Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-27
GREATEST OF ALL IS CHARITY
The Virtue Considered With Rela-
ton to the Creche Ball.
OPINIONS OF MANY MINISTER'S
Prevailing Sentiment That Rev. DR.
Dctwciler's Denunciation Was Ill
Timed and ~Unwarranted -
Other Interesting Relig-
ious News.
Many Ministerial Minds.

In a sermon delivered mt the Kountze Me-
mortal church, last Sunday evening, DIR. Det-
weller stated that the Creche ball was a fail
ure and gave his reasons therefor, among
other things holding that dancing in the
sacred name of charity was n mockery. A
number of the christian ministers of the city
have been seen and talked to on the subject
during the past week, and their opinions
have been found TO be rs diversified US the
colors of the rainbow.
Rev. NJ. y. Bowling, S. j., the affable
president Of Creighton college, was the first
member of the clergy seen. ''rhere seems
to be two extreme views in this matter" said
he, zone party maintains that dancing, in
itself, is evil, and the other that, though it
be wrong i'll itself, it becomes iustifiable
when done for sweet charity's sake. We do
no not hold that dancing, in itself, is illicit,
or by its nature necessarily sinful;
but that, owing TO peculiar circumstances
attending II, IL may become sinful, fi in
stance, on account of the peculiar kind of
daucc INDUCED in, immodesty in attire,
Voluptuousness in action and the company
with which persons Will be brought in con
tact. II is on account of this danger, which
seems to be incident to some species of dane
ing, that the Catholic clergy so generally
dlscountcnance round dance. What is sin
full for one person, may be harmless for an
other, owing TO their different dispositions
and character. 1t is very difficult to estab-
lish any general law, or to say absolutely
that ali persons may dance every specieslof
dance, or that all must abstain from such
recreation altogether. The members of the
Catholic church are counselled to seek and
follow the advice OF IL confessor
or spiritual director, because when
he knows the circumstances Of an
individual case, he can more easily
give safe counsel. The main point which
the Catholic church has in view is to pre-
serve her children from mortal sin and from
dangerous occasion Of sin, and individual
circumstances must be the guide as to
whether n given action is a mortal sin for a
particular person or "a DANGEROUS occasion of
SIN. II enc has not the courage TO avoid an
occasion where SIN is almost certain to fol.
low, how VIII he have the strength not TO
ran INTO SIN II he throw himself into the
danger The plenary council OF Baltimore
admonlshes pastors ana parents to warn the
young against the dangers attending balls
ana dances, and not TO allow them TO be ex-
posed unnecessarily, but still IL does not
absolutely forbid dancing of every kind and
uIuer every circumstance. Some OF those
VINO favor charity balls seem to ignore
al'ogGther whether dancing in itself
fancy that though 1t be wrong
u becomes permissible when done in the
cause OF charity, The object for which il is
done does not change its nature and to hold
Ihe p~rinciil' Which they falsely accuse the
9esuIts OF maintaining, viz, that the end
lustlhcs the means. Some of the advocates
OF CHARITY balls llkewise estimate their first
essential 81 CHRISTIAN charity by appealing
primarily to self Shness. They say, DO good
BE Charitable !help the poor! because YOU
are admins ClIng 10 your own pleasure,
ana hardly think that the christian people OF
Omaha will admit that charity is so dead
'ha' 'here IS no longer any use OF asking the