The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1880-05-30
THE CATHOLICITY OF THE AMERi-
CAN CHURCH.

THE CRY ROME. RoMIsHw THE CHURCH OF
ENGLAND NOT FOUNDED BY KING HENRY
VIII.
Extract from Bishop Seymour's Convention Ad'
dress, 1850.
There are two difficulties that beset our
mission work especially, and hinder its sue
cess. These are on the surface, they are
phantoms, the creatures of ignorance and
prejudice, sometimes Of malice, but they
are none the less obstacles because they are
imaginary; often they are the more invinci-
bic for that very reason. Mistakes in logic
may be corrected, but mere prejudice can
rarely be rooted out entirely. The first of
these surface difficulties to which we refer
is the careless cry against US on every side,
"Rome Rome" 1t is not new, it is as old
as the sixteenth century. Whenever lgnor-
auce and prejudice and malice
have nothing else to say
against what they DO not under
stand, or misconstrue, or hate, they shout
"Romish! Romishw This objection has
been leveled against the priesthood, the
sacrcments, the creeds, the liturgy, the
Lords Prayer, the cross, the bowling Of the
head and the bending Of the knee in wor-
ship; indeed, almost everything which is
commended of God in Holy Scripture,
This cry has united all the enemies of the
church against her, and men who hated
each other right sore have joined forces in
hearty sympathy, while they pointed at the
surpice or the bishops robes, and shouted
"Romish2" And indeed, Rome has on
more than one occasion sent her own sons
to help on the uproar, prejudice the success
of the foe whom she breads most of all
Indeed, this senseless cry makes towards OF
thousands. The one thing il would seem
which they think of, the one thing which
they would avoid, is the being charged
with the crime of Romanism; and to Sc
cure this immunity they would sell their
birthright, they would leave their fathers
house, they would forbid their heads and
knees and hands the decent reverence which
| they know is due to the Most High God
and their crucitied Redeemer; for this, they
would denude their churches of all that is
beautiful in nature and in art; for this, they
would apologize for their own polity, and
excuse their prayer book, and compromise
their principles, and then, when all is done
the heterogeneous multitude, which they
seek to conciliate, cries over them in Their
nakedness and shame, You are cryptic
Romanists STILL Let US well understand
that Romanism is u system Of error in doc
trine and practice, which has grown up by
degrees in these later ages in the western
church. 1t can be traced back from its pre-.
sent gigantic proportions stage by stage as
its additions have come, until 1t disappears
and leaves the church Of Rome pure,
uncorrupt, Catholic, such as she
was when st. Paul wrote to her his palmary
eriste, such as she was when seven OF her
bishops in succession offered up themselves
in martyrdom tor Christ. Let Us well un-
derstands that this system Of error IS
largely perversion of the truth and hence
in certain respects is often like it, Just as a
counterfeit resembles the genuine coin, and
is dangerous just in proportion as its re.
semblance is close and renders the distinc.
ton difficult. One does not throw away
the true current money because there Is
false in circulation neither are we to reject
Catholic truth in doctrine and practice, be-
cause there are perversons and exaggera-
tons of them TO be found, Let US well un.
derstand that it is very easy to call what
we don't like "Romanism' and that such a
cry, if nothing more can be urged in
opposition, by no means settles the question.
The thing objected to, although called
Romish may nevertheless be right and
true. Romansm is for the most part a
system Of positive error, Of additions to the
truth the body Of truth is beneath It, and
hence by the ignorant and unskillful is of.
ten COMPOUNDED with 1t. The cry "Romish,
Romansm," is to the ordinary assaiant of
the church what the stones were to the 10.
norant, prejudiced Jews who attacked and
abused our Lord When she announces
her divine claims, her holy mission, her
Identification with her exalted head, as the
continuation Of his incar nation through the