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


(Which they constantly do) you must then
decide between them which seems to you
most probable, and follow that; and so it
comes, as Pascal in his Provincial Let
ters' SO clearly shows, that a man of
scrupulous conscience will be forever bal
ancing probabilities, and never be able
to determine what is right; and man
of INSCRIPTIONS conscience will be sure
to decide that view most probable, in the
direction of which inclination or lust
turns the scale, and then to act upon it,
feeling that he has the authority of the
Church to sustain him in his course Let
a man read Liguori, and see what kind
of decisions in moral cases are given bv
some of these Doctors of the Church, and
he will see at once that there never was
greater snare for souls than this doc
trine of probabilism in the Church OF
Rome.
2. The Bishop cakes exception in the
second place to what said about the re-
suits that would follow if the teachings
of Liguori were substituted for those OF
Luther, Calvin, Knox, etc., as the Bish
ops textbook proposes. He says
2. "Dr. Witherspoon is mistaken in represent
ing the casuistic decisions of ST. Liguori as show
ing what kind of doctrines and precepts will be
taught to our people if the Roman Catholics
should be able etc ST. Liquors. Moral Theol
ogy was written, not for the people, nor for
preachers, but for confessors, to enable them to-
decide what guilt there may be on any individ.
ual conscience, in regard to any individual case
Hence follow two most important consequences, 4"
etc.
Now you will notice that Father
Muller" speaks of Liguori as teaching not
confessors but "the people," and Lee,
XIII says his writings may all be pc
rused by the faithful" When the Bishop
spoke of "the faithful" the other day t.
whom the Scriptures were to be given,
did he mean only !confessors Or will
he claim that being in Latin, Liguori has
been locked up from the people? But
what about that general knowledge OF
Latin by reason of which he told the
readers of the Religious Herald that
though the Bible was kept in Latin it
was not locked up from the people.
But suppose the book is only for con-
fessors." And are we to have lower
standard of morals in the Confessional
than in the pulpit. If we must tolerate
the Confessional amongst us, may we not
demand that in dealing with "the guilt
in conscience of any individual trans
gressor" the decision of the confessor
shall be upon the highest plane of morals,
not upon one so low that it would not be
tolerated in any civil court, as we shall
see to be the case with that of Liguori.
Corrupt morals in the Confessional will
debase people more swiftly and terri
bly, than all false systems of ethics in
text books or even Ill the sacred desk.
AS to what he says about the decisions
too indecent to be quoted, it is enough
to say that the indecency is not in the
questions but in Liquors. treatment Of
them
| pass now to consideration of the
ethical system which Bishop Keane ex-
plains as being intended mot for the
people, nor for preachers, but for con-
fessors." | shall take up first the quota
tons which Bishop Keane has subjected
to criticism. Where they are inaccurate.
by reason of the clerical error already ex-
planned, | will introduce the true read
ing, and will then show in the light of
the Bishops own explanations that my
charge against Liguori is but too lamen-
tably just.
3. The first of these extracts is:
AN accused person, or witness, if he think
himself unlawfully Intercepted by the Judge
may swear that he is ignorant of crime which
in fact he knows, secretly understanding that
he does not know it so as to be questioned about
it, or to make deposition concerning it," Qb.
N 154.)
Now if you will strike out the words
eff he think himself in the first line,
and insert the word lawfully" before
questioned" in the next to the last line
you will have the quotation, as 1 origi-
nally made it, and as it now lies before
me.
But as the Bishop makes his own trans
lation 1 wish to let him have the full
benefit of it, and will take his instead of
mine, though think mine nearer right
than his. He says:
Here the words {" if he think himself have
been introduced by DR.. Witherspoon And in
stead of that he does not know it so as to be
questioned about it, st. Liguor has: "t that he
does not know crime concerning which en-
quiry can lawfully be made"
Let US write it So" An accused per-
son or witness, unlawfully Intercepted
by the judge may swear that he is ignor-
ant of crime which in fact he knows,
secretly understanding that he does not
know crime concerning which enquiry
can lawfully be made, or for purposes Of
deposition, lad deponeadum).'