The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-11-13
Infidelity and the Church.


they reflect on the injustice and persecu-
ton that the Pope and the Church fire.
quently sustain at the hands of Catholic
nations, and they are equally scandalized
at reading of the immortality and iDfidelity
that exist in such countries. In fact,
Frenchmen, Austrians, Spaniards and Ita-
lians are frequently as bitter in their en-
nifty to the Church as any Englishman or
backwoods American, while immortality
has as vicious exemplars among those Ca
tholic populations as among the Turks and
Tartars. What does all this provei
The Protestant will gravely tell you that
the moral condition of Spain, for instance,
proves the Catholic Church to be false, and
that the superior morality of certain Pro-
testant communities over certain nominally
Catholic ones, proves the correctness of
Professionalism. But this is utterly unten-
able. The premises certainly prove no
such thing. The Mahommedan could in
the same way demolish Christianity and
sustain his own creed by pointing to the
thieves of London, the drunkards of Scot
land, the swindlers of America, and the
banditti of Italy. He would shudder at a
religion that must be judged by such fruit,
and rightly but it might be very wrong
in him to attribute these vices to q religion
which merely coexists with them. The
prevailing religion of a country is not re-
sponsible for the moral condition of that
country, but of only such persons as
conform their morals to it's teaching. The
Jews were at times stepped in all the follies
and vices of their heather neighbors while
they were the sole depositaries of the true
faith. The pagan Romans were at one
time models of honesty, courage, conjugal
fidelity and civil order, whom our Protestant
communities are very far from approaching
in virtue. Is Paganism, therefore, superior
to Christianity
The fact is that the grace of God does
not force itself on any body. Even in the
city of Rome each soul is at liberty to deny
the truth and reject salvation. But the
difficulty seems to take shape with most
persons in this form: We know that people
have free will, and that many become repro
bates in the very midst of the Church, but
there ought to be fewer of such people
where the Church is supreme than else
where. If the true Church has undisputed
sway in any country, that country ought to
be the most moral and religious. But we
find Protestant countries more moral than
those which are Catholic, therefore the Ca
tholic religion cannot be the true one.
Here both premises and conclusion are
false. Protestant countries are far from
being the most moral, while, if they were,
the conclusion will not follow any more than
that Paganism was the true religion, in
stead of Judaism, when the Romans were
virtuous and the Jews were stepped in
inquity. The true religion may exist in
country ard exert but little influence upon
the people without being at all to blame
for it. History is full of such instances,
from the time of the frequent backslidings
of the chosen people of God to the present
day. Sometimes the most highly favored
in the way of grace are the most migrate
full and rebeilious.
A nation may prove recreant to its faith
in two ways-either by heresy or by inf
deity. 1t may call itself Christian, while
some new tangled creed, or it's
people may scott at the very name of
though they do not inaugurate
a new religion. In the first case the Ca
tholic Church is no longer held responsible
for the morality of the people, because
they call themselves Protestant, for in
stance; in the second case she ought not to
be held any more responsible, for the peo-
pie have as fully thrown off her authority,
though they have not formally rejected her
name. The way to judge of a Church is
by its fruit, and its fruit can be found
among those only who practice its religion,
not those who merely profess it. The Catho-
lie Church ought to be judged by faithful Ca
tholics, not by infidel ones. If man seeks
the true Church it is to save his soul, and
be will expect to do this by obeying, not
by disobeying, her precepts.
The truth is that there is an irrepressible
war between the Church and the world,
and this war breaks out in different shapes
in different ages. The pride and sensuality |
Of the pagan Romans were in conflict with |
the principles of Christianity, and their
worldly instinct opposed its teachings. |
Pride and sensuality in all subsequent ages |
have been equally in conflict with them,
and the world, even when calling itself
Christian, has always been opposed |