have the honour to beseech your Grace to apply to the Government in any scheme which it seems desirable to you to carry out , assuring you at the same time that you will find amongst us a constant purpose of promoting what is good , and hindering what is evil . By this means too many illusions would disappeur which create a belief in facts that have no existence , but which nevertheless may produce hurtful consequences . Meanwhile I count it the highest honour to sign myself Your Grace ' s most devoted Servant , Hicasom . At the Ministry of the Interior , Florence . 14 th December , 1859 .

      94 The> Leader And Saturday Analyst. [Ja...

      94 The > Leader and Saturday Analyst . [ Jan . 28 , 1 SG 0 .

      Letter From Germany.. Hanovbh, January 2...

      LETTER FROM GERMANY . . Hanovbh , January 23 rd , 1860 . AN in teresting and important meeting 1 —more ' espocially intei * estingas affording-evidence of an active and solf-sacrificing 1 public spirit—has just been held at Bremen . On the 13 th inst . tho Associntion of Political Economists fpr North-western Germany commenced their discussions . This is a branch of the Association , whose meetings at Frankfort I have already reported , formed with tho view to enlighten the people upon tho best means of developing- the resources of the country .- The patriotic efforts of those associations have , as 1 believe , had great influence in bringing about tho alterations which have lately been made in tho laws bearing upon the handicrafts in Austria , and there ia every reason to hope that

      similar results will follow in all parts of Germany . The subjects discussod are so exclusively sociul and commercial as to leave no possible excuse for men of any party or country to hold aloof from them , or to give any cause for interference on tho part of the authorities , who in Gormany are particularly jealous of public meetings for tho discussion of national affairs . Those associations , and annual , or , as thoy arc likely to become , half-yearly meetings , are the " still small voices " destined gradually to , swell into the rallying 1 cry of nil Germany . The aim of this north-western branch association is to continue the work of the Frankfort Association by discussing" tho economical questions of tho day that especially affect the countries of Hanover , Oldenburg , and the territory and city of . Bremen , which are ooolosoly connected with each other , and in tho hope that their example will induce other States to establish similar societies . At this mooting

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 28, 1860, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28011860/page/18/