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Catholicism in 19th Century England

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years ago
Guide to reading this text:

    All red words refer to terms defined in the "Editor's Definitions of Terms" portion of this page.

    All blue text are hyperlinks to outside webpages.

    Ed.n. refers to the "Editor's Notes on the Text" portion of this page and are numbered accordingly.

 

Contents:

    The Papacy - Its Position and Aims, by J.W. Gambier

    Editor's Introduction to the Text (with Works Cited following)

    Editor's Definitions of Terms

    Editor's Notes on the Text

    Editor's Notes on the Text - Works Cited Page

 

 
 
The Papacy - Its Position and Aims

 

J.W. Gambier, Fortnightly Review 64 (1895) (pgs. 19-32), London: Chapman & Hall, Limited 

 

It is a fact, no less remarkable than unexpected, that in our day there should be an unmistakable renewal of strength and vitality in the Papacy; a fact all the more striking since the substrata, both moral and material, on which rested the power of Rome, had apparently been so completely swept away as to render such a resurrection at least highly improbable. The foundations of this power were three: materially, the Temporal Power; morally, a world more or less accepting dogmatic teaching; and, lastly, the almost universal ignorance of all classes, shared by all Christian peoples alike, as to the authority on which these pretensions were based. 

 

 But, in the memory of middle-aged men, all this has changed. And yet, after a lapse of a few years we behold the Church of Rome making strides towards the recovery of all that had been lost, at a rate which, if continued, must, within a measurable space of time, tend considerably to change the existing state of affairs, not only in Europe, but in the United States of America and the great South American Republics. Whether, as the Church believes, this comes from the silent and irresistible power of the teaching of the Galilean accompanied by a fresh and direct guidance from Above, is hardly a matter for discussion in these pages; but to endeavor to ascertain some of the more mundane causes at work, and to what the Church of Rome, in another sense, attributes it, can be here examined without incurring the odium theologicum. Broadly speaking, the belief amongst all the churchmen is that Truth must prevail, especially their particular kind of truth, whilst to the Roman Catholic ecclesiastic no truth can be truth unless associated with, and subject to the discipline of the Roman Church. [Ed.n. 1] The aspect of the world and of society, as it presents itself to him, is that there are thousands of right-thinking men, who, loathing the general demoralization which (the Church holds) must accompany Radicalism, Socialism, Anarchism, and all the other "isms" which weaken authority, or instill the doctrine of public plunder, are gradually, by their example and precepts, leavening the masses who, if left to themselves, would enforce the doctrine of rapine with the knife and bomb. To control this movement is the Church's aim; to stand above and guide it, her destiny. For Churchmen hold they are in a better position to do this than the Statesman, who is always, more or less, the puppet of faction, or the Member of Parliament who is paid, or wants to be paid, for his services, and is therefore no longer a free agent. And holding this view, the Church has the incalculable advantage of  being true to itself, and is not continually subjected to the humiliation of having to say one thing one day and another the next. Popes, Cardinals, and Archbishops (in the Church of Rome bien entendu) are not nowadays counters in the game of political poker; and jobbery enters very little into their preferment. In their office they are independent of the many-headed, and the consequence is that, down to the lowest clergy, there is a freedom of action permitted which is not possible amongst other sects, or with those dissenters, who, viewing with envy the good things belonging to other communities, are of necessity such puerilities as rights in property. Thus the Church of Rome is able to maintain discipline, a discipline against which revolt is rare.

 

It must be remarked, however, in passing, that we occasionally see what appears to be a mutiny amongst the lower priesthood of Rome, but it is more apparent than real, whilst the power to crush it is ten times more real than apparent. And the possibility of those revolts taking place is being rapidly removed, for the ignorant Irish priest, and the still more ignorant Hungarian, the cause of so much trouble recently in both countries, are being gradually replaced by men of enlightenment and culture, whilst the merest whisper of excommunication would at once effectually sweep these mutineers into the nethermost limbo, by invalidating their administration of the Sacraments[Ed.n. 2] Thus, though the policy of the See of Rome appears to lean towards Socialism, the underlying motive of it is essentially conservative, in the truer and broader meaning of the word; conservative in the main idea of matrimonially keeping society together, conservative as to the right of parents to have their children taught what religion, and how much of it, they please; conservative in the elementary idea that theft by Acts of Parliament is always theft. And it is a remarkable fact that there is not at the present time in any Cabinet, or in any Opposition in Europe, a single Statesman of the first rank, who being a Roman Catholic, is identified with Radicalism, whilst in such Radical Cabinets as contain second and third rate politicians who are Catholics, the general drift of their policy is favourable to the extension of the Pope's power; as, for instance, in England at this moment, where Home Rule on the one hand, and the destruction of the State Churches in Wales, England, and Scotland on the other, play absolutely and directly into the hands of the Vatican. [Ed.n.3]

 

We may now turn for a moment to a consideration of the causes at work in producing an undeniable return to a Belief in the Supernatural - in something outside ourselves - with its corollary, namely, an increase in the number of educated men who are again accepting the tenets and doctrines of the most dogmatic faith known to mankind.

 

Taking this side of the question first, and leaving aside the personal aspect of Catholicism, nothing is more remarkable than the number of persons nowadays who are in earnest about Religion of some sort. The mere material increase of churches, chapels, benefices, hospitals, homes, and innumerable charities directly connected with various religions: the enormous augmentation in the number of people who devote themselves to the service of the God they severally worship: the fierceness of the struggle over the question of religious education, all indicate an interest in things spiritual that has gained force within the last twenty or thirty years. In spite of the never ceasing thunder of the higher criticism, in spite of the immense increase in churches of other denominations where greater latitude of judgment is permitted, the Church of Rome gains ground. It is true the Church of England has also made marvelous strides, and that Nonconformityis not lagging in the race, but all this only goes to prove that there is a very remarkable outburst of religious feeling amongst all creeds and all classes, probably unparalleled since that wonderful person, St. Paul, invented and promulgated the creed he was pleased to call Christ's.

 

It is a trite remark that the impetus which directs any great movement, moral, social, or political, is almost always imparted through that most powerful of all leverages which we call personal influence, that incomprehensible attribute which more than anything else under the sun seems to reveal hyperphysical guidance in human affairs. Nor is the exercise of this power reft forever from the spiritual world because Darwin has investigated or Spencer thought. [Ed.n.5] Under this influence an Atheist becomes a believer as easily as an honest man accepts Home Rule, though admitting that both may be unconsciously influenced by fear of a hell of some kind.

 

The two most striking instances of personal influence, in our day, are Leo XIII and Mr. Gladstone. [Ed.n. 6 (a) & (b)] Of the latter the statement will be generally accepted by any who have come within the witchery of that Statesman's charm and power of persuasion, whilst of Leo XIII, the same can be unhesitatingly said, though it is more difficult to measure the effect in his case, seeing that the Pope is still actively at work, whilst Mr. Gladstone's has been practically confined to the advancement or ruin of his own country.

