THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE SOUTH OF GERMANY. [From the Times' Correspondent ]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 906, 8 April 1854, Page 4

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE SOUTH OF GERMANY. [From the Times' Correspondent ]

Berlin, November 23. — The fend lhat has lately broken out between tbe Roman Catholic Church and the Princes of South Germany, in whose territories the diocess of the Upper Rhine is situated, has already brought tbe conflicting parties to the exercise of tht furthest extremities of administrative power, and must soon driva ihera on to actual deeds of violence, if the intervention of a foreign power, which has already been offered, does not succeed in averting these further evils. It is the old story of the struggle between the Church »nd the State for supremacy, and consists in a series of alternate encroachments of the one power on the other ever sine* the peace of Westphalia in 1642, which wsa supposed at the time to have settled e-rerytbing of the sort in tbe most satisfactory manner. Tbe fundamental articles of the Confederation of the Rhine, and subsequently of the Germanic Confederation, only provided for the mutual relations of ths different religious confessions recognized by the various Gtates, leaving the claims of tbe Church to total or partial independence within their territories untouched. After various attempts had been made in 1807, during the Confederation of the Rhine, to accommodate these conflicting interests, the delegates of a cumber of Protestant States met in 1818, snd drew up a series of resolutions for the observance of tbo representatives of the spiritual and temporal authorities: but this arrangement was rejected by the Pope, as conceived 100 exclusively in tht interest of tbe originators. Subsequently, in 1821, the Pope, after lengthy attempts at r.rrangement with tbe various Sovereigns interested, issued bis bull provida toJlersgue, in which the present ecclesiastical province of the Upper Rhine was constituted, consisting of the bishoprics of Freiburgh, Rotbenberg, Baxnberg, I' ainz, and Fulda, in the territories of Baden Wurternberg, both Hessen, Nassau, Frankfort, and the Principalities of Hohsnzollern. As this bull, however, contained many points not agread to by the various Governments of tha Statss interesttd, they protested against many o* its provisions, and prepared among themselves to entsr into a species of treaty, offensive and defensive, in ecclesiastical matters ; in consequence of which tbe provisioDS of the bull were never carried into execution. It was not till the year 1827 that anything approaching to an agreement was arrived at ; and the bull cd doninici greg's custodian:, consisting of six articles, was issued. The first four, concerning the free election of bishops, with a right of previous erception on the part of the Sovereign, were agreed to fully by t!.e Governments ; but the two others, providing for the erection of a Catholic Seminary for ecclesiastics in every see, and for unjestrirted intercourse vrith Rome, were protested against. After having obtained from the "Vatican an uckuowlegment of the protest, and a declaration that it did not look on the Sovereigns as bound by these two last articles, the Governments agreed to publish the bull, reserving to themselves the right to make further provisions for the protection of the Sovereign's supremacy. Tins they did in the commencement of 1-533, when an edict wes handed to the bishop*, which, while it secured to the Romish Church tbe free exercise of its religion and the public esercise of its worship on a footing of perfect equality with oil other recognized confessions, contained a series of provisions, intended to provide for the supremacy of the State, but of too irksome ft character for the Church willingly to accede to. The Pope, therefore, in the middle of tbe same year, issued a breve to tbe bishops of the diocess of the Upper Rhine, protesting against these irksome stipulations, and calling upon them to oppose them. In spite, however, of this protest and this opposition, the edict of 1830 remained the law of the land. It is the provisions of this law of 1830 which form the main object of attack in the present campaign of the Romish Church in Baden. Tweniy-one years subsequent to the date of that law, in 1851, the bishops of the Upper Rhine diocess laid before the Governments of the States within their sees a claim for the repeal of the abovementioned obnoxious provisions, as well as of certain other objectionable matters that had, in the lapse of time, crept in. Although the fundamental principle which pervaded this movement was most ultramontane, and led directly to the elevation of the Church over the State, the Governments, nevertheless, took the memorial into consideration ; and eventually, in March of this year, repealed every really objectionable provision, and conceded to the Catholic Church liberty and independence to the fullest extent that was compatible with the retention of ! tbe supremacy of the State. Instead, however, of thankfully accepting this most liberal measure of concession — all that a State Government could concede — the Romish Church declared their claims not settled by tbe concessions of the Governments ; that these concessions were influenced by a principle which the head of tbe Church bad repeatedly and solemnly pronounced to be anti-Catho-lic, and opposed to right, and therefore perfectly inadmissable ; that there was no real interest or actual right of the States to hinder the concession of tbe claims put forward ; that their claims had reference only to positive, clear, and well-founded rights ; and therefore that they would most energetically oppose this control of the Governments, arm* forthwith proceeded to overt acts in-

