The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-08-08

'00c-j Journalists have greatdegCee 81 public
spirit and enterprise, which sometimes meEges
ON the border 'Cf hardihood- NethiRg is go
higt.as to be 4eysnd their reach. Theology
they Etreat in the same off-hand manner as
they would the AsEt version Of Grants views
oni Banner's fast trotters, or his opiniea the
relative aroma Of rthe various brands ct ci9a7a
Horace Greeley Aes lately been fazari1g the
public with soaEe vvaticinations relative to the
eo1nisz CounciI, (Which the New York 1s0rlS, .0f
the. a41a alt, th0anomments upon.
Is I'll. G. among 'aEie prophetsH "IEe .desiae
to recaRd d prediction says the 1Fi1Hae, "shat
the NISEmenieal Council will either be poet
p0nedy Rr that its .Sesults will prove signallF
meagre and disappointing" Apparently q
few copies of somegE Continental Journals which
have boea discussing certain absurd Questions
concerning the appnaaching Council have found
their way into the TIibHRe office, and heipx
there perWSed by -esT1e one whose ideas CON-
corning, Catholic thaoiogy have been derived
'.Fox's Bsek Of .Ma15yrs,H and John KaOxss
sermons, have led to the production Of that
farrago of nopsence which appeared in the
with the p1ophecy ma have quoted: If by
what the 1kibune cailE the results" of the
approaching Council, iS means the -unaninous
decision Of the Council in regard to the
definition of azticIes of Gath, then there 10 not
the sill ghtest danger that these results will be
at all "meagre and disappointing" to any one
and, had they taken the trGn BILE to consult any
-EE-alI formed Roman Catholic, lay MINOR
priest, they would have been informed that
this is al that the Council do, all that it is
expectedAo do, audGll that aug of the preceding
Coz ucils have done, which is binding on the
conseienceG of the fsathful. Tie moment that
one begins to talk about the possibility
probability of the Cauncil prociaimiDg a new
dogma of faith, he displays his ignorance of
the Roman Catholic theory of COHOcils. That
theory Is thErt -bsseHs EFF shs-gHiEcEsal
all
truth that to this nothing can be added and
nothing taken away; pbut that, from time to
time, it is expedient to .elneidate and develop
this truth by aEfirmatiOns and definitions,
serving TO Eebut error, to expose .misconcep-
tions, and to crystalline dogma into definite
propositions. Thus it was not until the
Church had been established for several
centuries that the dOgmn of the Trinity,
accepted and believed by. all orthodox Chris
tianR throughout the world at the present day,
was defned-by General Council 1t was no
new dogma, the Churc1 had held it and Taught
it from the beginning; but as errors had crept
in concerning it for want of precise defini-
ton, Council deemed it necessary that this
precise definition should be made. The same
is true of the entire body OF Catholic belief
set forth ia the authoritative teachings OF the
Church to-day; and even what careless and
superficial writer's term the new dogma OF the
immaculate Conception of the Virgin" is
belief as old as the Church itself. The Tribune
displays at once its ludicrous ignorance of
what it is talking about and the source of its
conceptions of Roman Catholicism by saying
that the Pope "might obtain the assent of the
Council to any dogma speculative theology"
but that he would have difficulty should he
wish the use of the steam.engtne interdict to
Catholics.s The Youngese student at any
Catholic school could show the 1FbaRc that, in
the whole body OF Roman Catholic theology,
there il and can be nothing representatives" and,
as IL il wen sometimes to answer . fool
according to his folly, il may be ouit3elent 80
remind 6ho IFibune that - the art OF ataam-
beat navigation WIS discovered By Baasco Dc