St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-21
Archbishop Ireland's Address
Still a Topic for Minis
terial Debate,
While the Lake Pepin Disas-
ter Reminds Us That
Death Is Near.
The Sixth Anniversary Of the
West Hotel Celebrated
Yesterday.
A Quiet Sundays Cuttings
of News at the Flour
City.

Yesterday at the last service in his
church, Rev. j. G. Byrne delivered an
eloquent sermon, taking for his text,
1.-THE children of this world are wiser in
their generation than the children of
light'-words taken from the gospel of
the day. The burden of the discourse
was to prove that the Catholic church
and its priesthood did not merit the
eplthets crafty, cunning and jesuitical,
which were so frequently applied to
them nowadays by certain class of
non Catholics who did not understand
the true history and aims of the church
and it's constituted authorities.
"Speaking from a human standpoint.
as our adversaries do" said Father
Byrne, 1--WE see our church losing one
opportunity after another: we see her
allied to the most impolitic Of measures,
and continually beset with difficulties
without her stirring hand to remove
them. To trust in God and her own
sincerity seems to be her only policy;
but this is not human cunning, but di-
vine wisdom. We assume that Christ,
in his divine sincerity, was the most i'm
polite of men, and we submit that the
Catholic church is, in this respect, as in
all others, an exact counterpart of her
divine MASTER" He then declared there
vas nothing dearer to the church than
that her children should hold the intel
lectual supremacy of the world; and
that from time immemorial her best
energies were lavished to attain
that end; that the great uni
versities of Europe are a standing
m onument more enduring than bronze
that the church had carried the torch of
science and the light of faith down the
centuries; and yet she had not shown
the least cunning to retain clever men
in her bosom, because she would not
sacrifice little of faith as tribute to
genius or learning. In our own century
she lost some of the brightest intellects.
as Dollinger, Proctor, Geoberti, and
others who could have shed luster ON
the church, sooner than to sacrifice some
doctrine which they would disregard.
In preceding centuries she lost
men capable of striking ponderous
strokes in her defense. At the height
of their fame the so-called crafty Catholic
church flung them aside and made them
her relentless enemies for the sake of
preserving some doctrine which may ap-
pear trivial from human standpoint.
As Christ turned from the doctors of
the law and sought his apostles among
poor, despised fishermen and publicans,
so the church has ever recoiled from
proud teachers who demanded for their
allegiance the sacrifice of the truth. In
doing this she exhibited wisdom. but
not the human kind called cunning.
But more attractive than the glitter of
genius is the Establishment of the senses
to the masses, and to save the integrity
of true faith the church has lost at
divers times men Of rare talent, and
never has she attempted to retrieve the
losses by yielding to the Sensuality of
the multitude The church has never
resorted to human policy in the prose-
cution of her divine work. She breaches
fasts, abstinence and notification; she
eXaIts virginity and denies divorce
to princes and people alike. The
smiles of princes have on this
account been changed into frowns
and the hosannahs of the people
have changed to Kisses; the sword has
been unsheathed until the words of
Christ have been literally fulfilled. 81
sword" and yet the church has
held sternly and uncompromising-
ly to her teaching. Can this be an
evidence of cunning? We have had
many a struggle since Luther and
Henry VIII. left US. Humanity speak
ing, it would be egregious folly to pur-
sue line of conduct which has lost
whole nations to the church. Where,
then, is the cunning? The church as
politician was then considered. There
were three issues before this country at
the present day, and if the church took
up any of them she would have pal
ladium to guard her by night and by
day. They are patriotism, temperance
and the public schools. That kind of
patriotism which studies to foster good
citizens in time of peace and war be-
longs particularly to the Catholic
church, but the kind which is noisy and
blatant, which fights imaginary
enemies and real enemies thousands
of miles away, the kind of patriot
ism which DR.. johnson calls 1.-THE last
refuge of a scoundrel," is a sham in
siucere church of Christ can take no
part. Yet the latter kind appeals to
that fond love of country which Amer
leans seem to possess in an eminent
degree. 1t is sham which some minis
tiers, otherwise poorly equipped, know
to use to advantage. The Jews OF old
used the same weapon against Christ
because he said: ''My kingdom is not
of this world" But as Christ did moth
ing because of the conspiracy of the
Jews and their distortion of the sense
of his words, so the Catholic church
makes no change in organization or dis
cipline because of unjust charges
against her. Allied to patriotism is
temperance. The church could we'll
take, up, bless and encourage this move
ment. She has done so, inasmuch as
temperance is modification of the
sense and for the good OF the Individual,
but as a grand movement sweeping the
country the church has left it to the
heroic eXertiOnS of individuals. Why
has not the church political sagacity to
90 with the wave and be carried cen
tury safely on its crest? The least and
the most ignorant denomination in the
land can seize this advantage. Where
is our shrewdness and cunning if we
cannot? But above all in the treatment
of the public school school question has
the church shown her utter want of
political wisdom. Education in this
country is elevated almost to the dig
nity of religion, and the public school
is it's temple. To speak, therefore.
disparagingly of the public school we're
to speak against the dearest object OF
the national atfectlOnS.
The church has insisted upon one
thing only in education, and that is that
it be religious, especially for tender
youth. Any defense of the necessity of
religion in education Oh the part of the
church seems to make the whole Amer
lean people cry out against her. The
lack of policy of the Catholic church in
allowing her attitude on the educational
question to be construed as that of en-
| nifty to the American temple of educa-
ton Is not indicative of that craftiness
and shrewdness attributed to her by her
enemies. While our priests are admin
istering the sacraments, attending the
sick and the dying, preaching the
one faith and the ten commandments,
the ministers of other churches
are rounding their periods and
keeping wide awake to passing
events so as to catch the popular ear, to
champion the transient fashion, to ride
on the popular wave, let the topic be
temperance, state rights, public schools
or municipal reforms, or a hundred
other subjects, sometimes of sensa-
tional nature. which are discussed more
for notoriety than for good results. Our
| church ie therefore ahSOlutelv devoid