THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND LIBERTY.
In a monograph published in the Correspondent (Paris) under the signature of Mgr. H. Gabriels, bishop of Ogdensburg, New York, says Public Opinion, the writer examines at length the causes which have had the largest influence on the development of Roman Catholicism in the United States during the last century. Altho stating that the United States was not favorable in 1800 to the expansion of Catholicism, he does not deny that the principle of liberty was the starting force that permitted the 50,000 Catholics living in this country at that time to increase to the millions. The population of the republic amounted then to 5,350,000, while in 1890, the Catholic communicants numbered 10,778,000 out of a total of 76,000,000. Concerning the influence of liberty on Catholicism, Mgr. Gabriels says: “It is an error to believe that in the United States the separation of the Church and State is absolute. This separation has been claimed by a handful of liberals and freethinkers, but until now without success. It is true that the close union between Church and State found elsewhere does not exist; but the States recognize some Christian traditions, such as the observation of the Sabbath, the oath, clerical immunity to a certain extent, and other religious privileges; it protects the ceremonies of the cults, recognizes canonical authority, and passes sentence upon ecclesiastical differences between members of the church according to the laws of the church itself. Not only does it grant entire liberty to religious associations and to educational institutions, but it facilitates the incorporation of dioceses, parishes, congregations, schools, and cemeteries, which thus become individuals and can enjoy their rights in accordance with their own statutes. The public has not been terrorized yet by the specter of mortmain. If it were not for public education without God and a few minor points, we could consider the United States Government as a model for the countries not possessing the unity of faith.”