Marion Crawford on the Pope

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2122, 30 June 1898, Page 2

Marion Crawfor d on t he Pope

Marion the Pope as among the greateffifefcatesmen of the century, and in one <||tHe.most forcible passages of his compared him with Lincoln and Gladstone, bracketing the three great statesmen together. All three, he pointed" out, were men who possessed remarkable physical qualifications in their youth. All three could be eloquen on occasion, and all three had a certain element of melancholy sadness in their composition. Led: is now nearly ninety years of age, yet Crawford drew a wonderful picture of his physical vigour. With almost a superfluity of detailhe told of the hours the Pope keeps, of the scanty meals he eate; all the little peculiarities of his character were set forth ... with photographic accuracy. The pope has great conversational power. Rarely does a distinguished personage pass through Home without being summoned to an audience. In hiis dicta-K torial way, Leo will sometimes talk for a couple of hours, and the visitor feels through it all that he is listening to a man of real power, who'unites the three great essentials of strength—those of head, heart, and hand. The Pope, as Mr Crawford sums him up, is evenly balanced as a statesman, a scholar, and a man. No such personage has appeared at the head of the Church for centuries. He has turned the feeling of the nations of Europe from hostility to friendliness. He has achieved greater results than Mazzini and Garibaldi. Bismarck, or? Napoleon lIP Yet, despite all this extreme praise, JVIr Crawford had to admit that Leo is practically a prisoner in his own Vatican. Political reasons are often given for his voluntary seclusion; but the real cause is the disturbed condition of Rome. A volcat.o f anarchical sentiment rages beueath the surface, and the Pope’s life, should he venture beyond his own grounds, would not safe for a day. Some fanatical revolutionist, afflicted with the ‘sour indigestion of free thought,’ wouid cutvhis career short, and, therefore, the rulers of modem Italy, who have the highest respect for Leo’s character and ability, are glad to have him remain at home.