The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-01-23


Custom House, New York,
Surveyors Office, Jan ~ 1855.
The Pope Not In a Fix-Or DIR. Cumming and
the London Tines Answered.
TO THE EDITOR OF TIE HERALD.
have just read in your paper letter the Immacu
late Conception, written by the Rev. DR.. Cumming, the
author of several popular religious works. and addressed
by him to the editor Of the London Times. With yonr
permission should like to offer remarks in reply
% it. The tone Of the letter arrogant unfair, and
ibera almost to deprive II OF consideration in the
eyes Of sensible But IL presumss to msstate
facts and to base upon this misstatement its sweeping
CONCLUSIONS It but just that correction however
imperfect and hastily made should appearfn contrdc
ton. One grand faacy pervades the whole article The
writer says
Ether the Vatican must repeal article of its Creed
enforced and subscribed for 800 years, out Of which,
IL adds be saved,p il must admit that in
decresing tn. immaculate conception infallibIy has
been oui-tted by the Jesuts and precpitated into .
fatal blunder.
his showing, certain fathers of the church have ex-
pressed opinion the immaculate conception dihe
rent from what made article of faith therefore
either they must be accused of heresy and sent per-
dition, the church abandon its claim to nfabiity
But surprising his statements of facts correct neither
consequence would follow Learned fathers doctors
OF the chureh before definition of faith Is gwen may
express themselves incautousy, enormously.
any particular matter, without mourning either the
charge Of heresy the danger Of perdon They have
done only that they allowed to do until the matter
determined by authority. Such liberty has always
been conceded in the church without heretofore being
supposed to impugn either the general soundness of
the faith Of such divines the infalbiIty Of the
church herself. Before the first council OF Nice,
A. u. 325 less than dozen Of the great
teachers Of the church, including the names
Of st Ignatus, st. JUSTIN Tatian, st. Hippolytus,
Novstsn st. Clement, Tertulian, st. renmus, Athe-
nagoras, St. neophilus OF Antioch 0rigen and Lacan
thus all expressed themselves in unauthorized way
in regard to the supreme divinity of Lord and yet
adsys in out of the church, pretends to
stgmatse .nem with the charge of heresy in
quence OF the particular statement made by them in this
matter 20 question the orthodoxy consistency of the
churchs teaching IL Is precisely the thing which,
II Dr. Cummings alleged facts be true taken place in
reference the doctrine of the Immaculate conception,
nothing and nothing less But let look at the
Doctors authorities. 'Meichior Canus" says he, "a
bishop OF great learning, declared that all the holy
fathers believed the Virgin Mary to Be conceived in ORR
ginal sin." wsn suppose helchior Canus said this.
He IL no authority in the church As Dominican he
held naturally at the time with his order, and their OPT
.ion was at variance with wat the whole church now
believes, and the whole Dominican order among the
rest Notwithstanding the Doctors assertion to the
trary He was, indeed, q of talents, but a very
rash and ipjudicous man, who said and did many
strange tbsgs, among which his ienun :ation of
the Order Of the OF antichr Is it
air to quote such q Catholic authorty-one
''whose testimony cannot be impsachsdf" Next we
have st. Irsnaus quoted saying that Lord re
pesd 'the urtmely hurrying Of Mary Cana Of Cal
ee But this Irenaqs declares that so perfect
was the obedience Of Mary that it "the of
salvation to the whole human race" And Again-"As
Eve disobeyeo God, yet Mary persuaded to obey
God tha. the Virgin Mary might become the advocate
Of tie Virgin Eve; and as the human bound to
death through virgin, Is saved through virgin, the
scales being equally balanced. virginia. sobejience by
virginia. obedience In another place he the
dtve-ke simplicity Of Mary with the art of the devil
What does the statement about "the untmey hurryng
amount TO In view Of such passages as these Tertuan
is next introduced, that Lord sindignan.
that taoss nearly related to him Mary should seek
ITO call him away from his solemn yorS.n BE it so.
Tertulhan has said great many other things
defensibe than this and about the Blessed Virgin too
denying her vrsnity among other things But TO them
all |. enough 70 reply, in the language of St. Jerome
Tsrsllesnn,a ASnnem ecetesiq non friesse''-'Ter-
tullan child OF the church"
"But Origen" says the Doctor, very decided
How decided he was we may learn from the fact that he
s ins urees sord translated IN the Douay
thai he never found the word used in any other in
the sacred scriptures
Mary in the ordinary course Of nature not IN any
way different from ordinary mortas" But the ques
Mary, II might be admitted that her birth was in the
ordinary way. Certain il is that Epiphanus who
phnse Dy a. se man o. ns
in the faith, /" and Who moreover, wrote more
discourses-"De laudibus B. Maria virgnis'-never
spoks anything in dsparagement of her high preroga
tive
Basil the Great We told thought "Nary wavered
at the time Of the PASSION but still Bash the Great in
the Liturgy he composed Tor his aock, this language
Of Mary =" The must molly, immaculate blessed above
ALL most glorious LADY, the Mother of God, and ever
1.-THE nlastrious Chry sostom'' follows in a comment
upon "he excessive ambition, "foolsh arrogance &c,
Of Mary AZ the marriage feast OF Cana Well may
but, what Is german 70 the matter in hand, the
Liturgy Of the ustrous chrysostom has these Words
Mother Of God, most highly blessed forever, beyond
exception move honoabls tbao the chernbm, and
glorious than the seraphm who By an Immaculate con-
csption, didst bear God the Word Ne magnify thee,
Mother OF Cod"
And now comes the srea. Doctor St. Augustne who
writes Of Mary that he was more blessed BY receiving
the faith Of Christ than by eonceivng the aesh OF
Christ" But is this the same saying that she
conceived in SIM az DR.. Cummi az thinka Tue Ian
gusge Of Lord even stronger than thsthat Mary
was blessed for her obedience than for her mater
pity Bns It does not touch the point When s.. Au-
CUISINE does approach the subject in his controversy
with pelaeius with respect 20 original SIM he says
Let the Virgin Mary excepted With respect to wno,
IA the honor that is cue our Lord.n
Finally, st. Bernard brings up the rear as perhaps
The most determined opponent OF the INN tcaIale
cepion tha. appeal to- Poor ST. Bernard, could
be only have foreseen how bis words would be tortured
lung IN the face OF the church be loved And used in
dispsr aeemept Of the rgn Mother TO whom so
loyal in his allegiance IL quite certain that be
would have used them The quotation from his works
gv,n by Dr. Cumming Is doubtless correct aud as GER
tany not in harmony with the late decree Of :hc
preme iond Bot stll let us do ju,tcs THE great
saint and doctcr Of the church Not TO repeat Shat
often ssd in vndcaton xplanatou OF his opinion
this subject. thing is abundaptiy clear, that
however strongly he expressed himself TO Tie VI
The church OF ~ ons in order TO dscounenance their
urauth horned festival In
esp.ion, s on the main question he felt that he might
Be wrong and in this event, as dutiful son OF the
church, ne was prepared TO correct his AT the
close Of the very episte from which these extracts
the Immaculate conception drawn, he says:-"For
the authority and examination of the Roman church in
particular this entire subject do all other
like matters prepared BY her Judgment TO corree whst