The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-04-11
a Changing Church.

The Protestant ChtTchRdR says that the
comparative stability of the Episcopal
Church was once fact so patent that all
admitted it but the claim can no longer
be corroborated by the fact So far from
excelling others in this particular, it ac-
knowledges, there is really now more un-
rest in that body than in any other, with
out exception. On the one side there is
/ fighting, on the other fear and trembling.
! But hear the avowal:
! These changes are not slight, but organic
and essential, extending to policy, diseip-
| line, doctrine and worship. AS to policy,
our episcopate is no longer what 1t once
was. Once the Bishop was only " first
among his equals.r Now it is claimed that
| he is above all, the source of all ecclesias-
teal power, and the laying on Of bis hands
| essential to the exercise of ministerial
functions. Nor is this mere theory. 1t is
! acted ON in several dioceses, and the dio-
cssss are regarded as models By al high
Churchmen. Being in a majority, there is
every reason to believe that the advocates
of this theory Will soon carry it out all
through the Church, and then we shall
have both spiritual despotism and hier-
archy that, in due time, will make itself
! hateful In the eyes of the American people.
Already the AmericGR CharchmdR declines
to criticise the acts of a Bishop, declaring
the acts of Bishop are above the criticism
of mani o tempora +! o mores /! Upon
what times have We fallen !! Is it possible
that any man who calls himself Protes-
tant Christian has fallen SO low as this? 1t
is some relief to know that when men have
so fallen they repudiate the name of Pro-
testantn and assume that of Catholic"
[ In doctrine, the change had been equally
great. Formerly high Churchmen tSASed
as if they accepted the common Protestant
faith, especially the test doctrine of justifi-
cation by Faith. Now they generally re-
pudiate all utilization with Protestants, and
pirate. abou5 Catholic, verities, Creeds,. de
fde, etc. ssS sacramental system, SO
called, is thoroughly believed and general
ly taught among them-a system which is
essentially Romish, including all that is
most characteristic of the papal dogmas. =
In worship, it requires but half an age to
discover how radical as well as Romish are
the changes made within few years, and
now rapidly going on. These are SO evil
IDENTIFY in the direction of Romanism, that
the most candid of the "Anglo Catholics
confess the fact. while the Romanists them
selves say, that +" having come SO far to-
wards them, these brethren must go back,
or soon come wholly over.n
These s i:::sss Icing SO, with what Justice
can we invite others to join our Commn-
MON on the ground of our unity or our sta
bility Z The profession of either would
now be too hollow to deceive any one, a
pretense that would expose US to ridicule.
Let as not, then, add the guilt of hypocrisy
to the sin of our schism according to the
Catholic view), or of our perversion TO the
shams of Popery, in the judgment of all
sound Professionals. The truth is, whatever.
we were formerly, to-day we are a divided
house. Probably the seeds of our present
divisions were always bound up in the
Book of Common Prayer, but they were
&c. supposed TO gerrni ate. A conscious
ness of common weakness inspired both
parties with desire and even determine
ton to choke them ere they developed into
their full and perfect fruit.
High Churchmen were the first to cast
away their fears, and to train a few slips as
specimens of fancy gardening at
church. But the seed once ripened, was
carried by the wind all over our goodIy
heritage, and found lodgment in not a
few parsonages perhaps, and chapcels.
| From this time the evil spread rapidly, till
now it threatens to fill the land with weeds
/ more prolific than the Canada thistle, and
mora pestiferous than the lotus. Their
/ fapid-sPread- imposes on the Protestant
Churchman the duty of entering with his
i7{1fofe soul on-tfe= sRoflk-of= discriminating
them root and branch.
|
NEW York School SYsTEM.-There is
a struggle now going ON in New York