The War Upon Religion Part 16

A second cause of the Kulturkampf lay in the desire of Prussia's rulers and statesmen to place the Protestant Evangelical Church in a position whence it might dominate all religious life in the Empire. Long before efforts were made, especially after the Third Centenary of Luther in 1817, to bring the whole of Prussian Germany into the ranks of the Evangelical Church. The schemes manipulated by means of mixed marriages, the long and pitiless persecutions of Frederick William III., followed by the comparative peace during the reign of Frederick William IV. This latter period had been prolific in examples of Christian life, in pilgrimages to holy shrines, in a great increase of popular devotion, in the spread of religious orders with their sane and vivifying influences. The Catholic Church had been gradually arising out of a state of torpor and subjection to a position of prominence that called for consideration and respect from all non-Catholic sources.

The Protestants of Germany, however, were not altogether gratified at these beautiful results, and indeed, it was not long before they began to resent openly the evidences of Catholic progress. In their determination to stem the tide of Catholic conversion and increase they were not slow to use every means that opportunity placed at their disposal. Among these was the spirit of the Prussian people to which the name of Borussianism has been given, and which manifested itself as early as 1848.

The two great powers of Germany then contending for supremacy among the loosely confederated States were Prussia and Austria. In the Parliament of Frankfort the presidency of that body was conferred upon an Austrian archduke. The alarm was immediately sounded. If Germany were to become a united empire, was it not possible that Austria, as an integral part, might gain the ascendancy, and thus subject the whole German nation to the rule of a Catholic sovereign? In 1848 the union of the German Empire was set aside, and Frederick William IV. even refused to accept an imperial crown that would have among its gems the great Austrian state.

Again in 1866, when the union of German States was being formed, Austria was formally excluded, nor has she been invited to enter the Confederation ever since. Her Catholic influences were the obstacles that stood in her way toward Prussian favor.

_WAR UPON CATHOLIC STATES._

At the same time Prussia could not ignore the fact that many powerful and influential States around her and even within her dominions were almost entirely Catholic. Poland, Bavaria and the Rhenish Provinces were too strongly Catholic to permit of any open aggression upon religious lines, although in the secrecy of ministerial cabinets the way for such aggressions was being constantly prepared. What was wanted was only an evidence of political weakness in the Catholic States, and this opportunity was offered only too soon.

Since 1860 the papal power had been slowly yielding in Italy to the attacks of Liberalism, aided very much by the encouragement of German cabinets. In 1866, Austria was stricken down by the hand of Prussia; in 1870, Catholic France felt its force at Sedan and at Paris; in the same year, Rome fell into the hands of usurpers. Even among the Catholic States of Germany the influence of Prussian intrigue had weakened the governments and made them tools in the hands of the more powerful ally.

All these disasters in Catholic countries signified that Protestant Prussia was now in a position to impose herself with her laws and her religion upon the whole body of people coming within her sway. It is not surprising, therefore, that when William I. felt the glory of the imperial crown upon his brow, he should begin, like his predecessor, Frederick William III., to dream of a universal German Church of which he should be the Pope, and of which all his people should become willing and faithful members.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I.]

Closely allied with this desire for a Protestant ascendancy was an intense hatred of Rome and of Ultramontainism, especially as manifested in the dogma of Papal Infallibility as declared in the Council of the Vatican in 1870. This spirit had betrayed itself before 1870 especially in the words and actions of Bismarck, who remarked during the course of the French War: "As soon as the war with France is ended, I shall march against the infallibility." To this end the populace was aroused and Protestant fanaticism was given full swing. The tocsin of alarm was sounded before the imaginary peril of a Roman invasion, and before the pretended a.s.saults of the Church upon the State.

_HATRED OF INFALLIBILITY._

For two years the secular press had echoed these fears and waved before the eyes of Germany the effigy of "Infallibility." All sane notions were cast aside, while defiance and hatred were sown in all hearts. All the journals, with one accord, took up the ever new theme of the _Syllabus_ and of Infallibility to demonstrate to the German people that the jurisdiction of the bishops was absorbed forever by the papal jurisdiction, that the clergy were now slaves, and that every Roman Catholic, at a sign from the Pope, was bound henceforth to betray his king, his conscience, and the laws of the country. Feeling, under such impulsion, ran high, to such an extent in fact that the fear of Infallibility made many forget the part the Catholics had ever taken for the defence of the King, the country, and social order.

