The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1879-01-19

~ - ~ ~ " ~ ~ ~ $&H&fk
% That ie, Mormons are undor no obIigntis
DO to marry several wives therefore in prs
% venting one of them from such margin,
u ne is not made to violate any law of b
C religion or any law of God as he under
= stands it. II the marriage complained of
. this case took place after toe enactment O
q the prohibition, then it was clearly illega
8 under statute which docs not confiic
with any law of God according to evel
Mormon views. In that case it was nm
, necessary for the court to make any genera
comparison between the binding authorit,
} of religious doctrine and that of human
law, and we must see more of the decision
before we can believe that the Supre m,
Court has done 80 unwise q thing.
One of our daily contemporaries, in it.
comments on the decision, cannot. how.
ever, have the benefit of the same charit.
able doubt. 1t attempts to fortify the gen
eral proposition, that human law is supe-
r1or TO the divine, by the folio wing consid-
| erations
be pleaded in behalf of an organized band ~
assassins, or of thieves, or OF counterfeiters.
VINO might set mp that they considered murder,
ordained, and to be virtues, instsad of orimes
when practiced by themselves.
According to this theologian, there is no
difference between a natural crime, such as
assassination, and an offsnse which is made
go simply by human law. 1t is certain
thas divine law will never enjoin upon
men the practice of any thing which is
naturally crime, but it does enjoin many
things which the State may choose TO call
criminal. 1t epjoins fasting; the State NAV
see ut to make that statutory offense 1t
eDJoins confession of sine; an Inf iels State
may punish such an act with the stake. It
epJolns on pastors the personal care of
their fiocks; Eogand. at one time probi-
oiteo the presence of priest upon her soil, |
aed enacted that the punishment of such |
crime should be death.
Yet our learned newspaper caspist
argues that the law of the land must be
ooeyed, that 1t is superior to the divine
law; that man may as we'll claim q reli
'lon of assassination as q religion of sacra
nents.
SILL there is something of reason on the
>HAS VI nISA nv Ldlk LnQS. Iler6 lS An
argument of Inconvenience in their favor.
Every hypccrite may set up a divine law,
according to his opinion, in favor of every
'ct prohibited by civil law provided the
ct be innocent in itself. The law NAV
ay you shall not kill game out of season. !
nd be will reply: Oh that is unconstitu !
lonal my religion commands me to eat r
7lid game every day in the year. And g
hus the argument of the Supreme Court g
'ould have some force: Every citizen r
'ould become law unto himself. r
But God in his wisdom has obviate5 anv
1ch Inconvenience by constituting a tribn- I
al of his own laws-a Church which can sav q
to the Governments what n
>, and what lie not divine law. 1t is onlv O
hen aState recognizes every caprice of pri- il
ate Judgment as being as sacred as the b
nifty of Catholic truth, that the very absur- k
ity of the results flowing from it's own T
remises forces it to ignore all divine law q
nd to hold through its courts that human @
wv is supreme. e,