 

Now to those to whom the privilege of conversing with Leo VIII has been extended; to those who look below the surface of things and realize that everything the Pope says, does, thinks, or writes, the outcome of deep and earnest thought, exercised by one of the most powerful minds of our day, a dim adumbration of this influence and its consequences reveals itself. The frequenter of the Vatican instinctively learns that no one within those walls differs with that wonderful old man; that the mind lingering in that trail tenement of flesh and blood is keen, alert, and self-reliant; that to the Pope, assertion of unlimited authority is no effort, that it is part and parcel of his nature, enabling him to set aside a pompous Cardinal more easily than the Archbishop of Canterbury can a beadle. For this Pope is a great power - a far greater potentate than the king who sits in his palace on the other side of the Tiber - and, if the supposed visitor be a Catholic, to him a divine personage, divinely inspired, borne up in his counsels by the Almighty God of the universe, and guarded from error by Omniscience. [Ed.n. 7] To him the delicate life hanging by a thread in the attenuated frame is nothing but a miracle, as indeed it is to others who only take a material view of the fact; whilst that the mind of this aged man is still capable of bearing the stain of incessant labour, fills many with amazement. This is no fancy portrait of Leo XIII. That his life is miraculously prolonged is now very generally accepted by the faithful, and, even by medical men, it is looked on as phenomenal that so light a spark should not have been extinguished at least twelve or fifteen years ago.

 

It is patent to any one reading the daily papers that the Vatican is becoming more and more a factor in European politics, not alone in matters of general policy, but in all social and religious questions; that it has a hand in the making and unmaking of governments; that is influences elections (in some countries and certain localities to the extent of controlling them altogether); that it takes its part in the burning question of the education of the people; and, lastly, that in the New World that are being brought under colonizing influences, such as Central Africa, it is destined to play a by no means insignificant role.[Ed.n. 8]

 

And who but Leo XIII guides and directs this policy?

 

Reason as we may, blink facts as much as we like, the Pope, in the silence of his austerely furnished room, with his simple fare of pasta and cold water, is a power in shaping the destinies of the world greater than the Czar, greater than the Emperor William, greater than all the Foreign Secretaries who fret and fume on the political stage in the length and breadth of Europe. [Ed.n.9]

 

And why? Because he embodies the idea of a persistent, unwavering policy, with one distinct aim, an aim that will outlive him; that will be followed with the relentlessness of a sleuth-hound by his successors. Triple Alliances will have crumbled, dual monarchies have split into fragments, the sun may have set on the British Empire, Republics rise and fall, but still this one supreme object will be in view, everything moral and material will be utilized with that sole idea, everything which stands in its way crushingly and persistently set aside. And this terrible power is, and must continue to be, in the hands of the only true Autocrat living; a man who need not be swayed by faction, master of himself and master of thousands of highly trained men who blindly do as he bids, Chancellor of his own Exchequer, with no one to question the use of the immense sums that flow into his coffers. He is the only Autocrat free from the res angusta domi; he has no personal family worries: Royal Marriage Acts cannot afflict his dreams, and complicated dynastic arrangements do not affect him. [Ed.n. 10]

 

 

But to the outside public a latter-day Pope often seems to be merely the Spiritual head of the Roman Church, occasionally seen at some festival in the Sistine Chapel, whilst the rest of his time is taken up in receiving ladies in black veils - mostly Protestant and mostly American - in granting audiences to some wandering Britisher with a new patent for the Union of the Churches, or in dispensing blessings and indulgences on hordes of amiable pilgrims (personally conducted) who have taken the Vatican, Lourdes, or anywhere else, on their trip.

 

But however true this might have been of other Popes, it is distinctly not the case with Leo XIII. It is true he is compelled to go through many of these trivialities, for women are still women, and noodles are not as extinct as the dodo, but the amount of work of other kinds he gets through, and its extreme importance, is known to few. The diplomatic correspondence alone, carried on chiefly by his very able Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, but verified and examined in every line by His Holiness himself, would occupy the time of most men to the exclusion of everything else. In addition to this are naturally all the "Cares of the Church," its government, preferments, missions; the political bearing of every Act of every Parliament, as affecting the Papacy; an analytical scrutiny into the lives of all the Roman hierarchy; a study of the personal character of every Statesman of eminence; the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of European foreign relations; and countless other matters - Home Rule in Ireland, Catholicism in America, religious questions in Austria, with everything else embraced in the universal dominion of the Church.

 

And now a word as to the spiritual condition of the hierarchy of Rome. To the student of history it seems indisputable that a great boon and blessing has befallen the Church of Rome through the loss of its temporalities. [Ed.n. 11] To anyone familiar with the "good old days" of Roman society thirty years ago - the ease and luxury of the great Prince Cardinals, their fat revenues, their palaces, their nephews and also their nieces, and the pomp and splendour of their lives - the existing state of affairs in the Catholic world of Rome presents a marvellous change. A visit nowadays to a Cardinal or a Monsignor is quite another thing: no relations of either sex dangling about his Eminence's ante-chamber, no lacqueys in livery, no great rumbling coach with fat horses; nothing of this - all gone; nothing but austere and decorous economy. And by a process common in all lives, improved domestic economy has produced higher spirituality, has revived that earnestness essential to success in anything, and has added a dignity to their position in the eyes of the vulgar which luxury had never succeeded in imparting. Further, what was true of the Prelates was true of the Pope, whose very person grew more and more sacred the less he came in contact with the outer world. Rome gained immeasurably by the loss of her ridiculous Papal Army, laughable as a menace, perilous as rendering it obligatory under certain circumstances to take part in European quarrels.

 

But now the Vatican works the polling-booth, an infinitely surer and more effective force, and one which it is almost beyond the powers of any State to control.

 

Thus round the person of Leo XII, a strength has accumulated unknown to modern Papacy, whilst, personally, no Pope for centuries has been more implicitly obeyed or more devoutly reverenced. Nevertheless, it is also clearly his own remarkable personality which has greatly contributed to this state of affairs, coupled with the fact that the loss of the temporal power, and, with it, relief from the trumperies, which take up the time of ordinary Royalties, has left him at leisure to devote his great intellect to what may be properly called the legitimate business of his position. Then again, it is a fair speculation as to how far even Leo XIII's extraordinary pious mind, as proved by the blameless purity of his pre-papal life, would have stood that greatest of all human trials, elevation to an exalted position, coupled with power. As it is, the transcendental has remained conspicuous in him. To himself, and to millions of others, he is above all human consideration of earthly weakness and incapable of wrong-doing; for the simple fact that he has had no opportunity to show, through erring, that he is fallible. It is said that Leo XIII has not changed in the smallest degree since his election to the chair of St. Peter, but it must be pointed out that it was certainly not anticipated that that quiet, calm, and holy mind had another side to it which would entitle it to rank with Bismarck's or that of the shrewdest of the modern Statesmen - namely, a fixity of purpose that none have excelled: a personal courage that would smile at the stake: and grasp of all questions, social, moral, or political, equaled by few. [Ed.n. 12] Add to this an undoubting belief that he is God's Alter Ego here below, not only in matters concerning the Church, but in all things secular as well; add again his firm faith that this God takes cognizance of the traditional sparrow on the house top, and is for ever guiding the world through the Pope and through the Pope alone; add his extraordinary personal influence (before laid stress on), and last, but by no means least, the financial condition of the Papacy (more than flourishing than it has been for centuries), and it would appear that the power of the Pope is not dead in the person Leo XIII.

 

One word as regards the finances of the Papacy. This will naturally be vehemently contradicted, but there is not a shadow of doubt that vast sums have been and are being accumulated. The expenses of the old regime far exceeded the revenue - the expenses nowadays fall far below the receipts which flow into the coffers of the Vatican from all parts of the world. There is now no waste, no extravagance; and no man can come forward and say that he knows a nephew or niece of a modern cardinal for whom an estate has been bought.

