New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-10-12

by without glance OF sympathy the efforts
of those who have endeavored through the
medii opened to them to bring a people, led
aslray by their political leaders, to conscious.
ness of their wanderiDgs from the doctrines of
their religion.
1t is with great pleasure, therefore, that
Catholics who have not received their theolog-
ical notions from Ward politicians or keep
era of low drinkiDg-hOuses have seen
reproduced in your columns the admirable
article of our ablest writer, one OF our true''
Catholics and patriots, DIR. o. A. BrownSon,
on as Slavery and the War" All those Catholics
who know enough of the history and doctrines
of their Church not to be the eulogists or apollo
gists Of Slavery, of whatever color or In what
ever cline, owe you debt of gratitude, Sir,
for aiding to place them in their proper posi-
ton before the general public, by giving the
extended publicity Of THE TRIBUNE to the ex-
position of the great American Catholic publ
cist. All logical minds will properly arrive at
the conclusion that those who are the advocates
or the apologists Of Slavery are also the advo-
Gates or apologsts Of rebellion. The intelligent
Catholics of the United States are neither the
one nor the other Some ignorant or debased
members of their communion may be so, but
it is the result of their very ignorance and de-
basement; they are Catholics only By habit;
with them it is mere mechanical observance,
not religion.
1t may be interesting to many to see the
authorities by which DR.. BrOwnsOn's declara-
ton that the Catholic Church is opposed to
Slavery, not merely as an evil which it cannot
prevent, but as one which it has always en-.
deaVored BY wise and prudent measures to
restrict and eradicate. These authorities are
the apostolic letters of POntiffs, the DEGREES Of
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES which admit of no appeal.
Serving to elucidate aud enforce these high
authorities, we have the sayings and writings
of sanity and ilustriOus doctors, dignitaries,
and writers. 1t viii be clearly seen from the
extracts given herewith that the Catholic
Church is essentially AbolitiOnist (hOweyer I'M
pleasant the word may sound to some ears),
and that, in this country, every Catholic who
knows his religion, even when Slavery out
wardIy bowed to the Constitution, was bound
TO be q Constitutional AbolitiOnist, and that
those unpopular persons who were Constitu'
tional Abolitionists, whether Catholics or not,
acted so far according to Catholic doctrine,
which does not hold that " minding his own
business" is the whole duty Of man, or that
evil may be done that good may come OF it.
The Catholic Church recognizes no inferiority
of race, on any pretext of color or conforma-
ton. Caucasian or African, black or white,
Christian or Pagan, all are in her eyes men,
naturally free. "There is neither Jew nor
Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there
is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus" Since our Redeemer,
the Creator of all things" says Pope s..
Gregory, "has degned in His goodness to
assume the flesh of man, in order TO restore
US to our pristine liberty, by breaking,
through the means of His divine grace, the
bonds of seryitude, which held US captyes,
it is salntary deed to restore to men, by
enlraucbisement, their native liberty; for, in
the beginning, nature made them all free, and
they have only been subjected to the yoke Of
seryitude by the law of nations" Says ST.
Augustine: "Thus wills the order of nature;
thus has man been created by God. He has
given him to rule over the fishes Of the sea,
the birds Of the dir, and the reptiles that
crawl on the face Of the earth. He has
ordained that reasoning creatures, made accord
ing to His own image, shall rule only over
creatures devoid Of reason. lie has not estab-
Eshed the dominion of man over man, but that
of man over the brute" st. Thomas Aquinas
does not see in Slavery either difference of
race, or imaginary inferiority, or means Of
government; he considers it scourge inflicted
on humanity by the sins of the first man. All
were born in sin; all might have been in a
state of Slavery. The duty of all men was to
labor to remedy and abolish it. st. Thomas
also maintained that, with respect to the con-
tracing of marriage, slaves are not obliged to
obey their masters.
Let us now mark the various steps by which
the Catholic Church proceeded to ameliorate
the lot of slaves, and the means they employed
to accomplish the abolition of Slavery.
The Council of Elyira, held in the year 3Oj,
imposed pensnce on the mistress who maltreated
her slave.
The Council Of EPaOn, or Albion, excommu-
nicated the master who beat hs slave to death,
and permitted the slave guilty Of crime, taking
refuge in church, to he exempt from corporal
punishment.
The Council of Orleans, held in 549, orders
that &c a slnye unity Of a fault take refnre i'm q