The New York herald., 1874-11-19
GLADSTONE AND MANNING.
Prudentius Defines What the Church
Considers Lawful md Unlawful.


! In your editorial article OF last sunday on the
! Manning G. Gladstone controversy, occur some pas
sages 10 which all Catholics must take exception.
Quoting the words OF the Archbishop, "Ciyil
obedience rests on natural law; revealed truth is
the law OF God, y you pursue hus:-"Consequenty
the law OF God teaches ali men that they must, for
the good OF society, obey civil rulers in all things
tnat are iawiui.v And yon continue:-"fhe Arch.
bishop thus admits in this reservation the same
principle winch was so much in vogue during our
anti-slavery discussions. and winch seward spoke
or as the higher law Seward ana the ant-siasery
statesmen contended that higher lava law OF
consclence-compeiied them % disobey the Fugi.
tive Slave law decrees. Archbishop Manning ad.
vances the same prnclpie when ne reserves to MS
Church what laws are are not binding upon the
conscience OF the Catholic citizen"
Pardon me, but the HERALD says too much, and
draws too broad ana too damaging an inference
when he says that Archbishop Manning preserves
to his Church ito declareO what laws are or are
not binding upon the conscience OF the Catholic
citizen" The words OF the Archbishop are $50
ciety is founded on nature and subjects are bound
In all things which are lawful to obey their rulers"
Allow me to show you In what Catholic doc rine,
on tins point resembles the anti-slavery "hlgner
law" and ia what 1t differs.
The Catholic church and her Pontn are the cus-
todians, witnesses and expounders OF the entire
revealed truth, written and unwritten. Now,
revelation embraces the natural law promulgated
anew under Moses, ana forming the groundwork
OF domestic and civil society. 1t is with her
cardinal prlucpe that she has no power
to change or dispense with any one OF the
clearly known dispositions OF the law OF
nature. any more than she can alter
or dispense with like dispositions Of the divine
positive law. They botn are the expression OF the
divine WILL binding alike on the head OF the
Church and on every individual within her bosom.
Any legislative enactment, no matter rom what
proceeding that violates the law OF nature,
founded IN the eternal and essential fitness of
things, Is OF tsel null and void. such Is the law
forDldding marriage between parents and their
descendants down to the remotest generation.
No law OF Church or State can change the natural
and essential .sunht tnessr existing mere; no dis
pensation OF any human authority can validate a
union which nature reprooates. Such. again,
would be law tolerattng or sanctloning pro.
mlscuous cohabltation. Such, under the new
law revealed bY Christ, would be q law
lesazng e poygay and nGva, coMmn1nG pndes das
certain circumstances, to aid the poygamlst IN
recovering hls auscondng concuDihe. Sucii, una.y,
would be Jaw making Oi man u mere cnattei OF
his ieii0w man. denying MN ali social rights ana
compelling nim 10 the naOitual VIOLATION OF LlS
own innate moral sense.
Iuese laws OF the state are tpsO Jdct0 and ante
roriy 10 any decision o the supfe e court or eece-
OF nature, or tue known positive law Vi God, wnIcn
they violate, not oniy dspenses nom OoeJl ing the
legislator, bul binds us not to obey liu. When,
therefore, you speak Oi lhe law OF the state as
opposed to the "nl-ner law" eltuer II nature or
positive revelation, you lnuuce u ialse NOTION Ia
tile minds 0, your readers Any legislative en- tcs-
ment wnicn Is contrary TO eitne. OF these
in Christian com 1unlty Is admitted Dy all
jurIsts to law. Every law, Properly sU-cailed,
is one tnat Is III accordaACe wiLh the universally
acknowledged principes oi Right ana wrong.
Hence between sucn law soiey deserving OIL the
u,
there Can oe no coDhct no oppo5itou.
