The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-04-23
FoR TIE CENTRAL PREsBYrERlAS.
LETTER FROM BISHOP KEANE
llitor of the CentroI Resbvteriia,l


Dear Sir,-Wish your kind permission,
will offer corrections of certain serious mis-
spprshensions of Catholic doctrines in you
editorial comments on my recent communi
cation. Were / to misreprssent the doctriue
of the Presbyterian or any other Protestan
denomination, would be thankful to any
one who would correct my mistake; and
am sure the Central Prss6yterian is sufi
ciently animated with Christian justice and
charity to be of the same mind.
1. Simple justice requires that distinc
ton be made between the doctrines or a@
thOritative teachings of the Catholic Church,
and the uiesVs which some Catholics may have
entertained, bat which no Catholic is bound
to admit. Now the "Honest Inquirer" ask
ed me to give him the authoritative teachings
Of the Church,-in his own words, what is
"to be accepted as psEt~2f she deposit of
faith which Christ and Hisapossles delivered
to the Church to be taught and believed
among all nations" The authoritative teach
iugs of the Catholic Church in regard to the
Blessed Virgin Mary are comprised in the
propositions given in my communication !;
and | feel sure that the "Honest Inquirer" :"
far from feeling " "hungry and empty" on
finding that it is only that much that is to be
believed, will be quite content that it is no
more.
2. Consistently with those teachings, the
Catholic Church has always maintained quite
as ssrenuously as the Central Presbyterian
that Mary is "only creature of God, a
daughter of Adam who owned herself as
needing salvation through the Rsdeemer.
The Catholic Church has ever held what ST.
Bphiphsnius thus expressed in the fourth
century: "Lst Mary indeed be held in hon
or; bat let the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost be adored." In order to keep
this distinction clear and unmistaksble, the
Church, in her authoritative teachings, does
not use ambiguous terms like sOorship, which,
as any one can see by referring to Webs,er's
or WOrcssser's Dictionary, is used BY stan
dsrd authors to mean every shade of honor,
from that given to God down to mere "civil
Difference, aud which, in the King James'S
version of the New Testament, is used to
designate honor given to human being,
(Luke xiv: 10 Theology draws wide
distinction between latria, By which is meant
the alteration due to God alone, aud dulia
or hypsrdalia, designating the various de-
grees of honor that may be lawfully given to
q mere creature. Hence "Mariolasry," "a
term sttributing latria to Nary would be
blasp6smous san, as contrary to the plain
ssschugs of the Catholic Church as to the
law of God. May not ssy then that to at
tribute it to the Catholic Church is an in
justice?
8. In applying to the Mother of our Lord
the words of the eighth chapter of Proverbs
from verse p, the Church never dreamed of
that these words were written of
Mary, or that they apply to her in the same
sense in which they apply to our Lord. The
Church only intended thereby to express the
truth that, in the foreknOwlsdge, and decree,
and prophecies of the Incarnation, the AL
mighty was pleased always to associate
With the idea of our Incsrnste God the idea
also Of his human Mother. This is plain
fact, (Gen. iii: 15, Is. vii: IA,
aud tx: 6, Jer. XXI: p, Mic. v: 81 and
shis is sll that is meant. The Catholic
Church never thought of assigning to
Mary, 8 creature, the attributes which be.
Iong to the infinite Creator only" The
Catholic Caurch knows aud teaches that our
Divine Lord alone is ''she first born Of every |
creature" but does not ignore the fact that,
10 the Divine decree that He was to be "the
first born of every creature" was included
ne decree that this was to be accomplished
through human Mother.
4. The expression " divine Mother was
oever used by the Catholic Church in any
authoritative teaching; but assursdly who
sger used it had no thought of attributing
any divinity to Mary herself. Motherhood
ls a relation between mother and son; now a
relation may be characterized by either of
the two terms which constitute it; when
Mary's motherhood is called divine, the di
Vinity of it comes only from the Divine Son,
and belongs to Him alone. The expression
means only that Mary is the Mother of a
Divine Person. Ths CA.holic Church teach
ss too plainly TO be fairly misunderstood that
Mary herself is only creature, and there
fore in no way divine.
5. Il ia no part of the authoritative teach
ing of the Catholic Caurca chat Sc even God
aimself obeys the commands of Mary" The
author of the ssussnea could not, consistently
with the teaching, of the Catholic Church,
have meant more than that our Lord deigued
to grant such influence to His Mothers
prayer; that her requests are granted as if
they were Commands. To attribute to Mary
any authority or right which is not our
Lords free gift, would be blssphemy, which
never was taught by the Catholic Church,
and never could have been meant by any
Catholic.
The same holds in regard to the assertions
of some writer's concerning salvation through
Mary. The only sense in which they could
possibly be uttered consistently with Catholic
teachings, is that, since our Divine Lord is