T H E
AMERICAN
2
ALBERT PIKE'S ANSWEK
TO TIIK KSVIVMCAI. LRTTKU
UVMASVt
(iivpii ti Urn Wmld by Leo Xllll.) II'M, Which
W Dnw tnil M iiitly k',M.A hw
fflD STUDY t REFLECT!
Tu wlnnti violent attack mi energetic
defonxe iniiKt respond, tiond men
imiMt unite and form an Immense cnnll.
Hon of praver mill efforts. F,peelally
tho Virgin Mary, moihiT of (1ml, must
bo besought to become tlm auxiliary
iiml Interpreter1 of tlm church, display
ing her power against tlm sect which
aro reviving the rebellion spirit, tlm
Incorrigible porlldy and (ho cunning of
tho devil. St. Michael, who precip
itated tlm revolted angel Into hull, Hi.
JoMcph, husband of tho virgin, iiml tlm
groat apoHtlo HI. Peter and HI. Paul
ii i ii Mt hNo bn enlisted; ami thus lha Im
minent ilnngcr to tho human race nifty
ho ivortod.
Instruction of tlm people In religion
doctrine; enlargement of tin Third
Order of Franciscan; organization of
nHNoniutloim of working men; gaining
control of tho education of tho yo.ing;
mid Incessant pniyor,-thono aro to ho
tho ostensible mean of nffnimo and do
fotiHo, A la Ikiiiiio hourot If no more
were jnoiint. Hut tho church of ltoino
Iihm never boon In tho habit of making
known tho real moan or Instrument
which It Iihm determined to vino for thn
mipproMNloit of heresy or to repres the
ntrugglu of humanity to escape fror.i
tho Intolnrablo bunion of opprosMlon;
ami It In not likely to do It now. Tho
otontatloii recital of llioso peaceful
moan of antagonism doe not ngroo
with tho explicit re-enactment of tho
bull of Clement and Ilenedlct, Tho
church ha other measure In view than
teaching and prayer; and It I already
imlng them in Ilitlgiiiut mid Urnzll, It
ha myHteriuA.tho divulgation of which
U Interdicted; conclave and comd
torlo, general of tho order, nnnomblio
that aru secret, a thol" decision and
tho nioari and agent of execution arc.
Tho adept blindly and without di
euaslon obey tho Injunction of their
chief, holding thonmolve alway
ready, upon tho slightest notlllcatloti or
hardly porccptlblo nlgii, to execute tho
order given them, devotlrg thiimsolvc
In advance, in case of disobedience, to
tho ruivt terrlblo pnualtle and oven to
death j were tho order even to bring
about tlm murder of another William
tho Kllent or of tho chief of ft republic
Wi'.h niich a past a that of tho
church of Homo I, It have been wl
not to provoko comment upon it real
crime by declining other of having
committed Imaginary one; or exposure
of tho doctrine of lint Jesuit by libel
ling thoHii of Free Masonry,
It I not only just and fair and red
onablo, but of absolute necessity, to
coneludo that any one who speak to
men by Authority Intend tho oonwe
fjuonce that rimy naturally, any whore,
bo tho effect of hi word. It I even
of absolute noeosnity, ometlme, to
conclude that amblguoti phrase and
dlgnlflcant uggelloii and veiled
iiiitar.lng, when ueil a they aro here,
are employed to Induce tho eomrolnlori
of Infamle, tho explicit limitation
wherounlo might turtl tho eoimclonoo
of humanity. And Hil I "peclally of
unavoidable liecilly Id the Intel pi -tnlloii
of the tii iiidfitf of the church of
Rome ngalnl thot.it whom It consider
Hi enemies, rot" It ha never yel lo
pudiati'd and inimliMHied Hie maxim
of the hpmiMi Jcsiltn or declared Hie
suppression of the truth r the Mlgge
tioti of ffilMi homl, fur the lieiii-lil of the
church, to bo etiiitnti'y to the fplilt of
the g"pel, r eoiifeiiMii! Itielf liNlliiiut'd
tor having mo long employed tho In
ft rnal enginery of the lniiiMtloii. It
U Infallible, can never have erred, can
never chnngo. H long ago lout all
right to expect tlie world to give It
credit for lionenly of Intention or frank
lien of expriwioii.
