The San Francisco call., 1896-03-03
EXAM|NA T|ON OF
REV. D, N, ROSS,
Father Yorke Says Only
Fifteen Authors Were
Quoted.
TWO WERE THEOLOGICAL
The Priest Declares That the
Rev. Ross Wendteized His
Quotations.
CIVIL LAWS AND THE CHURCH.
What Cardinal Gibbons Said in Re-
gard TO the Temporal Power
of the Pope.
CIVIL LAWS AND THE CHURCH.
Rev. P. c. Yorke writes as follows
in answer to Rev. D. NJ. Ross:

Rev. P. G. Yorke writes as follows
In answer to Rev. D. NJ. Ross:
To the Editor of the Cdll-DEAR SIR: Last
week gave as briefly as 1 could my answer to
the lectures OF D. Ross on the four propositions.
Owing 10 the limited time which elapsed from
the moment received the stenogrsphic report
until your paper went to press, ] was compelled
TO conhne myself TO an exposition OF the
forgery perpetrated by D. Ross in the four
propositions themselves. Concerning the quo
tations produced by Ross, l declared that they
had been torn from their conteXt-Wendteized
in that SklIltul fashion peculiar 10 preachers.
promised then to examine the quotations in
detail when l should have more leisure. To
keep that promise have, even TO the risk
superinducing an attack of softening OF the
brain, reread the four lectures which D. Ross
inflicted on an unoffending community at
IWo-blts lecture.
HIS LIBRARY.
The Rev. Mr.. Ross is loud in his wall that
he has been put to great expense in connection
with this controversy. He estimates 1t at over
$500 II we subtract $50 for hall rent and
advertising we will have $3.50 to be squandered
on Catholic literature. Indeed, d. Ross leaves
his audience under the impression that he has
collected an enormous quantity OF Catholic
books. He says: 81 have large library OF
Catholic literature, assure you, that has ac-
simulated since this conflict began"
1t is very peculiar thing that ii D. Ross has
such large library he has made such little
use of it. Alter a careful examination of his
quotations I find that he refers 10 fifteen
authors Five of those are elementary books
@
chism TO Jouin and Schouppe. Two them
are sermons or lectures, two biographies, one
historical, three miscellaneous and only
two theological. This curious collection is
suggestive of nothing h11t rhe diianideted re
mains OF d bookstore. The whole outfit could
be easily purchased for far less than 800.
How much below this figure his literary ex-
lenses must have been can be well understood
when we recollecJ that the books he exhibited
a. Metropolitan Hall bore on their backs
the marks which showed that they belonged
HIS STUDIES
D. Ross was especially vociferous concerning
his long and weary researches among these
Catholic books With tears in MS voice he de-
scribed the long watches of the night spent in
exploring the mystery of iniquity. 81 have
often labored,' he declared, until O'Clock in
heved him. They would believe anything.
AS matter OF tact an ordinary reader working
only eight hours day could get through all
the works cited by .. Ross in less than two
then, che must have thunk power"
D. Ross was specially provoked that ac-
cused him of taxing his quotations at second
hand. In making that accusation l had
chosen the milder OF TWO charges. He was
either deliberately falsifying or he had never
seen the books he pretended TO describe.
Thus, tor instance, he speaks OF Schouppe's
abridged Course OF Religious Instruction. an
elementary text book, as bearing upon it the
approval OF the Propaganda in Rome" AS
matter OF fact the book bears no such ap-
proyal. Moreover, to make such a statement
is as reasonable as to assert that the last edi-
tion OF The SUNDAY CALL bore upon it the ap-
proval of the Department OF Agriculture in
Washington. Either d. Ross never saw
: Schouppe or he asserted the thing that is not.
:. Again, he speaks OF Jouin's s'Eyidences OF
Religion as "a work which has the approval
of the Pope and the imprimatur OF Cardinal
Manning"
The TACT is that Jouin's evidences" are pub
lished by "O'Shea" without the yestige of an
approval or imprimatur from any one 'whomso-
ever. Again, either ID. Ross never saw Jouin
or he asserted the thing that is not.
