Napoleon III and the Papacy [pp. 686-702]

Napoleon II]. and the Papacy.
among the inferior clergy, enabled the Roman prelates to use
their power with great advantage to the church. Such a leading influence from Rome was easily established, and finally led
to the erection of a supreme constitutional power and jurisdiction.
Thus arose, in due time, the Papacy, fully confirmed in
ecclesiastical supremacy. And now this supremacy must be
secured against the interference of the civil government. The
seat of its power must not be ruled by a worldly sovereign.
It must have revenues free from the control of secular authority. It seemed unavoidable, that the Pope should have a
territory subject only to himself. In those times, when the
church was not clearly distinguishable from the state, the
ecclesiastical authority was liable to serious annoyance from the
secular powers. The spiritual power must be independent of
the civil. If the church be subject to a government administered on worldly principles, how can she administer her own
affairs according to her spiritual nature and design? This
necessity was inseparable from the times; from the character
of the people, and that of the governments. The church must
everywhere have sole and supreme jurisdiction, under Christ,
of her spiritual affairs. She must understand and adopt for
herself, the doctrine and the discipline given her from heaven,
judge the qualification of her ministers and members, and
choose the means of guarding her communion. Her decisions
must be final with her members, and not be liable to be annulled or reversed by the temporal power. Not to insist on
this, would be to deny the authority of her Head in herself.
This is the great point contended for by the Free Church of
Scotland; and the great prerogative so securely enjoyed by
the church, and so happily placed beyond all controversy, in
these United States of America.
The way to prevent the spiritual and temporal power from
frequent and violent conflict was not then known. The jurisdictions of the two were not distinctly separated. The church
had no resource but to assert her superiority to the state. This
she claimed the right to do, by virtue of the supreme importance of the spiritual interests of men. Her standard writers
held that "the church exercises the same sway over the state
1860.]
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