The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-08-27
Liberal (7) Catholics.

Mgr. Nardi was translated from the origi-
nal Italian for the London Ia blet, from
which journal we take it. 1t is great pity
that the misguided beings who call them
selves Liberal Catholics are so blindfoided.
We hope that any such who read this arti-
Gle will have the bandage taken from their
eyes:
Neither the Constitution Quanta Curo,
nor the Syllabus, nor the Council Of the
Vatican, nor the Commune of Paris have
cured them. They are always the same
and they always chant the same song.
Now, however, they have added verse,
which at first they repeated soto coce, and
it is, :" that the temporal power being
dead, it ought to remain dead" In thus
speaking they find themselves in good
company, for Protestants, Freemasons, and
Jews do not, gust at present, wish for more.
Wehave mo- intention of converting them;
still less would we presume to warn them.
Certain as they are of their own superiori-
ty, they look down upon us with such
complete contempt that they turn Our
words into jest. They are the sun; we
are the miserable clouds they are the fu
ture, we are the melancholy past, dead for
ever. The-Charch must look for salvation
Bishops, but to them. On this side of the
Alps they are under the guidance of ten
or twelve priests, or ex -priests, and doz-
en- or SO of laymen, who themselves also
pratt]e theology as though they had writ
ten the Summa. They treat us to Eve or
time to brochure. On the other side of
the Alps are to be found the usual French
leaders, to whom the Professor of Munich
stretches out his hand under the table.
Not single Bishop has openly sided with
them if any have done SO secretly, am
not aware of it.
What do they wantf They never will
put forth neat and decided programme;
though they have certain number of
sounding phrases such as these-Agreement
between the Church and that which they
call m odern civilization and progress; lib
erty of conscience; liberty of the press ;
liberty of everything; but above all, lib
are utterly unable to give clear definition
of what constitutes this entire liberty OF
the Church.
They certainly do not mean by it the
free election of Bishops and their liberty
of action because they have always been
governments, and are always on their side,
squabbling with them sometimes in fra
terna1 kind of way, but really doing their
business. They have sometimes defended
the temporal power for certain reasons
whilst it was on its feet; now, however,
| lutely. They love the Pope; OH, how
dearly ! but they take upon themselves the
Office of tutoring him every day, and they
are annoyed that he will not attend to
them. They hate with a deadly hatred
the Jesuits, whom they look upon as the
they hate the Cardinals, Prelates and
Priests of Rome, who will not think after
their fashion, and who enclose the Pope in
a nett of retrograde ideas, preventing him
thus from accepting their advice. Accord
ing to them, these members Of the visible
court (sans intelligence is the technical Gu
phonism) are the cause of oil the evils
which have ever happened to the Church
and to the world. II they were the rulers
themselves, these evils would cease at once
through fiat. The world and the Church
would embrace each other as brethren the
French Republic and the Kingdom Of Italy
the Code of Napoleon and the Italian Code
| would place themselves in harmony with
the Gospel, or rather. to speak more Cor.
rectly, the Gospel with them.
The liberal French Catholics have their
little idols of Laban in their Golfers, and
they are the principles of 80; the liberia
Italian Catholics look at the French, ad
mire them, follow them, copy them and
every piece of foolery committed by tile
French is adorable when itsavors of Liber-
alism.
Is all this an innocent gamef Is it a sci
entitic discussion, like that between Real.
lists and Nominalists, Thomists and Scot
lists, which is taking place within the walls
Of the schools7 Oh, no! it is terrible
game, which is vexing, hindering and in.
Turing the Church in Italy, in France, il
the East, and even on the other side of til,
Channel and across the Atlantic. At Tu
rim, at Milan, at Genoa, at Florence, a
Naples, even at Rome; in the Assembly a
Versailles in the British Parliament, il
the German Parliament, and even in tn,
Divan of Constantinople, We find thes,
men who style themselves Catholics, nay
more, who declare that they are truer
purer and more intelligent Catholics thar
even the Pope himself, than our hundred
of Bishops, our thousands of priests, and
our admirable missionaries, who sometime
find in these men greater obstacles tina
they have to encounter in open enemies.
Writing from Rome, we have it in GU
power to know more than is possible else
where as to what is taking place, but W
: cannot give names and facts, because thes
, men would become far worse and fact
more sad. But we may be permitted t
, to repeat what the Holy Father spoke {
the depaSation of Catholics of France