Underlying all these causes was the true reason of the Kulturkampf, the spirit of Caesarism, the desire to make the Church subservient in its life, in its doctrines, and in its hierarchy, to the caprices of the sovereign State. The forces to effect this had been growing steadily for some time. There were especially three parties to which the idea of a State controlled Church appealed. There were those who were hostile radically to the idea of religion, and whose campaign was directed against G.o.d; their leader was Bluntschl. Others, antagonistic to the Christian idea, attacked all positive religion, and desired the abolition of all Christian denominations; they were led on by Bennigsen.

Finally, the Prussian Evangelicals, jealous of the progress of Catholicity, wished to create a great national Church in what they would call the Evangelical Empire, a Church that would acknowledge no interference from the outside, from Rome or elsewhere. Into this national Church it was determined to absorb all the Catholics of the Empire. This was the dream of Bismarck.

In 1870 these various elements of disorder seemed to unite into a compact force directed against the common enemy, the Catholic Church.

Rancors, divisions, jealousies, all were forgotten in the common impulse. It was the world banding together to exterminate the handiwork of G.o.d. The years have pa.s.sed by, the Kulturkampf is over, its leaders are forgotten, its purposes have lapsed into history; but the Church in Germany has not been exterminated; indeed, it enjoys at present the most flourishing epoch in its history.

II.

_MEN OF THE CRISIS._

_BISMARCK._

Among the characters most prominent in the Kulturkampf, we shall confine our more lengthy consideration to Bismarck, Windthorst, Malincrodt and Ketteler.

In Prince Bismarck were concentrated all the forces of the various parties uniting against the Church. He was born in the patrimonial castle of Schoenhausen, April 1, 1815, and received the name of Otto Edward Leopold von Bismarck. In 1832, when seventeen years of age, he entered the University of Goettingen. Here he attracted attention by his turbulent and fantastic character. A lively, boisterous companion, he was known as a drinker, epicure, smoker, duellist, and eccentric. He fought more than twenty duels. He became popular among his fellow students for his feats of arms, and his reputation in that regard extended to other universities. After leaving the University, he became an a.s.sessor of the Tribunal of Berlin, then referendary at Aix-la-Chapelle, and at Pottsdam, after which he enlisted as a lieutenant in the Uhlan guards. Shortly after 1846 he married Johanna von Puttkammer, a woman who was later to exercise a malevolent influence over him during the troubles following 1870.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BISMARCK.]

In 1847 Bismarck entered actively into the political life of the nation. It was at the time when King Frederick William IV., yielding to the importunities of the Liberals, convoked a preliminary Diet, at which Bismarck was present to supply the place of a member rendered incapable of attending through sickness. Therein he showed himself an indefatigable defender of the conservatives against the demands of the Liberals, making himself soon the chief of his party.

This consultive Diet was forced to yield, the following year, 1848, to the popular demand for a more representative a.s.sembly. Another Diet accordingly met and voted for universal suffrage and the immediate elaboration of a new const.i.tution. Bismarck distinguished himself in that a.s.sembly, as in the preceding, by his unyielding opposition to Liberal innovations, and by the violence and asperity which characterized his utterances.

To propagate his ideas Bismarck founded a journal, which remains even yet the organ of the Conservative party in Germany, the _Gazette of the Cross_. As a result of Bismarck's many efforts, the King, urged on by the n.o.bility, dispersed the Parliament, a.s.sembled the troops in Berlin and placed the city in a state of siege. The same year, 1848, the national Diet, composed of Liberals and Conservatives, met at Frankfort, and decided to re-establish the Empire, offering the imperial crown to the King of Prussia. In this matter Bismarck strongly opposed the views of the delegates and induced the King to refuse the proffered honor. The same actions recurred in the following year, Bismarck taking the same stand against German unity.

Thenceforth the new statesman began to be a power for the Kingdom of Prussia. His hatred of Austria seems to have dictated all his policies for the next twenty years. The war for the annexation of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, the war against Austria in 1866, the question of the Duchy of Luxembourg, and even the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, were all inspired by the fear that Austria should become too powerful, and deprive the Protestant State of Prussia of that ascendancy which Bismarck more than any other determined that she should have.

