Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-10

yet retained sunken deep in their natures
the wild passions of heathendom. The
church had been obliged to fight long and
severe battles for her freedom of action
against princes and kings, whose ambition
coveted the subsection to their own
OF the ohurch's authority, and who labored
by force and intrigue TO place in the
priesthood and the episcopate, and occa.
slonaily even II the Roman pontifcate
their creatures. Often the church was bound
hand and foot, as she Is in many countries
of Europe to-day, and her action for good
prevented or nullifed.
But il the sixteenth, as in all centnr-
les when evil appeared in the church. il
was never the ohuroh's teaching. Did the
church ever announce through her pontiffs
or her councils that man is not free to
avoid sin, that God himself is the author
of sin IN man, that confluence is not pos
sible, that provided We believe it matters
not if we commit thousand murders or
thousand adulteries?
Those are Luthef's Official teachings.
upon which he built his reformation. and
the historians who euioglze Luther are
those who erraign the Catholic church in
judgment. When individuals in the church
did wrong, whoever they were, laymen or
priests, kings or pontitfs, Catholics hold
their memory in horror; no praise re-
echoes from our pulpits at the sound of
their names; no festive centenary cole
brates their birthday, and Catholic histo-
rians write down the truth, whsa they in
scribe their lives upon history's page.
Martin Luther was blasphemer; obscene
language flowed from his tongue as water
from the mountain spring; he was fond to
excess of wine and beer, ''tossing off," as
he said himself, ga strong bumper to the
honor of Cod" he ssandalizsd his friends
by his levity of manner with females: he
advised others to commit adultery. II we
believe the Lutheran minister, Wolfgsng
Agricola, before Tstzsl, preached on in
dalgsncss Luther coveted the affections
of young woman at WIttenberg. Heavy
clouds hung ever his relations with Cathe
rine Borh, before no married her; a
trucking sycopant he authorized the big
amous union of prir o. protector ARd
Luther is acclaimed saint and q hero.
The unblushfng sinner who would do evil,
and teach evil as Luther did, calling him-
sslf Catholic, would be held among Gath
olies in eternal sxscrstion.
There are men whom Catholic historians
have called rsformsrs, Dominic, Francis,
Vincent Fsrver, or Vincent de Paul; they
we're saints and most unfriendly critics
will discover no blemish in their lives.
TIE 1vILs EXAGGERATED.
What the evils were in the sixteenth OF
previous centuries you cannot learn from
Protestant historians. 1t is not tina. would
"a To I>oJ;
sively Catholic historians. Bat do do
nsnd for the sake of truth that both sides
be heard, and csrsful references made to
original documents, before Judgment is
formed. As q rule ii will be found that
Protestant historians grossly e1aggerate
the evils of those times, and not seldom,
either through lack of original research
or misstatemeDts of teachings and
facts tentamount to downright faisehoods,
put into their records accusations against
tho church and against ehurchmen which
are absolutely devoid of foundation.
Protestant tradition has been so strong on
the CORFU ption of tho Catholic church in
those ages that for honest and fair minded
people it has become herculeaH task to
rise above the surrounding prejudice into
the calm and elevated regions CT impartial
Investigation.
l will give an iDstance-the doctrine en-
indulgences, of which mention has to be
made in discussion OF the Lutheran re-
formation.
MEASUREMENTS OF INDULGENCEs.
As the story goes in the non-catholic
world, forgiveness of sin, past and future
was sold for money. Leo X. announced
in Rome his willingness to forgive sins
throughout the world for price, more OF
less generous, according to the heinous.
ness Of the crime, and his emissaries, in
dulgences or pardons on slips of paper II
one hand and money box in the other
divided between themselves the universe
John Tstzel was appointed ny the pspal
legass Albert, cardinal archbishop of Ma,
inz and Asgdsburg, to mako sale Of par
dons in saxeny, snd his blaspksmoui
speeches reused to fiery indignation the
pure soul Of Martin Luther, humble
Denk of Wittanbsrg, vhs weak in hamaI
strength but powerful By his advocacy OF
stsrnal trath, ineugurstsd q reformation
The story has bssn repeated in st. Paul
"Tks presence of persons under papsl gu
thority in all parts Of Germany selling ab
solvsnces for sins committed, and indulg
enees for sins contemplated, displease(
and disturbed Luther" Mosheim whose
church history ia a standard work among
Protsstants, writes "Ths first occasion
for publishing the trnths Luther had dis
covered, was presented to this great man by
John Setzel, Dominican monk void OF
shame, whom Albert, archbishop of Ma
inz and Magdeburg had hired, on account
of his influence, to solicit the Germans in
tina name Of the Pontiff Leo, to expiete
with money their own Gins and those OF
their friends, and future sins IS well ss
past ones, or in other words, to preach in
dulgences."
Even the liberal Ranke writes: "Forgive-
ness of sins to be purchased by money. "
Rscent Protestant writer's are more guard
cd in their language, and far nearer tha
Catholic trnth. Fisher and Kostiin are
not much astray in their statement of the
doctrinal teaching of the church on il
dulgencsa. But they lay to the charge OF
Tstzsl and other preachers of the in
diligence Of 1917 all the old-time mis-
statements of the doctrine. "The forgive
nsss of sins,' says Fisher ''was offered in
the market for money" Kostlin admita
that for the living confession and contri-
tion were necessary prerequisites FOR OBJ
tanning pardon, "but," he adds, 'for the
souls in purgatory nothing was required
but money offered for them by the living.
THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE.
Neither Fisher nor Kostlin hints thai