A powerful anti-Catholic cartoon. It shows Cardinal Francesco Satolli, who was appointed in 1893 as the first Papal Delegate to the United States, casting an evil shadow across the country, particularly on public schools. Bias against Catholics was widespread at the time, and Satolli's powerful role as the effective head of the church in the U. S. was much criticized. See, e.g., Brandt 1895, 357-376 ("Satolli and his Mission"). He was accused of being "here to tell our American children 'when it is lawful and when unlawful to attend public schools,'" and widely referred to as "The American Pope." (Ibid. 370, 371). The editorial on the back of the cartoon attacks Satolli and concludes "We have a Pope, and it is just a little more impossible than ever for a man to be a good Catholic and a good American."
For later cartographic attack on the Church, see ID #1221 (Proof of Rome's Political Meddling in America).