The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-24

but that the whole truth must be told In the In
terests OF society, and that from no mean spirit
Of spite bigorry. The burden of the statesman's
first charge against the Catholic Gu urch 10, that
In defining Papal infalhbiiity she has gone back on
her proud boast OF senper eadem;- that she has
changed her 'front.' at the bidding Of party, and
Proteus-like, has taken new form to comply with
the promptlngs OF ambition.
How this conclusion has been reached It IL not
easy to imagine. Al q high churchman Mr. Glad.
stone viii accept the definitions OF the four first
General Councils. he will have no objection,
probably, to be counted among the disciples Of
Athanasius, OF Basil and the great Pope Leo, OF
Augustine and Jerome though In the time OF
these great men the Church had expressed
many doctrines In set form of words
and made 1t q formula OF faith, which was to be
accepted by all those who wished to be OF her
communion. Even on the ground Of consistency,
therefore, the distinguished writer should admit
that definitions OF aith do not change the original
status OF tho Church. and that .the proud boast
Of seanper eadevn" cannot imply the condition OF .
motionless, crystalzed body, that has neither
the activity nor ruitfulness OF divine life in It.
such meaning is clearly excluded by the judicial
and legislative powers with when Christ endowed
His Church, powers which, OF course, involve the
trins snA's as Wen as the unerrinS Oi IN.
depreciation and application Of 1t. In
sad ii every nave Sssn
teach ye all nations.'' whatsoever you shall
bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven,
be loosed also IN heaven" "He thai heareth you
hearetn me, and he that despiseth you desplseth
the keys OF the kingdom OF heaven, "-'.feed 10Y
lambs. iced my sheep" and "thou being once
converted confirm thy brethren, Relying on the
to preach the words OF GOd-to develop, TO apply
Such the haDinninp a
continued to be, never shrinking from difficulties
the most intricate and never suffering her faith
Her contests through ages have been marked In
history ~ her definitions Of revealed truth. These
are forever testimony TO her fidelity and the
trophies of her victories But, drawn from revc-
lation, they neither add to nor change It, no moro
natural equity. Whether she be silent or whether
she speak, the Catholic Church Is the same great
to corruption or decay, but when challenged puts
forth fresh proofs OF her divine life, and, while
Temsing na fhe b same Grows unto the
the majestic oak that now stretches forth his
giant arms and wrestles with the tempest. ia the
;PoE ha Se9i1S
his identity, and neither does the expansion OF
serting not as boast, but as truth. that she Is
"Senper eddenl," always the same.
Indeed the author OF the expostuia tn does
up to the year 1870. Tnen 1t was, he finds out alter
tour years. reflection, That she committed eo de Se
shatterlng to pieces the mighty Institution which
had witnessed the fall OF so many dynasties and
nations.
stu the Church did on that year only what she
had dune hundreds OF times before. She defined
revealed truth she put the seal OF her authority
on what mad been practically believed during the
Christian past IN regard to Papal iniallblty, In
order the better to secure the faith OF her children
against the errors OF the times. TO DO this was
not to invent new doctrine, but to cOnnrm an
old one; to point out distinctly TO the world
prerogative OF the successor OF st. Peter and to
interpret by formal declaration the history OF
the thought, the action and the writing OF all
It's the plain teaching OF history that no grave
controversy within the domain OF faith or morals
has been finally settled without the Intervention
OF the popes. To them came appea4s in every
century from local authorities. Invariably. when
proud men preached new doctrines, IN any part OF
probation OF the see OF Peter. To 1t Pelagius ap-
pealed from the sentence OF an Oriental synod, and
his abettor, Celesnne, travelled al! the way from
putes with Nestorius and Eutyches. messengers
were despatched time and again to consult the
Pope of Rome. To his decision Berengarus
submitted his. teachings, aud even the author
OF the reformation" was at nrst loath
to break with the chair OF Peter. The effort, or
the Jansenists to avert or evade their condemna-
ton make up q great part OF the ecclesiastical
RECORDS Of the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
ries; while almost within our own memory the
false doctrines Of De Lamennais. OF Hermes and
of Gunther have decayed: Dlgntea by the words
Eternal City by the advocates OF false doctrines
on the hand, and BY the supporters OF the true
ways shown for the shadow OF the see Of Peter;
this gong ana lro, during the CHRISTIAN era OF
those VINO wished TO have their doubts solved or
their opinions confirmed by Papal authority are
evidence oil the unchanging faith OF ChrlstendOm
In the inIalble teaching OF Peters successor in
faith ana morals.
This same faith has been still more striklngy
manifested BY the adherence always given by
pastors and people to the doctrine soiemnly pro-
mulga ed by the Apostolic see.
Nearly q century before the first General Council
was held at Mecca the laitn which 1t defined,
touching the divinity of Christ, nad been denni-
lively marked out by Pope st Dionysius In letter
to his namesake the Patriarch OF alexandra. 1t
the IaJhers OF the Councils OF Ephesus and Chal-
cedon, taught the doctrine that was to be main
tanned concerning the divine personality and the
tw0lOd nature OF Christ. Shortly alter, when
the divinity or the Holy Ghost was denied. it was
prescribed faith for the faithful. We owe the
condemnation OF PelaRianlsm solely to Innocent
Of the ,aise teaching OF Aboard TO innocent NJ
These ie facts. taken from among hundreds Of
others OF the like nature, suff1ce, presume. to
prove that Papal infalliDillty Is nothing new In
the Catholic Church, and Lnat IN defining II IN
1870 she mas not roceded one jot from what mas
been said TO have been her proud bOast'' Of being
''Se7aper eGdem." GRAT1ANUS.
THE GENEALOaY OF CHRIST.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
The theological criticisms in the Sunday HERALD
are to me very interesting reading, evinclng
great learning and research upon the part OF your
correspondents. herewith submit the apparent
discrepancy OF the genealogy OF Christ as given
To us oy Matthew and Luke. And in order that
the discrepancy may be seen at glance place
the names in parallel lines, where you will see
that the two Evangelists agree in their account
from Abraham TO David; but here they diverge,
Matthew taxing the line OF solomon and Luke that
OF Nathan. Matthew gives Christ in The
generation, while Luxe makes MIN to appear In the
1ty-slxtn generation. Matthew makes JACOB the
grand at ncr OF Christ, while Luke makes He'll his
grandfather. Now IL Is true that Jacob and He'll
were distant relations, but the distance being so
great that we have no language to express their
relationship. J. H. REEFS,
107 Eleventh street, Brooklyn.
For the genealogical line which our correspond
ent sends us we must refer the reader to the
Evangelists, where, with the foregoing ex-
POSITION they can readily understand the point
OF genealogical dispute.