New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-06-21
FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS OPINION.

| WOuQeT tuaC Iue Dunetm cOuplaluS VI III
want Of harmony.
FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS OPINION.
There is no feature in the American
system so wonderful as its universe
liberation of opinion-civil and relig
ious. The world had long dreamed o.
a government in which there should bt
no such word as orthodox. The immorta
wisdom of Thomas jefferson, that "Errol
ceases to be dangerous when reason is lef
| free to combat it," was, indeed, but &
paraphrase of the same doctrine addressed
by that eminent doctor of the law, Cana.
liel, to the council, "Refrain from these
men'-the Apostles -''and let them alone
for, if this counsel or this work be Of
men it will come to naught; but if it be
of God, We can not overthrow it." This
doctrine of allowing any man to expose
the strength or weakness Of his own faith
is the only key to American liberty. 1t is
to England, to Switzerland, to America,
to all countries where this freedom of
opinion is guaranteed, that all the NAL
contents, schismatics and theorists resort.
1t is in America, especially, that the fall
lacies Of community in property, or of
polygamy, have received the signal refuta-
ton of fair trial. We may add to this
that we are Protestant by birth, education
and conviction; that we read and believe
Protestant history, and can give reasons
for this faith, which have proved satisfac-
tory to a majority OF the people whose
language we speak and whose institutions
we prefer.
We claim, then, to speak from an impair
tial standpoint when we accord to foreign
opinion a right Of speech and advocacy,
which would not, perhaps, be allowed to
American opinion in other countries.
We think the right to express these &C.
clesiastical opinions is overstrained when
accompanied by claim that an American
State is Papal province, Or is in any
manner bound in temporal or spiritual
allegiance to foreign power.
The application which we make of these
remarks is based upon some phrases en-
ployed in the address of the most reverend
Archbishop upon the recent act of conse-
Grafton to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In
this address it is said:
Shield with Thy all powerful protection
him whom Thou hast chosen to represent
Thee on earth, that great and glorious Pom
tiff. who is SO shamefully prosecuted; cast
down merciful look upon this diocese and
this province of New Orleans, which prem
ises to be wholly Thine; and while dispens-
ing to US Thy spiritual gifts, O, ALLOWING
Heart, avert trom us the scourges by which
we are chastised and which we have Justly
deserved by our manifold ingratitude.
For this sentiment we have most re-
spectful regard. Those who believe that
Christ can have a mortal representative
those who think that representative has
been "shamefully prosecuted" by his own
Italian people, and those who believe that
we deserve the ''scourges by which Louisi-
ana is chastised," have perfect right so
to believe, and they shall have our aid
and can command the power of the ma
tional government ''peaceably to assem-
be- and avow whatsoever opinions they
may entertain. But there are two propo-
sitions involved in the paragraph quoted
from which we dissent. Louisiana is not
a Roman province. A spiritual iurisdic-
ton may overspread territorial and
political extent. The various religious
sects Of the Union-and under our act of
freedom we acknowledge no one
sect as of higher legal author
ity than another-divide the national
territory as may to them seem convenient.
The Methodist sect have made partition
of the Union, and the Catholic sect may
do the same if they will, but this ecclesi-
astical adherence and allegiance Of spir-
itual corporation in this country to a su-
preme religious corporation in another is
something unusual, and we may state, so
far as we now believe, wholly without ex-
ample in the United States. It is very
doctrine. 1t involves the
Of drawing the line where the
political obligation of citizen to his own
government ends and where his paramount
and spiritual obligation to another and a
foreign domination begins. 1t is one
phase Of this difficulty that has for many
months past agitated Germany, and it is
another that has been somewhat solved
by the separation Of Church and State in
Italy, which is, we suppose, referred to in
the following pathetic apostrophe to the
Saviour, which we find in the same adj
dress:
Surround with Thy love, as with an i'm
pregnable bulwark, Thy spotless spouse,
the holy Catholic Church, our mother, so
furiously assailed from all quarters; crush
all her enemies, and by bringing them to re-
pentance gain over them that victory which
will be most glorious to Thee.
We say that this demarkati on of power
is of less consequence to our extremely
practical people, who do not care CONT
Mental dime what man thinks about any
thing, unless it is proposed to interfere in
his business in some manner or other, and
Of this our courts take care.
We must take some statistical exception
10 the statement ''this province of New
Orleans promises to be wholly Thine"
We should be gratified to believe that the
zingdom of Christ will be established
over this whole people, but there is no