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Show 0onier$ation$ of OUr KlUb BrewMOti! The dark clouds of secession and civil war which rose menacingly on the horizon during the '50s were depicted in the conversations last week. This week the special relationship between politics and religion is discussed and the dangers of a political systm disassociated dis-associated from religious influences are examined. ' CONVERSATION VII. CONTINUED. "The south," Father John went on, "is less deeply imbued with the spirit of trade than the north: but the slave ; system which it supports is a most important im-portant element in the mercantile system sys-tem which now governs the world. That mercantile system is the worst system that has ever prevailed in human hu-man affairs. It installs Mammon in the place of God and puts trade in the place of religion; and is more degrading, degrad-ing, more brutalizing, more fatal to morality, to the virtue, the integrity, the well-being of the people, than any system of ancient or modern Gentile superstition and idolatry. It lives and thrives only by materializing the present pres-ent and discounting the future; and th reason why its fatal tendencies are not detected is that it obscures, like all false systems, the intellect, blunts thi moral sense, and degrades the soul to its own level. But that system .governs .gov-erns the governments and they cannot subject it to their power. It is too strong to be broken up by any possible governmental policy or measure. Governments Gov-ernments can do nothing against it, and even the pontifical government itself it-self has been forced to yield In some measure to its Influence; and nine-tenths nine-tenths of the things which modern liberals, lib-erals, even of the moderate school, denounce de-nounce as evils or abuses in the governments gov-ernments of old Europe are regarded as evils only because they are not in harmony with the interests of the mercantile mer-cantile system which has supplanted the Catholic system introduced under Charlemagne. The system can be weakened and ultimately broken up, only as was the old system of Graeco-Roman Graeco-Roman idolatry and superstition against which Peter erected his chair: that is. by recalling men to the fact j that this world is not their home, that I their destiny is not in this life, and that their supreme good is not found in the goods of the natural order. Religion, Re-ligion, operating on the hearts of individuals, in-dividuals, detaching them from the world, elevating their affections to the invisible and the eternal, and fixing them on the heavenly and the spiritual, not government, is the agent that must work out the changes, and introduce the ameliorations, my friends so ar dently and so justly desire. A protective pro-tective tariff would, to some extent, affect unfavorably the trade of England Eng-land with this country, but it would neither annihilate nor shake her mercantile mer-cantile supremacy. With a large part of Europe bound in the meshes of her system, with South America, the east, all central and southern Asia, all Canada Can-ada and Oceanica, to say nothing of Africa, open to her trade, she can hear without any great damage a serious falling off in her trade with us. If the American system of 1824 had been persevered . in -. it would have done something to prevent the wonderful developments de-velopments and expansion of British commerce; but it is now too late for its revival to produce a perceptible effect. "The revival of the protective system," sys-tem," continued Father John, "would give a new spring to our manufactures, manufac-tures, and promote the interests of our industrial, as distinguished from our agricultural, labor. It would do something some-thing to render us less dependent on foreign industry;, but it. would, at the same time, lessen the power of foreign nations to consume .. our agricultural products, and thus render them less dependent on us.. It would, for a time, sacrifice what Is with us the stronger interest to the weaker, and that, too, without building up : for us a system of real home or domestic industry. Under Un-der an economical point of view, the factories of Lowell, Providence or Pittsburg are no more domestic in relation re-lation to the Carolinian, Georgian or Alabamian. than those of Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham or Glasgow. The so-called American system might aid . and encourage what the French call la grande Industrie, but what we want is the small industry, which may be taken home and carried on in the bosom of the family. But that is hopeless till there comes a crash, a catastrophe more terrible than that of the fall of western Rome before the advancing hordes of northern barbarians. barba-rians. The protective tariff might help to emancipate us from the remains of our colonial bondage, but it would only serve to rivet still firmer tne chains of the mercantile and credit system. But our sneculations are idle. The Ameri can people will not revive it, or if