Daily national Republican. (Washington City [D.C.]) 1870-1872, 1870-01-29

not susceptible Of most satisfactory explain
alton,
Nov, what ara the main serlptural obioe-
tions urged BY my opponents in this discussion |
against the primacy Of Petert They may be
under twS beads ss
language and those based upon the nature OF
the Christian Church. In defending ST. Peters
Spiritual suprensoyl observed thst our L S[L
that he would be called Oephas that on
subsequent occasion, having received from
Rs LII IA sSsS,s e. S, Of n, 1SH
time giving his reason for this change
Blessed art thou. Simon BAr.Jonsht for
~, nv FtS Sop wniaS n9. TeVeea ny "sy
also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church, and the
81 Sy ss nn.o ~. s0
Of HeGyen,n Matt Evn II. AL rhe literal
sense OF this passage, as showed from the
The most dIstinEuished Protestant comments.
tors, 10 that Peter here received name signi
Tying a rock, because CHRIST intended TO build
Ss SsSn s M my con
Greek the name given to Petor was PeiroI,
and the rock on which tho Church was to be
bull, H PSSS AZ our LgId d!
10 the Erouad At once. Christ spoke to Peter
In the Syro-Ohaldaio tongue, saying TO him
Thou Ert kipha, and on this KiPha viii build
my Church, Moreover, may not two nouns,
ofdliferent termiuations, be placed 10 Apposi-
ton with each 9th or, a. algnifyinE the same
ihlbg, and 10 not M, msnifestly the ease In
ing that the name Of man should have the
masculine ending, while the symbolioal word
had the feminine oss sSPPoss Christ With.
self ~ an cATi'ioI, and on this psira will
build my Church, would our Greek friends
have any objsetion % az hut the Strangest
feature In the dlineuity which am now sift.
ing, 10 Its presumptuous superstition that all
uhristendom for nfteen hundred years did not
understand Greek half A. we'll as brother Will
Client Fathers, Sc. Basil, Ohrysoat Gregory Of
NaIiAnTum, Cyril Of AlaxAndfia, And a host Of
others, who spoke and wrote the Greek Ian
boys compared with the hellenlsts Of wash.
lngton city. But my opponents, having got Oft
the rocks psiroi and Pstra, begin TO squabble
| and AFTER = wonderful parfUriEHi moniT OF
/ Greek erudltion, there comes forth only the
rtdteaiai lui ola conclusion, that Christ In ad-
name iS Peter, so surely will build ny Church
llon in such q spseohi Would Christ have
| name, and Afterwards changed Il, merely for the
purpose OF telling him that a. suro As he was
called Peter he would build his Church upon
himselfi l do not hesitate to assert that such
| . auppoaltion 10 childish and absurd. Observe,
moreover, Christ did not say Thy name IL
| Peter and on this rock 40, but "Thou art
my opponents pretend, why have not the Pro.
| testAnt trAnalators OF the New Testamsnt 40
rendered the text There 10 no version Of the
| sacred record that contains any such or equiv
Alent expressions, All tho Protestant YER
| slons that have seen agree with the Catholici
they All say Thou Art Peter and On this
90 shiit to which the adVorSGries Of the Oath
ollie Church have not resorted In order to
iseriosts sorlPtural arguments against her.
books Of the inspired volume when they found
them too plainly opposed TO their tons,
til very natural that their followers should
suit their particular views, II / am not mis-
uanItS q andsrstood By ! liberal sIPositor q
iigs955ssan y ia not surprising, thersioEe, that
ses,sS S.cTSs, ~ h. b f "a pitSllI asf
inEenious sophistry, on par with the sxpiA-
| nation which certain writer has given Us
Of those words Of our Lord TO Peter, "LoVest
tion Christ met bomo of his disciples at the
| sea ofTiberiAa,wheTo Peter was nshlnG. When
they had dlned 90 bread and nlh, our Lord
| said TO Peter, Simon, son Of Jonah, Lowest
thou me more than thessr' A similar quss.
| lion was put twice again, and upon Peter as
surfing his Dlyine Master Of his love, the latter
that IL, the whole foek. [John nj! 10, 81,
But what did all this mean, according to the
learned writer just referred tot Christ 10.
| tended simply to inquire Of Peter WHISTLER he
loved Ain more thAhhe loved the dih which he
had caught.
