The War Upon Religion / Being an Account of the Rise and Progress of Anti-Christianism in Europe

by Francis A. Cunningham

In the Kulturkampf his position was the exact antithesis 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 aggrandisement 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 God, 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 God. 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."

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 classical 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 passed 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 Münster and Erfurt, he retired for over a year to study for his degree. When his thesis, entitled 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 Assessor 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 nobility 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 Münster-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 Constitution 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 incumbent 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 assembly 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 Münster 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.