Till new proclamation of interdict
and excommunication I, U I probable,
moro especially Intended a a political
i)ianlfeto to the clergy and Catholic
of Italy, Spam, Portugal, llelglum and
lirazll, Inciting them to treimonablc
plotting and combination again l, the
coiiNlllutlonal govenitiieiit of thoMc
coiintrle. It preache to lliem a new
crimadii, the tuirpime whereof I to do
Mroy thene goveiiimeiit, to depone the
monarch who penult the exUteuco of
Kree MiiMonry In their dominion and
tho cxproHnlon of the voice of the peo
ple In jmblic affair; and to place In
lliono kingdom the education of tint
young In the hand of tho aoldiory of
Loyola, and tho powi.r of pernecutliig
Free Miwonry and hereny and the
favoring of liberal government In the
holy olllce or lmpilltlon armed with
all It old Itilmmau ami tiU'ChrlNtlaii
power, agalnnt whloli tho eno of
jimtloi! of tlm whole world long ago re
volted. In lirazll It Incite the arch
blniiop of Hlo do Janeiro and tho blwliop
of lara, and all Hi" Jeult and Ultra
montane clergy, to renew tho war a
few year ago waged by them agalnnt
Frco Mnonry, againnt the emperor
and parliament nnd tho law of tho
empire, acting toward tho emperor ax
toward one excommunicated, repro
bate and accurned.
Thu it menace tho publlo peaco In
thono eountrlM, Inciting revolt and In
Kiirreetlon and lowannlnatlon, and
make tho Jord'tf prayer the patent of
an Ifxpilnltor, and the ermon on tho
mount a warrant for murder.
Already the general of tho Jenult
and the chief Juipilnllor of tho holy nf
Jleo have promulgated their order to
their troop and official, commanding
them to ti their utniont exertion to
carry Into effect Hut mandate of tho
encyclical letter. In Hpain and Port
ugal ecrct aiiH-Miiotiio annoclalloii
aro already being organized tinder
theno order! and like organization
may bo looked for In the United Htate,
with roort to every other mean of
warfare again! thn great principle
which Free Manotiry represent, Hint
can bo prudently and afely employed.
It i aUo it political maulento, and
more, for our neighboring republin of
Mexico and tfiono of central and ou(b
America, There am grand lodge and
mipreuio council of Manon In mont of
thenii ami In fill, Monry I free to
exlnt and work undisturbed, and I
powerful and Influential. In Mexico,
thn ex-preldent, now president-elect
of tho republic, and the actual prenl
ihinf, rfro thirty-third degree, member
of tho mipremo council of Mexico
prettied by il, a the President Coiuon
foil w a Ihiily lhlid degree, gitin-l
coniinrtiider of th'it upl emu CMiiieil,
and a the PieMdeiit. Juire w a
M:loii, It I well kliowii Hull Hie
p iptilutloii at large of the republic I
iiiiedueiited and pronxly Ignorant, and
dnvMdy mibni'i vleiit to the prlexlhood;
nnd that It detect and lnite Prote.
Iiiiiln a heretic., damned by the ana
thema of the church and unlit to live.
The prieHtlmod in Mexico ha alway
lieen the iiiicoiupromlHlng and wily
enemy of every patriotic! president, of
republican government, of Free Ma
nonry, of tho principle on which con
Hlllutlonal government are founded,
and of all the men by whono niil.llme
effort and acrlllce Mexico wa made
and ha been maliilaniiid a republic.
It I aim well known that, In nonn
ijuenco ot tho friendly relation be
tween our two republic, and the ex
tension of railroad in Mexico, built by
tho capital of our citizen, there now
are in that, country a great number of
citizen of the United .Stale, many of
whom have purchaned mine and land
and are working and cultivating them.
The letter "Iliinianiim (ieiiu" I o
framed and worded a to be calculated,
and uiUHt therefore be taken to bo art
fully and deliberately Intended, to In
cite the prlcHthood In Mexico to re
newed zeal agalnnt liereny and heretic,
end more pemintcnt and eonlliiuou
and better organized and more auda
clou effort to dentroy Fiee Manonry
there and overturn republlcanlnm. If
citizen of the United Ktalo, peaceably
engaged there In ueful avocation,
nhoiild bo annannlnaled by mob, In
litigated, If not openly led, by the
prlent; If Diaz and (ionzale and other
Free Maon nliould bo murdered and
lint church hould inaiiguritto a bloody
elval war, Pope Leo Xlll. will not be
able, by any peclal pleading, to avoid
tho renponnlbiilty for all the fatal con
umpience that may etmuo,
For men havo not forgotten that Ig
mttiu hoyola, founder of tho Order of
Jowl, promulgated thla law;
Vinuiii ct nobl In Domino nulla
connlitutlone ponno obllgnlloneiii ad
peeeatum viorlak vol vetilalo Induccro
nM Huin'tor, (In noinino J.-C. vd In
VirllllO obedieiitie,) Juhi rri,"
"it ha Ncemed to u lu the Lord that
no count it ul loti can make It obligat ory
to commit a mortal or a pardonable
nln, utile the Buperior (In the name
of JeUH Chrlt, or In virtue of obedi
ence,) may o order,"
No doubt the general of the Jenult
hold tho amo doctrine to-day, and I
ready to apply It, If nonunion hould
demand - that the uperior In the order
ha the power to command an Inferior
to commit ft mortal nIii. It I a fruitful
arid convenient doctrine, when the mat
ter In hand I to dentroy eoiiHlitutlonal
government In Catholic count rle.
