In the Toils of Rome by L. A. S.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 22, 1902

In the Toils of Rome.

By L. A. S.

NEGOTIATIONS between the government and the Vatican touching the disposition to be made of the Philippine friars, are still in progress, and the question seems no nearer to a settlement than it was a week ago. A speedy settlement of the matter is not the end for which the Vatican is working. The pope aims to prolong the negotiations, since as long as they continue, he is in a position to reap advantages in the shape of concessions from the American government. His position in the matter is well stated in the following press dispatch, which comes from Rome under date of July 12:—

There is apparently a disposition on the part of the Vatican to take advantage of the Philippine question to forward its desire for the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. The Vatican authorities hope that the question of the purchase of the friars’ lands and other matters involving the payment of money will render indispensable the continuance of relations initiated by Governor Taft for at least two years, while they are also hopeful of reserving the question of the withdrawal of the friars from the islands so as to prolong these relations even longer.

That there is a disposition on the part of the United States to make concessions to papal principles of government in the Philippines, is plainly indicated by the reports that come daily from the scene of the negotiations. It was a great concession in the first place, to send a representative to treat with the Vatican at all. The pope is not a temporal sovereign, and it was no part of the business of the American republic to adjust any religious questions that might be involved in the transfer from the old to the new system of government. To induce the United States to concern itself with such questions, and to sanction and uphold some part of the papal system in the Philippines, was no doubt the great end which Archbishop Ireland had in view in persuading the administration at Washington to negotiate over the matter with the Vatican. That was a triumph for the papacy, and a false step on the part of the Western republic, which bids fair to lead the latter into a contradictory, inconsistent, and humiliating position, through the wiles of papal diplomacy, in which Rome far outmatches her inexperienced antagonist.

Before these negotiations began, it was considered settled that the obnoxious friars were to leave the islands. Upon that point the government was fully decided. It now finds that the Vatican objects, and having undertaken to negotiate with the Vatican about it, the objections must be listened to, and the United States must not be too hasty, rude, or arbitrary in seeking to enforce its will. The reports now coming state that the United States is “urging” the removal of the friars—a decided modification of its lately expressed determination that the friars must go. No doubt the Vatican will stand a good deal of urging on this point before any definite settlement is reached.

One point the Vatican seems disposed to insist on is the control of the educational system in the islands. To establish religious schools under government control and support would be squarely contrary to the principles of Protestant and republican government, yet Rome goes so far as to hope that this may be accomplished before the negotiations are ended. And this is another point which the Vatican will utilize to prolong the game of diplomacy. A late cablegram from Rome states that “the pope is willing that the school question in the Philippines shall not be insisted upon at the present time,” and he “hopes that his representative at Manila may arrive at an understanding with Governor Taft on this point, which is of capital importance in a country almost exclusively Catholic.”

Meanwhile the forces of Rome are prepared to make a display of their political strength in the United States, which will be calculated to impress the administration with a sense of the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the papal power. We learn from the Catholic Mirror that a national convention of the American Federation of Catholic Societies is to be held August 5 at Chicago, at which “representatives will be present from all the States of the Middle West and from a number of the Eastern States in which there are Catholic societies which have become affiliated with the national body.” It will, says the Mirror, “be the most important gathering of Catholic laymen ever held in this country. More than half a million of Catholic citizens will be represented by delegates on the floor of the convention.” Its actions “are bound to have an effect upon the future associated activity of the American Catholic laity, and as such cannot fail to be of great interest to all Catholics throughout the country.”

That this Catholic federation was organized for the purpose of bringing political pressure to bear upon State and national parties and administrations for the purpose of Romanizing the republic, there can be no doubt. Its promoters have admitted that it was intended to secure political recognition of “Catholic rights,” which means the same thing. And just now Rome is in a position to reap the most from pressure exerted upon the dominant political party through this means. L. A. S.