ady their spiritual ruler,
and they made him also their temporal ruler. Then the Pope protected and
governed them as other rulers do. Later, kings and princes added other
lands, and thus by degrees the possessions of the Pope became quite
extended.

How did he lose these possessions? The Italian government took them from
him in the most unjust manner. Besides the lands, they deprived the
Church of other property donated to it by its faithful children. No
ruler in the world had a more just claim or better right to his
possessions than the Holy Father, and a government robbed him of them as
a thief might take forcibly from you whatever had been justly given to
you, when he found you were unable to defend yourself against him.

But has the Holy Father need of his temporal power? Yes, the Holy Father
has need of some temporal power. He must be free and independent in
governing the Church. He must be free to say what he wishes to all
Catholics throughout the world, and free to hear whatever they have to
say to him. But if the Pope is under another ruler he cannot be free.
That ruler may cast him into prison, and not allow him to communicate
with the bishops of the world. At least, he can say nothing about the
injustice of the ruler who is over him. Therefore the Pope must have
some possessions of his own, that he may not be afraid of the injustice
of any ruler, and may speak out the truth boldly to the whole world,
denouncing bad rulers and praising good ones as they deserve.

Mind, I do not say what possessions the Holy Father should have but
simply that he should have some, in which he would be altogether
independent. In justice he should have all that was taken from him. We
have a good example here in the United States to illustrate the need of
the independence of the Pope. You know every State in the United States
is a little government in itself, with its own governor, legislature,
laws, etc. Now over all these little governments or States we have the
government of the United States, with the President at its head. In the
beginning the members of the United States Government assembled to
transact the business of the nation sometimes in one State and sometimes
in another--sometimes in New York and sometimes in Pennsylvania, etc.
But they soon found that in order to be independent of every State and
just to all, they must have some territory or possessions of their own
not under the power of any State. So some of the St