 

And now we come to the main consideration, as to what underlies all Papal policy; a question fraught with vast importance, not alone to Europe, but to the entire world.

 

The aim of this policy is the Restoration of Temporal Power.[See Ed.n. 11] That this is the leading idea of the Vatican, the pivot on which everything turns, can be said without fear of contradiction. The precise form that this restoration will assume may not have taken definite shape even in Leo XIII's mind; but, as far as it known to one who stands near His Holiness and knows, or thinks he knows, the views the Pope holds on this subject, there is never a moment's wavering in the belief of the Holy Father that it will come about. It may not be Leo XIII, nor the next, nor the next after him, but it is the immutable intention of God in the government of His Church that His Vicegerent shall be an independent Sovereign. For a Pope without a territory of his own is a theological anomaly, a crime against the majesty of God himself, and thus the present position of the Pope is that of a prisoner - altogether an intolerable position of affairs. [Ed.n. 13] To a Protestant or a Nonconformist, and to those who care for none of these things, this statement must appear preposterous and exadurated. To these people the mediaeval Papal bogey has long since been laid to rest, and they scarcely allow an all-directing Providence to have as much to do with things mundane as the voters of West Ham. But to millions of their fellow-men this view means the safety of their souls, for it is part and parcel of that Religion which they hold to be the one, and only true, Revelation.

 

Thus it comes about that the Pope cannot divest himself of his attribute of temporal sovereignty, and is genuinely a prisoner through force majeure; for it is extremely doubtful if the Italian Government, answerable for the peace of Rome, even if it did not affect the peace of Europe, could permit him to cross the Tiber. At the present moment the Italian people are in no manner to be played with, and it would be impossible to foresee the consequences of such an unwonted spectacle. Saving to a few Radicals and unbelievers, the Pope is to the Italians not only a priest, but a King, an idea indoctrinated by every kind of means, preached in a thousand pulpits, and enforced in the confessional as a condition of Absolution. That this long confinement to the Vatican, by accentuating the position of the Pope as that of a prisoner, is a canker that is most surely eating its way into the body politic of Italy, and that it is a deep-seated disease, nestling in the very heart of the kingdom, few can contradict.

 

And now for a moment let us consider what are the chances, proximate or remote, in favour of the realization of this dream of restored temporal power, and what are the forces, moral or physical, on which so astute a man as Leo XIII relies to give it substance. How can he burst these bonds, how move this mountain? Indeed, it truly does seem chimerical that a few unarmed priests should once more surround a Sovereign Pontiff, treating with foreign powers on equal terms; but a glance at the current state of affairs in Europe shows that in many countries the Pope has a rapidly increasing following which is growing more and more militant and aggressive, and that the Vatican is no longer a quantity that can be ignored. In Belgium only recently the Catholics have "swept the board."[Ed.n. 14] In Austria-Hungary the violent quarrel that apparently culminated in the defeat of the Papal party has ended practically in a victory for the Holy See, in the sense that it has clearly shown how powerful is the Roman influence in the dual kingdom; an influence which has most distinctly gained ground by the struggle. [Ed.n. 15] In Russia the Roman Catholic question is one of extreme intricacy and delicacy, interwoven as it is with slumbering national aspirations, as in Poland, and with the hardly less dangerous feeling that exists amongst the Catholics of Russia proper, who, though a small minority, are far better organized and far more highly instructed than the adherents of the Orthodox Church. Nor must it be assumed that the Church of Rome is either indifferent to, or taking no cognizance of, those struggles towards the daylight of liberty which agitate Russia; and though the Church would not for a moment sanction the methods adopted by those revolutionaries, still she would seek to guide this disruptive force in a direction that would tend to her own advantage, by aiding the downtrodden to throw off the influence of a clergy whom she thinks heretical or whose interests are too closely allied with those of the oppressors. And here let it be remarked that the Czar is not the head of the Greek Church, so that the reconciliation of East and West would in no way affect his authority. [Ed.n. 16]  

 

Turning to France, we have an excellent illustration of Papal policy in the recognition of the Republic by the Holy See. The powers that be are the arrangement sanctioned pro tem. by Providence, ergo by the Pope. The vast majority of respectable French Catholics were Republicans, and only a small clique, with their own fish to fry, clung to the effete House of Bourbon. By this one stroke of policy the Pope has gained enormously in France. The clamour of opponents was directed more against the Roman Catholics for their political than their religious views. The average Frenchman was more than content that his women-folk should have a church to go to, and if the priest, by superior orders, accepted the political situation, he in his turn would leave him alone. [Ed.n. 17]

 

In Germany the officious party affecting to be Papal is losing ground, through the self-seeking and violence of its leaders; but on the other hand, in Southern Germany and Bavaria, where the anti-dynastic feeling is gaining rapidly, and where the Catholics largely predominate, the power of the Pope is increasing; and this force will certainly act centrifugally as the various and heterogeneous nationalities grow more and more tired of their Lutheran Sergeant-major. [Ed.n. 18]

 

In Norway and Sweden, as well as in Holland and Denmark, the Church of Rome is acquiring many recruits amongst those who begin to see that their Legislative Assemblies, like our House of Commons, are mere talking shops, where genuine legislation is always subordinated to party strategy; whilst as to Spain, Rome would find men to fight for her even in the ranks of her most bloodthirsty anarchists. For however big a scoundrel a Spaniard may be, he has a religious horror of going to perdition - and that, after all, counts for a good deal.

 

Briefly we would pass over the United States, but noting that the increase of Catholicism is very remarkable. Is it entirely unconnected with the regiments of American women who annually move heaven and earth to obtain an audience of His Holiness? Women in all lands, save those of the faith of Islam, are the great propagandists, and the next thing to talking about the sweet, dear, noble, kind Pope (&c., &c.), is to believe in his religion, get your friends to believe in it, and build and endow churches for it.

 

