National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-06-23
THE PAPAL ANNIVERSARY.
LECTURE BIZ REV. oHls. 4. HHITE
SUNDAY ETEgISG.

Il
trr E -g.f /
HIS VIEWS ON PAPAL INFALLIBfLITY AND
OTHER ROMAN CATHOLIC DoGhAs-AN
| ATTACHMENT OF The MATERIALIsT OF
THE DAY FROM HIS sTANDPoIST-ITALY
| AND GERMANY DENOUNCED. 81"
The following is the full report Of the able
lecture delivered by Rev. Charles ]. White,
pastor of St. Matthew's church, at the meeting
of the Young Catholics Friend society, on
Sunday evening. As an authoritative EXPOSE
ticu Of the views Of the Catholic Church of
the United States on. q most important subject,
It will repay a careful perusal: a,f.E
Ladies' and Gentlemen: This day-21st Of
June, 1s74-is the twenty-eighth anniversary
Of the Inauguration Of the present Pope, Plus
TX, as the Vicar Of Christ on earth In the gov
eminent of his Church, and as ruler of those
temporal dominions which the necessities of the
times and the faith and Morality of Christian
princes had consecrated to religious freedom,
under the title Of the Political States. When
we consider that, in the long succession of two
hundred and fifty Pontiffs who have presided
over the affairs of Christendom, during more
than eighteen centuries, Plus TX is the only
one whose administration has had so protracted
an existence, and especially embarrassed as 1t
has been by so many political revolutions at
home and abroad, we cannot but view this
remarkable fact, not only as an historical
wonder, but as possessing an extraor-
i binary significance in the designs of d.
vine Providence, and as marking the
present illustrious and sanity occupant
of the chair of Peter for the accomplishment
of mission, the full import and result of
which human sagacity is unable to determine.
But the record of his life and actions, since lis
elevation to the supreme pastorship, enables
US to make at least a partial estimate of the
important and extraordinary mission which
\ has devolyed upon him in this eventful age,
and, so far as am capable of forming judy
ment on the subject, he seems to have been
called, in a special manner, to proclaim to the
world the great principles of political and
religious truth-those principles which consti-
tute the basis of Christian civilization, and
the disregard of which is so fruitful source
of the lsRentsble disorders and frightfuI
catastrophes that affiict society in our times.
It cannot but excite
| THE WONDER OF THOUGHTFUL MEN,
who believe in Divine revelation, how it is
that after the Gospel Of Christ has been
preached for more than eighteen hundred
years-that Gospel which was ushered in by
the angelic proclamation of glory to God and
peace to men of good will-that after so gene
raj a diffusion of its salutary teachings, aided
as it has been in latter times BY the progress of
education, the discoveries of science, and the
continually increasing intimacy or fraterniza-
/ ton among the different nations of the earth
we cannot but wonder that there is such a lack
lof wisdom, such lamentable failures in civil
government, and such fearful and perpetual
| perturbations Of social order. Our astonish-
meht, however, at this state Of things does not
proceed so much from inability to indicate the
cause Of the evil as from the inconeeiyable.
ignorance and indifference of peoples and their
rulers in relation to il. Every rejecting mind
will admit that the cause is very emphatically-
i expressed in those words of the Psalmist,
! "Truths are decayed from among the chill
dren OF men; they have spoken vain things
every one to his neighbor; with deceitfuI
lips and a double heart have they
spoken" This conceive to be succinct,
but q very graphic, description of the age in
which we live. Now, it is the glory of that
great man who is seated in the chariot Peter
to announce to the world, with peculiar en-
phasis, minuteness and precision, those salu-
/ tary truths which are the basis of all human
| happiness, both temporal and eternal, but
which unfortunately have almost fallen into
oblivion in these degenerate times. In an en-
i cyclical letter of August 1, 1854, Plus TX
alludes to this subject as follows "Ghristian
nations are at this moment afflicted and dis
turbed by fierce wars, by intestine feuds, by
pestilential maladies, by fearful connections.
What is most to be deplored is, that
THE CHILDREN OF DARKNESS,
who in their generation are wiser than the
children of light, endeayor, more and more,
by every kind Of diabolical artifce, by machi-
/ nations and conspiracies, to pursue bitter
war against the Catholic Church and its salu-
tary doctrines; to overthrow and to ruin the
authority of every legitimate power; to pervert
and corrupt everywhere minds and hearts; to
propagate in all places the deadly poison of In
difercntism and infdelity; to confound all laws,
divine and human; to create and foster quar-
stopping at no crime or no eyil doing-and not
shrinking from any attempt to annihilste, If it
were possible, our holy religion, and even ut
terly destroy all human society,"" y
Perhaps some one may ask, Why does the
i Sovereign Pontif bring together the sufferings
ofthe Church and the evils Of society," Why
does he associate ting doctrines of religion with
the prosperity Of civil goyernmentsl What
part has the supreme bishop of the Christian
world In its temporal or political affairs
What right has he to admonish nations
and their rulers of their respective obliga-
tionsl The answer to these queries Is
simply this, that there Is no political
1 question that does not involve theological
question: because man, individually and COL
lectively, having been destined by his Divine
/ Creator for supernatural end, all his aspira-
tons and movements are essentially subject to
the divine law, which has prescribed the con-
ditions for obtaining that end. But who IS
THE EXPONENT OF THE DIVINE LAW
but the Church, or the supreme Pontiff, who
is the representative or organ of the Church,
This remark may enable US to understand
/ that the Pope, in protesting against the false
1 principles which mislead civil governments,
not only exercises right, but discharges a
solemn duty, incumbent on him as the glSar-
/ dian of that divine revelation to which all hu-
man affairs are bound to conform. And for
this reason do we hear him denouncing, in the
most explicit and forcible language, the sevo-
| lutionary doctrine which afirms the sover-
eighty Of the people, and the impious and
tyrannical doctrine which asserts the supre-
macy of the State over the Church. In his
encyclical addressed to the Italian Episcopate,
December 8, 1S49, he says: "Let the faithful
iconided to your care be admonished that the
nature of human society requires that all
should be obedient to the lawfully constituted
/ authority, and that no change be made in the
divine precept on this point, for 1t is written,
/ BE We subject to every human creature for
Gods sake; whether to the King as excelling,
| or to governors as sent by him for the punish
ment OF evil doors, and for the praise of the
| good: for so is the will of God that by doing
we'll you may put to shame the ignorance Of
/ foolish men: as free, and not as making liberty
q cloak for malice, but as the servants of God;
and he adds from st. Paul: Let every soul be
subject to the higher powers; for there is no
power but from God, and those that are, are
ordained of God.' Therefore he that resisteth
| the nower resisteth the ordinance of God. and