Again, in dealing with Smiths Ecclesiastical
Law" he says tftnat work was submitted 10 his
Holiness the Pope and two men were appoint
ed to examine the work to see ifit was all right.
1t was passed upon by these two censors, under
the supervision OF the Pope, and became not
only the law, but the textbook OF law of the
Catholic church IN the United States.
Now may mention, in the first place, that
the Pope had as much to do with the book as
d. Ross. Does d. Ross imagine that the Pope
has nothing to trouble him but the supervision
OF textbooks? In the second place, the book
did not become ''the law of the Catholic church
OF the United States" If D. Ross were
honest he might have read and lnwardly
digest the words of the author, "We do not
pretend to construe these documents into a
positive APPRECIATION OF our work" Approba-
lion by whom? The Pope? By no means
"Bv the sacred congregation OF the Propa-
ganda or its illustrious Cardinal Pre1ect.
Smith has too much sense to Imagine that his
book is the law of the Catholic church or that
il is oven the textbook. He simply claims that
is a correct WORK and in conformity with &C.
clesiasticaI jurisprudence. But 1t has no more
standinp before the courts OF the church than
apy correct textbook of civil law has before
the courts of the state.
once more D. Ross either never saw Smiths
t.FIements of Ecclesiastical Law" or he de-
fiberately misrepresented its character, secure
in the ignorance OF his audience.
HIS HONESTY.
with much reiteration d. Ross asserted that
he was absolutely honest in citing from his
uaa cd a God
that he had not suppressed al lf nor altered
an sand" Chow absolutely honest / was to
give paragraphs instead OF sentences or broken
sentences in order TO give the lulI spirit OF the
quotation every time.
The admirable honesty OF D. Ross will appear
in the course of this examination OF his lee
tureg i will only quote one or two instances
here TO show that did not exaggerate when
accused him of being an adept IN the art OF
.Nendteization: ..
rrova that in case of conflict between the
Ecclesiastical and civil powers the ecclesiastical
ought to prevail To do this he quoted from
: stWhen a Christian world came into exist
ence the civil society OF men became subject
to the spiritual direction OF the church"
'.And then it goes on 70 say: IN whatsoever
things, whether essentially or by accident. the
spiritual end-that is the end OF the church-ls
necessarily involved, in those things, the
church may by right exert its power and the
civil state ought 10 YIELD" etc
Now when we turn to Smith we ind the
first sentence on page 257 IN the MIDST OF
a description of a Catholic state that
existed in the Middle Ages, while we hnd
what ait goes on to say" on page 2o3, tour
pages back, following declaration whlch ID.
Ross carefully forgot TO quote: "The civil So
ciety or the state, even though every member
of it be Catholic. is not subject to the churcn
but plainly independent in temporal things
which regard its temporal end. TINS very sen,
tence is a version of the sentiments OF Card'nal
Tarduini which sentiments L quotea some
time ago tor the edlfication OF Dr. Wenate'.
when he was engaged il the same hopeless
task as d. Ross. -;
Then. in order to obfuscate the minds OF MS
audience d. Ross calmly suppresses wnoie
page of explanation following the sentence ne
quoted. This explanation shows clearly that
the indirect spiritual power OF the churcn over
the state is precisely the same power cIalmeu
and exercised by every preacher IN Anerica M
when he tries to amend the morals OF the COM
munity by demanding the enactment or en-
forcement of certain measures
Moreover, when he skipped this interesting
page because it would give the true spirit OF
the quotation) he descended upon the unior-
tunate bull .'Unam Sanctam" and proceeded 10
pick it to pieces Without a sign OF omission
he suppresses the following significant woros:
Now, what is the meaning OF this de4lde
definition? There are two interpretatons;
One given by the enemies OF the Papecy is
that the Pope in this bull claims not merely an