Next we come to England, leaving aside Portugal and the great South American Republics, all entirely Catholic. Here we are so deeply concerned that it is a matter of regret that in the exigencies of space permit only a very superficial view of the matter. But unquestionably in no country in the world is the Pope's power more speedily advancing than in ours. The briefest retrospect shows how rapidly we have passed from fanatical hatred to tolerance, and now to indifference - the last always the most dangerous state. This as to the world politic. But it is to the world of thought that we must turn to measure the strides that are being made. Thought in Oxford and Cambridge, and in learned societies generally in England, during the last thirty years, can fairly be said to have gone through the following epitomizing phases. First, a general awakening of scientific interest in all things, including the credentials of Belief. Next, a militant Atheism, which took it for granted it had pulverized the First Cause for ever. Then a bold type of Agnosticism , whose smothering logic ended in an admission that it knew no more of the Unknowable than any chimney-sweep in London. Then the milk-and-water type of Unbeliever - afraid of his own deductions - wearying the world with complaints of wanting to know, and not knowing how to. Then another type - a man not afraid to say he hoped there was a Heaven, and that he would like to get there somehow; and so, to that vast majority of English men and women who clung, and still cling, to a belief in a life beyond this, to be reached through the teachings of Christ - people whose love stretched across the grave, who preferred Christ to Bradlaugh, and thought the Virgin Mary a better pattern for their daughters than Madame Blavatsky. [Ed.n. 19(a) and (b)] But though it is not contended for a  moment that this revival has been greater amongst Catholics than amongst Protestants, it is beyond doubt that the Catholics seem to have profited more by it than at first appears explainable. But some of the causes are not far to seek. Foremost amongst these may be cited the entire absence of Ecclesiastical Discipline in the Churches of Great Britain of all kinds, and notably in that specifically of England. So to this Church, outnumbering all other denominations put together, we must look for some explanation of these phenomena. And these are, first the entire absence of theological concord amongst the clergy, so that men can remain in the fold of the Church and draw its emoluments, holding views which diverge as the poles, a fatal weakness in any organization, and yet proclaimed, by a singular fatuity, as an advantage. Without discipline and authority there can be no cohesion, and the house divided against itself must fall. Next in order is the want of education of our clergy, whose learning is inversely as the difficulty of dealing with modern criticism. Then the class from which the clergy are greatly recruited, the Church having become a mere profession, crowded by men without a single qualification to instruct or guide. Then the intolerable and incoherent rubbish of the modern sermon and the eternal begging. It is admittedly an army whose drummer would pull the general's nose, and is, therefore, not likely to do much in the field. On the other hand, the discipline of the Church of Rome is complete. Rome knows the value of dogma, and sees the tendency of the Church of England to split up into numberless sects. It knows that the Archbishop of Canterbury can no more compel the mildest curate to conform to his views than a bumboat woman alongside a man-of-war can cause the Captain to swallow her fly-blown pies. Rome sees that the Church in England is the battle ground of politics; that the Coronation Oath and the Oath of Supremacy are nothing in the scale with six or seven votes of Parliament. It sees the sects who band themselves under the banner of Nonconformity hunting the Church to death like a pack of wolves, kept quiet for a time by one bit of endowment after another being sacrificed to them. In the straits that are befalling the Church in England, Rome sees her opportunity, and therefore great efforts are made. The ordinary Protestant has little or no idea of the rapidity of the spread of Catholicism in London alone, fostered not alone by the activity of the priests, but by the energy and zeal of the Roman Catholic laity.

 

Of course there is the "smart" side of Catholicism, which sends its servants to the parish church, and takes itself off to the Oratory; but that is inseparable from all creeds; and even if they do prefer the Jesuits and Carmelites to the Secular Clergy, still these people all think one way, all recognise the supreme authority of the Pope, and could be counted on to range themselves on his side were there an Armageddon of Beliefs. [Ed.n. 20]

 

The policy of the Papacy is ever one of Opportunism, and, though occasionally some of its lieutenants may say or do things that exasperate the members of other communities, is, on the whole conciliatory. The Pope's recent Letter to the English People represents fairly the attitude which Rome would assume to all outside her pale, and but for the concluding paragraph recommending prayers to the Virgin Mary, there is really little to which any churchman could object. [Ed.n. 21] Moreover, quite recently His Holiness has consented to Catholic youths attending Oxford and Cambridge; a step taken in spite of much opposition on the part of prelates, past and present, notably Cardinal Manning, Cardinal Vaughan, and Cardinal Paul Cullen. [Ed.n. 22] It is difficult to over-estimate the advantages which will accrue to the Church of Rome by this concession. This is also an instance of how singularly well-informed the Pope is. The Cardinal and his bishops preferred the exotic type of youth tied permanently to the priests' apron-strings; but not the so large-minded Pope. Even now this education wrangle is a thorny one in Catholic England. 

 

And now briefly to summarize the other causes which in England seem to foster, if not facilitate, the advance of Roman pretensions.  They are as follows, and their sequence is the measure of their importance: -

 

The Home Rule movement in Ireland, with the power thrown into the hands of the priest of re-endowment of the Roman Church and the establishment of a Catholic University. [Ed.n. 23] Disestablishment and disendowment of the Church of England in all parts of Great Britain. Final extinction of ecclesiastical authority by removal of the bishops by secular bodies. The absence of religious training in schools, leaving future generations to be captured by the much more alluring Church of Rome. The want of education and general lowering of tone in the Protestant clergy. The Radical policy which openly makes of all religions a party question to be worked for party motives. 

 

These are some of the chief reasons for thinking that the Papal policy is destined to gain ground with us. And certainly, as regards the last, it is difficult to see why a Roman Catholic party should not be formed who would become as politically important as water-drinkers or anti-vaccinationists, whilst he would be a bold man who would assert beforehand that an English Prime Minister could not be found to buy their votes. There is nothing to prevent the Catholics becoming a power in England, and patriotism would be easily reconciled with loyalty to the Pope.

 

Reserved as the last, and, as being the most important, is the consideration of Italy. The status quo of United Italy is the great stumbling-block in the way of an immediate realisation of the Pope's wishes; for neither this Pope, nor the next, nor any of the scores that will follow, will ever relinquish the idea of reigning again in Rome. [See Ed.n. 11] All schemes for establishing a temporal power in Malta, Cyprus, or anywhere else, are scouted as ridiculous, for the Holy See is Rome, and Rome is the Holy See. This has practically become an Article of Faith; a dogma which no Bull could strengthen nor Pope set aside, even were he willing. The tradition of St. Peter has hallowed Rome for the Catholic faith, and to many Catholics it is a holier spot than the Tomb of Christ Himself.

 

So the Temporal Power will be re-established in Rome, and with this in view, let us see what the Vatican thinks of Italy.

 

The unity, or rather cohesion, of Italy has been greatly imperiled during the last few years by innumerable disintegrating processes which no legislation can avert; by its deplorably bad government; and by the poverty and misery of the people, crushed by taxation. The peace and contentment of the old days is gone: right or wrong, the mass of the people believe they are robbed and plundered. To them Minister means place-hunting rascal; banker means swindler; Municipal Councillor, a fraudulent contractor; Deputy, a pettifogging attorney (if from Sicily, Calabria, or Sardinia, in the pay of the brigand); the railway official is in league with the van robber; the custom-house officer goes shares with the smuggler; the post-office clerks live by stealing stamps and intercepting post-office orders; the village doctor poisons by order of the Government [author's footnote 1: A prevalent belief during cholera epidemics]; and so on through the whole gamut of administration. 

 

Italy, in the estimation of those most concerned is, to the clerical mind, rotten to the core; a tottering State bolstered up by international jealousies alone, a nation whose vanity is fed by the foolish parade of a costly Army and an unnecessary Navy, ruled over by an alien who cannot even speak good Italian, whose father sold half his own kingdom to seat himself on the Pope's throne.

 

On the other hand, the Church believes that all the poorer and most of the middle and respectable classes sigh for the good old days - all save the political adventurer and the money-lender [author's footnote 2: And it must be admitted by anyone knowing Italy, past and present, that they certainly were far more contented in those days]. The Church, therefore, bides its time until the bubble burst; probably after the great war so long foretold, when Europe will resolve into its natural elements; when Italy, leaning on that fatal reed England, will have ceased to be anything but a geographical expression, with France extended all along the maritime Alps to Genoa, Venice once more Austrian, with Lombardy thrown in to "compensate" her for the loss of Herzegovina and Bosnia, formed into a new state with Hungary and Servia, whilst Umberto will be handed back politely to reign in Turin - if he has recognized on which side his bread is buttered, a faculty which has always hitherto distinguished the House of Savoy. [Ed.n. 24] The rest of Italy may have formed some kind of Republic, its capital Florence, leaving Rome, and a possible twenty or thirty miles' radius of the Campagna, for the Pope. Here the Head of the Church will reign as an independent sovereign over a neutral state, will levy his own taxes (which would be a species of municipal rate), and will once more strike his own effigy on coins which the experience of Pio Nono's attempt will keep up to the proper standard. This small spot on earth, dedicated to the service of God, will be under the guarantee of all the Powers, will require no lines of circumvallation, no soldiers, and no ships, and Rome will once more become what it had been for nearly seventeen hundred years (with a brief interval), the home of the Head of the only True Church.

