bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spain, To-Day and To-Morrow
Authors: Muñoz H. 
Published: July 2007

The change which Spain has undergone since the fall of the Monarchy three years ago can hardly be appreciated except by those who were well acquainted with the work of the Dictatorship previous to the establishment of the Republic. Out of the debris of the centuries-old Monarchy a new Spain is born with new ideals and a new spirit. The old traditional institutions which routine had rendered feebler with the passage of time, have in the end been overthrown and are now being superseded by new organizations with fresh energy and a new vitality. The destructive work of the Republic has been severe; but it had become necessary. The Agrarian Reform framed by the Socialists and passed by the first Cortes in 1932 was a marvellous piece of communistic propaganda. Its aim was to deprive the nobility and the big landowners of their immense property, much of which was cultivated indifferently or not at all, and to distribute it amongst the workers, and, in some cases, to consider it as a common property of the workers. This plan was put into practice for a time until the new Cortes after November 19th, 1933, revoked it, with the result that the country is in such a state that reform cannot be delayed any longer.The religious question has similarly been discussed warmly by all the political parties, and one is glad to be able to say that the Spanish Catholics have endured an unpleasant though fruitful ordeal.
A Living Church Art
Authors: Pepler Conrad 
Published: July 2007

In England, and in most English-speaking countries, we are still bound fast by convention to styles of ecclesiastical art which have long since ceased to live. We are struggling to be free, but we can only think in terms of Classic or Gothic. If we only dared, some of us might build a church in the style of an Egyptian temple; but that also would be a revival. Rather than be deprived of our Gothic arch we prefer to sling it from the ferro-concrete roof. There is nothing new, no development from the past into the terms of the modern. It must all be copied. We can build beautiful factories and cinemas, but we can hardly produce one pleasing statue of a religious character.In this state of decrepitude it is of great assistance to look to our contemporary ecclesiastical artists abroad. In Italy, Germany and Holland a modern style has developed since the War. It has not broken with the past, but in the true living tradition it is not interested in copying. An English visitor in Holland, for example, will be amazed at the modern architecture which he there finds flourishing. He has become accustomed to entering a new church and finding a Perpendicular, Romanesque or Gothic building in stone or brick covered with plaster. He expects to see lifelike statues in gaudy colours, and windows trying to look as though they were not windows at all, but sentimental pictures in stone frames. In Holland it is different. The material, being the material of the country, is nearly always the same beautiful Dutch brick in its various shades of warm brown.
Laxton Week-End
Authors: Gilby Thomas 
Published: July 2007

Twenty-Nine Catholics, most of them lay and many belonging to what is called the modern generation, spent the second week-end of September at a Dance and Phillipson mansion—elegant and comfortable, says De Quincey, who stayed there, but not splendid—square and Ionic, set in a park of rough Northamptonshire turf and beech clumps and encircled by woods of oak. Their purpose, more easily recognized than described, was to form contacts; to discuss the widening of Catholicism in themselves and their society, of Catholicism considered more as a habit of life than a system of revealed principles and organized procedure; and to prepare, if possible, for some form of group action.The first general meeting started with the statement of two principles: first, the continuity between supernatural religion and the rest of life; secondly, the Catholic significance of every human action. ‘Spirituality’ is not a special occupation, remote from other human interests: the sacred and the profane imply a distinction but not an antithesis: there is such a thing as religious worldliness, which is not a comfortable but a difficult ideal: Catholicism is not a spasmodic treble, or for that matter a treble at all, but covers the whole human movement of living—all these are merely chapter headings, indications of an emphasis, not scientifically stated conclusions.But while Catholicism is as wide as life, organized Catholicism denotes a special kind of life. From this life springs a special kind of activity called Catholic Action, in which all who attended the Laxton week-end take part in varying degrees.
The Coming Conflict
Authors: Prince J. F. T. 
Published: July 2007

A strange anomaly confronts us to-day. We turn from a State inordinately preoccupied with the affairs of the individual to the anarchical interests of Capital hardly conceding to the vast majority of individuals the right to live. Twin Apollyons straddle right across the way with the forces of the world arrayed severally behind them; they have enlisted, between them, every influence, cultural and to a great extent religious; whether or not it be argued that the latter is detached from its true fons et origo. Recurrent contacts between the two, here hostile, there sympathetic, are evidently too many and too involved for anything less than an economic atlas of the world to review. And Catholics in England do not lack their prophets to foretell the destiny of every straw in the wind. At present we must be content with little more than the acknowledgement of certain chilly spasms of apprehension that stir us as the westerly breath that suggests the stormgib. For all we are very much at sea there may be precautions to suit any manner of emergency.Or, to revert to Bunyan’s metaphor, we will enquire what armament poor Christian can call exclusively his own.To the muddled vision of this world Catholicism presents a stream of contradictions. The Church, for instance, who is the friend of sinners, is the relentless enemy of Sin. Unmollified by respectability, by the appeal of polygamy to the Law (or of marital onanism to the economy of hygiene) it is She nevertheless who flings wide her doors to the too-unclean for Mammon’s Temples, that prostitute and outcast may enter with the blest. It is a matter of some scandal to our contemporary the progressive protestant.’
The Spirit Quickeneth ….
Authors: Tunmer Ceslaus 
Published: July 2007