It was in 1862 that Bismarck was called upon by the King to take up the post of Premier, a position which was to make him in a few years the most powerful statesman of Europe. At the ending of the Franco-Prussian War, on January 18, 1871, in the Palace of Versailles, it was the power of Bismarck that placed the imperial crown upon the head of the new Emperor, William I. of Germany. The union of German States against which the Chancellor had fought in years gone by, was now the creature of his own making. The time was propitious, France, Austria and the Papacy were all humbled. Prussia had become one of the Great Powers. If Bismarck had rested there, his name would have been greeted with the acc.u.mulated blessings of all the German people, even though all these triumphs had been won by the way of deceit, brutality and an absolute disregard of all the promptings of justice and humanity.

That Bismarck had been preparing for his persecution of the Catholics is sufficiently proven from doc.u.mentary evidence, although after 1888 he spent much time and effort to disclaim his part in the Kulturkampf. The Crown Prince of Germany in his diary of the date of October 24, 1870, wrote: "Bismarck related to my brother-in-law that immediately after the war he would enter upon the campaign against infallibility." Again, the Abbe Majunke, the eminent historian of the Kulturkampf, published in the _Historico Political Papers_ of Munich, a sensational article wherein he proved from existing doc.u.ments that Bismarck was meditating the Kulturkampf before the opening of the Council: "The notes gathered together by Poschinger demonstrate that as early as 1850 the adversary of Windthorst has been the princ.i.p.al instigator of the Bavarian Kulturkampf," a fact which argued that he was the real instigator of the late Prussian persecution. Again Arnim, the former amba.s.sador to Rome, shows that the Chancellor was projecting the conflict against infallibility at least while the Council was going on. Again, on September 13, 1870, Bismarck remarked to the deputy Werle, Mayor of Rheims: "When we have disposed of Catholicism, they (i. e. the Latin nations) will not be long in disappearing." All these and other evidences remain to show that the mind of Bismarck had been meditating the extermination of the Catholic religion before the actual hostilities began. His part in the conflict itself will be shown in discussing its events. In 1887, he made his peace with Pope Leo XIII., from whom he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, and died in 1898, after witnessing the final collapse of the Kulturkampf and acknowledging its utter failure to accomplish the the end it had in view.

Directly opposed to Bismarck was another statesman in whom with all the energy and determination of his adversary were found the qualities of honor and justice united together in absolute loyalty to Catholic principles. This man was Louis Joseph Windthorst, born January 17, 1812, at Osterkapelln in the Kingdom of Hanover. After showing for some time an inclination for the ecclesiastical state, he finally decided his vocation in 1836 by entering the bar at Osnabruck. He was later made syndic of the Equestrian Order of the n.o.bility, and then lay President of the ecclesiastical tribunal. In 1838 he married and his union was blessed not only by conjugal happiness, but more than all by the birth of four children, the eldest of whom survived him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINDTHORST.]

In 1848 there were in Germany two political parties; one defending the maintaining of Austria in the Confederation and desirous that she should be at its head; the other demanding the exclusion of Austria, and the preponderance of Prussia. Elected to the Diet from Hanover in 1849, Windthorst declared himself for Austria, a Catholic power which promised to permit the different States to retain their autonomy; and he combatted openly the members of the German Parliament at Frankfort when they offered the imperial crown to William IV. of Prussia. Windthorst had just been nominated to the Presidency of the Hanoverian Chamber of Deputies, in 1851, when upon the accession of George V. to the throne, he received the portfolio of Justice. He served in that capacity until 1853 when the ministry of which he formed a part was overturned.

It was during the period of comparative quiet that followed, that Windthorst rendered to his natal diocese a remarkable service. Both in the Chamber and at Court he pleaded for the ancient princ.i.p.ality of Osnabruck, which had been in the hands of a lay administrator ever since the great secularization. His efforts were crowned with success. In 1857 the diocese of Osnabruck was re-established and the Abbe Melchers, then Vicar General of Munster, was made its bishop.

In 1862 Windthorst was again called to the ministry of Justice, and again pleaded the cause of Austria. In a short time, however, he again left the ministry and was made Procurator General of the Court of Appeals at Celle. Hitherto Windthorst had been the princ.i.p.al adviser of George V., the intrepid defender of his country's independence, and the influential protector of Catholic interests in the midst of a Protestant Court; when at length his powers in that direction were ended by the action of Prussia in taking possession of Hanover.

The little kingdom thus blotted out, Windthorst turned his attention to the larger interests of the whole country. In placing himself, however unwillingly upon the platform of accomplished facts, and in taking the oath of the Prussian Const.i.tution, Windthorst accepted the ruling of the Prussian Landtag, and was elected first to the Const.i.tuent a.s.sembly, and then to the Reichstag of the Confederation of Northern Germany, in 1871. He remained until his death the representative from Meppen, whence his soubriquet, the Pearl of Meppen. He was also sometimes termed His Little Excellency, from his slight stature, and also "the Guelph Leader," from his indomitable att.i.tude in defending the interests of the weaker side against the aggressions of the unscrupulous majority.