volving the points in question — viz., the exercise of those rights they claimed from the State, and this, too, in open defiance of the State's refusal to grant them those rights." By so doing they reduced to a uullity and nonentity those very Governments to which they had sworn fidelity and obedience ; they declared the right of the Chnrch to be a divine right, superior to that of the State. " "We must obey God rather than man. Human laws must be subordinated to divine laws, but the latter must never bend to the former." This is the essence of the replies made by the five bishops of the diocess of the Upper Rhine to their respective GoTernments on April 12, and) by the Archbishop of Frieburg to the Government of Baden on July 16. In pursuance of the course of conduct announced in the abovementioned documents, the Archbishop of Freiburg proceeded to present te several livings just then vacant without first obtaining the approbation of the State for the incumbent. This was met by a notice from the Government that the priests so entering on their livings will be expelled the country. The archbishop then proceeded to threaten with excommuniration all the members of the Supreme Synod (Oberhirchenrath), which has been appointed by the Government. In addition to theabove, in a variety of minor acts of a mixed' nature, the participation of the secular power | was excluded ; so that the Government, after repeated warnings, proceeded on the 7th inst., to appoint a -lay coadjutor to the archbishop, without whose placet, under his s»al and signature, bo archiepiscopal act could be acknowledged by the Government as valid. The coadjutor was permitted to tneke known his mission to the archbishop and chapter in due form, but has not been allowed, on any subsequent occasion, to be present at any meeting for the transaction of business. The archbishop, after conference with bis chapter, b3S announced to the Government that be persists in his claims, has as yet done nothing that encroaches on the supremacy of the Sovereign, and makes a number of protestations of unflinching loyalty and obedience to his Prince. This he follows up, on the 15th instant, by excommunicating the members of the Oberkirchenrath that had been appointed by his Prince for the better supervision of the Church, and also the lay commissioner deputed to control him in the exercise of his functions. The canon who served the sentence of excommunication on the commissioner has been fined by him repeatedly for his infraction of the law, by obstructing an official in the discharge of his duty, and the chaplains who proclaimed the sentence of excommunication from the pulpit at Freiburg and Carlsruhe have been sentenced to two months' imprisonment. The archbishop deprives the ecclesiastics who oppose him of thsir sacred office ; the government visits its antagonists with privation of their temporalities. In the mean tune, the government exerts I itself to warn the inferior clergy against follow- | ing the example of their renitent superiors, and I promises all species of protection and support to those who obey ihe " powers that be ;" while the church doors of the riiocess, and even some in Bavaria, boar notices of special services to be held and prayers to be put up for Holy Mother Church in her present deep distress and desolation. There has been some talk of the archbishop's flying for refuge from this persecution into fbe Principality of HohenzoHern, which now belongs te the King of Prussia, whose <r elevattd wisdom in his treatment of the Catholic Church in bis dominions, the archbishop holds out t* the Grand duke of Baden as an example to be followed by him. It is believed here, however, that his grace will not meet with any encouragement in his refractory proceedings at the hands of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. On the other hand, Austria has offered her mediation between the conflicting parties, and it appears to have been accepted. To which side such an impartial umpire, or daysman, is likely to lead, may be inferred from the circumstances that the official Wiener Zeitung has already expressed itself in favour of the Episcopal party while the conflict was only in the preliminary stages, and that Austria cultivates an influence in the Protestant States of the South of Germany, and even in Prussia, by putting herself forward as the protector and champion of the Romish Church. At the late Vienna Conference of the various Catholic societies in Austria, it was a subject of the Grand Duke of Baden, Professor Zell, of Heildelberg, the president of the conference, who closed his address wi h the words, " Salvumfac imperatorem nostrum Franciscum Josephum," alluding to the Emperors of Austria as the real defenders of the faith. The last step taken in this struggle, which reminds one of the times of Hildebrandt, is the publication last Sunday, of a pastoral letter from the archbishop, which contains, in addition to a somewhat one-sided historical statement »f the subject matter of the conflict, a few axiomswhich may be interesting to the Government of any land in which the Romish Church has nny fixed hierarchy — for instance, that Christianity/ teaches us to render obedience to the authorities, only in things permitted, but that it is not permitted to infringe the rights of the Catholic--Church ; that it is a sin not to obey the archbishop in this matter. On the p*rt of th*Government an edict has been published for rheexpulsion of the Jesuits from the country, giving, them only ten Hay's notice to quit. As may be expected, the feeling among thepoople, and even among the clergy, is divided. Among the latter, the elder priests are, for the • most part, averse to the agitation, but the youngerare impelled by zeal for their Church and a desire of preferment for themselves ; it is tb«Y? at the instigation of the Vatican, who are malting use of the Archbishop of treiburg, an , aged feeble man of 80 odd, as their tool. One ordinance recently enacted by this aged pastor is, however, calculated to do the Church some service. With reference to housekeepers of Catholic priests in his diocess, it is enacted, that in future no priest shall have more than one woman servant, and she is required to have attained theshady side of 35 — looked on as a canonical age.. There are to be no more raa'amselles-— a species of young lady corresponding to the priest's- " niece" in Ireland.