The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-07-23
AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER SUNDAY 49, 1871

)LIC MESSENGEh, SUNDAY, il
confuting bare assertions unsustained by Z
; shadow Of truth Z In matters of this kind
the attacking party must state his PROPOSE
lions or charges, and then sustain them by
facts and arguments. Whenever he haa
not made ont his case in anything save
mere assertion, it is unbecomiDg to give
the effort any serious attention.
That our general readers may have an
idea of the ground travelled over in that
sermon, We give an imperfect index Of
some of the principal topicsStreated. He
attacks the infallibility of the Church, the
primacy of Peter and his presence at Rome,
the succession of the Popes, the alleged
prohibition of the Bible to the masses,
tradition, ceremonies, the sacramento in
general, both as to their number and their
nature, extreme JUNCTION and penance,
the mass, transubstantiation, ceremonies
again, idolatry, the "Virgin Mary" the
other saints, image worship Gas distinct
from idolatry), relics. miracles, purgstory,
indulgences and the tariff Of prices for in
dulgences. An attempt to enlighten the
venerable sermon maker on these twenty
two subjects, besides correcting the num-
berless misstatements of facts and re-
preaching him with Christian forbearance
for his free use of gross and insulting Ian
guage would be rather rash in q one
column article.
We may as we'll, however, now that we
have mentioned the subject, refer to several
glazing Inconsistencies, misstatements and
absurdities as samples of the whole. The
preacher admits that the Church retained
it's pristine purity for about three centuries,
OF up to the Council of Nice, and claims
ton. That is, the Church as established
by Christ has been in operation but 600 of
the 1900 years since his death. As to the
twelve other centuries, we must infer that
the Church, as established, did not exist
during their course. But we are not left
to mere inference. He says, distinctly:
The process of change and corruption con-
tinued for nearly twelve hundred years, coun-
teracted at times by pure Popes and Emperors.
Then came the reformation.
promise Of Christ, by which We know that
the Holy Ghost, the Comforter and the En-
lightener, shall remain with the Church all
days, even to the end, and that the gates of
He'll shall not prevail against heri What
became of the Church during those twelve
hundred years
As specimens of truthful assertion read
the following choice morceaux:
Many of the Popes have been men of am
bilious and wicked designs, and, if history can
be trusted, of wicked and abandoned lives.
The ascessions of the Popes are but one con.
tnued history, with but few exceptions of
papal intrignes. bribery. perjury and licen-
tiousness.
Not one word of authority TO prove all
this, and for the good reason that it is all
perfectly false. The Saints have been
slandered in all ages, but just as this man
ISLANDERS them now, without the shadow of
proof. Again:
On questions of faith and practice the Popes
have differed, quarreIed aud cursed each other
for centuries.
If this "new light" can show that any
one Pope has differed from any other Pope,
as Pope, on a question of faith, the battle
is over. Catholicity is then a self convicted
imposture the claim to infallible correct
ness is gone forever. But throughout all
these eighteen centuries of fierce persecu-
ton at the hands of the world and its
philosophers, its Julians, its Luthers and it's
voltaires, no stretch of learning or lying
has ever been able to approach any such
proof, and we do not feel much trepidation
at this attempt of Mr.. Hartzell.
However much it may be denied, the general
and free circulation of Gods word is not only
not recommended by Romanism, but is posi-
lively condemned.
Every Catholic knows how to classify
this statement. Not to be uncharitable,
we must merely say that it is utterly false.
To justify image worship, the second COM
mandment 10 sometimes left out of the deca-
logue, and the Others divided SO as to make up
the number.
False. Again:
This same spiritual tyrant has for ages, and
does to-day, curse and anathematize every
form of free thought and investigation in the
worlds of literature, science or government.
Falsa Giuo INTO Cod 10 Cod,s opd