The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-02-09


ton: Oh, honest Liguori.
Bishop Keane just barely condescends
to notice my ignorance in the following
paragraph:
IL. In the case next quoted by DIR. Wither-
spoon he evidently does not understand what is
meant by irregularity" or he would see that
the question could be examined whether such
consequence followed from killing a man in
self-defence, without any intention of making
light of the horrible crime with which it is
supposed coupled.
l had taken the definition of "irregu-
larity' given in McClintock and Strong's
great standard Cyclop@dia, viz, "a tech
meal term for the want of the necessary
qualifications for the acquisition and ex-
ereise of an ecclesiastical Office" and so
l said disability for clerical office, as
others have done before me- Looking a
little more closely, find in Rees' Cyclo-
p@dia that an ecclesiastic is irregular
who is interdicted, suspended, or CEN
sured and by that means rendered in
capable of holding benefce, or discharg-
ing any of the sacred functions" 1 give
Liguori full benefit of the correction. Let
my readers turn to my article on Rome
and Morals, and In the last reference to
Liguori, instead of "a candidate for holy
orders, read ian ecclesiastic," and in
stead of disability for clerical Office"
"incapability of holding a benefce, or
discharging any of the sacred functions"
and if they can then see any reason why
adultery should not work such "incapa-
blllty in "an ecclesiastic," as well as
manslaughter or murder, their insight
into occult things is deeper than mine.
Well, the Bishop, having thus selected
a few of my quotations on which he
thought he could make point, and hav-
ing skipped over all the rest as lazy
school-boy the hard problems; towards
the close of his article introduces the fol-
lowing very remarkable paragraph:
II might now take up the question of
withholding the truth, mental reservation, and
equlvocation, and | might give on these points
the teaching OF such eminent Protestant NOR
alists as Grotius, Puffendorf, Jeremy TAYLOR.
Milton, Paley, and DR.. Johnson This, how
ever, would take up too much of your valuable
space; nor is it the purpose of my reply"
Am | to understand Bishop Keane in
this very adroitly worded sentence as
meaning that he can give the same teach-
angs from the Protestant moralists re-
terred to, that have given from LiguoriP
1t ne does not, his language is certainly
misleading. If he does, then 1 challenge
him to produce the passages. Let him
take those | have quoted from Liguori,
and put opposite to them the passages
from these Protestant moralists. If we
have any such black sheep, we would
like to know them; and I can promise
him that we will not eanonize them, and
commend them to all the faithful as men
whom the Lord makes use of to reform
the evil manners of the people.
One word more and have done. The
Bishop undertakes to read me a little
homlly In the conclusion of his article.
He says:
al hope may be permitted to say in conclu
sion, without any breach OF charity or courtesy.
that the moral of all this is, that DIR. Witber-
spoon would reflect more credit on himself az
well as accomplish more in the cause of charity.
II, instead OF such attempts at parodying the be-
lief OF his nelghbors, he would confne himself to
showing the truth and beauty of his own creed"
The Bishop of Tabb Street, is Obliged
to the Bishop of Richmond for his broth
erly advice, and modestly suggests that
II the latter on that memorable visit of
his to Petersburg, had confined himself
to showing the truth and beauty of his
own creed, and let the Reformers and
Reformation alone, he would have re-
Elected more credit on himself, as we'll as
accomplished more in the cause cf
charity, and that if that textbook in
use in his parochial schools had contented
itself with showing the truth and beauty
of its own creed, without speaking of
Luther ard Calvin and Knox as men
whom "only the devil makes use of, etc."
it would have reflected more credit in
the denomination, and accomplished
more in the cause of charity'-and.
finally, if Liguori had been left to share
the fate Of all that Anticipated and effete
mass of medieval speculation of which
he is the exponent, and which has been
sloughed off with the Reformation, I
should have had nothing to say about
him but when Bishop Keane's text
books seriously propose him as a teacher
FOR our American people in this enlight-
ened 18th century, 1 should be recreant
to every mandate of duty, if I did not
call the attention of our people to his
iniquitous system of morals and warn
them against it.
T. D. WITHERsPooN.
For the Central Prasbytor;oo