The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-01-09
WHAT CATHOLICS DoN'r BELIEVE.

WHAT CATHOLICS DON'r BELIEVE.
a Powerful Lecture by Bishop Ryan
in ST. Louis.
BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION STATED TO
AN IMMENSE AUDIENCE OF FREE
THINKERS AND PRO-
TEsTANTs.
Especial Correspondence of the New Or
leans Times.)
Sr. Louis, Mo-,
Dec. 20, '77.}
Last night notable event took
place here. Bishop Ryan lectured
to an immense audience, mostly Free
Thinkers and Protestants, which lit.
orally jamn.ed and packed the great
hall Of the Mercantile Library TO
overlooking, on "what Catholics do
not believe" His lecture, with the
introduction, would fill a page of the
Times. His long intercourse with
Infdels and Protestants convinced
him, he said, that most of them are
sincere in their hostility to the Cath
Ollie church, because they honestly
regard it as a gigantic organization
of deceit and injustice. They hate
what it is not. They detest what
Catholics do not believe. He APP
plauds their honest earaestness, de.
plores their error and asks thc IN to
listen to him, while he describes the
church they disbelieved and Shove
how different it is from the church
which be serves and loves.
THE PLEA AGAINST THE CHURCH.
The Bishop, than assuming the
position Of an earnest assailant of the
church, stated the plea against it;
II charge the Catholic church
with having enslaved the human
intellect, with having degraded reli
gion, with having demoralized the
individual and the public conscience
She enslaved the human intellect by
her doctrinal authority. Man, bless
ed by Almighty God with reason, ii
obliged to submit that reason to the
dictate of a human institution, anG
though he may with that reason
have come to certain conclusion
the moment this authority speaks ht
must bow his head and submit, not
outstanding his previous conviction
Suppose an intellectual balance will
the two scales before you. A mar
argues on a certain question. HI
puts the reasons for the doctrine in
to the one scale and the reason.
against it into the other. Following
his reason he comes to conclusio,
adverse to the doctrine, and the scal'
against the doctrine sinks and tn,
scale with the arguments for it rises
Now, using the reason
.r THAT GOD GAVE @
him he has come to this conclusion
He hears of decision of church au
lhority, the Pope speaking ex cathe
dra, or decision of general coun
Gil, and that man after that conclu
sion must submit his intellect, ant
the church, as it were, in realit,
pulls down the light scale and b.
must bow and cry .pre;io." Here
it may be urged, is an enslaving O
the human intellect. Again the in
tellect is enslaved, for the churcl
takes from the man the grounds OF
which he can form an intelligen
Judgment. She takes the Scripture
of God from him, or if she permit
him to read them it must be with be
own interpretation. Here, therefore
is slavery of the intellect of the YER,
worst character. And again by be
gorgeous ceremonial, by her use o
the arts, architecture, sculpture, mu
sic, painting and poetry she cheats
as it were, reason. Reason has to b,
alert, and the Catholic overawed b.
the majesty and magnitude of he
grand cathedrals, dazzled with ex
cess of light and glory from her u.s.
of the fine arts, the Catholic is let
captive, a willing captive if 20,
please, by her love of the beautiful
He is no longer reasonable. H,
is the slave of this sentinentalism
1t is not reason that speaks, but i'm
agination, but sentiment, and he il
made the slave, the complacent slav'
if you please, the happy slave if 20,
please, the slave Of the church AM
no longer using the reason that Coz
gave him. Again it is urged tina
the church degrades religion becaus'
tn. great object of religion is God