 

And the Vatican need not trouble itself much to bring about this state of affairs. By abstention on the part of the faithful in Italy from all political matters, power is gradually slipping into the hands which must ruin the country. With authority set at nought and bankruptcy at her doors, resources sucked dry, credit blasted, with the Triple Alliance fading away (her only support), bullied by France, deserted by England, Italy, the Italy of Umberto, Crispi, Rudini, and Co., is tottering to destruction. And this must render the restoration of the temporal power a European necessity, for the simple reason that, failing an Italian King, no other person except the Pope would be allowed by the other Powers to seat himself there.

 

So, in the eyes of the Church, Cavour's noble experiment has been tried and has failed. [Ed.n. 25] He expected too much of human nature of the Italian variety, or knew too little of his countrymen. Time is demonstrating beyond doubt that fixity of purpose, or the national instinct beyond that engendered of vanity, a quality lacking in the Latin races. As with the French peasantry and middle classes, so the Italians of the corresponding class only ask to be left alone, and in their hearts curse their rulers, struggling for plunder in the distant capital. So the Vatican looks on quietly until everything Italian has gone to smash, when the Army has died for want of provisions, when the Fleet has been seized by her creditors, when France garrisons Spezia and a Russian Squadron is moored in the Bay of Naples, when the last hungry deputy has scraped the final soldo out of the treasury-chest, and has retired to make boots, once more, in his village, when the carabiniere and the brigand, the financiere and the contrabandista picnic amicably under the shade of the chesnut - then the time will be at hand for the great Restitution, and once more the character of Holy Father will unite with that of Sovereign Pontiff.

 

 

 

Editor's Introduction to the Text

 

           The history of the Catholic Church in England following the reign of Henry VIII (1491-1547) can at best be considered troubled. Since the days of William the Conqueror, the Catholic Church in England grew to be one of the most powerful social and political institutions in the country. King Henry VIII’s abolution of Catholicism in England effectively ended this. From that time, Catholics were a persecuted minority in England, unable to hold office, vote, or enjoy many of the civil liberties afforded Anglicans. However, the Victorian Period saw a liberalization of many of these laws. In 1829, the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed by Parliament, which allowed Catholics to serve as Members of Parliament and to be elected to any public office excluding that of Lord Chancellor, Monarch, Regent, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or any judicial appointment in an ecclesiastical court (Wohl, “Catholic Emancipation”). 1840 saw the disestablishment of the Anglican Church as the official state-sponsored religion. The Oxford, or Tractarian Movement, argued against this separation of church and state. Originally founded in 1833 by John Henry Newman, the Oxford Movement sought to restore Anglicanism to its state-supported status. This, however, was undercut, when Newman, in defending Anglicanism, converted to Catholicism. Soon after, many upper-class members of society followed suit (Everett).

The expansion of civil liberties granted by the Emancipation Act and validated by the social credence of Newman’s conversion paved the way for the re-establishment of Catholic religious hierarchy in 1850. Up to this point, the Catholic Church in England had been governed by vicars, without a presiding bishop or higher clergy. Partially as a response to the influx of Irish Catholics to England during the Irish Potato Famine, Pope Pius IX saw fit to establish a means to provide for the growing number of Catholics in England. Dr. Nicholas Wiseman was made a cardinal and presided over the archdiocese of Westminster (Wohl, “The Re-Establishment of the Catholic Hierarchy in England, 1850).
The article, “The Papacy – Its Position and Aims” presents a historical overview of some of the historical accomplishments of Pope Leo XIII, as well as a social sense of Catholicism in England by the end of the 19th century. Unlike earlier, secular publications, the author writes without an overtly anti-Catholic bias. Instead, he offers a fair depiction of the state of religion and politics in England and Italy.
The Fortnightly Review, in which this article was published in 1895, was established in 1865 and considered to be one of the more liberal publications in England of its time. W.L. Courtney was serving as editor when “The Papacy” was published. He would also authorize the publication of works by James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, and Ezra Pound. The Fortnightly Review ceased publication in 1934 (“Fortnightly Review”).
Regarding J.W. Gambier, the author of this essay, there is very little biographical information available. Apparently, there are two James Gambiers – one is Baron John James Gambier, (1756-1833) who is obviously not the author of this piece as it is written in 1895. Extensive research through library databases and online information produces little information. However, there are a collection of a ship’s logbooks at the University of Kansas that identifies the author of these books as “James William Gambier,” a captain in the British navy from 1867-1870. The short biography contained therein tentatively identifies this author as “Captain James William Gambier, R.N. who was a turn-of-the century novelist and travel writer” (Kansas Research Library). This fact is correlated by a book titled Links in my Life on Land and Sea, by James W. Gambier, published in 1906. That Gambier is an author as well as a sea captain is supported by an ad in The World’s Leading Reviews, which cites “Capt. J.W. Gambier, R.N.” as the author of “The Foreign Policy of England,” available in the Fortnightly Review, October 1895. The Florida Historical Quarterly (Vol.33, No.2, 1954) contains a reference to Captain J.W. Gambier, claiming that he was also a “managing director of the Florida Land and Mortgage Company” and wrote a review of Florida in 1883. This work cites as their source a book titled Florida: Its Resources and Natural Advantages for the Emigrant, the Capitalist, the Manufacturer (London, 1883), with J.W. Gambier as its author (“Florida and the British Investor, 1880-1914”).  Little more information exists online about this remarkable and currently enigmatic author.
 
Everett, Glenn, “High Church: Tractarianism.” 1988. The Victorian Web. February 24, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/tractarian.html>.
 
“Fortnightly Review.” January 17, 2008. Wikipedia.com. February 24, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortnightly_Review>.
 
Guide to Logbooks of Royal Navy Officer, James William Gambier Collection: Two logbooks of voyages in East Asian waters and back to England. Kept by James William Gambier. 1867-1870.” University of Kansas Research Library. February 24, 2008. <http://ead.diglib.ku.edu/xml/ksrl.sc.gambierjameswilliam.html>.
 
Gambier, J.W. “The Foreign Policy of England.” Fortnightly Review 63 October 544, 1895. The Review of Reviews: Index to the Periodicals of 1894. Mowbray House: London, 1895. Google Books.com. February 24, 2008. <http://books.google.com/books?id=vAMDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=%22The+foreign+policy+of+england%22+by+J.W.+gambier>.
 
Gambier, J.W. Links in My Life on Land and Sea. T. Fisher Unwin: London, 1907. Google Books.com. February 24, 2008. <http://books.google.com/books?id=vAMDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=%22The+foreign+policy+of+england%22+by+J.W.+gambier>.
 
Landow, George P. “Roman Catholicism in 19th Century Britain.” 1998. The Victorian Web. February 24, 2008. < http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/cath1.html>.
 