Last May saw the publication by Messrs. Sheed & Ward in the Heythrop Theological Series of an important manual of Moral and Pastoral Theology by Father Henry Davis, S.J. This book undoubtedly deserves careful consideration for two reasons: for its notably good qualities and for the conception of Christian morality that animates it.In four large volumes Fr. Davis treats of the principles of moral life (Vol. I); of the commandments of God and of the Church (Vol. II); and of the Sacraments (Vols. Ill and IV). His clarity of exposition, simplicity of expression and liveliness of style contribute towards making the work not only readable but even attractive—a rare quality in works of this sort.Moreover, this ease in diction is made the vehicle of an accuracy of information, a thorough knowledge of Canon Law and the results of wide experience in dealing with souls that combine to make the book a work of real value. The treatise on the Sacraments has received the author’s more special attention and is particularly successful. In it will be found, accurately and concisely set out, copious instructions and practical directions which will be of great service to the worthy and efficacious administration of the Sacraments and will be readily and profitably referred to by priests engaged in the active ministry. Finally, the author has courageously given unusually full treatment to more delicate questions; he has made considerable use both of papal encyclicals and the results of scientific research on such thorny subjects as education and the difficult problems that confront the consciences of physicians and surgeons.
The Realism of St. Thomas
Authors: Noel Leon 
Published: July 2007

While it is trite to speak of the realism of St. Thomas, it is less so, perhaps, to attempt to give its precise shade and meaning. The initial question, which I should wish briefly to answer, is whether or not this realism is in the technical sense a critical realism. We are all aware of what is meant by the critical approach which is said, rightly or wrongly, to mark one of the great advances of modem thought. It is just this critical approach which is said to separate thought lifted to the philosophical level from thought which remains on the popular level of ordinary, and perhaps puerile, intelligence. The critical approach requires that the mind should no longer accept anything that does not completely justify itself before the mental court of enquiry. Anteriorly, common sense accepts without discussion a certain number of natural certitudes. Moreover, it is possible to conceive of a philosophy rooted in common sense, which accepts all that the latter accepts in order to hasten forward to the discovery of new truths. To delve into the mystery of things, to scale the heavens, to soar on intrepid wing up into the infinite heights of metaphysics, that is indeed worth the labour of the dialectical effort it demands.Of what use is it to philosophize except in order to know a little more than that which everybody knows without even having learnt it? But first of all Descartes and, following him, Kant, and after them the whole of nineteenth century philosophy, come to pour cold water on this fine enthusiasm. Before leaving for the stratosphere they require that the mind should assure itself of its jumping-off ground and test its equipment.
Germanism and Christian Civilization
Authors: Sturzo Luigi 
Published: July 2007

A Letter from the Anglican Bishop of Chichester on May 30 of this year raised an interesting question. “In his speech on May 21,'’ he wrote, “Hitler made a great point of his strong desire for the friendliest relations with the British people. But the British people are lovers of freedom and loathe and abhor religious persecution. Their friendship cannot be won while freedom is denied and religious persecution prevails.” And noting that Hitler has proclaimed that Germany can give a lasting contribution to the great work of bringing about a resurrection of the West, he pointed out that “the resurrection of the Occident is not to be achieved by making the race principle into a religion, and attempting to substitute it for the Christian faith which has given its distinctive character to our common Western civilization and which has been the source and inspiration of many of its highest values.”These firm and clear words had immediately a considerable echo, and an interesting discussion followed in the Times and other papers. Dissenting voices were not lacking, some speaking from the purely political standpoint, others from that of psychology. The former remarked that friendship between peoples is a matter of mutual interest that has nothing to do with community of ideas or sentiments, but is governed simply by utility. The latter feared that blame or criticism of the methods of Hitler and his government could serve no purpose and would only aggravate the sufferings of those persecuted for their religion or race.
The Elements of Social Justice
Authors: Kildany Herbert 
Published: July 2007

