The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-07-17

Father Hyacinthe in the Independent
of June 10Th, has almost full page arti-
Gle containing his programme for Cath
olic Reform, which he condenses into
five propositions as its legitimate de-
mands.
1. Rejection of the infallibility of the
Pope.
2. Election Of bishops by the clergy
and believers.
8. Preaching of the Bible and general
services in the national language.
4. Liberty of marriage to the priest.
8. Liberty and morality in the con-
fessional.
From the several points discussed at
length we quote only that which Will be
of most general interest. Concerning the
submission of the priests to the pope, he
says:
1--WE cannot admit that their submis-
sion is altogether sincere, ,disinterested or
sufficiently independent. We recognize
in the Pope tAat pre-eminence which the
ancient councils attributed to his seat.
Ecumenical Council that the Fathers &C.
corded privileges to ancient Rome be-
cause she was the principal city. The
Pope i. the first of bishops, but he is
the first among equals
The public services should be celebra-
ted in q language familiar to all. 1t was
| thus in primitive times, since Latin was
| then in general use in our country. The
Il -, ~ q 6ood Iop on, raiaad hkt n
the people and the clergy has formed, as
| it were, two separate churches-the one
that of the priest, for whom are reserved
the mysteries Of the Bible and Of the lit
urgy; the other that of the people, who
comprehend neither what God says to
man through revelation nor what man
replies to God through PRAYER. This
kind of accommodation of Christian
people has been, as it were, sealed by
the privilege, arbitrarily reserved to it.
self by the clergy during several centu
ries, Of partaking alone at the altar oi
the cup of redemption, of which Jesus
Christ has said: "Drink ye all of it. =
| Liberty of marriage to the priest is 6
central and positive point in the reform
We respect celibacy as an exception
lawful, salutary, sublime; but on the
condition that it be real, and not appar
ent; free, and not compulsory; free no
only at the beginning, but throughout it.
continuance; that 1t may be at any tint
permitted to man, placed as he is b,
Christ under the perfect law of liberty
to pass from the celihacy of the saint
; to the marriage of the saints, without i
being said that he descends or that b,
, retrogades. The largest part of tn
apostles were married, and Saint Pete
first of all. Even to-day in the East tn
clergy marry with the full appreciation
t of the Pope. Moreover, in permittin,
to the priest his own sacred family fire
side, he would be delivered from subjec
ton to foreign power, and by the sam
: act would be reconciled to human nstur
: in general and to patriotism in particu
! lar. ITO permit the priests to marry
said Pope Plus WITH, is to reduce tn
Pope to simple Bishop of Rome
Finally, we demand liberty and mo
rality in the confessional. l have jus
: mentioned the respect We hold for tina
q institution, rightly understood. Jesu
=. Christ has given to his apostles the pow
er to remit sins. That grand idea @
(; pardon Is one of the most sacred charaG
/ teristics of the Catholic Church. Blu
-, the confession should not become
/ mc6uS VI kuOAoA aCSoy Va VI So>AO1Oso
: domination. Private auricular confes
. sion should be rare and should be free
! 1t should be rare. The sacrament O
!. penitence is called by theologians a sac
:, rament of the dead, because, it is sur
posed, ordinarily, at least, that thos
who receive it have fallen from grac
through mortal sin. Now the Christis
, life cannot be conceived as kind Of rc
, tstion between q state of grace and
e state of sin. Private confession shoul
r always be free. II belongs to the rObus
q conscience to prove itself, as the apo'
tie said, and to determine in its own re
cesses the particular cases in which
should unburden itself to priest. Re-
!. atively rare and always free, confession
Q should also be moral-that is to say
. should never be changed into an acqu
sition ON the side Of the confessor or
e personal abdicstlon on the part of tn
penitent. In cases where private cor
fession is not necessary or is not pOss
2 BILE the faithful should have recourse
!. confession before God, in the secrecy @
e the conscience, with true repentance an
: perfect contrftion; and to public cor
fession at the church services, accordin
to the general terms fixed by the liturgy
{ and followed by public absolution grant