Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-05-26
JOB PRINTING OF ALL KINDS
DONE AT THE TRIBUNE OFFICE

prevent confusion or diversity of discipline in
the church in the United States, the council
provided that the application of these princi-
pies to any one society in particular did not be-
long to the province of any single priest,
bishop, or archbishop of the United States, nor
to any collection even of bishops, but to a COM
mittee composed of all the archbishops of the
United States; and, in order further to prevent
the possibility of scandal in this matter it pro-
vides that no direct application of these princi-
pies should be made to any one determined 30
ciety without the unanimous vote of all the
members of the commission. This was approy-
ed by Rome, and the dercree is found under
No. 255 of the acts and DEGREES of the Third Pie
nary Council of Baltimore. The words are as
| follows:
Moreover, to prevent the possibility of n
confusion of discipline by the federation in one
diocese of society which same society is con-
demned in another. to the consequent great
scandal of the faithful and detriment of eccles-
iastical authority, we desire that no society be
condemned by name as falling under one of the
classes indicated before the Ordinary has re-
ferred the case to The commission which we
now constitute for deciding such cases, and
which shall consist of all the archbshops of
these provinces. But if the society should not
seem to all to be one to be condemned, recourse
must be had to the Holy See in order that a
sure decision may be had and discipline be pre-
served uniform In our provinces"
Since the time of the council this commission
of archbishops holds q meeting every year to
take into consideration what ever points of
church discipline the past year has presented
as most demanding attention. In the year 1890
they assembled In Boston and took into consid-
GRAFTON the condition of societies in the United
States that were under no formal condemna-
tion, and passed the following resolution;
THE Freemasons excepted, the societies most
prevalent In America, such as the Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias, Sons of Temperance, etc.,
are not formally condemned by the church;
many of these societies may be, and very likely
are, from their position and tendencies more
or less dangerous to Catholics. and it were bet
ter by far that the Catholics had no part in
them. Catholics should be discouraged from
Joining them however, when Catholics do be-
long to them, the question of leaving them or
remaining in them must be decided by the con-
science of each individual. So far as the socie-
ties are now known to the archbishops there
seems to be no absolute certainty of any posi-
tive wrong in them, and consequently no gen.
eral mandate can be issued forbidding them;
moreover, we must be prepared, it was said, to
leave ms much latitude as we well can to indi-
vidual Catholics, as severe restrictions imposed
upon them, where no absolute necessity of SO
doing exists, would only irritate them and do
HARM"
The next meeting of the archbshops was
held at st. Louis. on the occasion of the Jubilee
OF Archbishop Kenrck. The question of socie
Ties was again placed under consideration, and
the archbishops resolved to stand by the de-
crees of the council OF Baltimore and by the
resolution taken in their meeting held at Bos-
ton the year previous. A correction was. how
ever, introduced in that resolution, where It is
said:
"rhe question of leaving societies or remain
ing in them must be decided by the conscience
OF each individual;" the words should have
been; "By the conscience of each individual
under the direction of his confessor.r
After further discussion the resolution was
passed, that the rules of the Third Plenary
Council regarding societies be adherd to- the
resolution of the Boston conference to be ex-
planned as not having altered these rules.
This is the law of the church in the United
states in force at this moment concerning the
condemnation of societies and the attitude of
Catholics toward them.