The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1890-10-17
"AbsoIution Is a Divine, Not an &C.
clesiastical Institution"
MANKATo, Oct. 7, 1890.

4OcOs
1.-The higher testimony of Protestant
ism ls individual and personal. The
Roman Catholic and Greek churches
believe that as successors of the apostles
they hold a mysterious power which
enables them to declare the remission
of sins, and when they are satisfied of
the p%enitent with the requirements
they pronounce absolution, while in
Professionalism the Gospel is believed to
come not by. word only but by power
and the Holy Ghost; so that Protestant
ism with its witnesses of personal assu-
rance gains more rapidly than the
Greek and Roman Catholic churches"
81 have nothing to say in injustice to
these forms of Christianity and | GER
tainly do them no injustice when | say
that while they bear testimony, that
testimony which they bear is ecclesias-
teal"
The above is a quotation from a SER
mon recently delivered by Rev. DR..
Tiffany as reported in yesterdays FREE
Press. The meaning of the foregoing
paragraphs inasmuch as they refer to
the Catholic church, l take the liberty
of constituting thus: The remission of
sin as practiced in the Catholic church
is an ecclesiastical institution. In def
ference to the convictions of Methodist
and other Protestant denominations, l
refrain from instituting any compare
sons between the belief of Protestants
and Catholics on this vital question, be-
ing satisfied with a brief statement of
the Catholic side.
/. The Catholic church believes,
maintains and teaches that her Divine
founder, Jesus Christ, gave the power
of forgiving sins to the Apostles when
He said: "As the Father sent me, l also
send you. When he had said this He
breathed on them, and He said to them,
Receive you the Holy Ghost. whose
sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven
them, and whose sins you shall retain
they are retained" John X 2l-23y.
2. She holds that the power here de-
livered by the Son of God was trans
mitted by the Apostles to their success
sors, and
8. That the Bishops and Priests, legiti-
mately ordained and commissioned, are
the successors of the Apostles and con-
sequently have that same power of for
giving sin by the mer its of Jesus through
the sacrament of Penance. That the Lord
could have appointed other means of
pardoning sinners l do not deny; but
ode facto" this is the place of reconcile
alton revealed in Scripture and preach
ed by the Catholic and Apostolic church
at all times and In all places. That the
Apostles had the power of transmitting
to their successors in the ministry all
they had received from Christ is evil
dent from a single fact that is not suff-
GENTLY considered by those who deny
it. When Judas denied his Divine Mas
ter there remained only eleven. What
did they do? They chose one of the
seventy disciples-his name wa Mathi-
as. They took this man and imposing
hands on him elevated him to the Apos-
tolate; so that everything that they
could do he received the power to do.
From whom? From Christ? Christ had
already assembled into heaven. From
whom, then? From the Apostles them
selves. Now, if they had not the power
of transmitting all that they had receiv.
ed from Christ, would they have chosen
Matthias and made him an Apostle?
What therefore ley were able to do for
Matthias they were able to do for all
their successors in the Priesthood. And
30 the glorious tradition is handed down
for all that began with Christ that flow
ed from Him through Peter, James and
John, flows to-day in the sacred chan
mel of the Priesthood. Hear the testi-
mony of Tertullian in the second centu-
nv: "Dost thou think heaven is still
closed? Remember that the Lord left
here the keys thereof to Peter and
through him to the church"-Scorpince,
page 1876. Thus t~estifes Ephrem of Ed
essa 4th century. ."The exalted dignity
of the priesthood is far above u un-
derstanding and. the power of speech.
Remission of sins is not given to NOR
tails without the venerable priesthood"
De Sacerdotio, p. 2. In fine, let me
quote the venerable Ambrose, 4th cen
tury: "Iet US now see whether the
Spirit forgiveth sins. But it cannot be
doubted from this that the Lord Him
self said, "Receiye We the Holy Ghost,
whose sins you shall forgive they are
forgiven them. Behold that sins are
forgiven by the Holy Ghost. But unto
the remission of sins men furnish their
ministry they do not exercise the right of
any power. Fol mott their W name,
but that of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Ghost are sins forgiven. They
pray, God forgives; for the office is
mans but the great bounty is from the
power above. De splritu paneto. l3
1o7 TouN PpI0P