In the Kulturkampf his position was the exact ant.i.thesis to that of Bismarck. By his strict ideas of honor and justice, and his indomitable courage in forcing the issues he had at stake, he gained his cause over the brutal and unscrupulous strength of the Chancellor. The ideal which he pursued was that of Christian society, the independence of the Church, respect for authority, and the maintenance of liberty and of civil equality. He was a contrast in every way to Bismarck. Windthorst was the champion of right, Bismarck the representative of force; the one was calm in his certainty of ultimate victory; the other fought with animosity and fury. Windthorst strove to enlighten and convince his adversary; the Chancellor was bent upon crushing and annihilating his enemy. In seeking the triumph of a principle, the one recognized neither menaces nor boastings; the other seeking his own personal aggrandis.e.m.e.nt spoke in terms of haughtiness and contempt of all who dared to differ from him. Windthorst was almost the only man who could not be cowed by Bismarck, and thus, urged on by the hand of G.o.d, the Pearl of Meppen crushed at last the Iron Chancellor. Windthorst was a man of men, constant, faithful to his friends, and firm as a rock in his trust in G.o.d. The words of Pope Leo XIII., at the time of his death in 1891, were significant: "He so loved his country and respected his sovereign, that he never separated his duties as a citizen from his zeal for religion.

So well did he encounter his adversaries by the weight of his arguments and the force of his eloquence, that it was easy to see that it was the love of truth which urged him on, and not any greedy desire for personal advantages or honors."

[Ill.u.s.tration: MALINCRODT.]

Herrmann von Malincrodt, the great orator of the Centre during the Kulturkampf, was a native of Minden in Westphalia, where he was born on February 5, 1821. His father was a Protestant, yet of such natural honesty, that he would not stand in the way of his son's education in Catholic faith and doctrine. The mother of Herrmann was a pious Catholic, a cultured lady, whose care for the religious bringing up of her children was not satisfied with the religious teaching given them at school, but called a priest to her house to supplement the training of the school. The cla.s.sical studies of young Malincrodt were made at Aix-la-Chapelle, where his father had taken up his residence in 1823.

When, in 1838, the future deputy went to study law at Bonn, and later at Berlin, his faith was still intact as his heart was pure. He pa.s.sed through the University with equal safety. The teachings of his good mother, who died some years before, were his safeguard and preserved him against the dangers so often fatal to youth. The anti-Christian doctrines of his professors, and the shameless examples of his fellow students had no effect upon his strong character. In his twentieth year he left his studies as good a Catholic as he was a learned jurist.

After a short period at the tribunal of Paderborn, and having been referendary successively at Munster and Erfurt, he retired for over a year to study for his degree. When his thesis, ent.i.tled _Juridical Relations between Church and State_ was presented, the judges marvelled to find in so young a man such an evidence of solid learning, clear reasoning, and originality of thought. They noted moreover the uncompromising Catholic character of his essay, and accordingly, while they accounted his endeavor a success, they added the remark: "A work too favorable to the Church." In 1849 he was named a.s.sessor for the Regency of Minden, and two years later was sent to Erfurt to fulfil the same functions. In the latter place he made so favorable an impression upon the people that the government made him First Burgomaster of the town. This choice was all the more significant that four-fifths of the population were Protestants, while Malincrodt was known as an ultra Catholic; they were won, indeed, by his characteristic integrity, his tolerance and justice, and the n.o.bility of deportment. So well satisfied were the citizens with his administration that he was accorded the right of the city.

The people of Westphalia were naturally proud of their fellow citizen, and in the elections of 1852, the district of Munster-Coesfeld sent him to the Prussian Landtag. He arrived at Parliament at a moment when a new conflict was threatening between the State and the Church. The ministers had just interdicted the missions of the Jesuits and forbade Prussian students to pursue their theological studies at Rome. King Frederick William IV. was animated with kindlier dispositions. He had witnessed the bravery and loyalty of the Catholics during the stirring times of 1848, and in recognition of the same he had effected that a clause should be inscribed in the Const.i.tution guaranteeing the most essential ecclesiastical liberties. Unfortunately his ministers did not share his sentiments, and the court canonists found it too difficult to break with the old Prussian traditions, and accordingly they gave their best efforts to nullify the concessions of the sovereign. In the presence of the hostile manifestations the Catholics felt it inc.u.mbent upon them to organize for the better defence of their rights. In the elections of 1852, despite every ministerial pressure, they succeeded in sending sixty-three Catholics to the Parliament, and the group thus elected took the name of the Catholic Faction.

