The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-10-24

,,ortaDt ,ouestion-how deeply is the President
imp1icated in these gambling speculations =
has nneasufabIy passed away, the arrival OF the
above named gentleman seems god-send, OF
which many are determined tomake the most
OF course the sects are preparing vast demon
STATIONS to make capital out OF his temporary
s6iourn here Whether he viii lend himself to
their purposes remains to be seen In the
meantime we lay befofe our Tehders the follow
ing article from the London Catholic Register,
which places the whole matter in tue light,
coineidipg whistle editor in his concluding
sertence that whether Father Hyacipthe re-
mains in his schism, whether he returns to
his obedience, his conduct will not--cannot-
effect in any way the future of the Catholic
Church, We lament over priest who has
fallen from his vows, but his fall will not in
lure the Church from which he has fallen"
Some years ago, when the so-called Father
IRnatius was the ecclesiastical lion of the day.
the Hmonastery" which he established at Nor
yyich happened one day to be the toplc'0f con-
versation between Lord PalmerstoDIand Ca
tholic member of Parliament. The latter ex-
pressed his opinion that, sooner or later, the
fonnter of the Anglican H'Benedictines" would
be received into the Church, but the wary old
statesman Thought differently He belongs"
said his lordship, tSto class of men that never
will Join your Church, because they are want
ing in the very first qualification required in q
CathoIic--they don't understand what ODE
dierce means, and they are far greater men In
their present sphere than they could ever be
as Catholics, whether priests or Iaymen" This
is exactly the allowance which Catholics must
make for Professionals when the latter write or
sneak about Pere Hyaeinthe. This priest has
broken one of the vows which he made when
he became . monk--mamely, that of obedience
to his superlors; but that is what our nom
Catholic ceuntrymen cannot understand. To
be Aattered and made much of is always
temptation for any man. and the eS-preacher
GhnNnr hal ia W
strong enough to resist the evil. Thank God,
instances of tho kind are rare amongst the
Catholic clergyi whether secular or regular,
but still they SO and must occur from time TO
time. To aIKintents and purposes Pere Hya-
cinthe is now n Protestant. He has presumed
10 not only protest against the order OF his
superior, but to find out reasons for the dfrec-
tions the superior sent him. To make matters
worse-to make them, in fact, as bad as lie
can-he communicated to the Temps, most
-anti-Catholic paper, the text of ms letter at
the time that1he sent it to Rome. As an Eng
lish nun said, when she read Mr.. fIoulke's let
ter addressed to the Bishop OF Westminster,
Pere Hyaeinthes conduct must be great
source of consolation to the devil, aud must /
make great amends to the latter for the numer- /
conversions to the Church that have taken
place of late years all over the world But /
what has really surprised rs is the immense
Importance which the non-Catholic press of
this country has attached to the ex-Carmelites
letter. During the last ten days there has APP
peared in the London papers iAes, Daily
Telegraph, Daify Setrs, Morning. Star, Morning
Posi-, Standard, Herald and idH Matt Gazette
no less than forty-nine columns devoted en- +
tirely to praises of this protesting frinr. Some
public writers have called him great divine" |
others ian eminent Churchnan," and not a few \
have reioiced over him as one able and likely 4
to do some grfevuus harm TO the Catholic
Church. Why is all this Simply because
no matter what men say with their lips--the
Church of Christ is hated throughout the land.
Whether PeFe Hyacinthe was really n leading,
or esen great, man amongst Catholics, few of
those who are so ready to praise him know,
4nfsll 20 fsa1 RIrf hat ha has
aimed q blow at the Church to which he be-
longs, and that his letter against his superior
has been noised abroad, they are G1ad, and re,
ioice at. Catholics lament at the scandal, and
like the Bishop of Orleans would, even now,
persuade this vain man to return to the fold
from which he has fed. But Professionals
even Catholic-minded Protestants - cannot
understand this feeling. With them every
man is his own Pope, and obedience to any
Tejeice--in spite of themselyes-at the anarchy
which they hope and believe Father Hya-
cinthe2s letter and conduct will cause in the
Catholic Church. They are ignorant that in
fhis fnisruided priests conduct we Catholics
merely see repetition of what has happened
again and again--an attempt of the gates of
hell to prevail against the Church and they
really seem TO believe that his conduct viii
Z have some serious effect for evil against the
faith which two hundred millions of human
beines profess. Never was greater mistake.
Father Hyacinthe, taken even in his most
dangerous form, is but q passing evil To-day
he IL u crest man aTEI0ntSsC Protcstants; before
AAEtSEHBaS ne VIII Dc De nSA IoESobleu1 tAuu ny
Easter he will be entirely so. If net merely
one, hut a hundred such eloquent preachers as
Father Hyacinthet were to throw over their
vows and rebel against the superiors they had
sworn to obey, iE would create much sorrow
and give cause for great scandal amongst MS )
but the Church would not suffer. Moreover. ii
10 but the simple truth to say that Father HYn-
cinthe never was the great divine or the won
derful authority that the non-Catholc press
makes him ont to have been. He was a most
eloquent preacher, but he had not that peculiar
a7O which either converts to
tho Church or makes good Christians of bad
Catholics He was, no doubt, great speaker,
but far too gushing" and sensational either to
convince mems heads or to convert their hearts.
In Franco there's are a score or more of preachers
who would do, and who have done, far more
good from the pulpit than Pere Hyacinthe.
Here in England-in London itself-may be
found several Catholic priests whose sermons
would be preferred to those of Pere Hyacinthe
for the practical religious doctrines they ineul-
cate from the pulpit, and the good their
preaching effects. But in Paris the Carmelite
Father attracted to Notre Dame class of per
sons who are common amongst Professionals,