The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-11-11
Lay Bigotry.

There has lately been going on In
New York an Episcopal Congress in Whicn
important questions of the day were suppos- |
ed to he discussed. Some parties read papers J
elabOrately prepared, others made epeeches.
Though we have glanced over many col
umns of reports giving such papers and
oratiops. we have been gratifed to ma
bus little inclination for gross, indecent
attack upon the Catholic Church. bisnops
and preachers manage to get through Win
the topics proposed, without finding IL
necessary to lug in even q passing alluslon
to Rome.
A very notable exception, however 10
this rule of good breeding, was furnisnea
by one John Jay, represented to nave oeeh
lately American Minister to Austria. ihls
man took the floor upon an invitation TO
discuss the "Relations Of the popular press
to Christianity" After fulsome euiogy
of the American press, with the conduct
and moral tone of which he was much
pleased, he made a sudden and unnecessary
onslaught upon the Catholic Church. ne
hoped that this great and virtuous Amerl-
can press would be found on the side OF
Christianity against the Roman Church.
We give Mr.. jays own words:
Among the forces which oppose the progress
| of Christianity in this country, and Whlcn we
deity of every kind, ration alism, and IT we may
| trust the experience of Europe, the aim OF the
Roman Church to hold supremacy over the
| state. 1t was remarked q few years since py
| Rnn,iah journal published at Rome, tnat the
Court of Rome already controlled the popnlons
| city of Now York. and that it would soon Con
troll the whole of the great rePn oiio. some
| statistics given by Mr.. Parton, as gathered
from Romish sources, seemed to Indicate thHS
the Romish Court expected in 1900 to control
! one-thiTd of the population and perhaps d ns
| jority of onr leading States and cities. ihe
Dublin Reriec for January, 1877, rem a!ked that
"a liberal Catholic is as rare in the Amerloan
Repu bio as a black swan. They are all what
the slang of the day oalls UltramontAuss Inc
press should keep before people, and
especially before our loyal Catholics, the s'I-
nihcant facts in our recent history showing
the intermeddlIng by the Roman court IN our
domestic concerns, such as the recognition oy
the Supreme Pontif alone among the SOY
ereigns of Europe of the Southern Contede'
, racy.
Doesn't Mr.. Jay thiHk he can trust the
r Roman Church to continue against Intidei-
ity and Rationalism that war which il
j. carried on for 30 many centuries before the
press became an institution The granc
march of " Progress" may, according tc
Mr.. JAWS views, have superseded the ole
Church with moral agency far more pow
erful than it ever was, viz. the daily press
J., but how has such "progress" managed L
!. shift the position of the Church so as actu
}, ally to make it friend and ally of lntidel
ityq May not Mr.. Jay have made mis-
. joinder of parties 7
Now aa to that Romish journal, why die
not Mr.. Jay give it's name and the date o
n utterance We can tell Mr.. Jay why. Be
cause he fabricated the assertion. 1t wa
false. Not only some Romish journal ou
u all Catholic papers hope aud believe ths
10 the Church will eventually control th
y "citv of New York" and " the whole I
10 this great republic" but spiritually oni!
4. not politically as Mr.. Jay means when
speaks of supremacy over the State" al
a when says "the Court of Rome" mates
II of the Church of Rome"
IL There is no need to quote Mr.. Parton
Oo show that the Catholic Church expects
- dominate the whole world spiritually,
that ia her mission, but it is nonsense IN
sepsible man to even suepect dream
We temporal ambition on the part of I
ho Church in this country, with certain pate
-. ~" facts staring him in the face. Italy, Aust
and France are more thoroughly Cathc
ia than any one can naturally expect the U nj
mas States to become speedily, and yet VIII
is the temporal domination OF the Gnu
in those natiops7 In each and every
70 of them che is insulted, oppressed and
NV NV secuted. No one can know this better Il
" Mr.. jay, late Minister to Austria; therei
,IT his pretense of political ambition on
,itv part of Rome is worse than nonsense.
ella is sheer malice.
AIRY As to the "Liberal Catholics" in Amer
wa thank the Dublin Eerie~ for com
ment of which we had not been aware
aav yiously. Thank God, American Cath'
ao. are not inclined to be Liberals. In fact
and name is not known on this Contln
,site There ere few such individuals
et at enough to be classed into Party-"nd