Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1869-07-29

Duilt, that the gates Oh neil might not
prevail against it.
He was the great head of the Church
on earth as Christ is in Heaven, and
the headship he had transmitted to his
successors, the 4e6 Popes who had
succeeded him and who held the only
true faith.
Alexander Campbell had essayed to
prove in his debate with the Archb;eb-
op, that his headship had been de-
stroyed by the usurpation of the Em-
peror Forbus, who had invited the
Pope at Rome to come to Constantine
pie and crown him Emperor, and that
in return he would make him universal
Pope of both the Roman and Greek
Churches. This he declared was a
Justification of history. The chain was
complete from Peter down. Though
Alexander of Russia, one thousand
years ago, had claimed to be the head
of the church, and had sent the Holy
Ghost in saddle-bsgs to the Hussar
who presided over the church at Con-
stantinople, and though Henry VIII. of
England had established the Church
of England, because the Holy Father
would not allow him to divorce his ex-
cellent wife in order that he might
have son to succeed him, the Cath
olic Church had stood unscathed the
only true church of God upon the
earth. And so it still stands. 1t may
sometimes not move forward, but has
never gone backward, because, as
would be inferred, it was under the
special protection of the great Head.
The Archbishop next proceeded to
ventilsts his ideas regarding our sys-
tenn of common schools, declaring the
entire system wrong because the Cath
olics were taxed and were not per-
mitted to use their share of the money
in support of their own schools, Just
as if they had any more right to do
so than any other societies or de-
nominations. He declared that our
entire system of public schools was a
great outrage on Catholics; that their
children must go to these schools and
be taught to pray the Protestant
prayers, and to be called idolators; as
if any prayer but the Lords is taught
in any shool, and as if any child in
any public school has ever been ques-
toned as to its faith.
He instanced some of the griev ances
of the Catholic children of Cincinna-
ii, in that Rev. Thomas Vickers, who
called the Savior ''fction" and the
Bible a ''crutch," and Rev. A. D.
Mayo who said it was blasphemy to
call the Son, God, were leading men,
bers of the School Board; as if Catho-
lie children would suffer from the in
fidelity of these men, and worse than
the children of other denominations
who did not accept their doctrines.
After taking sly pains to inform the
audience that Gen. Rosecrans, the DEM
ocratic nominee for Governor, is a
Catholic converted from Professionalism,
and to explain the nature of the Ecu
menical Council to meet at Rome on
the 9th of December next, showing
that the Pope is no more in power
or authority than any other man, any
further than he is the vicegerent of
Christ, the acknowledged head of the
church on earth and bound to govern
it according to the Constitution; that,
in word, he is the successor of Peter,
at the head of the vast family, while
he entrusts the work to his bishops |
who are the successors or representa-
tives in like manner of James, John,
&c, the Archbishop concluded his re-
marks with a polite tender of thanks
for the interested attention given him.
To sum up the points made, the
Archbishop claimed that the Catholic
Church has the only correct Bible, and
is the only true church in faith and
practice; that all else are false and
heretical, and must in time embrace the
tenets of the Mother Church.
He also violently opposed our COM
mon school system, thus sapping the
very foundation of all our most sacred
institutions, since if our Christianity
and our schools were destroyed, all our
civil institutions would necessarily
tumble to the ground. II
Although the Archbishop is learned
nan, and barring little brogue. an
attractive speaker, yet we are of the
opinion that his meet was too strong /
or his audience, and that while he was :
admired as a learned man and as
,old advocate of his church, he left
he cause of Catholicism far weaker {
han he found it.