You are the state, or tne states LEGISLATOR, ana
you enact law DndlnR NE, ;i5 under the oid
Caesars to o1er incense 10 tile statue Ol. the En-
peTor IN token OF divine Worship or to sacrifice 10
Jupiter OF DIANA. Am l. whO uellcse IN the one
true God and revere HIS comm Anu nents, bound 10
obey your Is there not .'Qi.aer .as'' III the
act yoU enJolu From the haiem oi tue Mormon
Prophet, or 0 some one o. aIs iOatnsome com
limits OF Utan ID takes refuge beneath the roof
tree citizen OF q rec state. can any Ia~ winch
the uslLve To ner lord, Or TO give ehe ctive
aid IN captu uriag and restoring aer, De biuulng on
Again. am cluzen OF Geneva. or Cologne, or
! PoseD, ana my Ca hoiic conscience teacn me
that no olsnop no priest can niniser to my soai
In ner need-let me say at ueatu's nour-the sacfa-
ments instituted Dy CHRIST. save alone those dp-
pointed and commissioned oy the mead O. tue
Cnurch. You, the state, declare that the Pope
dlction over me and nv fellow catholics,
that shall have neither pnest nor
bishop TO minister to me, save such as you APP
point: ana you banisn the pastors who re use TO
ackno ledse you as the source OF spiritual Juris-
dlctIon, and Iorclbly inssan in tne.r place the
Grim nal and the apostate. know as clearly as
know my own existence tiiat these intruders nave
no power 10 paruOn or TO neal, and tlat TO accept
their mlnistratons would oe ueddly sacrIege:
am bound TO obey your No! Your Enactment
Is no Jaw; IL IS cont ary 10 the nrst principles
OF legislation. am III Russian Poland, ana the
ruthless autocrat sends mis- Cossacks 10 compel
me at the point or the lance TO attend scblsmatl-
Cal worship, to enreglsler publicly my renounce-
ment OF ali spiritual suDjectlon 10 the Bishop OF
Rome and those in communion witn MIN. Is the
edict winch compeis me to be d,gnlned with tue
name OIL lawf Or ads such an ed.ct olndlng iorce
on my cOusciences
no connlct between the laws oi the State and
'higner law,n you can only mean tnis-that the
will oil the legislator enjOlns n0tning tnat IS not
in known conformity with the divine will as de-
clared In the law ol nature ana the revealed aw.
All things, and only tnese, which 80 couform are
.1awlui.n When the civil ruler enJoins these, and
these Ouly am bound to OBEY him as God hlm-
SELF There Is then "a resel yaton" which IL Is in
the very nature OF things to maze In speaking Of
our obedience to human legislation IN Church or
State, that the laws shall enJ0ln no wrong. Pagans
and Christians, citlzens OF every creed and Cline,
are agreed on this point II means the same
thing the Whole world over and under every gov
venture to say that before q month has passed
you will hear the same explanation from Arch
bishop Naming 'ln all things lawful" IS reser.
walton that you yourself make wnen you imply,
while oDeying the Jaw, that IL snail not enJoln
what mature ana natufe,s zoo neclare 70 oe ua ~
all classes ana creeds IN the community. know OF
no reservation ever made oy the Catnonc Cnurcn.
There Is great difference between tnls "reserva.
tom as here explained and the Interpretation
commonly gwen TO the "hlgner law" during the
anti-slavery agitation.
The trainers OF the constitution. or at least q
majority o. them, Dad found slavery existing as
an established TACT. 1 am not aware that single
one OF them at that time praised IL as blessing
1t was an inheritance partly oeQueatned to US Dy
the old colonial admins .ratlon aud partly due
to our own cupldit,. IL was considered oy
moderate men as an evil; but the dlmculty
was now to abate It. How it became sectional
institution all know as well as how Its increase
and permanence led TO nerce strife and fearful
boodshed need not here be told. Even Deiure the
Fugitive Slave law was passed. While one party
considered slavery, even apart from IT'S abuses as
'.an essential evil" and appealed 10 "higner
lawn commanding ali to ad In suppressing 1t,
there was an equal numoer VINO considered It
still greater evil to expose the Union To disruption
and the country TO the horrors a civil and even.
tuaily. oil q serve war. When tue supreme Court
had declded that slavery was constitutional ana
citizens were called upon TO enforce tue laws or