St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-12
THEY'RE NOT FOR SALE.
CHURCH N3WGENcES CAN'T BE
60UeHT, SAYS FATHER CLEARLY.
UNWORTHY SCHOOL BOOKS

Lies are disseminated against the
Catholic Church in the Public
School Rooms-An Interesting
Discourse in Labor Temple
Well Acknowledgements News
ofthe City OF minneapolis.
Father Cleary lectured at Labor Tenn
pie last night to large audience. He
explained during the course of his
lecture the doctrine and practice of the
Catholic church concerning ''indul-
gences." He said:
The authorized definition of an in
diligence, as understood in the Catholic
church, is the remission or pardoning
OF the whole or part of the temporal
punishment due to sin after the guilt OF
the sin has been forgiven. The condi-
tions laid down for gaining an indul-
gence are to be in the state of grace,
that is. free from the stain OF mortal
sin, and to perform the good works
prescribed by the church. An iudul-
gence is not the forgiveness of sin. One
who IS in the state of mortal sin cannot
gain an indulgence. Common sense
suggests that all indulgence is not
license to commit sin. God himSeif
because of his Infinite PROJECTIONS can
not grant permission to any one TO do
wrong or commit sin. Much less can
the church give permission to any one
to commit sin. The church has power
to pardon sin, when the sinner expresses
his sorrow and coufesSeS his sins. But
the church has 10 power TO abrogate
tie moral law, and to declare that vice
is virtue or virtue is vice. At no period
of the eventful history of the church
was any claim ever made that the
church had power 10 permit people to
do wrong. The divine power to pardon
sin, which Jesus Christ impaired 10 His
church, certainly also implies the power
to remit the temporal penalty due 10 sin
after the sin is forgiven.
"Our civil authority Furnishes offenSes
against the law by the sentences or our
civil courts, and pardons the offender
through the pard0ning power vested in
the executive of the state or nation.
The same authority also grants indul-
genceS By renting part or the whole
of the penalty. or by committing the
sentence, when the culprit gives I'M
amendment of life.
No one imagines that the state en-
cOurageS crime Ivy encouraging re-
pentance and extending clemency 10
the cOntrite eYl-doer. But by strange
perYerSitV Of the human mind. Il per
verSity born of malice, ignorance ana
unreasOning prejudice, the Catholic
church is accused Of encouraging vice
by granting indulgenceS. 1T is hard for
Us, who know of the tireless efforts put
forth by the church to reclaim the PEG.
pie from sin. 10 listen patiently to those
who wickedly accuse this ancient bull
Wark against evil of INDUCING the
people in the commission or sin.
In this active and progressive age, i'll
our beloved country. we American
Catholics. find it hard 10 bear when we
see our pubic school rooms made use
of to disseminate lies against us and
against the old church we SO dearly
love. Books, unworthy the name OF
histories. are used i'll our public schools,
either as textbooks or as books of refer
ence, that, still in this enlightened age,
repeat the threadbare lies that the Cath
Ole church sold or sells indulgenceS
1t Is a foul crime against children
10 inStii into untutored minds lies and
base calumnies against any church or
the American public school room be-
ing made the channel through which
10 inStil poison into the minds and
hearts Of American children. l pro-
test especially in behalf of those
children who are not Catholics. 1t is an
objectionable crime against them in
particular that they should be taught in
our free public schools false impress
sOns about the most ancient of Chris
iian churches, and be led to believe that
the lying fctions they read are facts of
history. Such children may never have
an opportunity of learning the truth,
and are victimiZed by lying scriboiers.
who, parrot-like, repeat the falsehoodS
more clever calumniators have invent
ed. Our Catholic children suffer less
harm from such lying text books, for
they are taught the truth i'll their Sun
day schools, or learn it fully from eX-
plantations of Catholic doctrine in later
years.
when we protest against being lied
about in our public schools. we are &C
cused of being enemies of the public
school system. The system is not TO
blame for being thus perverted. Glass
books in our public schools should not
manifest partisan prejudice against any
religious denomination.
The Catholic church does not sell in
dulgencies, never attempted to sell
them. and could not by any possible
subterfuge make them subject of
barter. for the first requisite for gaining
an indulgence is the state of grace
freedom from sin - which is not
understandable entity"