Tischendoff, Alfred P. “Florida and the British Investor, 1880-1914.” The Florida Historical Quarterly Vol.33, No.2, 1954. February 24, 2008. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/DLData/SN/SN00154113/0033_002/33no2.pdf>.
 
Wohl, Anthony S. “Catholic Emancipation.” July 6, 2002. The Victorian Web. February 24, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/cath2.html>.
 
--------------- “The Re-establishment of Catholic Hierarch in England, 1850.” 1990. The Victorian Web. February 24, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/Hierarchy_Reestablished.html>.
 

 


 

Editor's Definitions of Terms

 

Archbishop of Canterbury - Edward White Benson was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1882 until 1896.

 

Articles of Faith - reference to the Nicene Creed, which outlines the primary beliefs of the Catholic faith.

 

Bull - means a "papal bull" which is an official and binding decree or pronouncement from the Pope to the Catholic people.

 

carabiniere - a member of the Italian police force.

 

Campagna - the area surrounding Rome.

 

Coronation Oath & Oath of Supremacy - Two oaths referring to the monarch of England's ability to rule.

 

Pio Nono - Pope Pius IX, the predecessor of Leo XIII.

 

See of Rome - Another term for the Vatican or Holy See.

 

Soldo - A historic Italian coin, of the denomination of one twelfth of a lire.

 

Spezia - a city in Nothern Italy known for its military garrisons.

 

St. Paul - The apostle Paul who was known for his efforts in spreading early Christianity.

 

Umberto, Crispi, Rudini, and Co. - Umberto is King Umberto I of Italy (see Ed.n. 24); Crispi is Francesco Crispi, an Italian politician known for his efforts in uniting the Italian states (1891-1901); Rudini is Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudini (1839-1908), the Prime Minister of Italy from 1891-1892 and from 18960-1898. (Wikipedia entries for "Umberto I", "Francesco Crispi" and "Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudini": http://en.wikipedia.org, accessed 02/11/08.

 

 


 

 

Editor's Notes on the Text

 

Editor's note 1 - There exists a notion that the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is attainable only by those who subscribe to the beliefs of the Catholic faith. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the Church, now a pilgrim on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church.... Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it" (citing Lumen Gentium #4). Furthermore, "this affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or his Church: Those who, though no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation" (citing Lumen Gentium #16). Thus, we see that the author is incorrect in this assertion, borrowing perhaps from a commonly held misconception. (Please see Catechism of the Catholic Church #846-850 and Catholic Answers article "Salvation Outside the Church").

 

Editor's note 2 - Excommunication is a penalty imposed by the ecclesiastical authorities of the Catholic Church on Catholics who knowingly and purposely teach or act contrary to certain Catholic principles. At the time this author was writing, there would have been two forms of excommunication in effect. Minor excommunication was a prohibition from the laity receiving the Sacraments. The author is probably referring to major excommunication, which suspends a priest from celebrating the sacraments. ("Excommunication" from The Catholic Encyclopedia,  accessed 02/05/08 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm).

 

Editor's note 3 - For more information on Radicalism in 19th-century Britain, please see Introduction', London Radicalism 1830-1843: A selection of the papers of Francis Place (1970), pp. VI-XXVIII. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=39478. Date accessed: 03 February 2008.

 

Editor's note 4 - For more information about the appearing growth of religion in 19th Century England, please see The Warfare of Conscience with Theology, by Josef L. Altholz, available on the Victorian Web.

 

Editor's note 5 - "Darwin" is a reference to Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution. "Spencer" is probably Herbert Spencer, who coined the term "Social Darwinism." Both theories were controversial during the 1900's, leading to what many believed to be a falling away from religion and the Creationist model of the universe. Both purported that faith and science were irreconcilable. (See Victorian Science and Religion, by Aileen Fyfe and John van Wyhe, available on the Victorian Web).

 

Editor's note 6a - Pope Leo XIII was the pope from 1876 to 1903. His papacy was marked by the many and diverse social and ecclesiastical issues that confronted him. He was a staunch supporter of education, especially education provided privately or by religious communities. He believed and taught that the relationship between science and faith were such that the two could exist together and support each other. To this end, he made the Vatican Secret Archives available to qualified research scientists. In the rise of labor issues awareness, Pope Leo XIII wrote extensively in support of bringing justice into the work place. He did, at the same time, condemn socialism and affirm the right to private property. For more information, please see The Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope Leo XIII.

 

Editor's note 6b - The four times Prime Minister of England (1868-1894), William Gladstone was a renowned stateman of the Victorian Period. He was born in 1809 to a family that made its fortune in the West Indies trade. His first speech, as a Member of Parliament, was made in defense of his father's treatment of slaves. A staunch Anglican, Gladstone initially opposed the allotment of funds for the Maynooth Catholic Seminary in Ireland, but yet later changed his mind. When the Decree of Papal Infallibility was issued by the Roman Catholic Church, Gladstone vehemently opposed it, claiming that it divided the loyalities of English Catholics. To this end, he wrote The Vatican Decrees in their Bearing on Civil Allegiance in 1874, and Vaticanism: an Answer to Reproofs and Replies in 1875. During his long lifetime, Gladstone was responsible for raising taxes following the Crimean War; for opposing Home Rule in Ireland; and for numerous social reforms, including the rehabilitation of prostitutes. (Marjie Bloy, "William Ewert Gladstone, 1809-1898," The Victorian Web. Last modified March 18, 2002, date accessed February 18, 2008 <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/gladston.html>; and "William Gladstone," Wikipedia.com. Last modified February 12, 2008, date accessed February 18, 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ewart_Gladstone> )

 

Editor's note 7 - 'Omniscience' refers to the doctrine of papal infallibility, which teaches that teachings of the Pope are free from doctrinal error when teaching ex cathedra, or "when in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians he defines, by virtue of his supreme  Apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or moral to be held by the whole Church" ("Infallibility" entry from The Catholic Encyclopedia, accessed 02/05/08). In England at this time, there was great unrest in the minds of many regarding the Papal Declaration of Infallibility (1869-1870). Many, especially English prime minister William Gladstone, saw this as a means by which the Pope challenged the authority of the English monarch. (For more information, please see "Gladstone: the Vatican Decrees" by Anthony S. Wohl, http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/Gladstone___Vatican.html, accessed on The Victorian Web 02/11/08; also see "Papal Infallibility" by Anthony S. Wohl, http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/Papal_Infallibility.html, accessed on the Victorian Web 02/11/08).

 

Editor's note 8 - Leo XIII was renowned for his interest in the furthering of education, especially religious education. Please see his letter to the English people regarding the importance of education, Spectata Fides (on Christian Education) 1885, which outlines many of his views on the subject.

 

Editor's note 9 - "Emperor William" refers to William II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, 1859-1941. He is commonly referred to as the Kaiser.

 

Editor's note 10 - The Royal Marriage Act was passed in 1772 which forbade the members of England's royal family under the age of 25 from marrying without the consent of the ruling king or queen. (The Royal Marriages Act, 1772, by Marjie Bloy, available on The Victorian Web, accessed 02/06/08).

