The Bishop of Paderhorn.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 73, 19 September 1874, Page 9

The Bishop of Paderhorn.

The Bishop of Paderhorn is expecting to be involved in a series of lawsuits. The last Pastoral Letter bus ono which he addressed to hia flock was during Lent; on its appearance it was immediately confiscated. They have summoned before the courts of justice the priests ■who read it to the people from the pulpit; and as each case corces up for trialf the Bishop, as being the principal cause of the supposed ■offence, finds himself again and again involved in a new lawsuit. These summonses increase iv number every day, as thero are 459 parishes in which this condemned Pastoral Letter was read. Bo it is no t difficult to see how these actions brought against the Bishop are

hkely to roaoh a preposterous number. But wlutt is still more outrageous is to see that the paragraph in the said Pastoral Letter which ha* drawn down the indignation of the Government r.uas as follows t " Inasmuch as the object they have in view in assailing us as thov do, is no other than to separate us from the See of Rome, as our enemies themselves confers, and the representatives of the Government declare publicly in the House." It is difficult t.o s"e what crime is to bo found in this paragraph, if we consider for a single moment the words of the Minister of Public Worship which were uttered dn the 29fch of January, and may be found by anyone who wishes to see them, in the published shorthand report of the same. Tae question was put whether the Minister of Public Worship was willing to grant the salary (namely, the s-ilary of Bishop Reiiikens, amounting to 16,000 thalors to be paid out of the Treasury of the State), "I think (aiid the Minister) fcliat it is only reasonable not to say uvjraly just t) grunfc this p<msio'i; for if the necessary metns aro affnvled to those adhere to the Vatican, in or.ler to perform the rites ordained by th.3 Church, with, much greater remon should the sam> b* mide over ta those who hold the position of Old Catholics." (Dr. Falck lenvas unmentioned the fact that the true Catholics havo a real right to these pecuniary subsidies ; for the State has appropriated to itself a great part of the Church property. If, therefore, he bestows a small sum out of this fund on the Church, he is only yielding to the strictest obligations of justice.) The Minister continues: " For, gentlemen, there is this difference between them (the Catholics and the Old. Catholics) : The Old Catholic* belon? to the number of ihoae Catholic a who regard the laws of the Church as binding an i are ready to obey its commands, refusing to follow the example of those who have attached themselves to the cause of the Bishops. Further, gentlemen* we must acknowledge tlie fact, there is in the mode of action of Ilia Old Catholic party a certain spirit which coincides entirely with the views of the Government. What line of conduct they may Liter on pursue is more than I ani able to say ; the spirit to which I allude manifests itself in tho struggle,against Rome; and if you say, that in bringing forward this Bill w« are endeavoring to forge for ourselves a new weapon in this our struggle, we can accent the statement only inasmuch as the Old Catholics are united with us in opposing the aggressions of Rome." °