Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-14
Mgr. Capel's "Catholic.'
To tho EDITOR OF the New York Times.


Your correspondent. IAN American
Catholic" IL good enough to cay, In
your issue OF to-day: mgr Capel's
one and indivisible. The Roman
church Is one aud indivisible. There
fore the Roman organization IL the
1t would certaily say but little for
the thinking power OF any man who
could construct and rely on such n syl.
logism. The extraordinary hallucina-
tioD of IAN American Catholic In
that he should give this sylloglsm AZ u
Of my letter of the Gath inst,
which appeared In your columns. Why,
sir, never said one word about the
Roman church!
My argument IL this: The church Is
AN organism, that Is, u body composed
Of organs each with Its own function.
In which there Is an energizing, liv-
ing power. This organism, made up
OF baptized human beings, was de-
signed or fashioned by the divine wis.
dom OF Christ, and was created by his
divine power. The energizing, living
power In this body l God the Holy
Ghost, who descended ON Pentecost
uty hnu Dtcutht, US ~ were,
the soul of this body. Thus
was fashioned and WAS born the true
church Of Christ, human divine
creature. Now, my contention IL, this
living body can no more be dismem.
bered than can the human body. and
that. like u human being, IL continues
its identity of organization aud of eX-
istence from the first Pentecost day till
a ~. A., i'll A.
Christ, her founder, for her earthly
life, Therefore the true church OF
Christ must mt this moment he on
earth. She must be $50 years old,
and she must have the historical
continuity and identity Of the baby
church of Pentecost day.
Any ecclesiastical society or organ
ization which cannot show this con.
tinuity and identity cannot be the
true Church of Christ. This IL why In
my previous letter | Insisted that
inasmuch as the Protestant Episcopal
church In America formed Itself into o
corporate organization, gave itself .
constitution. determined Its own pow
ers Of Jurisdiction, and accepted q
Der of 1889, II could not by any stretch
vi tnlukluutlbh pt WIN
the church Of the Apostles. The
British empire extended Itself all over
the world. The day came when 0
large portion Of her American colohie,
formed Itself into an independent SOW
ereignty, making "a new constitution
creating new center of government
and taking IA new name-the United
States. Would IL In any sense OF tn,
t.... a A.. a.sI tas.
are 'braDch Of the British empire?'
Precisely the same operation was per
formed by the Established Church o
England, and II cannot, therefore, be .
branch OF the old church.
american Catholic" asks: ais the
monsignor willing TO abide by his
tory?' This, Sir, Is precisely the
ground i have taken throughout the
monograph Catholic To II have
appended the translations of 81
Cyprian, ~. Cyril,St. Pacian, produced
between 25l and 1913, showing that
these fathers, writing dogmati'
treatises on the church, knew nothing
OF separate and independent organiza
tons M given by American Catholic,
but of one living organism.
As to your other correspondent from
Augusta, may reply, beyond vi
doubt, Manning, Newman, Allies
Ward, and the other distinguished
"'verts" OF the Oxford movement did
70 long M they were directed by tn,
traditional assertions of Anglicans
believe the English church TO be til,
pure Apostolic church, but when they
examined the writings Of the earl,
fathers the scales fell from their eyes
they saw that the 'body OF Christ
was one and indivlsible, and unhes
itatingly did they return to that on
holy, Catholic, apostolic and Roman
church which their fathers hat
deserted. Their example ought u
teach men TO be modest In con
demning and abusing, until they hav,
examined with care what the Chris
tians of the undivided church" be
lieye concerning the church.
To your correspondent, IAN Angli
can Catholic,n whose letter appears II
this mornings number, j must repea
the questions at issue are the nature o
the church, and which church Ii tn
continuation Of the baby church q
Pentecost, and consequently Catholic
The other questions your c0rrespOn
dent raises will he dealt with In
series Of conferences am publishing
For the moment they are beside tn
matter under consideration. TO pre-
vent dIstracting thought from 1t,
concede for arguments sake the valid
ity Of Anglican orders.
In "Catholicv l have cited well
known historians, Catholic and Prot
estant, to show fist, that the churcl
IN Roman Britain formed part Of tn
one undivided church, and second
that the established religious society o
Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth wa
a new church, differing In government
and faith from the church In R0nlaI
Britain and In Saxon and Norman
England. The duty OF ian Anglican
CathOlic' II TO rebut these statement
OF welI-known and classic historians
He must pardon me for saying tina
mere denial " not proof; he ought 4
meet my citations one by one and pro
| duce reLutting evidence.
| As leave for Chioag, on Thursday
replies from me to your correspondent
must necessarily bs delayed, In con
cluslOn permit me 70 thank you 10
your courtesy and pstlencs 10 allowing
L.. - .n& 49,