The rumours that the Pope intends to leave Rome and
to sum- mon a Council either in Malta, or at Salzburg, Austria, are again gaining credence. We do not believe either of them. The diffi- culty of quitting Rome, with its vast ecclesiastical establishments, is as great as ever, and so is the loss of prestige which would follow upon the removal, while as to the Council, it is difficult to suggest its use. The Pope can now give any decision the Council could have given, for it is impossible for a Council to be more than infallible, and the removal of all the Catholic Bishops of the world for a second time within three years from their dioceses involves very considerable practical inconveniences. If the Pope were seriously ill, the Conclave might be ordered to Malta from fear of Italian pressure, but even this is improbable. The Papacy has not given up hoping for foreign interference.
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