Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-03-11
BISHOP KAIE'S LECTURE.
The Opening Of the Lenten Course Attract
a Large Audience.

menCeQ, yes eruay hteInOOui III VIC Sa
thedral, a course of Lenten lectures. These
lectures always attract large audiences and
elicit very general interest. Yesterday
proved no exception to the rule. The
Cathedral was filled. This Lent, the
Bishop intends to discuss some of the pop
uIar arguments that are employed to sub
stantiate the charge, made against the
Catholic Church, of being exclusive, intOl-
Grant, and even cruel. This will include
the discussion of certain Oft-quOted histori-
cal facts, such as the massacre of ST.
Bartholomew, the Inquisition, Calico, etc.
Yesterday the Bishop devoted himself TO
an exposition of the principles underlying
the question of religious intolerance, and
maintained that, in her views of the posi-
bility of salvation, the Catholic Church
was as liberal as any other body of Chris
tians
She makes every concession not incom-
patible with truth; for the denial of the
truth cannot be accounted liberality, but
must be regarded as criminal falsehOOd.
Catholics, being absolutely certain
of the doctrines of revelation,
cannot admit the possibility that
the contradiction may b true, any
more than one may, to avoid contentious,
assent to the proposition 1.-TWO aud two
make five" Indeed any Christian who
acts otherwise virtually approves the prin-
ciple of indifferentism as respects divine
revelation. For such an one, the SaviOr's
words can have little meaning: lyon shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free"
Because the Catholic is absolutely GER
tain of the truths taught by his Church,
does il follow that he must exclude from
even the possibility Of salvation all who
refuse 70 accept these truths and enter the
communion Of the Catholic Church? No
What does the Catholic Church recognize
as the one sine qua non condition for saliva
ton? Faith-since 1t is written, With
out faith ii is impossible to please God. "
Who have faith? All who believe expli-
city all they know God has re-
veaied, and implicitly all else that
He has revealed. Now, no Gath
olic theologian questions either the
possibility or the fact that there are per
sons 30 disposed outside the visible com
muuion of the Catholic Church.
To them, indeed, as to
all mankind, the Church presents
her divine commission as he witness and
teacher of revealed truth; but these per-
sons may not be satisfied with the evil
dence produced, and therefore reject her
claims. 1t is God alone, and not man,
who can Judge in these individual cases,
of the interior dispositions.
1t is therefore utterly false to charge
Catholics with excluding from eternal sal
vasion all v no are not nbers Of their
church. Trey do indeed believe the
church to be the authorized teacher of Di-
vine Revelation; hence those who are con-
WINGED that such is her office must accept
the doctrines she propounds and cannot ex-
rect to be saved if they refuse; and hence
too, Catholics consider it the duty Of all to
examine her claims TO their obedience and
TO weigh we'll the consequences of neglect
and carelessness in a matter Of 50 grave
Importance. ~,
Sometimes" said the Bishop, chose
who make a business OF assaulting the
Catholic church quote certain technical
phrsseology in which error, heresy, sposta-
cy, &c ere mathematical in proof that
Catholics are taught to hate and even to
curse those who differ from them In the
matter of religion. The like charge might
be made with equal fOrce against the Holy
Scriptures themselves. We may indeed con-
denim and reprobate every species OF error,
but We are never justified in wishing i'll to
any human being. But in the matter OF
practical charity towards all men, be their
religious or political views what they may,
Catholics do not show themselves less
Jealous than their fellow-Cbrlstians OF
other denominations
eff. then" remarked the Bishop, -
were asked to define religious liberality,
could not do so more correctly than in the
words of one of our most distinguished En-
plish-speaking Catholics: 1t is the asser-
ton of truth-the rejection Of error 1t is
the love of all mankind without the sacri-
fee of cur principles. Ia word, it is
Christian charity"
The Bishop then passed 10 the question:
"Have Catholic governments been intoler-
anti" and he did not hesitate to answer
this question in the affirmative. Protes-
tant and Infdel governments have like
wise been Gercely intolerant; but thisre-
tort. he admitted, is not satisfactory re-
ply. To some extent every government
must be intolerant federation applies
only 10 what is believed 10 be
evil-tO be wrong; we do not
tolerate virtue; we do not tolerate good |
1t is the duty of government TO suppress,
as far as possible, what is believed to be a
public evil, and to tolerate it, only when |
it cannot be suppressed. In our country
the MOrmOns have claimed the right, |
based on Scripture, to practice pOlygamy. |
This practice our government, for a while, |
tolerated; now it purposes 10 suppress it.
Unfortunately, in our OVID, as well as in, |
perhaps, every other large city, there are
houses where infamous crimes are known
to be constantly committed; yet
these houses are tolerated; in some places
legalized.
The question, What are and what are
not public evils? and the further question,
Whether towards recognized public evils |
the Government should be tolerant or in
tolerant? depend for their solution very |
much on public opinion; but public opin-
ion is created by many varying circum-
stances. 1t would be therefore unfair to
Judge the actions Of all governments in the
matter under discussion by the public |
opinion of our own times and country. |
We should enquire if the intolerance COM
planned of was manifested towards what |
were then and there universally regarded |
as public evils, dangerous TO State
as we'll as TO Church. The plea
usually set up il defense of those against
whom intolerance is claimed to have been
exercised, namely, that they were punish
ed for following the dictates of their con-
science, is not in itself spilieient ,iotherwise
our government cannot justify its intOler-
ance of polygamous MOrmonism, or our
criminal court its sentence Of imprison-
ment, passed upon the thief who processes
to believe in Proudham's doctrine: "All |
property is theft" If then civil govern
menis, in past ages, were convinced that
heresy was public evil, they cannot be
condemned for endtayoriDg to
ID