There I tlll morn to bo connidered
by tho poopb of the United Hlutc;
which, when they come full to cotnpre
heml tho purport of thi manlfento
from tho Vatican, they wiM. connlder.
The Catholic, whom ll propone to or
ganize Into Italian colonic or camp
here, obeying the law enacted at
Home, regulating the political action
by principle hostile to thone on which
Republican (iovernment i founded,
nnd edulouly Inculcating "I"'"
tlm jotiug eutruxtml to their clmrge,
me being thoroughly Informed of ii
eoiilciit and meaning; for It I already
being lend til nil their oliurehen. Thone,
whoe pilneiple It damim a d telblo
and wlekedxlll route lo the kliowledgo
nf It moro nlowly, feeling, even If Free
iniHon. little lutere-t In a papal bull
iignlimt Free Mi "mry, nnd little In
lined to read Song it piiper, and
nlow lo believe tint I' ui a' luck Upon
the civil limtltulii'l' ;;f td nyteiu of
government under Sh hey live.
Hut, they will well on and ll by mid
by, mid Imve oiiii'i!ii""'" My In re-
i o "
gard It.
It make it lo be of ilivlu" obligation
for every faithful Cat hollo in the United
Slate to be at heart tho mortal and
iiiiooiiiproiiiMng enemy of the princi
ple and Kplrlt, tin; plan and purpose,
of the government under which he lives
and whono cpial law pern' it liliu to
plot and ooimplru agalnnt It with Im
punity, ll proclaim It lo the devout
believer an a truth upokon by the
mouth of Cod, that Hid great axiomatic,
principle, dear to tlie lover of human
liberty in every age, dear especially
dear beyond price or cxprennion to
llio people of the United Htatcn, on
which, an upon thu Immovable adamant
of eternal truth, their wyntem of govern
ment i hulldcd, arc false and criminal
and wlckml, making the United Hlate
lo be n part of the kingdom of nataii.
It make It hi and her duty, there
fore, to do all that it may be ponlblo to
do to eradicate thenn principle and
dentroy all that 1 bullded 'upon them;
to gain control, no far a ponnlble, of
thn education of youth and convert the
young to the Catholic faith; to win or
buy for the Catholio church ft power
and Inlliicncelii the government of tho
country.
' Alroiidy the encyclical letter I acli.il
upon tiapollllcnl manifento In Ireland,
Archbishop McCabc, we are told, ha
written ft letter with reference to tint
approaching election of Lord Mayor for
Dublin. He ay ho I unable to un
dirntand how Catholic could In honor
and conscience cant their vote for Mr.
Winnlanlcy, who I both a home ruler
and it Free Mason. "A ft Free Maon
he I ft member of aoclnty which aim
to overthrow religion. To Free Ma
onry the revolution of tho last cen
tury were traceable, No one can plead
iion-partlclpatloti a long a ho remain
a Manoti,"
And Mr, VVInwtanlcy ha repudiated
Free Masonry to obtain vote; and ha'
been defeated. '!
Hut, for which thank be unto tho
(Jod of Hosts, "from whom all gloria
are"! Free Masonry In mightier than
the church of Rome; for it ponnenne
Hie Invincible might of the pplrlt of tho
age and of the conviction of civilized
humanity; and ll will continue to
grow in lrength and greatnen, while
that church, lu love with and faithful
to it old tradition, and Incapable of
learning anything, will continue to de
cay, Tho palsied hand of tho panaey
I too feeble lo arret tho march of hu
man progress. It cannot, bring back
tho obsolete doctrine that King relgu
by divine right. In vmIu It, will preach
new criiMii'!". airaln't Free Maonry or
heresy or Republicanism, It will oou
Hnuo to nigh In vain for the return of
the day of Philip . and Mary of F.ng
land, of Loyola arid Alva and Tonpio
mada, t iik ;on fiNUfto.
