The Vatican and the Nations.
WHAT to many is significant, and to more ought to be, is the relationship which is manifest between the Vatican and the various powers of earth. He who understands history at all, knows something of the part which the relationship between the Papacy and the various European powers has played in the world's history. He who understands the Roman Catholic Church knows that it is a vital part of her doctrine that church and state ought to be united, or the state should be subservient to the church. The relationship noted is coming home to us much closer than in the European states. In the recent election of a very eminent citizen to the post of Chief magistrate, one of the first to offer his congratulations is the pope. A despatch from Rome, dated November 4, declares: "The pope has cabled his congratulations to Mr. Taft, whose election to the presidency is thought to guarantee the acceptance of the pope's proposals in the matter of compensation to the religious congregations of Porto Rico." The next day a statement even more striking appears in the daily press, sent from Rome on November 5. It reads: "The Tribuna, in an article on Wm. H. Taft, recalls his visit to Rome in 1902, and the excellent impression he made on Pope Leo XIII. To Mr. Taft Pope Leo expressed the hope that he [Pope Leo] would one day realize his dream of having an American diplomatic representative accredited to the holy See." The Tribuna concludes by saying: "Now that Mr. Taft is President, can Leo's successor entertain the same hope which is against the spirit of the American Constitution?" We note this and suggest to our readers that it is worthy of remembrance in the rapidly developing events of modern-day history.