There are many who profess Catholic Doctrine concerning:the respect due to society,the rights of property,the rights and duties of workersthe relation between capital and labour,the relation between Church and State,the rights of Christ Our Redeemer over all men,but these same many in their words, writings and whole tenor of life behave as if the teaching of Leo XII, Pius X and Benedict XV were no more than a dead letter void of all authority.(Ubi Arcano.)These words were among the first published by Pius XI and yet the indictment is still as true to-day, despite all that the Holy Father has done in the last thirteen years to make it inexcusable. Quite obviously the trouble is that the majority of Catholics do not even know that the Church has and propounds a specific social doctrine. And of the small minority which is aware of the existence of the encyclicals Rerum Novarum and Casti Conubii, how many consider these to be enunciations of principles rather than practical instructions?It remains for the few who have mastered the teaching and applied it to extant conditions to disseminate the precious fruit of their study. The task is indeed herculean and would seem to be too great for early realization but for the signs of active assistance from unexpected sources. The most encouraging of these is the curiosity shown by secular experts; for economists, lawyers and politicians who have been impressed by the claims of Catholic authors are beginning to study the encyclicals in both the old and the new world. Whether they be favourable or otherwise, their reactions should prove of great value to sociology. But it will be some time yet before the result of this interest can be assessed, and meanwhile it is imperative that Catholics of every kind, and clerics in particular, should be increasingly well-informed on this most important topic.
Florentines Both
Authors: Raybould A. N. 
Published: July 2007

Socialist, atheist, revolutionary—Christian, Catholic, defender of tradition—from Papini, the man of paradox, but true Florentine withal, we were bound to hear sooner or later, something new on the subject of the great Florentine poet. This Giovanni Papini has now given in his Dante Vivo}The subdued light of conventional criticism is hardly to be expected from Papini. His volcanic mind erupts, leaving sometimes his thought buried in the cinders, but when it comes to the surface it is at least original, and holds, if it fails to convince.By way of parenthesis it is not so extraordinary as it at first appears that Papini came eventually into the Church: a man who had taught himself everything, who had run his head as a battering ram into every form of thought and philosophy, who had tasted the bitterness of human insufficiency, what possible way was open to such a one, but to stoop and enter the lowly portal that leads to peace. But this is only by the way.In his criticism of Dante, Papini often purposely leaves us in the dark, he is apt to lose all sense of proportion and to overshoot the mark. Then at the moment when we begin to chafe against his methods, he pulls us up by his own shrewd common sense, or else infects us with his own admiration for the poet. It is his aim to depict the man rather than the poet, but the poet often carries him away. The man Dante is his subject, a subject for which he has personal interest and sympathy. Dante with his unparalelled daring appeals to this daring modem Florentine.
The Rise of the Conception of Absolute Ownership
Authors: Lamb R. A. 
Published: July 2007

In considerations of the way in which commercial transactions during the Middle Ages accorded with moral laws, the significance of the direct economic power wielded by the Church on account of her great material possessions is often disregarded. The early Church accumulated little property; this was to ai certain extent connected with the marked chiliastic attitude adopted during the first few centuries, and the Church was fully occupied in spreading her doctrine as widely as possible. In the late second century Clement of Alexandria not only upheld the institution of private property but declared that it was justifiable for Christians to amass large fortunes. There was a law dating from A.D. 321 allowing anyone at death to leave what property he wished to the Church. Statutes such as this favouring the incipient Church in Constantinople marked the beginning of an acquisition of wealth that in the Middle Ages was unrivalled by any other corporation or individual, and this accumulation of riches by the Church was even more marked in England than elsewhere.The period of the Crusades brought a great increase in ecclesiastical property, for many raised money from the Church on the security of their lands and as a fair proportion never returned their lands reverted to the Church. This process went on for two centuries. In England for centuries before the Reformation the pious rich had been heaping up treasures for the clergy by gifts and endowments, and this tendency towards accumulating worldly wealth coupled with the policy of never alienating it made the Church a great business as well as religious corporation with interests touching the whole economic life of the people.
The Earliest Life of St. John Fisher
Authors: Hughes Philip 
Published: July 2007

The beginning of all our knowledge of St. John Fisher is a life written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth from thirty to forty years after his death. This account, after circulating in manuscript for almost a century, was finally published as The Life and Death of that renowned John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. Comprising the highest and hidden Transactions of Church and State in the Reign of Henry the 8, with divers Morall, Historicall, and Political Animadversions upon Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas Moor, Martin Luther, with a full relation of Queen Katherine’s Divorce. Carefully selected from sever all ancient Records, by Tho. Bailey, D.D. London. Printed in the yeare, 1655.The Dr. Bailey thus responsible for this first publication was not however the author of the Life. A manuscript of it, that belonged at one time to the English Benedictine monks of Dieulouard in Lorraine had come into his hands and “making some alteration therein"—“verbiage, méprises, et sottes interpolations,” the later scientific Bollandist styles them—he had printed it as his own work. Bailey was soon found out, but his ill-informed and stupid manipulation of the text threw a discredit upon the biographer whom he had exploited which lasted down to our own times. The pioneer in the work of restoring the credit of this sixteenth century writer was Fr. T. E. Bridgett, C.SS.R., whose monumental life of the martyr appeared in 1888.
Initiation to Christendom
Authors: Bauhofer Oskar 
Published: July 2007

