PERILS. — ROMANISM. 71 



trary to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, of the 

 Church, and of the Holy Fathers, these persons do not 

 hesitate to assert that ' the best condition of human 

 society is that wherein no duty is recognized by the gov- 

 ernment of correcting by enacted penalties the violators 

 of the Catholic Religion, except when the maintenance 

 of the public peace requires it. ' From this totally false 

 notion of social government, they fear not to uphold 

 that erroneous opinion most pernicious to the Catholic 

 Church, and to the salvation of souls, which was called 

 by our predecessor, Gregory XVI. , the insanity (delira- 

 mentum), namely, that 'liberty of conscience and of 

 worship is the right of every man ; and that this right 

 ought, in every well-governed state, to be proclaimed 

 and asserted by the law.'" Much more to the same 

 effect might be quoted from Pius IX. and Leo XIII. 



" When, in May, 1851, New Granada proclaimed religi- 

 ous toleration and subjected the clergy to the secular 

 courts, Pius IX., in the allocution ' Acerbissimum,' of 

 September 27, 1852, pronounced the laws to be null and 

 void, and threatened heavy ecclesiastical penalties on all 



who should dare to enforce them When, in 



1855, Mexico adopted a constitution embodying the 

 same principles, Pius, in the allocution ' Nunquam fore,' 

 December 15, 1856, annulled the Constitution and for- 

 bade obedience to it. When, about the same time Spain 

 made an effort in the same direction, the allocution 

 'Nemo vestriim,' of July 24, 1855, similarly abrogated 

 the obnoxious provisions. Even a powerful empire like 

 that of Austria fared no better when, in December, 

 1867, it decreed liberty of conscience and of the press, 

 and in May, 1868, adopted a law of civil marriage ; for 

 the allocution ' Niinquam certe\ of June 22, 1868, 

 denounced all these as atrocious laws, and declared 

 them to be void and of no effect. " i And all this, be it 

 remembered, transpired in modern times. 



In " Essays on Eeligion and Literature," edited by Car- 



' Henry Charles Lea, Forum, February, 1890, pp. 630, G3L 



