The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-04-17
Papal InfalIlbllity-No. S.

race or mankind, con sidered as an organic
whole, is not to be found outside of the Ca
tholic communion. In the bosom of hete-
rodoxy, there are individuals, isolated peo-
Piles, peoples aggregated for time, and
without any common centre but no COM
| pany of nations, reduced to stable unity by
an uubroken perpetual tradition and en-
dowed with the moral life, which Ideal
Truth infuses into those who enjoy its
light. A particular people may, as well as
here and particular individual, boast Of a
certain degree of civilization and refine
ment but outside of the Catholic Church,
man is completely insulated from his kind |;
rowing and aimless in his movements, and
livingin a state of intellectual and moral
wildness analogous to what some philoso-
piers consider the original condition of his
whole nature. Hence, if the church is not
yet actually, she is potentially the human
race, and enjoys by anticipation it's heaven
given prerogatives. She possess in it's full
ness ideal truth; and this is the vital centre
of attraction, which draws all nations to-
wards itself, rand moulds them into one
living, organic whole. This Idea is like an
organic germ which attracts and assimilates
to itself all eccentric, volatilized particles,
and recomposes and shapes them according
to their primitive and natural form. The
work of organization, which the Church
for over eighteen centuries has been en-
gagged in, and the abundant fruits which
she has reaped from her labors, were of
themselves sufficient to convince any seri-
GUS mind that She is the only principle Of
unity able to fulfil this mission, and pro-
duce these universal and permanent results.
False religions may, in proportion to the
ideal principles they have retained, beget
aggregations more or less durable and ex-
tensive; but the unions they form cannot
be universal, permanent and Independent,
because lacking immoyable anchorage out
side of the fluctuations of human opinion,
they have to cling to thewrecks of political
parties, and drift hither and thither with
every wind that blows athwart the treach-
erous sea of political agitation. All false
religions are essentially disintegrating, for
in none of them is the Idea perfect. The
integrity of ideal truth is the privilege of
Catholicity; which is therefore the only or
ganic principle ,chich can rebuild the crumbled
edifce Of the human race. The modern
abettors of progress, with their alliances of
nations and their theories of univeral bro
therhood, founded on philosophy without
q basis and Christianity without Christ.
are good only to amuse and entertain the
vacant and vulgar, to pain and irritate the |!
serious, and most profoundly to afflict and |
sadden the philosophic and Christian mind.
Powerful nations have been known to cling
to another for time; but it would be a |
great mistake to suppose that their false
religion, spasmodic symptoms of which
hey exhibited, or rather betrayed, only on
certain national or international festivals.
vas the bond of their union-interest, ma
erial interest-politics in our American
ense, which makes 80 many strange bed
ellows-did it. Sum up all the fractions
# ideal truth outlying the circumference
# the Catholic Church, and the total will
lot furnish code of morality comprehen-
i've enough to keep small village together
-even husband and wife together-for
ear Religion, properly so called, unifies:
|
WITHOUT inquiring whether man was ORR
inally created, or simply constituted or
laced in the state of grace, that is, of
lection, the prerogatiUe of his race, as
rimariiy constituted, can be pronounced
JathbiHty; that is, all mankind would he
BILE to take one and the same view of un- |
truth of whatever order pre-
ented to them, as logicians do of the cate
orics of AristOtle-mathematic of the
efinitions of Euclid. But this infallibility.
) Was shown in the articles on Rationalism,
as not its basis in the human mind, either
or collectively it is due to
leal truth, common to all minds, as the
IN is visible to all eyes. Infallibility, con-
dered in its source, is objective, and has
8 basis in the radical incompatibility of
nth and falsehood; it is the necessary
entity of truth with truth. The Idea,
lie flash from eternity which we call evil
'nce, in which, as has been so often
these articles, wesee the geperic
'inciples of every science entitled to that
lme, is itself the Infallible it is the ex- 1
'ession of the True; it's substance, not :
.rticipation of it: it is the ground work i
every particular intellection, and the 3
'imary essence of the Ineligible. If the
initive order had not been perturbed, .
in hoir | 3