, 1863-07-22

Roman Catholic Church.
A scathing and Truthful Re
view.
AN ARTICLE 3HAT ALL sH0CLD REID
We make the following extracts from IN ar
ticle in the Inst number Of Brownson's Re1iesr
Coming, as 1t does, from confessedly one O
the ablest Catholic scholars On this side O.
the Atlantic, 1t will attract marked attention
1tshould be carefully read and pondered ove'
By all classes, especially By the members ot
the church to which Mr. Bsownson belongs
THE NEGRO HUMAN HE1Sa.
The negro is & man, and If . man he Il
sprung from the same original stock as our
selves, and has the same natural and indefeas.
ible rights. In his most degraded state he al,
most touches the purely animal world, but
created by God In his own image, and redeem.
ed BY his Word, who assumed the nature oi
the black man as well Us Of the white man ,for
both are Of one and the same species, and have
one and the same nature. He cannot be re-
6uced to IN hereditary hondman without sin
against God aud crime against humanity,
whatever shareholders and their apo1ogists
nan, and a1l men are born ffee, and slavery Is
the natural and normal condition Of no man,
race, or class Of men. The slave is ALWAYS the
mnn Wrested by violence from his natural
condition; slavery Is violent state, and has
no justification but on the principle that
might makes right 4 man mas, without sin,
where slavery exists and has been established
without any agency of his, hold aa slaves per-
sons By the Constitution Of society born In
sc1vitude, providing he treats them well,
leaves their souls free, instructs them in the
true religion, respects all their moral rights,
especially the rights Of Christian marriage,
and providing also that he exerts all his influ-
ence in a legal way, us man and citizen, to
change that social constitution and e1tingnish
slavery ut the earliest practicable moment; !;
but the man who undertakes to Justify slave
y, to defend 1t on principle, to maintain that
It is IN institution IN accordance with the
Christian religion, or he who holds that 1t is .
good Institution, and seeks to defend and per-
petuate It. Is man Who understands neither
tho law Of humanity nor the simplest ele-
ments Of the Christlan religion Christianity
IeinterErates the human race, restores the
original communion ct man With man, and
re.c=tab]iehes man In all bis natural rights.
TIE REAL POSITION OF TIE CATHOLIC ouuRon
PERVERTED.
They in our Catholic community, whether
priests or laymen, journalists or public speak
is an institution approved, or ut least not OPP
posed By the Catholic Church, give only scan
dal to Intelligent non Catholics, and shock
every well instructedau dconscientfou Catho-
lie. We have been deeply panied and morti-
deu at the position We have found the great
body Of American Catholics, with large por-
tiuI. OF the venerable clergy themselves, occu-
pying in regard to the question Of negro
slavery. Not single Catholic Journal, except
one, ventures to assert openly and decidedly
the true Catholic doctrine in regard to slavery,
and the Catholic who does not throw all his
Influence Oh the side Of the pro~slaycry party is
red out Of the pale Of Catholic society, cs-
peci!lly in this city Of New York. where there
Are more Catholics than in all the seeded
States put together. The Catholic who ycn-
lures to arraign the institution Of slavery on
even mora1 aud religious grounds, though
backed b5 the spirit, Teaching, and action Of
the Church in all ayes, and in all countries
but this, IS at once suspected Of being shaky
In his Gith, and is denounced as Puritan"
or as u Yankee" the two most opprobrions
cplthets thut can, in the estimate Of our New
York Catholics, be applied to any man; aud
the promrtnets and zeal with which they rally
to the dslo5al peace party, and swell It's
ranks, proves that their sympathfes are pro-
slavery. We Gun scarcely find Catholic des-
Of American birth, that Is not practically a
pro slavery man III hls talk and In hia1 intlu-
erce. Wig Is 1t we find the mass Of our Cath
olics following Fernando Wood, James
Brooks, and tbs Abbe Mcslastcr, Whence
the intense haired Of New England-whose
any where e1tc on this continent-which Is the
most salient feature Of our Catholic popula-
ton: Whence, indeed, but from the conyic-
tiuu that New England Ia anti.slaverY and In
faror Of negro emancipation? Go where we
will in the loyal States, and we find nearly
every Catholic we meet Southern sympa-
tbizer, an intense hater Of the abolttionist.
reconstructed, under JEFF Davis, on slavery,
us its cornerstone, than to see It rrstpred bY
the extinction OF slavery.
