The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-06-27
nsasion in England.

ance, has in great degree kept out Of view |
another questn which a 81 serious import in |
! it's consequees to English Catholics. The |
system Of edhtion prevalent in England for
many wears iEiat was called g the dcnomina-
tional.n and oceans to have given satisfaction.
| The Duke of rgyn now has project in hand,
/ which will Csc the rising generation to be
educated in cotch Calvinisn, failing which,
the unconditional plan is to be abolished.
| In fine, it is esigned that the schools should
be managed brate payers, as are tho police
and house oforrection. The London Tablet
has comprehensive article on the subject,
some extracts ON which we herewith give:
| In the 10th cttury the State threw off the
authority of til Catholic Church, which has
| always protect the people against the en-
| croachments an tyranny of the secular power,
and forced the Ltion to apostatize. 1t is now
stripping itselfof the last remnants OF &C.
clesiastical infuace, and is claiming the abso-
lutte power of fdagogue, and the sole F1g g
Catholic Church ways leaves % nation Mt the
mercy of the fallile will and mind of the secu-
lar power The Eglish people ought TO see
distinctly whitherthey are being led. They
| are called upon to .ccept a mired system, or an
| HRdeROAaiRdtiOndl sy,tem, Which shall still be
religious in the sens of LORD husselIs dehnl-
ton of religion, or O national system Of ednsa.
let them be told the e1ieSSt Of such acceptance.
our eyes, we shall not be able to allege want of
experience like the Americans, who may justly
urge it in defence of the system with which
they are now saddled.
The Americans did not set out with an in
tention of coming to their present system.
They have come to it by the path the Duke of
Argyll invites us to walk in. Archdeacon Sim
clair most truly says: "Our American brethren
did not spontaneously and all at once adopt
the common school system in its present non
religious form. 1t was forced upon Them
yNl,.xyt trim MT Irck tn a
with religious education. A question
arose as to the religious teaching to be given;
then followed endless .jealousies and discus
sions various schemes of compromise were
tried. These invariably failed. The only me-
thod of restoring peace was to remove entirely
the sources of quarrel, and to exile religion al
together from the common school"
Again, n person, writing from Connecticut,
says: In this State it was once the custom to
teach in the ordinary schools the Westminster
Confession to the children OF Congregational
Churchmen. The division of the Congrega-
tionalists, however, and the fact that many of
them became Methodists and BaPtists, and sec
taries of other names, resulted in so wide
spread an Indifference to matters of religion as
to put end to this So that now the only
relic of "this thing of old is the reading of
the Bible an exercise in reading out merely
in the schools
A great many Englishmen and Scotohmen
share Earl Russells view that a national edu-
cation is possible, which shall be religious
without being denominational. This is i'm.
possible, and contrary to all experience. Let
US again quote from American authorities.
This time it shall be highly respectable-aN New
York Protestant journal: 1.-THE neglect of
moral and religious instruction is a necessary
consequence of system where there are so
many persuasions participating in the instruc-
respected. Each party is taxed for the support
of the system, and each, however small, pro-
vided it be at all in earnest, pleads by the
ion. for nrosecrion rom religious Bias; and
then every positive element of Christianity
must be sedulously excluded from common
school instruction. Is it not so Consider for
one moment How is it possible to avoid the
questions of adult or infant baptism, predesti-
nation, grace and good works, the corporeal or
spiritual resurrection OF the dead, the sacra-
ments, free will and necessity And yet these,
and perhaps moro important points must be
avoided. To teach that Christ was o mere man
would not be endured by the Presbyterians,
Baptists, etc, and to instruct the school that
He was q Goldman, and that he made atone,
ment for sin on the cross, would not be endured
by Unitarians, for they not only pay their
taxes, but they live under institutions which
sacredly guard their freedom of opinion. To
teach that there is no judgment beyond the
grave, no rigid retributive justice in eternity
for crimes on earth, will not be tolerated by
the Orthodox; and that there will be such
retribution, that the oath in courts of Justice
is supported by awful sanctions derived from
the future world, will not be brooked by Uni
versalists; for they live under constitution
which guarantees freedom of religious opinion,
and besides, they plead by all the sacredness
of conscience against being compelled to pay
for n system which seeks to enforce upon their
children what they deem falsehood. The in
culcation of the first day of the week as holy
is resisted by Sabbatarian Jews; and to teach
the seventh as the one sacred day will no more
be tolerated by others whose rights of con-
science are to be as saeredly respected,
Is That the New Testament itself is true, must
not be inculcated upon the Jewish children in
our schools and that the Old Testament is to
be credited, must not be impressed upon the
youth of the Free Thinkers, who are q no very
small number in these days.
" Now if q Judgment and future retribution
are to be ignored; if the resurrection of the
body, and human responsibility, and the sacred
ness of q judicial oath, and the observation of
O day of holy rest are to be unrecognized; if
the truth of the very Scriptures is not to lie
affirmed, how much of Christianity, worthy of
the name, remains, which can be taught in our
schoolsf Nay, God himself is as unknown in
the majority of them as He was in Athens
when Paul visited Mars Hill. 1t is said that
moral precepts can DO inculcated in our schools.
But arc precepts- taare-sa44etieas
of religionf What are mere prudential rules