The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1870-08-05

gether for the purpose OF giving
official sanction to the claim of in
fallibility-an attribute which, if he
possessed it, would prove itself
and that declaration publishes forth
that he sits in the place Cf God, cloth.
ed wi tn an attribute of Jehovah, and
he who doubts or denies 'let him be
anathema." However much the
claim may have been made, and ac-
quiesced in, it is now, for the first
time, made public by authority, and
its belief made essential to salvation.
TO deny as you do, that God can
give the attribute to men, betrays a
deplorable dearth ofscriptural lore"
We made no such denial. We do
not doubt that he "can give" but that
be has given or does give infallibili-
ty to the Pope may well be question
ed. Healing the sick and raising the
dead, by the apostles, was an exer
else of Potger in the performance of a
commission entrusted to them, and
but two ofthose exercised that power
to the extent of raising the dead, and
that not by any power that they pos
sessed of themselves but "by faith
in the Son of God" Infailibility is
not an attribute to be put on and off
at pleasure, and we may well doubt
whether it has ever been conferred
on man in his mortal and erring con
dition. Itwas not requisite that it
should be conferred upon the apos-
ties in order that the Bp istles should
be written. The apostles wrote as
the spirit dictated, and the word
written was not of the Apostles but
of God.
"As to papal arrogance would it
not be the proper way for you to
prove that the Pope is not the sue
cessor of st. Peter, or that st. Peter
was not infallible if the Pope is his
successor?"
Well, no, we opine not. Although
it might be very pleasant amuse-
ment to you engage us in so profit
less a task, we believe, in an argu-
ment, it is not essential to prore a
but is essential chat an af-
frmative be proven, in order to es-
tablish an assertion. You can take
the "butting" horn. But a church
which depends upon the degree of
power to give it claim to rev.
erence as 'ruler of the whole church.
might find better authority, than
Theodosius II, Valantinian III in
445, or Justinian, to establish its sue
censorship, let alone the fact that
the Council of Nice named three
cities whose churches were equal in
and that the Council of
Constantinople added the church of
hat city to the number, and that it
vas not until the Mahometan invas-
sion swept away Alexandria, Anti
och and Constantinople, and she had
lone left to dispute her primacy that
Rome arrogated the title. But
do you not think that the Pope, |
rurronded by the represented mtelH- |
renee Of the Catholic Chtrck, simply |
Droclaming the teaching Of that |
is infinitely less liable to |
he charge of arrogance, than an edi-
or not yet eminent in his own pro-
ession, or in Catholic doctrine es- |
,eciallyY'
Well, now, that might be regarded |
IS leading question, but leading as
t is, we will permit the learned di-
inc to answer it as he does thus
even its unanimous vote, without
he paper signature, in no case
to"-anything. What then
Ioes the represented intelligence
mount to? what does the teuokiay
# the church signify? without the
,apal signature? To the arraign-
nent of non-eminence in our own
we plead guilty, but sure
Y one who has not yet attained to
be position of brilliant luminary
f his own church, will not regard
imself any the less for having no
iced our etfusion.
But seriously, we sought not this
ontrovery. We expressed our
pinion of the infallibility dogma,
S We or any other, the humblest
ven, in this country, is entitled, and
S it appeared to rs not to him, who
$ entitled to his own belief as freely
S we to our. We shall not quarrel
With him upon that head.