 

Editor's note 11 - The "loss of temporalities" refers to the loss of the Papal States or what is commonly called "the Roman Question." In 1861, the Papal States were seized by the Italian government. The Catholic Church had ruled over several states in Italy since they were ceded to the Church by Pepin in 781. Thought to be a sign of the Church's temporal as well as spiritual authority, there was great outcry when the lands were seized by the Italian government as the capital of Italy. The "Roman Question" was a divisive issue in England during the Victorian Period, separating the "liberal" Catholics from the Ultramones, or those in favor of the return of the Papal States. (See Wikipedia article ""Roman Question", "Catholic Politics and Catholic Intellect" by Josef L. Altholz, and "The Roman Question" by Edmond About).  

 

Editor's note 12 - "Bismarck" is Otto van Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia from 1862 to 1890. He was well-known for his leading role in the Franco-Prussian Wars. (http://www.kbismarck.com/ottovbis.html).

 

Editor's note 13 - Pope Pius IX coined the term "prisoner of the Vatican" when the Papal States were seized by the Italian government. In protest to the unjust authority of the Italian government, Pius IX and popes after him refused to leave the Vatican. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_in_the_Vatican).

 

Editor's note 14 - The mentioned "condition in Belgium" was the Belgian Revolution of 1830. The Belgian Catholics overthrew the Dutch, Protestant government and set up an independent monarchy under Prince Leopold de Saxe-Coburg Gotha, himself a Protestant, but sympathetic to the Catholics of Belgium. (See The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Belgium: III. Independent Belgium 1830-1905, " accessed 02/09/08. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02395a.htm).

 

Editor's note 15 - The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of the Austria-Hungary, which lasted until its dissolution at the end of World War I. At the time of the establishment of the dual monarchy, there was considerable disagreement between the Catholic Church and the ruling monarchy over issues such as religious freedom, schools and marriage. There were many years of negotiation before both parties came to agreement. (See The Catholic Encyclopedia article "The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy - C: Modern Times, " accessed 02/09/08.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02121b.htm).

 

Editor's note 16 - Since before the 1700s, Poland and Russia shared a history of hostility. Due of the lack of effort on the part of weak Polish kings, Russia, Prussia and Germany made inroads in the effective disappearance of Poland as a national entity. Napoleon was responsible in part for putting Poland back on the map by the creation of the "Grand duchy of Warsaw" which existed from 1807 to 1815. After Napoleon's fall, the grand duchy was claimed by the Russian Czar, Alexander I. Russia was traditionally an Orthodox country relgiously, a fact that fuled the dissension that stemmed back to the Great Schism which separated the Roman Catholic Church from the Eastern Orthodox Church. Under Russian rule, the Polish Catholics suffered persecution. At the time this article was being written, Catholics in Poland were unable to practice their religion and many were deported to Prussia. (See The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Poland - II: Political History, " accessed 02/09/08. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12181a.htm).

 

Editor's note 17 - It may seem odd that, after the persecution suffered at the hands of the French Revolutionaries, the Catholic Church would "recognize" the Republic founded in the wake of the French Revolution. Much of this is due to Napoleon's influence. Early in his career, he realized that he would benefit from the perceived support of the Catholic clergy. In 1802, he established a Concordat with the Holy See that again legalized the practice of the Catholic faith in France and restored some of the Church properties. The compromise allowed Napoleon to oversee all diplomatic relations between France and the Vatican. (An Outline History of the Catholic Church by Rev. Reginald F. Walker CSSP, accessed on 02/09/08 from http://www.angelfire.com/ms/seanie/history/frenchrev.html).

 

Editor's note 18 - Leo XIII's reign to some extent ended the Kulturkampf initiated by Otto van Bismarck, a systematic destruction of Catholic Church powers in Germany and Prussia. (The Catholic Encyclopedia article "German Empire - VI. The New German Empire (1) 1871-1888, " accessed 02/09/08. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06484b.htm).

 

Editor's note 19(a) - The author details the changing nature of religion in England during the 19th century. A strongly Protestant country since Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy, which severed the Church of England from its Catholic predecessor, there was nevertheless a vocal remnant of Catholics living in England. Anglicans were incensed when, in 1829, Parliament returned to Catholics their civil liberties, including the ability to serve in the legislature. In 1850, the Catholic hierarchy was reestablished, which allowed the Church to serve the thousands of Irish Catholic immigrants who flooded London during the Irish Potato Famine. What this basically meant was that, as in other countries, there was again in England a Catholic bishop, dioceses, and clergy, as before England had been overseen only by a Catholic vicar. The Tractarian, or Oxford, Movement was a push by religiously conservative group from Oxford, headed by John Newman, the vicar of Oxford's church. It began in 1833 and ended in 1845 with Newman's conversion to Catholicism. Its aim was reform the Church of England and bring it back to its former strength. England, at this time, as indicated by this author's mention, was suffering from atheism following Darwin and Spencer's developments in science, which undercut many preconceived notions of faith versus science. Newman attempted to trace the direct line of descent from the Church established by Christ to the Anglican Church. In doing so, however, he became convinced that the Catholic Church was indeed the true church, which then motivated his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. Tractarianism was seen to have been a middle ground between Catholicism and a more radical Anglicanism. This view, however, was undercut by the public outcry against Newman's conversion. Newman responded with his spiritual autobiography, Apologia pro vita sua. (See High Church: Tractarianism by Glenn Everett, and George P. Landow; Roman Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Great Britain by George P. Landow; The Reestablishment of the Catholic Hierarchy in England, 1850, by Anthony S. Wohl, all available on The Victorian Web, accessed 02/08/08).

 

Editor's note 19(b) - "Bradlaugh" was Charles Bradlaugh, a well-known British atheist during the Victorian period. Madam Blavatsky was the founder of the Theosophical Society, which is traceable to today's New Age movement. (See Wikipedia entries "Charles Bradlaugh" and "Madam Blavatsky," accessed 02/09/08).

 

Editor's note 20 - An Oratory is a place of prayer other than a parish church, designated for the celebration of the Catholic Mass. In the context the author uses, he probably is referring to the London Oratory established by John Cardinal Newman. Because it was not associated with a parish, which is run by the "secular clergy," members of religious communities such as the Jesuits or Carmelites could have preached or offered Mass at the Oratory. (See The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Oratory of St. Philip Neri - The London Oratory, " accessed 02/09/08. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11272a.htm).

 

Editor's note 21 - Apostolic Letter to the English People (Ad Anglos) was penned by Pope Leo XIII in 1895. It is currently unavailable online.

 

Editor's note 22 - Both Oxford and Cambridge were originally Catholic institutions, established and dominated by various monastic orders. However, following the reign of Henry VIII, Catholics could not attend Oxford or Cambridge because in order to matriculate, signing the oaths of allegiance and supremacy were required. A good Catholic could not, in faith, sign either because they required a Catholic to swear that the monarch of England was head of the church, a role that could be assigned to the pope only. By the time this author was writing, the English Catholic hierarchy had been reestablished and the Catholic bishops had petitioned that certain exceptions be made so that Catholic youths could attend both universities without compromising their faith. (The Catholic Encyclopedia article, "University of Cambridge," http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09604b.htm, accessed 02/11/08).

 

Born 1808, Henry Edward (later Cardinal) Manning began life as an Anglican. He attended Baliol College at Oxford, and upon graduation and a short stint in politics, studied for and was ordained an Anglican priest. He joined the Anglican High Church movement that sought to reform the Church of England to its former ritualistic splendor, but it came as a shock to many when he converted to Catholicism in 1851. He soon was ordained a Catholic priest. In 1865, he was consecrated bishop of Westminster. (The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Henry Edward Manning" http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09604b.htm, accessed 02/11/08).