they should by a spasmodic effort re-enact it, they would not steadilv sustain, it. The agricultural, mercantile and railroad rail-road interests are too strong for that of industry, even when backed by the strong anti-slavery sentiment of the free states. "The great evils,'. added Father John in conclusion, "of' modern society are too deep and too widespread to be reached by political and economical devices de-vices and arrangements. The whole head is ick and the whole heart is faint. The endeavor to restore society to health and soundness by governmental govern-mental action will only make matters worse, as is proved by the example of the United Kingdom ard the United States. In fact, the evils complained of originated in the triumph of the' political po-litical system over the religious. Ir. became inevitable, when the politiques, the politicians who opposed alike the victory of the Ligue and of the Huguenots, Hugue-nots, succeeded in placing Henry Navarre on the throne of France as Henry IV. Then Vas inaugurated the system of independent politics a system sys-tem which tolerates all religions and submits to none, and governs to.- world with so'e regard to human and temporal tem-poral interests a system which e:-! e:-! eludes religion from the stat", subordinates subor-dinates the moral and mlr'tual 'interest of manWnd to the pcli'ical, or treats them v-it haughty disdain, or a pro-four pro-four d indifference. In this system of indpendnt politics, which has become nearly universal and is the bonst of the modern world, is the source of those evils which prey upon the heart or every contemporary civilized ration. They originate in the very attempt to j exclude God from the fitat. and to secure the progress and woll-h of man and society, by political and legislative legis-lative action. They lie in the very heart of the age. In the prevalent political po-litical atheism, in the universal carnal Judaism, which renews everv day th-? crucifixion of our Lord. Til) you lay the ax at the root of that evil, revive faith in the heart of man. and cure his neglect or contempt of religious duty and the retributions of another life, you have no remedy, no hope." 'Father John has, I see," said O'Flanagan, "no confidence, in politics, and takes very nearly the same ground which a few months ago he rebuked Mr. Wlnslow and myself for taking." "I have not," replied Father John, "and never have had any confidence in politics divorced from true religion and operating a'one. When warmed and fecundate 1 ty their union with religion, and acting in obedience and subordination subordina-tion to the natural and the revealed law of God, I confide much in them. I advocate ad-vocate the liberal side in politics, because be-cause it is only by so doing that I can guard against the subjection of religion re-ligion to Caesar; but I advocate the submission of politics to religion, to save politics from running into atheism, athe-ism, anarchy and rendering society Impracticable." Im-practicable." "After all," . rejoined O'Flanagan, speculations on the topics that have come up, on political economy, ' . free trade and protective tariffs, have very little to do with explaining why the majority of my Catholic countrymen, naturalized in the United State?, usual-lysupport usual-lysupport the Democratic party." "It is not necessary to seek an explanation ex-planation of that fact," replied Father John. "The Democratic party, as to its doctrines, is of European rather than of American, of continental rather than of English, origin, and is the counterpart counter-part of the absolute monarchy which prevailed in Euiope during the sixteenth six-teenth and seventeenth centuries. Nearly Near-ly all the political people of the United States are of European origin or descent; de-scent; but some emigrated from Europe Eu-rope at an earlier and others ut a later day. As a general rule the more recent arrivals brought with them the democratic demo-cratic or Jacobinical doctrines which were in fashion in Europe throughout the later half of the eighteenth century, cen-tury, and these, whom we may call neo-Americars, neo-Americars, constituted the main body of the Democratic party. Nothing was more natural than that the immigrants in our own day should associate themselves them-selves with this party, with whom they, in their capacity of citizens of foreign birth, the more readily sympathize. Add to this that the political and -ocial doctrines, doc-trines, put in vogue by the French revolution, revo-lution, are still held and deeply cherished cher-ished in the bosom of those classes of the European population that emigrate. Catholic Ireland sympathizes with the continent far more than with England, and in its political and social doctrines is chiefly influenced by France. Being in a state of chronic rebellion against the government, and suffering innumerable innumer-able wrongs, it has, like the continental liberals, looked to democracy as the source of deliverance and regeneration. The lay-leaders of the national