The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-10-05
AT THE HEAD.
The Church Inspiring the Worlds
Progress.
Archbishop Riordan's Lecture-How the Cath.
Ole Religion Has Advanced Mankind
Toward Enlightenment.

The beautiful Church of ST. James on
Guerrero street was we'll filed last night
| with an audience assembled to hear his
Grace Archbishop Riordan lecture on the
relation Of the Catholic Church to progress.
His Grace prefaced his address by brief
| review of the progress OF the church that
| had called upon him by his lecture to assist
! them in providing suitable buildings for
| their pastors. He congratulated them on
the possession of beautiful church, and
said that an inspection of the parochial build
| iDgs which had been erected inspired MIN
with desire to some day occupy such conf
modiOus buildings himself
He opened his address by adyerting to
! criticisms of the church by those who, if not
| its pronounced enemies, can hardly be
classed among its friends. He referred to
| the people who charged the church with
| being the enemy OF progress and unhtted by
| the character of its faith to be the dominant
Influence of progressive age and the leader
| in the advancement of society.
BEGAN ITS GLORIOUS CAREER.
| Yet he wished his audience to remember
that the church began its glorious career
when the human mind was IN its infancy
| nd civilization was in its cradle. The good
work done by it in the early ages Is con-
| fassed. but now men speak of it as an anti
! quarian speaks of a costly relic of the past.
! II is said that instead of advancing the move
ment of the age it is drag.
| In Italy," said the speaker, 1.-THE children
| of the church are called meI of darkness.
| Germany has an opprobriOus name for
| them, and wherever English is spoken they
! are called 'ultramOntanes, or slaves of the
| Pope Now. there is great power IN words,
a magic influence in a name, and deeply
| rooted instinct tells men how far the influ-
| ence OF a name Will go. SO that while the
| enemies of religion have given us bad names
| they have taken care to give themselves the
| best Millions of men In the sixteenth cen
| tnry called themselves reformers, but
| had no conception Of the meaning OF
| the word. They were going to effect
the correction of abuses in the church and
the name they selected had a wonderful in-
! tluence. In the eighteenth century the
world heard much of liberty. equality and
! fraternity. and France was deluged with
! torrent OF blood. From the old world the
| split Of progress was transmitted to the
| new, which woke to a Consciousness OF its
strength and took place among the nations.
! THE WORD PROGRESS"
e'The nineteenth century has the word
| progress, and the word has different mean
| ing for every class OF society. 1t is the in
| spiration and the passion OF the age, and we
| are told that to this spirit of progress the
| Catholic Church Is opposed, and In conSe-
| quence there is an acrimonious feeling
| against us, intensified by years of contest.
| Now we Americans are the progressive
| people of the world. We have had no days
! of infancy. but came full grown upon the
stage of the world, as Minerva sprang from
the brain OF Jupiter.
Is il true" asked the Archbishop, " that
the Catholic Church is an enemy to this
| pr0greSS-that there is an ncompatabiiity
| between her teachings and the spirit of the
| age? Is it not possible that nearly all the
| glory aud benefits that the world has ac-
CURED are the direct results of the church'S
! influenced?
In answer to his questions the speaker re-
| piled that the church acts Immediately upon
| the soul and mind of man and causes him to
| understand his relations to God and his fell
| bowman. TO make him a good man, good
father, good citizen, and, il called TO COM
mand. good ruler. Thus the church in
! fiuenced the world by influencing the indi-
! ydual. Progress applied to man was de-
| fined as the realization of the possibilities of
| his nature. The more imperfect the Great
ure the more room for progress With God
| there can be no progress because in him
! there can be no imperleetiOn. Therefore rs
! man draws nearer to God he truly pro-
crosses, and cannot progress by going in
| any other direction.
THE PRINTING PRESS.
Among the most potent causes of the
worlds progress the Archbishop mentioned
| the printing press, invented in an age
| when all the world was Catholic. He held
| thai the idea OF progression is exclusively
| cdLuOlC, lOI INT pagan philosophy that pre-
| ceded Christianity told its deYOtees that the
| light was behind IN the past, and for them
| all the darkness was IN the future. Tney
| had destiny, but it was grave. Dog
| matte Professionalism did little better 1t
| could not con- truct a system of progress for
man, but in IFS early days was in
| opposition TO progress, for it was
| founded on the destruction of mans
! free will and taught him that his destiny
| was fixed from the beginning OF time, and
a A1.k
The Protestants had advanced not because
| OF their religion, but because of the general
| advancement and discoveries OF the age.
Material progress had no bearing on re-
/ lgon. They lived III different spheres and
| did not touch.
THE FIRST EDUCATOR.
| The church was the first educator of
the world" said the speaker, land first
taught man the dignity Of labor. 1t taught
| that man should be valued because he is
man, and this doc Urine is the characteristic
feature of our PROGRESS 1t was brought
! into the world by Christ himself, whose
church differed from the world in that in it
| the poor were taken thought of, to them
| the gospel was preached.
| Christ came the son Of n workingman
aud the foster son of workiDgman, and
| from his day no man eau deSpiSe labor with
| out despising God himself"
1t was on account of this elevation of
| labor, the speaker held, that much of the
| worlds Advancement is due. He declared
| that the Popes who are criticised for the
| power welded by them in the middle ages
used that power in defending the poor, aud
! that il was never used by them in assisting
! rulers TO play the despot over their subjects.
| The church Taught equality by pouring The
same water on the head of the prince and
beggtr. and civilization took its root and
| flOurished under monastery walls
FAvoRs LIBERTY.
| pyidaupe hat tho phur.b fovorad lin
erty at all times quotations were given from
| the fathers and the declaration Of the Cortes
| Of Spain at each session that Its members
were the equals of the King was cited The
| reverend orator also gave as proof of the
| church's friendship for freedom that the
| baTnn5 of England who wrung the NJ agna
| Charta from the unwilling hands of King
| John were Catholics.
| The principle Of political liberty. be
| held. is essentially Catholic. and is coeval
| Christianity. Republics - Pisa, Florence,
| Geneva and Venice-1ourished under the
Popes and were protected by them, aud the
slaves of the dark ages Jared better than
the slaves OF the great multiple despotisms
| that now exist
THE first colony in America" the
| speaker said, ito proclaim religious liberty
was the Catholic colony of Maryland"
| Then he showed how slowly religious lib
| erty progressed under the Constitution.
| Finally, he cited the church as a leader in
! the worlds progress, as the protector Of
| women, and the cOnservator of family unity.
| The family he argued is the fountain head
| of society. and if il is debased for the sake
| of sensuAlity. as it is being debased in the
| divorce courts the entire fabric must also be
debased.