The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-11-01
catbolios and the Common school system.


Catholics and the Common School System.
Our readers will recollect the effort re-
Gently made by the Clergy of the Catho-
lie church, to destroy the Common School
system of this and other States. The
crusade commenced in 1884, by the dl-
rect approval and command of the Head
of the Church. On this subject We quote
the following from the Baltimore senh-
mel
It was Pope Gregory XVI, who gave
the command, in the shape of Bull pub
lished at Rome, May sth, 1854 That
Bull denounces and forbids the p"0e'c@-
tion, distributing, reading, aud possession
of the Holy Scriptures translated anto tAe
vmzgm tongue 1t says, in effect, that
the people shall not be allowed to read
the Word of God, and that the Scriptures
shall be kept in a language understood
only by the priesthood. From the date
of this decree, it became the duty of eve
ry true Romanist to war against any
school system which allowed the Bible to
be read by the pupils! 1t became sin
to allow boys and girls to read the Holy
Book
We present this curious document in
full. 1t is worthy the attentive perusal
of every freeman in the land-and espc-
cialy of those who have been taught to
believe that the Bible is the great foun-
dation of true religion and pure morality
RuH of tic Po1a.f Of Rome against Bible
Societies, against the christian League,
against the History Of the Rg0f"'a-
tioa,' and against tie ase Of the Ba0Ee "a
the vulgar tongue
Venerable brothers, health and greet
ing apostolical. Among the many at
tcmpts which the enemies of Catholicism
are daily making in our age to seduce the
truly faithful, and deprive them of the
holy instructions of tho faith, the effort;
of these Bible Societies are conspicuous
which originally established in England
and propagated throughout the universe
labor every where to disseminate tht
books of the Holy Scripture into the vul
gar tongue You are but too we'll aware
my brethren, to what the effects of these
societies tend. They only care @1tCt0c10"S
IN to stimulate all to private interpre
tation of the divine oracles, to inspire
contempt for divine traditions, which th'
Catholic Church preserves upon the auth
ority of the holy fathers-iu word, tt
cause them to reject even the authorities
of the Church herself. 1t is long since
pastors found themselves necessitated tc
turn their attention particularly to the
versions current at secret conyentlcies,
and which heretics labored at great ex'
pense to disseminate.
Hence the warning and decree of oul
predecessor, Innocent III, of happy mem
ory. Among the sectarians of whom we
are speaking, deceived in their hopes anc
in despair at the immense sums which th'
publication of their Bibles cost them
without producing any fruit, some have
been found who, giving another direction
to their maneuyres, have betaken them
selves to the corruption of minds, not on
| ly in Italy, but even in our own capitol
A vast number of members of sects in n
York, in America, have formed new as
sociation, which will take the name of tht
Christian Leauge (foederies Cbristiani)-
league composed of individuals of eve
ry nation, and which is to be further in
creased in numbers by other auxiliary
societies, all having the same object, viz
to propagate amongst Italians, and espe
cially Romans, the principles Of ChrtStsa'
Ibey5y, or rather an insane indifference tt
all religion. This society strains every
nerve to introduce corrupt and vulgar
Bibles. and to scatter them secretly a
mongst the faithful; at the same time
their intention is to disseminate worse
books still, or tracts designed to withdraw
from the minds of their readers all re.
spect for the Church and the Holy See.
These books and tracts have been CON-
posed in Italian, or translated into Italiar
from other languages, and amongst these
books should be particularly cited, 'Th'
History of the Reformation
Wherefore having consulted some o
the Cardinals of the Holy Romish Church
after having duly examined with them
every thing, and listened to their advice
we have decided, venerable brothers, OF
addressing you this letter, by which We
again condemn the Bible Societies; anC
the aforesaid society called the Christian
League. Let all know then the enornl
ty Of the SIN against God anil tie Cturch
which they are guilty of, who dare to as
sociate themselves with any of these soci
cites, or abet them in any way. Moreo
yer, we confirm and renew the decree re.
cited above, delivered in former times BY
Apostolic authority, against the publica
tiOn, Distribution, reading, and possession
Of bo0ks Of the Holy Scriptures TRANSLATED
into the vuAgar language. Given at Rome
from the basiica of St. Peter on the ett
of May, of the year lS44, and the four
teenth of my Pontifcate.
(Signed,) Gregory XVI. S. NJ