Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-05-16
A CATHOLIC BISHOP ON TEMPER
AECE. 81
He Does not Agree with the Arch
.r1t n Bishop.

1t.hOPs
The Wheeling Register gives tn
following extract from a sermon OF
temperance, preached at the cathedra
in Wheeling. on Sunday afternoon, b,
Bishop Whelan:
What, then, do / advise? First, a,
Catholics, | call upon you to abandon
the use and sale of liquors. / do moi
/ speak to you as though the traffic were
unlawful, as the word of God does not
forbid it when used with moderation
and within reason !; but, on the other
hand, these conditionsares seldom CON-
piled with. Judas betrayed the be-
loved Son of God for thirty pieces OF
silver for gain; true, he was afterwards
filled with remorse and threw away his
hire. The same evidence suggests a
thousand excuses. You think there
is money to be made in the traffic, with
out once thinking of the consequences.
Would you deliberately lead your own
child to destruction? Would you ia ke
a beloved brother by the hand and
take him to the brink of a certain and
fearful death, and there leave him to
perish? How then are you to make
your excuses to God for leading another
into evil for the sake of your purse
You say you do not urge them to drink
to excess; but You ought TO know that
it will finally lead to that. Remem-
bering how fearful is the desolation,
and Knowing how strong is the tempta-
ton, and that it will shortly lead to
excess, you feel prompted to caution
him; avarice steps in you think the
more that is sold the more gain there
is. You don't care if it is the gain of
Judas. There is danger, great danger
Therefore | advise you to seek other
employment. The Bible says that we
must visit the widows and orphans, and
do all in our power to lessen the evil
brought into the world in consequence
of sin. What are these men doing to
relieve all this weight of sorrow? Sup
pose you saw your neighbor's children
IN danger, would you let them go to
destruction with the excuse that you
were not their keeper? This is what
you say about the traffic; you are not
responsible for the evil. But [ tell
you, you are In the second account of
Cain and Abel God took the opportun-
ity to tell us that in certain sense we
are all brothers, and are responsible to
him for the loss of the least of US. if
the rest have not done their duty We
hold mutual relation to each other,
and il is our duty to care for all and
if we offer no one drink we will lead
no one into temptation. And even
suppose that you will not sell or give
to excess, yet you are suspected of
having done it. You are classed with
those who go to the greatest extremes,
and commit the greatest excess. Are
you willing to rest under the suspic-
ion? Are you willing to be classed
among those who have committed
crime which God has forbidden,
although you may not be one of them?
And then another point; the ga n
which one receives from this source
seldom remains. A man who spends
his life in dealing in liquor often finds
creeping into his own house the evils |
which he sends into others. 1t is |
almost impossible in this traffic not to !
partake yourself. Catholics, turn away
from this traffic, and leave it to those |
who can look on all its evils and hor-
rors without one pang of conjunction |
or feeling of remOrse. Leave it to
those who care not for the welfare Of !
their Deighbors, and care not for the |
love of God. Remember the sacred |
thirst and agony of Jesus, and let the |
teach you that you are !
called upon to make sacrifices and |
practice self-denial.
The Bishop then spoke of a Catho- /
lie organization which had been started
some time since in aid of the temper
auce cause, and read the order of ex-
ercises, which requires all Catholics to !
pray on certain days for the suppress
ion of the evil. He closed with an
to all present, and especial !
ly young men, to come forward after |
the benediction and sign the pledge.