Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1863-07-09
Catholic and Protestants Churches
and Slavery.

N@-S AAiRo RetS9S ~ OhA IeeESA
be read a remarkably able and truthful
article copied from the Cincinnati (dth-
ohc Telegraph, the organ of Bishop
Purcell. The writer afirms this, that
the war having destroyed slavery for
ever, it is hardly worth while to labor
to show its evils and present the testi-
mony that the Catholic church has al
ways labored for its destruction. Yet
it may be necessary to meet the essays
! Of the few remaining feeble defendants
of that worst outrage upon human ma
r ture, the enslavement of the poor blacks.
He urges that it is of great consequence
for Catholics now to decide what part to
take in coming events, since the bone Of
contention is gone-gone forever.
The able writer reasons thus, that the
church and slavery have never got along
we'll together. When the slave power
predominates religion is low, and life
less The shareholders do nothing for
the church, the school house, the char
liable work-while the slaves and the
poor are the only supports; he says
there are more and better catholics in a
Nothern city where schools flourish than
in the entire States Of South Carolina
and Georgia, and more in a second rate
| Northern congregation than in the whole
! State of Alabama. Louisiana only pre-
tends to be Catholic, but the slave hold
ers of that State are not the Jealous
workers. He asks, "What help is Gu
ba, with all It's riches, to the Catholic
cause ?" Answer, "The poorest Irish or
German congregation in the free States
does more for religion than Havana. :"
Therefore, when any slave country hap
pens to profess Catholic faith, such ooun-
| try exhibits but little charity or aid to
the Catholic cause The writer then
shows from authorities the fact too clear
to be questioned thatthe Catholic church
has always exercised its powerful infu-
ence for the abolition Of slayery-always
did all that was possible for human lib
erty IF she failed to act at all times
for abolition it was because such action
might hinder rather than promote free
dom. He copies from Balme's great
Catholic work, as follows. '"To say that
the church ever favored the system is
calumny. She proclaimed mans fra
ternity with each other, and their equal
ity before God, and, therefore could not
be the advocate of slavery" The Popos
are then quoted, all unanimously for
freedom. Gregory XVI, wrote Dec. 3,
1869, 1--WE, therefore, with apostolic
authority, do reprobate all the aforesaid
actions, (relating to the enslavoment OF
Indians, Negroes or other men, as un-
worthy Of the christian name; and by
the same apostolic authority do strictly
prohibit and interdict that any eoclesl-
astical or lay person shall presume to
defend that the very trade in Negroes as
lawful under any pretense or studied ex-
cuse," sc. The writer then denies the
pretense that Gregory meant the above
to apply exclusively to the foreign slave
trade, lie says that shorcly after the
appearance of the above decree, a cer
tain Catholic order sought with more
wit than piety to evade the order Of Gre
CORY. and ran their slaves off to Louis
lana and sold shem. The occurrence so
shocked the Pope that His Holiness or
dered the ecclesiastical dealers in hu
man flesh to proceed at once to Rome
for chastisement, and they did not return
for years
So we are led to infer that the Amer
lean courts in the slave interest did not
interfere in the above case, nor did the
great democratic party meddle in the
affairs of Gregory XVI, who was even
. harder abolitionist that old Abe. The
article should be read by all.
But the Protestant churches, most OF
them have passed through the same
trials as have the Catholics, for slavery
is no friend to anything that does not
pander to it as a mighty God. Slave
holders hold themselves above all law,
human and diyine-above all political
parties, constitutions and creeds.- Grant
Co. Herald.
| ri.