Malincrodt had his place in the ranks of these pleaders for the Church.

On March 11, 1853, after many months of silence, he made his maiden speech and proved himself an orator of the first rank. During that session he held the floor thirty-six times. In all the parliamentary discussions, whenever it was necessary to defend the Holy See, the rights of Catholics, or conservative principles, Malincrodt was always to the fore. His talents increased year by year, and would have brought him still higher distinction, had not the elections of 1864 sent him back to private life.

During the following three years events in his country were fast approaching a climax. The Danish and Austrian wars had demonstrated what Bismarck meant by "moral conquests." Malincrodt was among those who could foresee the coming storm. In 1867 the electors of Westphalia sent him to the Federal Diet of Northern Germany. It was there that he met for the first time that lilliputian of Hanover, already known as the Meppen Pearl, the Little Excellency, Herr Windthorst. The two Catholic statesmen recognized each other, and began a friendship which was to continue, under the aegis of the Church, until death. The speeches of Malincrodt in the Reichstag were a revelation to the a.s.sembly who recognized in him a man with whom German statesmen would have to reckon.

He was as much opposed to German union as desired by the Prussians, as was Windthorst, and that because he knew how Prussia with the power in her hands would not fail to destroy the autonomy of the lesser States.

The Franco Prussian War followed, with its consequence of the unification of Germany under the imperial domination of Prussia. The Kulturkampf made necessary the formation of the Centre, of which Malincrodt was at first the chief and spokesman. His eloquence throughout that stormy period was terrific, and had his career lasted a little longer, he could no doubt, in conjunction with Windthorst, have ended the struggle much earlier. He died, however, in his sixty-third year, in 1874, at Berlin after a burst of oratory that convinced even Lasker, one of the most implacable of his adversaries.

William Emmanuel von Ketteler was born on December 25, 1811, at Munster in Westphalia. He was thus, like his colleagues, Windthorst and Malincrodt, a Saxon. His mother, the former Baroness von Wenge von Beck, exercised a decisive influence over his heart and at an early age she inspired him with that truly Christian love for the poor which was one of his salient characteristics during life. He was remarkable even in childhood for his air of reflection and gravity, significant of a mind that was serious and inclined to a sense of conscientious duty. At the age of thirteen, in 1824, he was sent to the Jesuit College of Brieg in the Valais, where he finished his studies.

According to the German usage, his family sent him to many Universities, and thus he spent a short period successively at Goettingen, Berlin, Heidelberg, and Munich. He was everywhere an adept at athletic exercises and an ardent worker. After his examinations in law he was appointed referendary of the government of his natal city, Munster.

It seemed as if he had found his vocation in law and politics. It was about this time, 1838, that he beheld the venerable Archbishop of Cologne, Clement August von Droste Vischering, dragged a prisoner to the fortress of Minden. Indignant at this act of barbarity, Ketteler threw up his governmental position. On July 9, 1838, he wrote to his brother Wilderich: "As I do not care to serve a State which demands the sacrifice of my conscience, it seems to me that the priesthood is my most certain refuge. But how far I am from such a determination! To make me worthy of that sublime ministry would require a miracle greater than raising the dead to life." In 1841, he overcame his scruples, and went to seek counsel from Mgr. de Reisach, the Bishop of Eichstadt, who a.s.sured him that his vocation was genuine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BISHOP KETTELER.]

He entered the University of Munich, then at the zenith of its renown.

Under the patronage of King Louis of Bavaria it had become the rendezvous of all that Catholic society esteemed as brilliant and distinguished. Gorres, the great philosopher, was there with Philipps, the Professor of Law, and Doellinger, as yet orthodox in his teaching of history.

After three years of study he was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1844, after which he was appointed a.s.sistant in the little town of Beck.u.m, in Westphalia, where he shared the labors of two young priests, one of whom, Brinckmann, afterwards also became a bishop. After two years he was sent as pastor to Hopsten on the confines of Hanover, where he spent his time in those duties which had become so dear to his heart, the care of the poor and the instruction of the young.