Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-11-26

OF the world II they Will, but we Wi
have nothing to do with them. Some
times persons come out with a kind {
an apology for the Catholic church, an
then there Is g great ''hulabOIoo" raise
that the Catholic church Is the foe {
liberty, of education, aud so on. 1t
just the very came as when our divin
Redeemer was brought before the high
priest and the high-priest asked hin
what he taught, he answered in a.
! apologetic tone: az have taught nOthini
wrong; have never taught Ia private
what l have taught / have alWay
taught in publie;" and then our Ssvio
added: "YOu can ask those who hav
heard me;" upon which the servant Q
the high-priest raised his hand ant
| struck our Savior across the face, say
ing: "Is it thus you answer the high
| priest?" The Catholic church is treatei
somewhat In the same way. Whel
there Is no argument to be found thel
great big phrases and unmeaning word
are put out that the Catholic churcl
is the foe Of liberty; tina
she always tries to oppress and tyrsn
nize over the people; that she wants Z
| deprive the people Of schools and col
leges in order that they may live in ig
norance and superstition, and thus sht
could perpetuate her own reign. VIII
those very people knew-if they knew
anything about history-that thi
Catholic church had saved literature
that she had always encouraged ant
fostered literature, and that she had es
tablished the grandest universities il
the world in all ages. We must throw
back the taunt and say "the Catholic
church is not the foe of liberty; on the
contrary she is the friend OF liberty aDC
ever has been; she is, in reality the only
protector Of liberty that there is in the
world, and only for Iler the name o
liberty would not exist And we car
proveit. How? Liberty IS / said, should
secure TO each person his life, his good
name and his property. Now suppose
man in the exercise Of his liberty
does not respect the good name; does
not respect the property of his neighDol
or his person or life, what is the conse.
quence in any religion except the Catho-
llc church, Nothing whatever. But
let 1t be Catholic VINO thus offends-
and when say Catholic don't mean
nominal one, but one who lives ul
10 the requirements of his church
What is the consequence then with
him? Let Cathollc who has injured
his neighbor in his person, in his prop.
erty or in his good name, go to c0nfes-
sion-as you know every Catholic is
bound to do once q year-and there, ,peni-
tent before the priest, accuses himself
Of the sins he has committed. What is
said by the priest? The very
same that our Saviour said: "Ii
q maD should be st the altar with bis
gift, and there remember that his BROTH
er has anything against him, let him
arise and go first and be recOnciled with
his brother, and then come and offer his
gift" So the priest says to the peni-
tent: "You must go and repair the in
jury that you have done to that mans
name; repair the injury that you have
done to his property, and make restitu.
ton to him as far as in you lies, for every
wrong and injury you have done him
before can give you aosolution-before
you can be admitted to the sacTaments
Of the church. II you do not make this
restitution, there is no pardon for you
you will be excluded forever from the
benefits Of the church." There is the
preserver Of liberty in earnest. Where
is there any power on earth that exer-
cises 30 much influence in favor OF Iib-
erty as the Catholic church the church
which says to each person: "BefOre
you can participate in the benefits of our
holy religion, you have to make restitu-
ton for the wrong you have done; you
have to give back to the widow what
you have taken from her; you
have TO return TO the orphan
what you have deprived him
Of" And yet we must be told by those
who know nothing whatever about the
Catholic church, aud who regard even
the confessional as a terrible tyranny
we must be told by those that the Cath
olic church is an enemy TO liberty. An
enemy to liberty! She that protects
aud guards the liberty Of everybody,
even Of those people outside her fold; for
it does not matter who the injury is
done to, Protestant or Cstho-
lie, reparation must be made,
and liberty must be vindicated.
An emperor, great tyrsnt, orders some
Of bis subjects to be put to death, simply
because he had the power. He pretends
to be q Catholic, and the following sun
day prepares to go to mass. But there
was a bishop OF the Catholic church who
was waiting at the church-dOor to meet
him; and though the emperor went
there in all his magnifcence and pomp,
and was surrounded by all his retinue,
the bishop, with his mitre upon his
head and his erozier in his hand, stopped
him at the door and said: s'Foul muir
dereri you cannot go into this church;
hGw dare you think of pOlluting the
temple of God sitter the many innocent
lives yon have taken. Begone; no mass
shall be celebrated in your presence" {"
st. Ambrose did that TO 2 great Roman
emperor, and when the emperor begged
to be admitted, saying that the royal
David fell and yet was admitted to the
temple of God, st. Ambrose replied: /:
eyes, the royal David fell, but he did
pensnce; go you and do psnance, and
then you will be admitted;" and part of
that penanee was that not only should
he repent Of his crimes, but make full
reparation for the wrong done, as far as
in him lsy. And he had to do this be-
fore st. Ambrose let him in
to the church. Again, iD later
times, when king of England
wanted to turn his own wife away and
drive her from his home because he took
q fancy to a younger aud comelier wo-
man, the pope OF Rome said: "This
shall not be; the man who dsres to do
such thing, be he king or emperor, I
shall excommunieate from the church
Of God; and will tell bis subjects they
are no longer bound to obey him, for
when king tramples the laws Of God
under foot. he is no longer fit to be
King" This king was Henry VIII, and
when he could not get the pope to ac-
,ede to his wishes, then he set about
iorcing religion upon the English peO-
pie which would allow him to indulge
IN those lieentious and perDieiOus prac-
.ices-allow him to follow those in
ferior appetites and inclinations
which ] spoke Of So Henry VIII
withdrew himself from what he
.ermed the tyranny of Rome" We
know from history that the English
people at that time were exceedingly
corrupt, and therefore, being corrupt,
hey did not have that love OF liberty
which the pure and good always have,
and hence they were easily persuaded
nto an apostate religion. Itwas at this
line that the doctrine of "divine right
)f kings was promulgated. 1t was taught
Dy the principal reformers at the time OF
he so-caIled reformstion. But st. ThOm-
As, whom the church had canonized,
that authosity does not come
10 any king or pOtentate from God, but
that it comes from and was vested in the
people; that they had right to choose
heir own ruler, and be governed &C.
eording to their own sense Of right. This
was what the Catholic church had al
ways taught, and teaches now. But
Europe maintained and de-
'ended the divine right of kings, and it
was this divine right doctrine, preached
N England and Germany, and main
aimed by Luther himself, that enabled
he kings to triumph over the consciences
)f their subjects and to drive them into
religion which they knew to be false.
The spirit of liberty always goes hand
II hand with thespIrit of religion, because