The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-08-01
SatOlli ON the Saloon.

Archbishop Satolli, the apostolic del
egate, has given decision for which
Protestants will thank him as heartily
as his warmest Catholic supporters. In
sustaining on appeal the position of
Bishop Watterson of Columbus toward
saloon keepers, he has not simply sus-
tanned the right of Catholic bishop to
guard I" faith and morals" in the limits
of his diocese-that was to be expected
but he has declared the liquor traffic
ga source of much evil and has ap-
proved of the discipline of saloon
keepers. No previous action of the
Catholic church on this subject seems
to us as important as this utterance of
the pope's representative in the United
States. Let us see what it involves.
The action of Bishop Watterson, from
which appeal was taken, was in line
with his well-known policy against the
saloon and saloon-keepers. He de-
clared his purpose, in the first place, to
withdraw his appreciation from any
Catholic society or branch in his do
cese having saloon-keepers among its
officers, and to suspend such society or
branch from its rank and privileges;
| CD to recognize no new society which
has saloon-keepers among its members;
| co to refuse absolution to those saloon
keepers who conduct their business Sin
forbidding or disedifying way" and
sell on Sundays. This is the sort of
discipline that this brave bishop has
brought to bear against Catholics who
are engaged in the liquor traffic. Some
of them, rebelling against this propo-
| on1 To Vi iyH VII hor tu
pealed to the apostolic delegate. He
gave a decision in favor of the bishop.
Believing that he had not fully under
stood the question, the matter was
again referred to him, and in response
he has given a decision unfolding the
bishop upon every point. 1t is worth
while to state the points of the decision
that the full import of ii may be under
stood. They are three, as follows:
Q) Bishops are divinely appointed
Judges with respect to matters pertain.
ing to faith and morals in their do
ceses, and neither societies nor indi-
viduals may set their decisions at de-
fiance. The mere fact that such deci-
sions may involve temporal loss does
not justify opposition to them, for the
spiritual good is paramount.
(2) The liquor traffic, especially as
conducted in the United States, is the
source of much evil, and the bishop
was acting within his rights in seeking
| to restrict it,
60 The apostolic delegate, therefore,
sustains Bishop Watterson's action and
approves of his circular letter and reg
ulations concerning saloons and the eX-
pulsion of saloon-keepers from member
ship in Catholic societies.
Ii will be said, and said truly, that
Archbishop Satolli's decision has ref
erence to only one diocese, that each
bishop is the administrator of his own
diocese, and that whether Bishop Wat,
terson's severe discipline is to be APP
piled in other dioceses depends en-
tirely upon the heads of those dioceses
In other words, while this decision
would sustain any bishop who desires
to enter upon a similar course of action
it is not at all mandatory upon any to
do 80. 1t is, however, general in its
moral effect, which must be great. II
has been the occasion of great alarm
among Catholic saloon keepers, partic-
ularly in this city. There are very
large number of them here, and when
the decision was communicated to them
they were very greatly disturbed, and
some of them said If an attempt were
made to carry out such severe disci
pline generally, it would cause rebel
lion in the church. Certainly ii would