Tribute to St. Thomas MoreEurope has gone out of Christendom. There are still perhaps Christian nations, whatever this may mean to-day, there is a strong though disunited Christian tradition living in many millions of people and representing, through them, a power of public import still, there is the Church Catholic, and many other forms of “organized religion.” But Europe has gone out of Christendom four hundred years ago. This is not merely another way of saying that the sixteenth century saw the break-up of the formal religious unity it had possessed throughout the Middle Ages. Europe is not merely the name of a continent and a mere factual unit based on the neighbourhood of nations and peoples living within its boundaries. Mr. Christopher Dawson in his admirable work The Making of Europe and others of his books has recovered the true meaning and significance of what Europe has been in the history of mankind—not the natural scene of the lives of peoples like any other similar scene, but Christendom. The religious revolution of the sixteenth century was from the religious and Catholic point of view the gravest event, but it had no less grave accompaniments in fields quite beyond the strictly religious domain. Nor was the Reformation the sole cause—it was in fact just as much an effect. England might never have gone beyond breaking up the ties, with Henry VIII, that bound her up into Christendom, and yet have severed herself from the most living reality of a thousand years of European history.It was Sir Thomas More who realized that most clearly, “lam not bound, my lord, to confirm my conscience to the counsel of one realm against the general counsel of Christendom,” he said during his trial. In this case it was not the Saint himself that was defendant, it was Christendom.
St. Thomas More: A Last Word
Authors: O'Sullivan Richard 
Published: July 2007

“FIRST to respect and regard God and afterwards the King, thy master.”This “notable and woorthye lesson and charge” was the first instruction given by Henry VIII to Thomas More on the first entry of the latter into the King's service. The occcasion of this entry has a certain historical interest and significance. It happened after the decision of a legal dispute between the Pope and the King concerning a ship belonging to the Pope which the King claimed as forfeit.“There chaunced a great shippe of his that then was Pope to arriue at Southampton, the which the King claymed as a forfeyture. Wherevpon the popes ambassadour, then resident in the Realme, vpon sute obteyned of the King that he might retaine for his master some Consailers learned in the lawes of the Realme, and that in his owne presence (him selfe being a singuler Ciuilian) the matter might in some publike place be openly heard, debated and discoursed. Among all the lawyers, no one could be founde so apte and meete as Master More, as one that was able to report to the Ambassadour all the reasons and argumentes on both sides proposed and alleaged. Vpon this the Counsailers of either partie, in the presence of the Lorde ChauncelZowr and other the Judges in the Starre chamber, had audience accordinglye. At what time Master More was not onely a bare reporter to the Ambassadour, but argued himselfe also so learnedly and so substantially that he recovered and wonne to the pope the saide forfeiture, and to himselfe high commendation and renowne.”
Sanctity and Marriage
Authors: Delany Selden P. 
Published: July 2007

The canonization of Blessed Thomas More is extremely significant for many reasons: he was an Englishman, a layman, a man of great learning, a humanist, and he died a martyr to his belief in papal supremacy. More than any other man, perhaps, he was the typical Englishman. His humour, versatility, and literary achievements have endeared him to multitudes of readers in every part of the English-speaking world. His canonization is notable also for the fact that he was a married man—indeed twice married. It is a long time since any married saint has been officially canonized by the Catholic Church. That so few married people have been raised to the Church's altars since the present process of canonization was initiated, raises the query whether sanctity is in any way incompatible with married life.To answer this question we must first clarify our minds as to what are the constituent elements of sanctity. Many think that a saint is simply one who lives according to high moral standards. But one can live such a life without any conscious relationship with God. A saint is one whose whole life is motivated by the love of God, and who tries daily to do the will of God, as that will is made known to him through vocation and circumstances. According to the degree of sanctity, saints are divided into common and heroic saints.For obvious reasons it is only the heroic saints that are canonized by the Church. Before any servant of God can be enrolled in the canon of the saints it must be established beyond peradventure that his or or her life was distinguished by the heroic practice of faith, hope, charity, justice, temperance, fortitude and prudence. That is the norm according to which the Sacred Congregation judges in the process of canonization.