CATHOLICISM, NOT PAPACY.
[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In your issue of December 5th appears an interesting letter from Professor Goldwin Smith on the temporal power of the Papacy. He says its influence is felt in Canada, where separate schools for Catholics have, through its instru- mentality, been created in the North-West Provinces. It is not quite clear whether he regards this act as being detri- mental to the educational efficiency of the State. Catholic schools for Catholic children are not, as we know, peculiar to Canada, but are to be found in all parts of the world. Pope, priest, and people are as one in maintaining this principle. Whether it is right or otherwise depends on the point of view. The authority in " temporals " (as distinct from " temporal power") assumed by the Catholic Church is recognised and accepted by its members because it rests on the Catholic idea of Church government. The Penny Catechism will show what this is. The Catholic religion penetrating into every action of Catholic life, questions of education, marriage, politics, &c., are naturally and inseparably bound up with their religious belief. But the Church's authority in " temporals " affects, of course, Catholics only, not those of other religious denominations. Professor Goldwin Smith's endeavour to divorce the Catholic Church from the Papacy would result in a contradiction in terms, and would be rejected by every member of the Catholic and Roman faith. Of the Pope as a temporal Sovereign of the Roman States, and of his relations with other States ; of the origin of the temporal power and its influence for good or bad in past ages,—on these subjects the opinion of your distinguished Canadian correspondent is entitled to the utmost respect. It is only with his failure to differentiate between the authority of the Catholic Church in " temporals " and its now departed "temporal power" that I venture to oppose his views.—I am, Sir, &c.,
The Grange, Ewell, Surrey.
REGINALD H. CARLISLE.
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