POSITION or ARCHBISHOP HUGHES.
The Catholic organs hare, It seems to us,
been very unwtse and fmpo1itlc aud'opr Cath
olic leaders have placed us in very nnplcas-
ant position. The Know Nothings, tew
years ago, demanded the exclusion Of every
Catholic who would not renounce his re-
mint, civil or military, under the State or the
nation, on the ground that Catholics are not.
and cannot be loyal to tic Republic, and 10
casc Of war arc more likely to side with its
enemies than with Its friends If 1t had been
the settled purpose of Catholics to confirm
this cturge, they could hardly have taken
different course from the one they hare ac-
tua}lY taken since tho breaking out Of the
present civil war They hive showed that
their sYmpathies were with slavery, In which
the rebellion originated, and with the rebels
themselves. Though they constitute, by no
MEALS, the whole cf the disloyal peace party,
there are comraratlyely few of them who arc
not attached to that party. When the Arch.
bishop Of New York, attacked us for propos-
iIg the emancipation as q war measure, de.
nounced or Tidicnled the Abolitioolsts, and
Il nde the best possible defence Of the slave
trade, he was applauded to the echo; but
when on his return from Europe, he took =
drltf, ns just, wise, and patriotic measure,
hc was everywhere murmured against. and
even brother Archbishop. without naming
him, read him lectures through Catholic
journal, on his unepiscopal conduct, and cea-
sprld him for meddlilg with politics. approy-
irg the war for the national life and integrity,
aid endcavored to make it appear that he had
departed from the line Of bis duty as u Catho-
lic Bishop, In supporting the flag that had pr,-
tected him at home and abroad, and in stanG-
ing by the Government to which he had sworn
allegiance. No act Of the Venerable Arch
bishops life cger cost him 30 much popularity
Hlth Ills oWn people as that one act Of declded
country, the editor Of this Review has been
The only one to applaud or even to approve
his truly patriotic aud loyal act. That ser
mon more than atoned to us for all
tt tint Te had personally suffered from
onp o eoant eSn T. lad be heya Dess service S,,t to
NJ by the Bishops and clergy of the loyal
States, the Northern people would have been
united in prosecuting the war. and the peace
party would never have been organized; for
the leaders Of that execsable party, know per-
fect!y we'll that, though the foreign bora pop
ulation md their children, the majority Of
whom are Catholics, nre notall who are ready
to follow them, yet, that without the assur-
ance Of their adherence they could baf]1y ra1-
IL 4 corporal's guard. individual Catholics
Eaye been loyal, but they have been so In spite
OF Terroach aud obloquy from their Catholic
olic organs. What more could the Know
Nothings have neked Of Us in their justIHca-
tion?
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC rREss pIsLoyA1n
To deter Catholics from engaging with pat
riotic ardor in the war for the suppression Of
the rebellion, tho SO called Catholic prcss cir
crIated the mischieyous fiction that It was the |
Of the Republicans, when they
bad put down the shareholders, to turn round
and put down the Catholic religion in this !
country, as it there was, or could be, amp nat |
ural relation between protesting the Catholic |
religion and the holding Of slaves. But sup
pose such thought Lad been entertained,
Hiat Was the proper course for Catholics to |
take? To mite with the slayeholder5. ideu-
tiff our Church with slavery and rebellion,
Md clearly prove ourselves disloya1, Unhap.
pity, We Catholics seem to imagine that We
bare power only to obstruct, and that our In |
1uence will be null, unless exerted in some
work of destruction, or to defeat some nation
u purpote. To express our sympathy with
tlIe rebellion and make common cause with It |
IN Its efforts to overthrow the Government Of |
The United States. and destroy the country, or
even TO withhold all active support Of the na- |
tiopnl cause, would seem to most people tho
"ag to bring about the very result apprehend~
u to guard against. The government will
succeed; the rebellion will be suppressed, aud |
Lle Union will be restored, without slavery, |
md will hn f1rrnar and atrnnoar than ara- |