Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-05-13

Episeopa|ians, or any other religionists in
Knoxville, made like demand? No
And yet their religious faith and doctrines
and usages are, it is fairly to be presumed
equally dear to them. And why Sdo. moi
Protestant christians of various denomina-
tions make similar "demandsns Simply
because healthy, religious liberality pre-.
walls among them, and they have no dis
position to make the State serve their par.
ticular UNCONVENTIONAL purposes, to the
detriment Of the common school system.
They do not breathe the exclusive, intoler-
ant spirit of Roman Catholicism, nor offer
to thrust their peculiar religious views and
ecclesiastical organizations into the work
ing of civil public affairs, nor insist that il
the common funds of the people Of the city
or State are not 30 used as to promote and
sustain their views and organizations, they
shall have. their portion with which to
conduct schools after their own special
ideas. But this is precisely what the Ro-
man Catholic Priest and his friends have
offered to do and demanded" Is not
their demand manifestly one for exclusive
rights and privileges" in this matter?
But the writercn "Fhe OtherSide" urges
that the common schools are Protestant
schools, and it is not. right and fair that
Roman Catholics should be required to
support such schools. II ne means
to assert that the common schools Of our
country are conducted upon principles
of civil and religious liberty which are dis
| tasteful to the Roman Catholic Church and
antagoilistic to its rprinciples, and there
fore that in order to do what is just and
fair to Roman Catholics, we should allow
the common school system tobe broken up,
and grant the demand of the Priest and
| his friends for their share of the school
| moneys, his proposition cannot be admit
| ted, for 1t would involve the surrender of
| the very principle Of religious liberty. But
/ if he, means that religious instruction is
| given i'm our common schools, positively
| hostile to the Catholic Church, / aver my
| ignorance of the fact alledged and my dis
befiefsof its accuracy and ask him Of
"the other side" to produce the proof Of his
statement, Let him furnish the evidence
of bis declaration that "in many of the
text books used in the common schools in
the United States there is to be found much
that is abusivc-scurrilousIy abusive-of
the Romish Church "JV5I IT II
But, after all how can such an allegedfact,
i'm any event, materially effect the case in
hand? The Mayor and Aldermen would
not readily lend themselves to a gross in
justice, and in the event the Priest and his
friends will come into line with their, fel-
Ow-citizers Of all parties and oreesis to the
support of our common schools, venture
rejectiug textbooks which inculcate the
principles of civil and religious liberty,
will shut the door against all books, If any
there are, that are abusive -scurrilously
abusive of the Remish Church." Will the
gentleman ION the other side" pledge him.
self and his Roman Catholic sympathizers,
that provided this is done, they will cease
all further opposition to our common
schools and unite with their fellow citizens
in the encouragement and support of them,
and in the common enjoyment of their
benefits? a
1t isplain, however, that this plea against
our common schools is unsubstanfial. The
true reason of the demand for portion of
the school fund, to maintain a Roman
Catholic school, Is not that textbooks,
abusive of the Romish Church are used in
the common schools but it Is, that posi-
the religious obstruction, such as that
Church dpprores and requires. Is not given
IN those schools. Listen to Father Finne-
gan:
"It is argued we can teach our children
their peculiar form of religion ON Sunday.
We are not satisfied with this arrange
ment. We believe that certain things are
necessary for the souls salvation. These
things are very numerous and require con-
slant and careful inculcation, and no school
can be satisfactory, ercept ,ohere the teach
secular education" The italics are mine.
Among several very irrelevant and un-
profitable utterances Of the gentleman on
1.-THE Other Side,u is his question, SIS
the (Roman) Catholic Church in this re-
spect more intolerant than the Pretestant?p
Now If he means as his words seem to
import, whether leach sect of the Protest
ant Church is not just as intolerant as the
Roman Catholic Church, in holding that
the true religion is to be found in his ~
own church and not i'm the Roman Catho-
lie ?n j reply, that while Protestant de-
nominations hold that the true Christian
religion is preserved and maintained by
them in its purity and integrity, and that
that religion is oyerlaid in the Roman
Catholic Church with more than a few
superstitions, errors and idolatories, they |
do not deny that it may be found by an |
earnestseeker after truth, in the member- |
ship of that church, and even through the |
crust of those superstitions, errors and |
through living faith in Jesus Christ, be |
now in state of salvation and eventually |
be admitted to His Kingdom in the world |
to come. On the other hand, the Roman !
Catholic Church is exclusive and intoler- |
ant to that degree, that its authorities pro- |
nOunce all PrOtestants to be heretics and |
schismatics, cut off now from the favor of
God, religiously in astate Of wrath and
condemnation, and, unless they will sub
NIT to its authority and accept its dogmas
as true, to be. subject to everlasting pun-
ishment. This bigotry and intolerance,
as any one may easily see, are the legiti-
mate and fruitful parents of It's persecution |
of Protestants. might, with reason, be
surprised at the attempt, of ''Ther Other
Side to implicate Protestants equally With
the Roman Catholic Church in the work
of religious. persecution, seeing that he
processes to be q reader of history, and
that all history proves that while the robe
of Protestantism has upon It. as few
of Roman Catholicism are dark with many
stains of the, Blood of christian martyrs
whom ii has SHIN for their love Of and ad-
herence to the truth of the Gospel. But
it is not worth while. 1t deserves notices,
however. in this connexion. that although