The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-01-09

because there is
A SUPREME COURT
to interpret themp Does the fact
that there are judges to interpret
prevent the people from reading the
LAVISH Does the fact that there are
judges to interpret lessen the dignity
Of the people-lessen the sanction Of
the laws2 And so there is no injus
tice done to the Catholic intellect or
the Catholic heart in providing what
every State in the world has provided
in order to have unity in that State.
some one 10 interpret the laws, some
one to decide their meaning, aud
therefore it is false that the church
enslaves the human intellect by tax.
ing from It the means of discovering
the truth, for she recommends these
divine oracles, for she preserved
these divine oracles, for she inter.
prets our being constituted to inter-
pref, them constituted BY Him who
said, "Go forth and teach all nations,
| am with you all days, even to the
of the world. Az the
father sent me l send sou. All pow
er is given to me in heaven and on
earth. Go and teach the universe,
I am with you until the consumma.
ton Of ages
Now, He did not remain with those
twelve men whom he constituted as
the supreme court in spirituals to in-
terpret His law and to decide dis
putes. He spoke to these men them
selves, of their own deaths in the
future, and yet be said, Il am with
you until the contamination Of ages"
Because, as the Congress of the Uni
ted States, when one man dies an.
other takes his place and the powers
given to the original Congress are
retained by the Congress of to-day,
though there is not one man of those
who, wele members of that original
Congress alive, so in this apostolic
college when one died another took
his place. When Judas prevaricate. !,
Matthias was taken, and Matthias
was as much an Apostle as Judas had
been. When one died another took
his place, so that the
APOSTOLIC BODY REMAINS
until today, un horn Of a single
apostolic power-remains to Judge,
remains to interpret, remains to de
eide the disputes, as Almighty God
provided amongst the Jewish people
q tribunal to settle disputes tina,
should arise amongst them, a tribu.
nal or supreme court for deciding
His law; and, in the Book of Deuter.
onomy, they were ordered to go to
the high priest when there was a
dispute concerning the meaning of
the law, and when the high priest
decided it, it was death to contradict
his decision. So that they had thier
supreme court; and shallit be said
that Christianity is worse off than
Judaism? Shall it be said that there
is no authority left upon this earth
to settle q mans doubts aud Difficult.
ties? The Jew had it. Plato said
that a man could never be certain
until God himself would speak; that
God or some one whom Almighty
God would preserve from error in
teaching must speak; and therefore
there is constituted in the Catholic
church this supreme deciding court,
this high or supreme court in spirit.
uals. Hence the unity Of the church;
hence the power Of the church; hence
that marvellous combination. Of the
most discordant elements; hence the
men from North and South and Eas,
and West, Of every tribe and division
of people-two hundred millions be-
lieving in every iota the same truths
because when there was a question
Of doubt there Was left an authority
to decide; and az there would be an.
archy in the State OF Missouri in q
month if the supreme court were
abolished, so there is anarchy in the
various organizations outside the old
church, dividing and subdivjdingi
essentially 80, because the very prin'
ciple Of union, the deciding power
the supreme court, what the Jews
possessed and what the State Of
Missouri possesses in temporal order
what every country upon Gods earth
possesses power to settle disputes
that power exists In the Catholic
church alone Of all religious
denominations.
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