The Sun.
London, England, 1821-03-09 00:00:00

Fort THE

CAT' I ()LIC QUESTION.
MR. EDITOR ---rro examine and discuss those
•
opinions which -• aie powerfully supported by
our passions, and by our prejudices, with that
-degree of impal•tiatity,- that sincere desire of
discovering the truth, which can alone place
them in their proper light, .is perhaps one of
'the greatest efforts of the human intellect.—
The removal of ancient, and deep rooted preju-
dices, is, in itself, a task of no trifling difficulty,
and requires efforts which the natural indolence
of Quc mind is not always inclined to-make. It
is much easier to adopt at once an opinion, than
to make deep and long inquiries into the subject;
and when we have expressed our sentiments upon
it, and given it to the world as our own, our vanity
and our pride will prevent a recantation.—Such
has ever been, and such ever will be, the fertile
source of almost every•error which has disgraced
the human mind. However
evident this proposi-
tion may be, and however it may ,come home to
almost every individual who engages in disputa-
tion, no one would willingly allow that his opi-
nions are_founded upon erroneous principles, and
Originate in prejudice ; on the contrary, even the
most violent and the most: illiberal, lay claim
to the strictest impartiality.
Having' thus stated how difficult is the task im-
posed upon the dispassionate controvertist, an&
the " magnitude of the obstacles that oppose its
accomplishment, to enter into so dangerous a
career; may appear,. :on my part,- both rash and
presumptuous. -I am not, however, blind to the
awkwardness of my situation, I perceive the
many shoals upon which my frail bark may be
wrecked ; but even though my euterprize should
not be crowned with complete success, by point-
ing out the road to abler men, my-efforts, though
weak in themselves, may still prove of soiree'
utility.

If there be one subject by which all the passions
of mankind can be more strongly agitated than
'another, it is on that of religion ; hence religious
wars have always proved the most sanguinary,-and
religious controversies the most acrimonious. -Ge-
nerally speaking, violence - and invective have
been considered • as the attributes of a bad cause :
if this be -true, what judgment must impartial
justice pronounce upon the pleadings that daily
appear in favour of Protestantism ? The. Catholic
may indeed accuse his opponent with having
abandoned the faith of his forefathers, lie may tell
him that this act of apostacy endangers the future
and eternal welfare of his soul, and he may
brand him with the name of heretic and dissenter.
The 'Protestant repels those charges with indig-
nation, loudly exclaims against the doctrines of the
Church of Rome, calls its head the antichrist,
the Whore of Babylon, &c. &c., reprobates its
tenets. as idolatrous, and insulting to the majesty of
God; and' in the excess or his zeal, forgetting the
boasted liberality of his sentiments., the tolerant
principles.'of his Chur6h, and, even the mild dic-
tares of Christian charity, , be asserts not; in,
deed; that the Catholic faith must lead its fol-
lowers to perdition, .but that every Catholic is
essentially an idolater, a man whose faith is in-
consistent with the principles of religion, of ho-
nour, of justice, of patriotism ; in short, that he is
the very bane of society, a monster ever. seeking
whom he may devour, and in whose breast nei-
ther virtue nor loyalty can possibly, dwell. It
appears, therefore,.that if the Protestant does not
doom the Catholic to eternal perdition ; he attri
butes to him principles which he knows cannot
lead him to salvation.. Did both parties stand
upon equal ground, such • prejudice and unchris-
tianlike sentiments might prove less dangerous,
and might therefore be more easily excused ; but
when all the power and influence, when the
.whole
and overwhelming .tide of popular prejudice are
as decidedly favourable to the one as hostile to
'the other, then the mode of attack employed by
the advocates of the Protestant cause must be
deservedly reprobated. For every question that
involves the welfare and tranquillity of the State
should be discuSsed with the strictest impartiality;
and no question can be of greater consequence, in
this respect', than that of Catholic emancipation.
It is not a mere abStract question of right or
wrong ; it is a question which involves the best
interests of the Country, the fair fame of some of
the -most-ancient and illustrious families in the
liingdOm, and the restoration of no inconsiderable
portion of his Majesty's subjects to the enviable
privileges which belong to them as Britons, and
of tyhicli they have.been long deprived, because
they adhered to the faith of their forefathers, and
would not sacrifice their conscience to the seduc-
tive charms Of:ambition.- -If he reflect upon this
singular instance of self denial, surely the *candid
and liberal Protestant will not readily credit that
men capable.of such sacrifices, can be men wholly
destitute of honourable and virtuous principles?
He will not conclude that because Catholicism
dwells in their breast, neither honour, nor- patriot-
ism can there be found. Ile will not imagine
that Roman Catholic and traitor, Papist and
radical, are synonymous. terms. And yet such
are the'inferences that must be drawn from the
uncandid and illiberal arguMents, from the un-
fair and erroneous conClusions, that now daily ap-
pear in the public prints. Every impartial mind
Must be .singularly astouished at the unsupported
and false assertions,. the wilful misrepresentation,
or the amazing and unwarrantable ignorance dis-
played in those publications. Surely before a
religion be proscribed as dangerous ; before its
doctrines be held up- to the execration of every
loyal and honourable man, it would. be-but fair
to examine these matters With the greatest poisible
candour and impartiality, to weigh the arguments
employed upon both sides of the question, and
not to admit as a matter of fact the unsupported
assertions of a decided, prejudiced, and unin-'j
formed opponent. A. fair inquiry into his creed,
a' conviction that though a Papist he does revere
truth, and is not deaf to. the voice of honour, are all
that'the Catholic demands. The-disabilities un-
der` which he has so long laboured, which he
might at at any time remove by acting contrary
to the dictates of his conscience, whilst they prove
him not destitute of principles, must proVe also
that he feets no inclination to conceal What he
does believe. If when he reads or hears the
charges brought-against him by the opponents of

his claims, his cheeks he mantled with crimson, it
is not the blush of conscious guilt, but the blush of
indignation, that appears there ; an indignation
awakened by the unmerited aspersions which the'
voice of slander lavish on his faith.
The demand of the Roman Catholics to be
made partakers of the blessings granted to every
British subject by a constitution, in the support
of which so many of their members have fought
and bled, both in the army and in the navy, is
founded upon the, principles of impartial justice
which should ever regulate every liberal and en-
lightened government. It is, therefore, a demand
that cannot be refused, unless the concession can
be proved dangerous to the security and welfare
of the State ; for in this case, but in this case only,
I am ready to allow it is the duty of a Statesman
to sacrifice the interest of a portion of the com-
munity, to that of the whole nation. That such
would be the consequences of granting the claims
of the Catholics, most of the writers to which I
have alluded before decidedly assert, but that
their assertions rest upon erroneous principles,
that they originate only in a complete ignorance,
or in a wilful misrepresentation of the true doc-
trine of the Roman Catholic Church, and of the
influence it exercises over the consciences of its
followers, are facts which I trust to prove to the
satisfaction of every candid and impartial Pro-
testant, should the insertion:of this letter sheer
your readiness to allow me to advocate the Catho-
lic cause through the medium of your paper.

A. P.

FOR THE SUN.