The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-02-16

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. THE Ca
tholic hierarchy Of the United State.
was represented at the annual dinner
of the Catholic club last evening by lis
most distinguished prelates. There
were present as the guests of the cluu
Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop Cor
rigan, Archbishop Ryan, Bishop
Keane, rector of the Catholic university
at Washington, and William F. Har-
rity, chairman of the Democratic
national committee.
The dinner was held in the art gal
lery of the Art club, and about 200
gentlemen, prominent in the business
and social life of the city, were
present. Colonel John I. Rogers,
president of the club, presided. Be-
hind the distinguished guests was hung
a large piece of tapestry embroidered
with the asms Of the Papal See, sur
mounted by the national colors, and
the sides of the room were hung with
the yellow and white colors of the
Papal state, and the colors Of the
United States. After a few brief re-
marks Colonel Rogers gave the first
toast of the evening. "Church and
State" and Cardinal Gibbons arose
to respond. He was greeted with
applause and was frequently compelled
to stop during his speech by the
plaudits of his auditors. His eminence
said in part:
81 am firmly persuaded, both by
study and observation, that the church
is more sturdy in her growth and
more prosperous in her career when
she is free to pursue her divine nilsson
without any interference on the part
of the State. Here, thank God, the
church is free, and therefore she is
prosperous. Here the church and the
state run in parallel lines, each assist
ing the other, and neither OF them
unwarrantably intruding on the
domain of the other. Here the con-
stitution holds over the church the
protecting arm, without interfering
in ecclesiastical affairs.
"We have no state religion or
official church in the United States.
But it will be great mistake to draw
as an inference from this fact that
therefore our government is anti
Christian or anti-religious. venture
to say, on the contrary, that there is
no commonwealth under the the sun
more permeated by Christian and
religious principles than the govern
ment of the United States. Here the
Christian Sabbath is observed as a day
of rest as we'll as in any country of the
civilized world. On that day the
courts of justice are closed and give
place to the courts of our Lord, which
are opened in every town and hamlet
in the land. The members of our
national and state legislatures open
their daily proceedings by invoking
the Father of Light on their delibera-
tions. We celebrate our annual
Thanksgiving Day, in which we pour
out our gratitude to the Giver Of every
good gift for the temporal blessings
to US as nation.
"But if the state protects the church
the church is the strongest bulwark
and safeguard of the commonwealth
in the exercise of her earthly mis-
sion, it will be the delight as we'll
as the duty of the ministers Of
Christ in the future, as it has been
in the past, 10 uphold our civil
and political institutions. 1t will be
our delight to proclaim the moral
law, which is the basis of all good
and to foster domestic
peace and public tranquility and
social order throughout the land.
"For my part believe the relation
between church and state are as close
and cordial as we should desire. All
we ask is fair field and no special
favor. l do not wish TO see the day
when the state will Ike called on to
build our churches and subsidiZe our
clergy, for as soon as the government
to support our church it
would dictate to US what doctrines we
ought to preach and ought not to
preach. And in proportion as state
patronage would increase the devotion
and patronage of the faithful would
wax cold. If it is great wrong to