"THE MOVEMENT TOWARD ROME."
By Editor
THIS was the subject of a sermon by Cardinal Vaughan, of England, in a London church, June 18. This high Roman Catholic prelate said, according to the Catholic Mirror of July 8:— "In England to-day there is going forward a movement outside the Catholic Church without parallel in any other part of the world. We see a large, a cultured, a strong and sincere, body of clergy and laity in the Anglican establishment. In this establishment at the present day we see a very important and growing number of men, a party seeking after Catholic truth, and trying to popularize once more in this land of ours those Catholic doctrines and religious practises which were known in England during a period of a thousand years, and unhappily were all suppressed at the period of the so-called Reformation. These men, at the present day, have received a call from God, and by God's grace and leading, are trying to bring back those various Catholic doctrines and religious practises with which we are familiar, because they form our religious life. They all say and declare that they can not accept the principle that the church of God is subject to the control and government in doctrinal and disciplinary matters, of the State; that the church of God is not a slave, and subject to the temporal power." He also noted the "singular fact presented to us, that, tho other countries of Christendom, under the pressure of kings and princes, apostatized from the Catholic faith in the sixteenth century, there was not one amongst them that showed signs of returning to this Catholic faith such as the people of England had done." This the cardinal attributed to prayer. He further said that "it had been asserted that Catholicism was standing still, if not retrogressing. This was not the fact, as their congregations were increasing, fresh churches were being built, their clergymen were multiplying, and their converts numbered 8,000 a year." All of which is in fulfilment of Scripture. The reason of this drift toward Rome in nominal Protestantism is a failure to follow the Word of God. It is good that the Ritualists in England refuse to be subject to State control. Roman Catholics agree with this. What is equally important is that the church should not attempt to control the State. But wo to England when the church gains this control!