The San Francisco call., 1896-02-13

to lie on occasion why does he pretend to be-
lieye my word? Surely Dr. Wendte's ignor-
ance and presumption have led him into a
tight place where he can escape only by saying
that great and holy Bishap perjured himself
before the English Senate. Such an answer
Dr. Wenote, might come from the preacher
Ilngs OF the A. p. A., but l expected better
Things from man who has aspirations to be
considered a gentleman. That answer stamps
you, sir, as devoid of the first elements of good
breeding and it exhibits you before the public
as being as ignorant of the eanons of culture
as you are OF the canons of the church.
(g) BISHOP GILMouR
DR.. Wendte proclaimed that he preferred
Bishop Gilmour to Bishop Doyle; though why
he should prefer one liar to another l do not
However, let us give him the benefit of his
likes and dislikes. Instead of quoting the odds
and ends. of pastoral which was written
about entirely different subjects let us see
what the Bishop has to say about the question
of allegiance. In a lecture delivered in Cleve-
land on Sunday, April f. 1880, Bishop Gilmour
ing manner:
''We owe spiritual allegiance to the head of
the church as being the representative OF God
upon earth. We owe spiritual allegiance to
him because he is the mouthpiece of God to
the world We believe that as part of our
doctrine, but we owe no temporal allegiance
to any person, no matter in what country we
are nor under what form of government we
are, except to him who is our legitimate ruler
In the country in which we live and move and
Va WHlCH We dIo d pdTI LII ILLS country we
know no temporal ruler except him VINO is
placed by the free votes and suffrage of free
people 10 rule and to govern.
"We know no temporal ruler that can come
in and tell us that there is a power to direct
us in our temporal affairs beyond that which
is created by just law and the constitution of
the United States. Whether foreign, whether
native, whether we have taken an oath of al
legiance or whether we have grown up and in
herited our citizenship, as citizens of this
country we know no temporal prince or ruler
beyQnd him who has hepn elected fOr the I'M.
mediate government of the people.
Therefore that fear and that constant
founded upon a mere misconception OF our
doctrines. We owe spiritual allegiance to the
Pope; but we owe temporal allegiance to no
man or country but the country OF which we
are citizens"
[D AVAILABILITY.
One of the misconceptions to which Bishop
Gilmour alludes has taken full possession of
DR.. Wendte. He declares that an infallible
church can make no mistakes and has therefore
no need to alter its opinion.
The Lord knows there is little excuse for DR..
Wendtes ignorance OF the nature of the
plained it at least half a dozen times within
the past three months, but even cathode ray
could not penetrate the skull of those who
are determined not to see. The infallibility of
the church is divine assistance which pre-
serves her from error in declaring that such or
such a doctrine has been revealed by Jesus
Christ. 1t has nothing whatever to do with
her pronouncements on human philosophy or
political science. She is not guaranteed from
error in her acts or in her law. She is guaran-
teed from error solely when testifying TO
truth of revelation.
Says Fessler: "The Pope is not infallible as
man or theologian, or priest, or bishop,
or temporal prince, or judge or a legislator
or in his political views, or even in his govern
ment of the church"
The Swiss Bishops wrote in a pastoral which
has received the Pope's appreciation:
ut in no way depends upon the caprice of
the Pope, or upon his good pleasure, to make
such and such a doctrine the object of dog
matte definition. He is tied up and limited to
the divine revelation and to the truths which
that revelation contains. He is tied up and
limited by the creeds already in existence and
by the preceding definitions of the church. He
is tied up and limited by the divine law and by
the constitution of the church. Lastly, he is
tied up and limited by that doctrine, divinely
revealed, which affirms that alongside reli-
gious society there is civil society; that along
side the ecclesiastical hierarchy there is the
power of temporal magistrates, invested in
their own domain with full sovereignty, and
TO whom we owe obedience in conscience, and
respect in all things morally permitted and
belonging'to the domain of civil society"
| gradually coming to the conclusion
that severe course of study in the penny cate
chism would be of wondrous benefit in fur
bishing Oakland scholarship.
Such are Dr.. Wendte's objections to my ex-
position of the Catholic teaching on church
and state. have taken the trouble to go over
them one by one, to arrange them and classify
them in order not to leave him the poor excuse
that l have been afraid to meet any of them.
If have overlooked any it is pure oversight,
due not to consciousness that his arguments
are not unanswerable, but due simply the
fact that in the most careful examination
something is bound to escape notice.
The gentle reader will readily observe that
DIR. Wendte has not produced a relevant
authentic quotation, relevant argument or
relevant fact to enfect my exposition. We
Catholics stand on precisely the same ground as
the American constitution. When we swear
allegiance to it our oath is as broad and as
deep and as high as the oath ofany other man.
Cardinal Mannings assertion is incontro-
vertible:
s'The civil allegiance of Catholics is as undi-
vided as that of all Christians and of all men
who recognize divine or natural moral law"
II. THE RUBBISH HEAP.
During the progress of the controversy the
Rev. DR.. Wendte developed an uncomfortable
tendency to go off at tangents without the
slightest notice. 1 have relegated all his lit
erary, historical, theological and scientific
alterations to a place apart, and now will
consider them in as orderly fashion as l can.
l think the many extraneous subjects may
be roughly grouped under seven heads:
/. The temporal power.
2. Religious liberty.
3. Freedom of speech and of the press.
4. The Jesuits.
5. Catholics and republican institutions.
q. Catholic learning and Protestant converts.
z. Personalities and things in general.
Some of these sections will admit of further
subdivisions, but will explain each in its
proper place.
/. THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPE
BY the temporal power of the Pope is meant
not claim to rule over all states and peoples
but claim to civil Jurisdiction over the city
of Rome and a small territory surrounding it,
This civil jurisdiction belonged to the Pope for
centuries, ana was guaranteed by the common
consent of Christendom. 1t was lost when
after the downfall of France, the italian Gov
ernment entered the eternal city and made it
the capital of the kingdom
Against this invasion the Pope still pro otests,
and demands that his civilindependence be re.
stored. DR.. Wendte looks upon this as pre-