 

Herbert Cardinal Vaughn, on the other hand, was born to a recusant (one those family remained Catholic during the Anglicanization of England) family in 1832. He became a good friend of Cardinal Manning when the two studied together in Rome in 1851. He had a passion for missionary activity and spend a great deal of time fund raising in the United States. With that money, he opened St Joseph's Foreign Missionary College in London in 1869. After being consecrated bishop of Salford in 1872, he established St. Bede's college. He succeeded Cardinal Manning as the archbishop of Westminster in 1892. (The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Herbert Vaughn" http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15311b.htm, accessed 02/11/08).

 

Born in County Kildare, Ireland in 1803, Cardinal Paul Cullen was renowned for his role in drafting the explanation of papal infallibility during the first Vatican Council of 1870. and for his support and promotion of religious education in Ireland. (Wikipedia article "Paul Cardinal Cullen" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cardinal_Cullen, accessed 02/11/08).

 

Editor's note 23 - The "Catholic University" mentioned by the author is the Catholic University of Ireland, established in 1850 after Cardinal Cullen's denunciation of state-run schools. The school was not recognized by the state to confer degrees, nor were lectures given there counted towards a degree at a different university. John Cardinal Newman lectured there for a time, but without funding, the school went into decline. However, in 1880, the Royal University of Ireland opened, which allowed students to sit for examinations regardless of where they attended lectures. This allowed the Catholic University to expand. (Wikipedia entry, "Catholic University of Ireland" and The Catholic Encyclopedia entry "Catholic University of Ireland"). 

 

Editor's note 24 - Umberto is the Italian king Umberto I (1844-1900). His family was from the Italian House of Savoy. (Wikipedia, "Umberto I of Italy" accessed 02/11/08, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_I_of_Italy.

 

Editor's note 25 - Cavour refers to Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour (1810-1861). The aforementioned "noble experiment" that failed was his attempts at the unification of Italy. (Wikipedia, Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Camillo_Benso_di_Cavour, accessed 02/11/08).

 


Editor's Notes on the Texts - Works Cited Page

 

About, Edmond. "The Roman Question." December 19, 2004. The Project Gutenburg EBook. February 23, 2008. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14381/14381-8.txt>.

 

Altholz, Josef L. "Catholic Politics and Catholic Intellect: 1860-1861." The Liberal Catholic Movement in England: The "Rambler" and its Contributors, 1848-1864. London: Burns & Oates, 1962. September 8, 2001. The Victorian Web. February 23, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/altholz/8.html>.

 

-----------------“The Warfare of Conscience with Theology.” The Mind and Art of Victorian England. University of Minnesota Press, 1976. The Victorian Web. February 21, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/altholz/a2.html>.

 

Bloy, Marjie. “The Royal Marriages Act, 1772.February 28, 2002. The Victorian Web. February 6, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/marriage.html>.

 

 

 ---------------- "William Ewert Gladstone, 1809-1898." March 18, 2002. The Victorian Web. February 18, 2008.            

<http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/gladston.html>.

 

 

Boudinhon, A. "Excommunication." The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume V. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1909. New Advent.org. February 09, 2008. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm>.

 

 

Bowden, H. "Oratory of St. Philip Neri - The London Oratory." The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1911. New Advent.org. February 09, 2008.  <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11272a.htm>.

 

 

“Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour." February 13, 2008. Wikipedia.com. February 11, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Camillo_Benso_di_Cavour>.

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano, 1993. February 21, 2008. <http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM>.

 

Catholic University of Ireland.” September 7, 2007. Wikipedia.com. February 24, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_University_of_Ireland>.

 

 

"Charles Bradlaugh." January 21, 2008. Wikipedia.com. February 23, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bradlaugh>.

 

Everett, Glenn and George P. Landow. High Church: Tractarianism.” 1999. The Victorian Web. February 23, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/tractarian.html>.

 

 

Fyfe, Aileen and John van Wyhe.“Victorian Science and Religion.” June 11, 2002. The Victorian Web. February 21, 2008. <http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science&religion.html>.

 

 

Hunter-Blair, D.O. "University of Cambridge." The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1908. New Advent.org. February 09, 2008.  <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03211a.htm>.

 

 

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Kampers, Franz, and Martin Spahn. "German Empire - VI. The New German Empire (1) 1871-1888, " The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1909. New Advent.org. February 09, 2008. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06484b.htm>.

 

 

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                For Additional Reading

 

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company: New York,  1905-1917. Available through New Advent.com. February 25, 2008. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html>.

The original Catholic Encyclopedia was written between 1905 and 1917. In recent years, editors have transcribed these original volumes and made them available online. They are an excellent, scholarly resource for history, literature and religion.

 

 

This is the place to add bibliographic information for print OR online sources that usefully supplement your chosen text.  Please format entries for print sources in MLA style.  Please format links to websites using brief titles (e.g. The Charles Dickens Page) followed by a one-two sentence description of the contents of the site.  [For the benefit of future users, please do not delete these directions.]

 

              Commentary on the Text

 

In addition to notes on particular words/phrases in a text, you may be asked to provide some analysis or commentary on the text as a whole, or to comment on other collaborator's comments.  Your instructor will give you specific directions about what might be required/included here.  Please format comments as the example below indicates:

 

Sean Eldon, March 18, 2008

 

I applaud the editor's scholarship on "The Papacy."  The depths to which the editor has gone are remarkable, especially considering how broad Gambier's view is. 

 

If I might add to Editor's Note 23 some of the context of the Irish Home Rule movement.  Though Irish Home Rule did not in any way amount to independence for the Irish, Gambier is right to tie the Home Rule movement to the establishment of the Catholic University of Ireland.  The Catholic University of Ireland was an incredible symbol for Irish Catholics in a period of time where their perspectives were being recognized at historic levels.  In his book "Irish Home Rule," Alan O'Day discusses the parliamentary reforms between 1884 and 1885 that resulted in the nearly fourfold increase in the Irish electorate, an electorate of mostly Catholics that for the first time enjoyed representation at a level equal to other parts of the UK. 

 

The editor's introduction provides an incisive and important perspective on the Pope's view toward Irish-Catholic immigrants following the potato famine; in fact, I find the editor to be more attentive to Irish-Catholic issues in general than Gambier himself.  Because of the editor's attention to the Irish, I would be interested in the editor's ideas on Gambier's views of Catholic-Protestant tensions in  Ireland throughout the 20th century, even though the topic falls clearly outside of the relevant historical period. 

 

Another note that could lead to new scholarship is Editor's Note 12.  Gambier's reference to similarities between Bismark and the Pope potentially allude to Bismark's attempts to subdue Catholic influence over the lives of his subjects between 1871 and 1887.  Howerver, Bismark's attempts to subdue the Church were frustrated in part by the inefficiency on the part of government administrator and the entrenchment of Catholic traditions in remote rural areas, but they seemingly did not fail due to a lack of political will on Bismark's part.  Ronald J. Ross' book "The Failure of Bismark's Kulturkampf" discusses Bismark's motives, methods, and failures in considerably more detail, and furthermore, complicate the picture of a Church that is being "bullied" into an effete symbol of its former self as Gambier seems to insist in his conclusion.

 

 

 

 

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                Project Group Members

 

Member Name

University

Course

 Maria Montagnini  Eastern Michigan University  LITR 565
     
     
     
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Completed: Winter 2008

 

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