FhS preceding observations are more than
20 hoy 70, , that me Of SCRIP
Ing the Catholic view OF Peters primaoy, on
the contrary powerfully sustain y, Bat we
are told that s1sh pri@aey is Altogether II
nying his Divine Master. II should be oh
served, however, that this denial took place
before the inAuEurAtion OF the Christian
Church. Were not all the apostles before
that time weak, tlmid, and more or less world
ly-mindsd men Did not the sons OF -Zebedee
nanifest an ambitious and selnsh spirit which
Christ reprovedi Was there not q eonte ntio1
among the apostles As 10 which Of them Gh gu ID
be accounted the greaterl Did they notIall In
fset abandon our Lord during his passion
Ifthen the denial Of Peter, which was eKtoFt.
cd from him only By fear, could be an insuper'
Able objection to AsuperioritY which he was
hold a.. future tine ths f a. sHh errors
elusive against their claim to the apostolic
once. The circumstance Of Peters denial,
| However, instead OF afordlng argument against
the particular distinction to be co nferred upon
him, Furnishes an additional proof OF II, for
our divine saviour knew that Peter would
| deny him, and therefore he said to him ~ 81.
mon, Simon, behold satan hath desired to have
have prayed for thee that thy faith fall not !
brethren" Luke xii, III DO We not q %
here strong intlmatlOn Of Peters suprema-
eyi Why would our Lord pray In behalf Of
qualify him for the once Of stFenStRening his
brothfent How could he strengthen them II
| he were not stronger than they II they were
raj 70 suppose that they Would ali have been
strengthened alike. Hence, st ChFysOstom,
fhs lq 4, ib SlshSP q ;,S e.
In the election to supply the place Of Judas,
the traitor, remarks ~ lie IL the nrSt to pro.
esod In this matter, because all have been do.
said, 'Whsn thou art converted, HtTeB Sthen thy
erS,hien!" Ten, ~ In sspi AStl
| i munt bFielV notice. II a aall that Nha
words Of OhriSt to Peter, In Matthew, XVI, do
not inply any special preroEAtiye IN st. Pc
ton no mao can lay than that ls laid, which IL
Jesus Christi II Cor, Oh. I'LL Now this IL
precisely the Catholic doctrine. Christ 10 the
tisn edidsej but as the church is a visible
building, the structure OF which 10 continually
going on and oontlnuously subsiItlnE by the
| work OF preaching and miniBteTlnE, II must &c.
eeslArily require Visible foundation, consist.
Ing In the agency Of mon, as the basis Of these
operations. Hence StPaul, writing to the Eph.
ssians, says "Ys are built upon the fopnda
OhrIGt himself being the chief eornSr.stone.' y
| Ephea, oh. II. Now, II IL was not derogA.
tory to the dignity and power % Christ that
church In subordinate sense, neither IL II In.
Consistent with his dignity that one OF the
apostles, BY his apPointneal should be the
manner than the others. This Is all that we
claim for st. Petsr-a primaey Of rank and
Junbulcuon Whloh 10 bAAed upon the cleAreat
declarations Of holy writ, aud which Is cor
roborAted and incontestibly proved by that
OAtholio tradition, which has transmitted to
Us alike the books OF Scripture and the % nle
In which they are to be understood
One o. my opponents has truly said, that
thia the chosen vantage ground" OF the
Catholic. Yea, this vantage ground IL the
power and glory OF the true church. 1t IL this
high ground on which we behold her dee ked
Tin her splendid Jewels OF entity, GAnotIty,
apoatollolty and oatholioity, and which dts
anguish her by broad and unmiatAkAbl
line from all the spurious offahoots OF error,
nom all that mushroom heterodo1y which
springs up one day, to perish and disappear
the next. II 10 from this lofty ground from tn .
llnpfegnAble Gibraltar Of ChFlatiAnity, that
she has for over l. 500 years bid defiance to the
violence OF persecution and tho assaults OF
error and inhdelity, and Btlll holds out for the
Admifihg contemplation OF the world the
brilliant and oonnolinE light ofhoAgen-de.
seended truth, No wonder that the AdVer-
1AIiea Of the church denounce tradition as
rule OF faith, II 10 too powerful q wit.
ness against their Innovations. They
admit indeed the tradition OF the church
asa witness against deism and FAtionAllSm,
and also as to the fact that the Scriptures
are the Inspired word Of Godi but BY the
ETosselt inoongiateney they reject that ira
dtlon 10 regard to particular doctrines, The
tradition OF the church, on the subject OF re.
TeAled truth oomprehends, in an enlarged