Bismarck and Peace with the Pope
The following utterance is ascribed to Prince Bismarck:— "I regard peace with the Pope as important as peace with any other foreign power. How long this peace may last—if, indeed, peace is attained with the Roman Church—none can foresee. For its continuance I assume no responsibility." In commenting upon this statement, the Christian Standard lays bare the real state of affairs as follows:— "He 'assumes no responsibility,' and would find any pretext to break the unpleasant alliance, and again banish the hated Orders and Jesuitical Seminaries, at any time when he saw it was safe to do it. Nor does Leo like the Protestant Bismarck with unfeigned love, but simply has an ax to grind—and it is the blood-rusted ax which has always found service in hewing down every plant of liberty it could get a stroke at. There is no good faith on either side of this compact, but only an interested conspiracy against human rights."