The most mighty opponent within the Church of this national ism was undoubtedly the Society of Jesus. The views of their great writers Suarez and Blessed Robert Bellarmine on political science did not meet with the approval even of Catholic kings. One of their writers, Mariana, whose views were repudiated by the Society itself, went so far as to advocate the assassination of tyrants who were manifestly oppressive and who could not be otherwise removed. Much of the difficulty between the Jesuits and their fellow-Catholics was due to this strong anti-nationalism. This is evident from many of the Catholic pamphlets against the Society published during this time. In the i8th century Regalism won a great victory, securing the suppression of the Society in 1773. This suppression was demanded by the enemies of the Church, and its actual accomplishment by the papacy can be defended only on the plea that the part must be sacrificed to save the whole. Still it seemed a victory for the infidels and their half allies, the nationalists, in the struggle against the universal author ity of the pope. How events might have turned out it is impossible to say. The French Revolution, though it had its causes in the past, was an unexpected and catastrophic event, and it was fol lowed by the career of Napoleon, who, like Luther, was unfore seen, since genius knows no laws. Europe was thus thrown into the melting pot, and the nineteenth century saw the disappearance of many of the old tendencies, and the amazing recovery of the papacy.
Meanwhile the great geographical discoveries of the 16th cen tury had begun to have their effect. By them immense lands were either discovered or opened up where Christ was not known. Mis sionary activity began to win to the Church new peoples far removed from the petty intrigues of Europe. Once more the Jesuits were the pioneers. St. Francis Xavier's work in Japan was followed up and a great Christian Church sprung into existence there. A persecution, whose length and severity recalled the days of the Roman Empire, almost destroyed this Church. In India, Xavier and others began the task of conversion. In China, Ricci and Schall are, perhaps, the most notable names. In North Ameri ca, B. Isaac Jogues and in South America, Anchieta and Ruiz da Montoya are the chief leaders. In South America there was es tablished successfully the great Mission of Paraguay, one of the most striking achievements of the age. In both Americas the col onisation by white men gave to the Church new districts which in size and wealth far exceeded Europe. Thus the Church under the Papacy found itself occupied with the whole world and no longer merely with Europe. This extension of the papal interests coincided with the entire disappearance from Europe of political unity. Moreover in these new lands there was little question of the Pa pacy's activities being other than religious. Finally when, shortly after the establishment of the United States, the Church, under the leadership of Bishop Carroll and others, began to advance in that great country, the change in the papal outlook was completed.
Where before the main attention of the popes had been focussed on Western Europe, with an occasional distraction to the Eastern Church, where before they had consequently become involved in the political struggles—often so mean—that went on in Europe, from the opening years of the century their attention was being more and more called to genuinely universal problems, their rule was truly world-wide.
The French Revolution and the Napoleonic crisis swept away the benevolent despotism of the previous century. However much it might be maintained for a time by the political skill of Metter nich, the thing itself was doomed already even at the Congress of Vienna which seemed to be restoring it. The Revolutionaries had attacked both the old social order and the Church with such exag gerated violence as to win for both friends where before men had been indifferent. The very persecutions as usual brought the best to the front, and the Church began to win good opinions even from non-Catholics. Napoleon's violence against the pope con tinued this rehabilitation of the Church in the eyes of her former enemies. Especially in England, where the humanitarian infidelity of the i8th century had re-acted against religious persecution, the respect shown to the Holy See in its sufferings was remarkable, and the welcome accorded to the refugee clergy of France equally wonderful. The Catholic Church in this country began to be active once more and agitation for the full repeal of the penal laws set in. Elsewhere the opposition to the Revolution and to Napoleon had produced similar results. Thus when Consalvi rep resented the papacy at Vienna, though he was unable to secure the restoration of ecclesiastical States in Germany, he was able to win for the papacy respect for its own territories and able also to confirm the rising influence of the Church.
However nationalism was not yet dead. In Austria indeed Josephism had gone, but there remained weighing on the Church the deadening influence of State privileges and protection. In Germany Protestant Prussia was becoming the leader, and gradu ally extended its authority over the Catholic States. The opposi tion of the Church to the attempt to Prussianize all Germany led to that attack on the Church known as the Kulturkampf. This attack was made in the name of Culture against the supposedly reactionary ignorance of the Church. It is more fairly described as a war between the traditional culture of Europe maintained by the most traditional body in Europe and the new methods which in their attempt to extend learning were forgetting what had been already learnt. However until the World War the authority of Prussia was able to hamper the work of the Catholic Church in Germany.