party-are party-are liberals, and being obliged to draw their force from the people, are at least virtually democrats. The Irish popular popu-lar mind has been turned to democratic democrat-ic ideas and hopes before leaving home; the Irish have felt, they as well as others, the workings of the spirit of the age; and on coming here, they find their natural association with the Democratic Democrat-ic party. They are not led to the support sup-port of that party, either by their clergy cler-gy or their religion, but by their political po-litical sentiments and tendencies. That they entertain notions and do many things incompatible with a true understanding under-standing ot their religion, it were foolish fool-ish to deny; but they dj not see the incompatibility, and with few exceptions, excep-tions, intend to subordinate their politics poli-tics to their religion, not their religion to their politics. Make them see that a certain doctrine or policy is opposed to their Catholicity and the great body of them will abandon it, for they have, even in these times, a political conscience. con-science. After all, I see not that they owe any apology for supporting the Democratic party, which is probably as litttle objectionable as any party in the country. What I wish is that Catholics, Cath-olics, as Catholics, would stand aloof from all parties, and hold themselves free as citizens to vote for such candl- i dates as they prefer. What I ask of j them is to study not to commit their religion re-ligion or their church to any party, I Whig or Democrat. Catholic citizens, as others, may be partisans, but the church is not and cannot be a partisan, and they must be aware of attempting to make her so, and of doing or saying anything that will embarrass the freedom free-dom and independence of her clergy in relation to the interests of religion. 1 do not want the Democratic or any other party to feel that it has a special right to count on the votes of Catholics." CONVERSATION VIII. "Mr. O'Flanagan," remarked Diefen-bach, Diefen-bach, "observed the other evening that his religion had nothing to do with his politics. I understand him to mean that his politics are independent of his religion, re-ligion, and that in the political order he may hold or do anything he pleases, whether it does or does not accord -frith the doctrine and precepts of his church. I have heard many Catholics, even some earnest, practical Catholics, say the same; but I always presume that they speak without really meaning wrhat they say." "In this instance, at least," replied O'Flanagan, "I mean what I say. My political opinions and conduct are my own, dictated by my own sense of justice jus-tice and expediency, not by my church or my clergy, whose functions are purely pure-ly spiritual, and who have no authority in the temporal order." "There were," rejoined Diefenbach, "in the time of Leo X, certain pretended pretend-ed philosophers who took it into their heads to assert, that, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, though theologically theo-logically true, is philosophically false. The pope condemned them, and asserted assert-ed that nothing can be true in philosophy philoso-phy that is false in theology, or true in theology that is false in philosophy. One truth cannot contradict another; philosophy does not include Catholic theology, but Catholic theology includes philosophy; nature does not include grace, but grace includes nature; the natural virtues do not include the supernatural, su-pernatural, but the supernatural include the natural. So politics do not include religion, but religion includes politics. To fail in political morality is to fail in religion itself, for the basis of all specific political morality is the pre-tcept, pre-tcept, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; and if a man love not his brother, that is, his neighbor, whom he '. hath seen, how shall he love God whom he hath not seen?' If there be a moral right in politics, then, though a man's politics may have nothing to do with his religion, yet his religion, as his supreme su-preme !av of conscience, has something, and indeed much, to do with his politics. poli-tics. Mr. O'Flanagan will allow me to say, with all respect, that he would have spoken more like a good Catholic, as he no doubt it. if he had said his religion re-ligion is independent of his politics, and gives the law to them, instead of receiving receiv-ing it from them." "There are," answered O'Flanagan, "two orders, the spiritual and the temporal, tem-poral, each independent and supreme in its own order. In the spiritual order the authority of the church is supreme; in the temporal order the supreme authority au-thority is vested in the state; and in that order, I am free to do whatever the state permits, or does not prohibit. As a citizen of a democratic state, T share the political sovereignty, and have in my political opinions and actions ac-tions all the freedom and independence which belongs to that sovereignty." (To be continued.) |
