The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-01-14

exposed by Bossuet in MS memcaSylo
" The Variations of the Protestant ChuFcueS,
one Of the very authorities placed 10 my nSna NOS
to induce me to accept the Catholic as tho nm,
changeable Church Must !, an s eGGesSoS
contradiotionsf want to believe what the
old Catholic Church believed, and NO more. l
! would be cursed now for asserting just me
this new religion. If one change. one vari-
alton 10 made in my short life, how many
changes will be made in the next one tho9s se,H
yearsf Why, the Catholic Christians Of 2S72
would not consider the Catholic Christian OF
1879 rs orthodox Mt all. One rises into the
celestial city with doctrines which the other
10 totally ignorant Of. Is this lone Lord one
Doilinger believe to be right. I am an
American citizen who fears not to endors
and and the old Catholic am
reigns, and Is not subject to mutations. he
will find some way to protect men who en-
deavor to be consistent and this Is exaesy
deavoring to be. 49,,
am layman, the author Of six books which
have sold VI tens of thousands over the United
States. Possibly I may answer to the Method
lists term, prominent lay Catholic" If not.
then I am only q simple lay Catholic, who
fearlessly endorses Dollipger. W. on.,,
Mr.. Walwcrth is layman, and claims to
have been prominent Catholic, aud dis
tinguished Catholic author. His father was
a prominent man aud a distinguished jurist,
his brother, the Rev. Clarence A. WalwOrth,
is a prominent Catholic, priest. and an
able and polished writer. But Mansfield
has never been known as q prominent Cath
Ole layman, and his pretensions to have
been a Catholic author are very slender:
He has written and published several
novels, but rather anti Puritanical than
Catholic in spirit or tone, and better fitted
to encourage a free, rollcking life, than
Catholic faith and piety. In his "Lula,"
thoru ora eop,a Catholic charactera intro
duced, az we'll as a caricntare of his own
father In his " Hotspur," there is nothing
to indicate that it was written by Catho-
lie. There are none of his works which
are pervaded by Catholic spirit, unless
it be his Mission of Death :" none of
them are as truly Catholic in doctrine,
| morality, tone or tendency, as "Merton
House," recently concluded in Appleton's
Journal. He has always seemed to US as
| writer to be one who has conformed rather
than been converted to the Church. All
his bopks, that we have read, have disap-
pointed us, and have struck US as far in
ferior to what the writer might and would
have produced, had he been in earnest and
done his best. We do not think he hae
ever been distinguished among Catholics
as Catholic author.
| Mr.. Walworth speaks of the library he
collected of standard Catholic works. IN
happily, he names not single work that is
| a standard authority on the question on
which he disagrees with the Pope and the
Council of the Vatican. He seems to have
studied his theology in bad school, and
to have mistaken the opinions of some
Catholics, not expressly condemned by the
Church, as the faith of the Church, thus
cOnfoundipg sententig in Eccfesia with SEN
tentiG ecclesio. The Gallican opinion was
an opinion in the Church, but was never q
doctrine of the Church. Mr.. Walworth
was never taught it as Catholic faith, but
| at ne
Church had never explicitly condemned,
and therefore an opinion which he might
hold as an opinion, but not Catholic faith:
Mr.. Walworth says, "Tbe Christian of
fallibility of the Bishop of Rome."- On
what authority does he assert thatf low
does he know that9 "The Pope and the
Council of the Vatican teaches to the con-
trary. How does he know that they are
wrong and he right. The American Cath
bility of the Roman Pontiff: It was not
taught to him, nor did he believe it," We
know nothing of American Catholics,
though We know some very worthy Catholic
! Americans. Catholicity knows no national
distinctions, and has nothing to do with
tholics throughout the world, were taught
that, whether the Pope is infallible or not
is question not yet formally decided by
the infallible authority, and no written
opinion can, pending the litigation, be pro-
Dounced orthodox or heterodox. Gallican-
ism, to say the least, was nowhere taught
or permitted to be held as Catholic faith, |
and no one ever pretended that the SO called
Ultramontane doctrine had been explicitly |
and implicitly condemned as repugnant to |
the faith. Mr.. Walworth is a lawyer. The |
dispute has been carried up to the Supreme
Court, and decided. Does he pretend that |
the decision of the court has changed the |
lawf that in declaring what the law is and |
always has been on the point disputed, it |
introduced new lawf If SO, God help
his clients.
The decision of the case in litigation by
the court of last resort, every lawyer
knows, simply declares and applies the
law, makes what before has been uncertain,
known and certain and closes the question, |
which henceforth is res adjudicata, and it
would be ridiculous to pretend that the de- |
csion of the court bad changed the law and |
made that to be law which was not law be- |
fore. The most that can be said is, that the |
decision settles that to be law which was not
certainlH known tn ha law before it's de-