The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-03-03
men, through the iustrumentality of the pen OF

So long as these facts will not DO Demon
strated to me, the Bible will remain for me
book worthy of respect, but of doubtful autho
rity. o..
chis me, as to the books Of prayer and iltuIg!
received by my ancestors, as to the oncai
dissident churches, and as to the ministries
which l find therein established; the true FRO
testant sees in all of them merely the coun Ter
feits of papistry; these counteIteits are accept
ed in order to please the masses and to prepare
them to profess, one day, pure Protestantistn
which consists entirely in he complete eman
cipatiou, in the absolute independence OF lnoi
vidual reason, with regard TO reHRlous "aU
ters.
/ belieee IN myself only, and protect agetns
al be'icf uhich is not the 'r6rk Of my reason;
Unless he W ish to contradict hin SELF s1ct
will be the entire Credo OF whom soeVef f'JeoCs
the principle of authority. =,
The fatal conseq uences which derive from the
Protestant system will be Immediately unuer
stood: here again, however, hasten TO say
thai individuals are better than their ptinci'
pies.
Ia all the Protestant Communions there are
great numbers of men who, in d ditferent degrees,
practically remain Christians, because they 90
not perceive the logical consequences Whlch
How frcn their system.
From their Infancy they have adopted the
religion which they found IN their family ira
ditiJms, in tho teachings CT their ministers, IN
the CateGhlsms of their Churches, and they
owe to that catholic and natural method OF
education, the Christian lights aud virtues,
which they possess, Auu WnlCu thoy ehde"'oi
20 transmit to their offspring.
Even among those who theoretically glori'
fly themselves, the most, on account of theiI
religious independence, not one will be tonnu
who, in practice, does cot, twenty times day,
abjure his lofty speou lations, not one VIII De
found who will allow mis- subordinate to apply
the famous principle " IN creryhing JoHo'c only
The lights Of thy reason, and Of thy conscience.
Thus ii is that every protestant father BE-
comes q Catholic in the religious teaching OF
his family.
Each minister becomes pope 10 the midst
Of his dock.
Every inoo1rupt child believes, with the
dooility Of the Catholic, in the words OF hls
father and of his minister
1t is owing to tho practical abjuration of theii
principle, that Protestant nations have pre-
served, along with the family spirit, some ap
pesrances of Church.
But it is not the less true that q mind which
wishes to reason and has the ability 10 90 so
must finally come to the same conclusion as the
free thinker, and free thinkers are to be found
among those, who are Catholics in name only
as we'll as among those who follow another
religious system: "beliere in self only. adore sel
only" this is their practical motto. such is the
sole principle which logic can point out 10 tne
modern nationalist.
These are the considerations which have
brought about. in our time, salutary reaction
among the members of the Anglican clergy
The leading spirits in their numb Der have re-
turned into the bosom of Cathollcsm.
They were straightforward men who under
ste cd that their religious system led them tc
the abyss of il fidelity.
they consdoreo to be the positive and vita
part of Protestantism; they were not long IL
recognizing that their religious system has nc
feature of It's own save negation, ana ths'
il remains powerlees against the breath of in
cIedulIty.
Hence that admirable return movement be
gun more than forty years ago, IN that same
University of Oxford whence, over i've cen
turies befoI the signal of snti-Chrissiau re
form had been given
This movement has borne onwards to thu
van of the Universities, and TO the front ran Z
of the Catholic Hierarchy, the most iliastriou
names among the Anglican Clergy 1t is tbi
movement which makes as hope that we Will
one day, witness the fulflment of the senti
ment expressed by great Christian pblloso
pher CT modern times
"If ever the same Faith could speak Eng
lish aud French, in an instant, obstlnsc
| against this t'a tn, would become an lmpossi
biiity."
The remarks l have lust made are yer
lengthy, but they were necessary IN order {
set forth clearly that ratlonal!sm ID the conse
uuence OF free scrutiny with regard to mat
| tsrs pertai ninR to faith it is anarchy, in th
reli Sious order, or rather, il is the neaation Q
| that same order.
l have also said that it is anarchy, in th
| moral order.
! And, in faot is not the one who adorss hi
| reason, his ideas, drawn logically to tho ado1
| alton CT his pleasures, OF hs desIies, OF b.
passions
Can he indeed, without contradiction, loy
| anything as much, and more than himselt
Can he not but hate whatever offers an obsti
Gle to the worship Of that to which lie hi
| vowed himself
And, above all, can he not but hate leligiC
which breaches naught but submission of u
intellect and abuegation of ones WILL benes'
the yoke of faith, and of a morality hostile
, | all the weakness of the heartf
Therefore DO we daily SEQ that hatred ar
f scorn of the Catholic Church are inscribed
. the head of the decalogue of pretended 7
formers. In order to rally thousands of scot
. who agree upon no two points, this cry alol
, suffices Death to Pspistry!"
, Ii from the religious and moral order '
pass to that of the intellect, We End the sau
" anarchy there also.
0 True science, the free thinker tells us, shou
4 admit as realities, only the PhenomenA viii
/; fall under the senses; all the rest must
q ranked among those fctions whose destip
g from all time, has been to csjole the ignors
It multitudes.
4 If at times these pretended philosophers d
# dertake to reason concerning the origin
things, they are compelled to repeat the ins
b tiles of their predecessors with regard to
is occult forces of nature, to spontaneous gene
10 ton.
But he care fal how YOU ask them what tb