Untitled - Rore Sanctifica

314 The Difficulties of Re-union.
even the outer world, while learning at last
the eternal verities of which she is the guardian
and the witness, will acknowledge that as the
Head is, so must the Body be One and in
divisible.
There yet remains the harder question of the
difficulties that will be interposed on the part of
Rome. My own hope, I confess, rests mainly
on the gracious results, which will, I firmly
believe, be brought out of temporal adversity.
The enemies of the Church upon the Con
tinent are working out her greater true
power, and greater true glory. They may
drive the Pope from Rome and keep him from
his own for man} years ; but it will only be
(I will venture on the prophecy) it will only
be for his return to be hailed by a re-united and
concordant Church. His absence from the city
which has been the focus of so many intrigues
will materially help to scatter the intriguers.
His loss of temporal power, or at any rate, of
temporal independence, for poire? , properly so-
called, he has none but his loss of temporal
independence will make him throw himself
thus
more entirely upon his spiritual authority ;
will that authority be tested, and reduced to its
due proportions : whatever the undivided Church
accorded to him of old will be again freely
offered, and thus Re-union be made possible.
There is an old prophecy which may be taken