The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-01-10

LUTHER AND HIS TIMEs.-The Rev. Father
Hecker recently delivered a lecture before the
Young Mems Society. Detroit, tho conclusion OF
which is as follows:
He proceeded to notice the character OF in
dulgences, which Immediately caused the Sc
paration. An indulgence never was any per-
mission to commit sin. 1t is punishment in
flicted here, but only upon Penitence, ana reso-
luton to seek forgiveness from the Almighty
himself In the early Church there were laws
which regulated the punishment of all offences,
as for instance. for some, fasting forty DAYS;
| for Others works of piety and giving aims;
| and sometimes for the works, aims were also
substituted. The money thus raised was often
| used in defending Europe against the TURKS,
who continually threatened it, and against
whom the Pope was its bulwaik. IL was sot 4i'a
times used to build bridges, inasmuch as the
civilization of Europe was not sufficiently al
vanced to maintain these by any system, SO
that the duty devolved upon the religious an-
! thorities. Sometimes, too, the money was EN-
| ploycd in building churches or other houses
for the use of the church..
The special indulgences which were pro
claimed by Leo, and was so obnoxious TO Lu-
Their and his followers, was securing 1unns Ior
the completion of ST. Peters Church at Rome,
though these indulgences We're by no means
sought by the Pope to be urged upon the Peo-
nle though they may possibly have been, ow-
ing to the indiscretion of all agent. IL Is not
wonderful that Luther was indignant AT the
manner of the subOrdinates, and took n STAND
arainst the sale of the indulgences among his
flock : but Father Hecker blamed him Tor 60
inc into revolt instead of seeking to remedy
the abuse within the folds of the Church. lie
quoted u letter from Luther to the rope, IN
1919, in which he distinctly states that ne gio-
ries in the grandeur of the CHURCH IN tmes
mast and that though things are i'll bad way
lust now the fact is no good cause Tor any
christians abandoning it, but rather reason
for adhering the more closely to 1T, ana thus
? endeayorins with all his might to remedy the
, evil. :; ,ho+I
) This Father Hecker, conceives, rs what bu
Their shonld have done. Instead of that he de
, serted tho Church, and at last openly attackeo
| II and with the utmost violence Motives the
lecturer did not propose to discuss, puI teI'
! | each nearer to determine why Luther TOOK tht
: course he did. The Church was not IN such
q condition that it could not have been reformed
. by labor within it, and revolution was mex
Q cusable. -. ..oa ho,
4 come from the Reformation. This he denied
i. holding that for civil and religious liberty w
: are Indebted to the Catholics far more than u
4 the Professionals, and declaring that II New Eng
e land views had prevailed at an early DAY ~
!, this country. a theocracy would have been es
tablished instead of the Republic suggested b,
. the Catholics of Maryland, and successfully ee
The claim that Luther first translated tn
II Bible into German, he regarded as pfepostel
If ous. There were over seventy editlons Prn!!e
If by the Catholics and in general dlsErIouC l'
"a in the German language before Luther eve
annnared as will besevidenced by perusal G
"a Dean Maitland's work on the DARK Ages
ar Protestant book. The finding Bible attacne
~ TO a window by a chain simply showed tnab
~ was esteemed too valuable to permit II TO ,
10 stolen and that it was placed where all mgr
10 read.