The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-25
Pere Hyacinthe's New Church IL
Paris~

\
| The HrRaLD takes no other part in the re-
ligions movements Of the time than that OF
a deeply interested spectator. We try to
be alert i'll discovering everything impor-
tant in its incipient stages, and to be
prompt in bringing it to the general knowi-
| edge of the world. We do not assume to
| be judges of the soundness of new or old
| tenets, but only. Of the interest which the
| religious movements of the time are calcu-
lated to excite in the public mind. What
| ever we deem Of interest to large sections OF
the community we report promptly and
faithfully, thinking it fair in all such cases
to give the authors and promoters an OPP
| portunity to explain it from their own point
of view if they choose to accept tho cour-
tesy which we offer them of talking to one
of our representatives with the understand
ing that the conversation is to be pub
| lished.
The very interesting interviews which we
printed on Sunday with Father Hyacinthe
| (as he continues to be- called, because he
first became known to the world by this
dcsignation) and some of his most promi-
| nent supporters in Paris, will COM
| mand wide attention both here and
in Europe, since it is the first
full and authentic account of move
ment which is Of universal interest 10
Christendom, whether Catholic or Prot
ostant. The interview with Father Hya-
cinthe himself presents, in his own Ian
guage, complete exposition ofhis religious
position, his doctrines and his aims, while
the interviews with some of his leading
disciples in Paris enable readers to judge
of the external aspects of this most interest
ing of recent religious movements.
1t appears from the interview with Mr..
Cornelius Roosevelt, q member of the
well known Roosevelt family in this city
and a prominent supporter of Father
Hyacinthe's congregation, that the infant
Church is already expanding to gigantic
| proportions. ''In less than four weeks"
says Mr.. Roosevelt, NEARLY four hundred
persons have given in their names. and
| there are thousands who are with US who
have not yet had an opportunity Of doing
so. We have to shut the doors in the faces
of thousands who struggle to get in, when
| only twelve hundred can be seated" It
seems to us that this eager rush proves
| nothing as to the hold which Father
| Hyacinthe's doctrine is taking upon Paris
| ians. The eagerness to hear him is
merely q consequence of the fact that
he is the most eloquent preacher in
tho French capital. People throng to
hear him as they do in Brooklyn to listen
| to Mr. Beecher. less for the doctrine he
breaches than for the intellectual repast
which they expect. But his ability to COM
mand large and eager audiences is potent
| instrument for the propagation of his views.
Mr.. Roosevelt said to our correspondent
can acquaintance of mine, on American
clergyman, went to Notre Dame few days
ago to high mass, and there were but fifty
persons all told. From there he came to
our church and found thousands vainly
trying to get in" 1--WE have great num-
| Der of priests in citizens dress last Sum
day q secretary of Leo XIIL.-and the
best of it is that they declare that
the Pare breaches no heresies nor new
tangled doctrines" This last statement
proves that Father Hyacinthe is no Profess
tant, but o professed Catholic, aiming to
reform the Church from within.
Our very interesting interview with
Father Hyacinthe must be carefully read as
it appeared in our Sunday edition in order
to appreciate what Matthew Arnold would
call tho ''sweet reasonabIeness" Of his SEN
timents and his religious position. He
agrees in the main with the venerable and
learned Dr. D6llinger, who has just entered
his eighty-frst year, and has been for
many years the foremost champion
of the "Old Catholics" Like Dr.
D5llinger, Father Hyacinthe rejects the
dogma that the Pope is infallible. But
overy Catholic was at liberty to dissent
from that doctrine. The Gallican Church
always rejected it up to very recent period.
The famous Bossuet, the most eloquent
man of modern times and the greatest orna-
ment Of the Catholic Church in France,
strenuously opposed it, and Catholic
France unanimously supported him; or
rather Ito state the thing with exactncss)
Bossuet devoted all his great powers of
argument and eloquence to sustain tho
position of tho Gallican Church on this
subject. The necessary inference is that
Father Hyacinthe would have been deemed
q good French Catholic at any former
period, notwithstanding his dissent from
the dogma of papal iniallibility.
On other points what he said in the inter-
view proves him to be pretty orthodox
Catholic. He accepts without question that
great stumbling block of recent Protestants,
the rcal presence. We shy recent Profess
tants, because Luther, the father Of Prot
estantism, accepted the doctrine that Christ
was present in the bread and wine which
arc the cmblcms of His body and blood.