The San Francisco call., 1896-02-27

its authority without any limit set to it by the
state?
witness which God has constituted in the
world to deliver his revelation, and being the
sole fountain OF that knowledge, has within its
sphere a sovereignty, and that sovereignty Is
one which is exempt from all control of human
authority. No authority on earth can inter-
vene to dictate to the church what 1t has to
teach or within what limits 1t shall teach.
1t is therefore not .only exempt, but
supreme, and being supreme there can be no
appeal from it."
Cardinal Manning here states that the
church and its authority and sovereignty is
exempt from all control of human authority.
Palmer language cannot be found In Whlch
authority without any. limit set to it by the
civil powers. And when the church claims
that no authority on earth-kingdom, empire
or republic can intervene to dictate to 1t
what it shall teach or within what limits 1t
shall reach, that church declares and teaches
that all right of authority within 1T rests with It,
az will draw out proof that ultramontan1sm
and Catholicism are identical" But just pre-
viously he said: "This is ultramontanlsm;
the essence of which is that the church, being
a divine institution and by divine assistance
infallible, is, within its own sphere, 1ndepend-
ent of all civil powers; and as the guard and
interpreter of the divine law it is the proper
Judge of men and nations in all things touch
ing that law in faith and morals"
The same writer again claims even
stronger that the church is within its own
sphere independent of all civil powers.
Again Manning says:
'Rome is sovereign because 1T is independent;
it is independent because 1t has no master on
earth. The vicar OF Jesus Christ Is the source
of its liberty, the guardian OF Its sovereignty.
Call ii temporal power if you will, the thing is
the same-the freedom, the independence, the
sovereignty of the kingdom of God on earth,
in all the world and over all mankind, resting
upon its center in the patrimony OF the
church, within which the shadow of no other
sovereignty can intrIde without violation
OF the supernatural order OF grace
The writer here declares that within the
church not even the shadow OF any other SOW
ereignty can intrude without doing wrong.
Dollinger, whose learning and truthfulness
in history not Yorke, nor Riordan. nor the
Hayes-street fortress can impeach, says:
/. "According to the Jesuit representation the
church is great all-embracing empire, an alb
solute monarchy, ruled with irresponsible and
plenary power by one man, the Pope. To him
all alike, laymen and cleric, king and beggar,
are equally and absolutely subject"
This papal kingdom must be upheld and ex-
tended by all means OF compulslon and Vlo-
lence and punishments of life and limb, some
times directly inflicted sometimes by invoking
the secular arm. which Is bound at once TO exc
cute its sentence"
1--WE recognize no religious liberty where our
church is not free in her doctrine, discipline or
worship, and where all men have not full and
entire freedom to profess the Catholic religion
without restraints from or responsibility to any
human power whatever, whether vested in the
king, the aristocracy or the people.
This freedom we demand, not as favor, not as
q gracious concession from the prince or the
republic, but as the right of our church"
What construction would Father Yorke put
upon the language, without restraint from or
responsibility to any human power whatever"
Does not an organization that claims the right
10 be without restraint or responsibility claim
that it has the right 10 exercise Its authority
without any limit set to 1t by civil power1
The Elements OF Ecclesiastical Law" page
227, reads as follows:
so. Is it allowable to.appearto the civil power
or seek redress in the civil courts against
wrongs inflicted by ecclesiastical superiors?
"a. Such appeals are, as q rule, not only un.
lawful but null and void. For the
church being perfect and supreme society
and therefore, sole and ultimate judge in mat
tiers pertaining to her jurisdiction-i. e., eccle-
siastical and spiritual things. The civil power
in this respect is itself subject to her. = '
In no case, therefore, is it allowed to appeal to
the civil courts from the decisions OF the Holy
See"
This question and answer simply sums
up the whole thing into this: That the civil
law, even when it renders q decision, is not
binding and need not be obeyed.
How can a government prosper, how can
courts of law be maintained when an element
organized together assert that the voice of the
law is no better than the breath OF the wind?
The law OF the church even goes further and
asserts that in no case, under no circumstances,
can the jurisdiction OF the church be brought
to the notice of the civil court.
Jouin, in q work which has the approval of
the Propaganda, says:
"The church, being a,society instituted by
God with the object OF leading mankind TO
q
be independent OF civil society, as we stated
above.
"No law of any state, framed in opposition
with her teaching, be binding on the con-
science of man; because such law Is opposed
I to the law of God, and we must obey God rather
than man"
Here within the sphere of the church a
declaration is made that the church in all
things belonging to her is independent OF civil
society.
'The power of kings" said Plus TX repeat
ing the words of Pope st. Innocent and St.
Felix. "was instituted, not only for the gov
eminent OF the world, but for the assistance of
the church; and nothing is more glorious or
more advantageous 10 a prince than to
leave the Catholic church in possession
of her own rights and to allow
none to interfere with her liberty. By virtue
OF her power OF the ministry the church ad.
ministers all sacraments, not excepting mar
riage, of which she is sole judge, with full
power to create invalidating impediments or
10 dispense with them. By the came faculty
she grants indulgences, institutes feasts, regu-
lates the ceremonies of the holy sacrifice and
a.. that constitutes public worship"
Tomorrow evening We shall have here on
the platform the authorities from which all
these citations have been taken. l have not
taken advantage of your confidence in me to
quote single syllable that is not found in
Catholic publications. Tomorrow evening /
shall not only produce the proofs to sustain
the third proposition, but / shall summarize
before you the substance of the lectures
| preceding.