The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-01-18
Religious Liberty.

Recent dispatches from England speak of
resolutions passed by q respectable body of
Englishmen approving the course of the
German Government towards it's Catholic
subjects. They even 60 so far as to pro-
claim their conviction that the measures of
that Government were in the interest Of
religious liberty.
This brings us to q realizing sense of
what strange notions people can entertain
when they are determined to do so, right
or wrong. We should like to get out of
those Britishers what kind of an idea they
have of religious liberty. Their definition
of that term would be acceptable at this
juncture. We suppose that it is subject
about which they haven't thought much
and don't care much, except theoretically,
and that they have a vague sort of idea
that religious liberty means the right to
believe in whatever religious doctrines
ones Judgment approves, and means moth
ing more.
But suppose your religion claims to be
something more, and o great deal more,
than more collection of religious truths
and revelations suppose it claims to be
an organized entity, corporation vested
with certain authority, exercising certain
powers, and governed by hierarchy
welding with the right of discipline as an.
other essential of its very life suppose
your judgment leads you to believe in o
religion which is q spiritual Kingdom, or
ganized as you believe by Christ himself
and vested by Him with power over you !;
| does their religious liberty include your
creedi That is, have you the right to
| believe in such a religion 7
Ifso, you have right, in the exercise
Of religious freedom, to believe in the
| Catholic religion. That religion claims, as
an essential part of its existence, an
organized government. 1t claims o gov
erDment embodied in q certain hierarchy
and no other. It claims that this hierarchy
has two powers, one of teaching Chris.
tians, the other of governing the church
Of teaching the truth and of preventing
error from being taught in its name.
firmly that the doctrine of authority in the
church is divine truth as that the exis-
| tence of God is divine truth.
Now real religious liberty gives o man
as much protection in his enjoyment of the
one belief as of the other. If he has a
right to believe in the Holy Ghost he has
q right to believe that the Holy Ghost in
spires the Pope with infallibility. 1.-The has
right to believe that Christ came and
founded Church he has right to believe
that He endowed that Church with auth
ority and with control over it's priest
hood.
But the religious liberty of Prussia, 80
much spplauded by England, and SO much
like its own former policy in Ireland, ig-
nores the authority of the Church in it's
own matters. It interferes with the educa-
ton of seminarians for the priesthood, it
interferes with the appointment of parish
priests by the Bishops. it interferes with
their censure and deposition if incompe-
tent or scandalous. 1t does not say in SO
many words, you shall not believe in the
Catholic religion, but it says, you shall not
practise it. Believe that the Bishops have
certain authority, if you please but they
shall not exercise it. We do not infringe
your right to believe what you find good,
but we. shall control your right to prac-
tise what you believe.
And this is an Englishman's idea of re-
ligious liberty.