the emperor of Germany, the emperor of Austria, the queen of Spain, the president of the United States, the president of France, the king of Belgium, the king of Greece, the emperor of Brazil, the sultan of Turkey, the mikado of Japan, and the shah of Persia have, among others, sent to the holy father their evidences of respect and cordial congratulations. These and innumerable other testimonies of goodwill and love must bring joy into the heart of his Holiness, and at the same time bring very great advantage to the church. They must through all Christendom produce a clear perception of the power of the pope and the authority of the church.”

The following paragraph from the Signs of the Times shows very plainly the authority of the present pope :

"Leo XII is certainly, more than any other pope before him, engaged in appeasing and gaining all his opponents. Once the papacy was opposed to republics, but now it favors them. Once the pope was opposed to education, but now he builds an astronomical observatory, and recommends numerous schools. Temperance, social questions, and many other questions with which the popes formerly would have nothing to do, are now recommended with more or less zeal and perseverance. Leo XIII does certainly fulfill the words of the prophet: And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many.'" "10

When we consider the great influence which the pope has gained lately at the courts of Europe, we see plainly that the words of the prophet in Rev. 18:7 are applicable to the papal power in our day. She sees no prospects of sorrow. A brilliant career lies open before her. And when we consider the wonderful influence the papacy has gained. and is gaining in America, this fact becomes still more apparent.

Of Leo XIII, Cardinal Gibbons says in the Catholic Citizen for Nov. 18, 1893

"I believe that it is generally conceded that the pope is a person who is a great favorite with the people of the United States, even among those who do not honor him as the head of the church. They esteem him highly for his personal virtues. They admire him 10 Dan. 8 25.

:

as a statesman, and they love him for his benevolence and human spirit as a man.”

In the same paper Archbishop Ireland says:

"The Roman papacy in our day has obtained a moral power and influence over the government and people, such as it has not had for many years. The church has stepped forward in the wide world, and she is respected and listened to in a manner that has not been seen before in the last century."

The pope means to possess America for himself, and has for that express purpose sent Archbishop Satolli as his substitute to reign in Washington. Of this, Bishop Coxe has truly said: "The president is a citizen who comes and goes. He is a guest who tarries but a night. The vicepresident has no official house in Washington. . . The one irremovable potentate is the Roman pontiff. . . . And as Queen Victoria by her viceroy reigns as empress in India, so henceforth Leo XIII and his successors reign on the Potomac."

A later Catholic work says of the pope: "Surely, God's plans are manifest. America is the last and greatest of nations, and he [the pope] means to possess her for himself."

In a dispatch from Rome to the New York Herald, we read: "It is a fact full of meaning to the history of the world that Leo XIII with great interest uses the last years of his reign to consider the advancement of the Catholic Church in the United States. . . He is very much interested in the work of Satolli."

The London Chronicle says: "The Roman Catholic Church in America takes a greater part in leading the advancing movement than many imagine. And he who looks upon this movement without prejudice has no doubt that the future welfare of the republic lies in the hand of the Italian mission which is now flourishing in America."

The New York Evangelist is a Presbyterian paper. In its issue of Feb. 9, 1888, it calls Cardinal Gibbons "our

cardinal," and publishes the following words written by a Presbyterian doctor of divinity concerning the papacy and the Catholic Church :

"She is the church for all races, classes, and every rank, and she gives signs of becoming American as well as Roman. She is the only church who is fit to govern the working masses, and cope with the labor question in the presence of which our Protestant Christianity stands puzzled."

The great majority and most prominent of public offices. in New York, Chicago, and many other large cities are held by Catholics. The government of these cities is principally in their hands, and it is a fact which comes more and more to the front that most of the newspapers are governed more or less by Catholics.

At the World's Fair the Catholic Church made ten times as much show as all other churches together. At the opening of the Fair, the most conspicuous of all the banners was the Catholic banner with its great cross. September 12, 1893, when the great World's Religious Congress was opened, and heathen, Mohommedan, Catholic, and Protestant voices united to sing, "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow," the Roman Catholic cardinals and prelates opened every meeting, and in many other ways their wonderful influence was made manifest.

But Cardinal Gibbon's presence in Congress, taking a seat of honor in the midst of the representatives of this free republic, caps the climax, not because of what he said or did on that memorable occasion, but because it so fitly represents the position of the papal power in the United States at the present time.

When the Wilson tariff bill was acted upon the last time and approved in the House, Feb. 1, 1894, it was an occasion of great interest. The papers stated that there was not an empty seat in the whole chamber, and the great audience filled the hall. The diplomatic corps, consisting of representatives from the different nations, was

present, each one being arrayed in his glittering uniform. But the most remarkable of all is found in the following words from the Examiner:

"In the chair of the speaker sat Cardinal Gibbons, robed in black silk, and his head adorned with the scarlet-colored cap denoting his honor."

This would never have been tolerated as long as the spirit of liberty prevailed in this country. It shows how deeply our government has fallen under the influence of Rome, and it reminds us of the proud testimony of Leo XIII, that what Rome has done for other countries it will do also for the United States. It will corrupt the government and the people, and help to make them ripe for the last judgments of God.

The Roman Church teaches that she alone has the right to rule, and that kings have this right only as they rule by her consent. Although Rome is not yet in the fullest sense the power behind the throne of our government, yet the presence of Cardinal Gibbons, distinguished by the insignia of his office, is a plain sign of what she will be when the papal power dictates the laws of our country. But when this takes place, the plagues and the final destruction of proud Babylon will come with haste." This will be the subject for consideration in the next chapter.

11 Rev. 18: 8.