The San Francisco call., 1896-03-04


moral law. That law is independent OF the
state; il is above the state. The state does not
make it and the state is not the Judge OF It,
The judge of the moral law is either the In
dividual conscience or the organized con-
science known as the church When, there
fore, BTownson attributes to the church what
absurd IL is to say that the ehurch-is seeking to
crush the state under its heel, or that the
church claims the right of altering the de-
eisions of the government of the state, when
those decisions differ from the decisions OF the
will OF the supreme government.
You can see, too, the absolute honesty OF ID.
Ross and his "pal," the soi-disant Major Sher-
man. He had ali this quotation before him.
He had read BrowDson's reiterated statements
that he did not believe in the church 1nterfer-
ing with the civil power. He knew the op1n-
ions expressed of clerical politicians. yet he
suppressed all these things, no doubt, to get
the true spirit of the author. He had time In
his lectures to repeat the same old quotations
three or four times, yet he had no time Tor
few sentences which would explain Brown
sons meanings. No wonder it took him three
months 10 pick out a word here and word
took sentence which by itself is misleading,
and TO make it the more misleading he put an
Interpretation on it which he knew was false.
CARDINAL MANNING
Ross next argument seems to be an estray.
Logically it belongs to the third propositlon
but ID. Ross did not bother much about logic.
AS long as he flung chunks OF quotations at the
public he imagined the right effect was pro-
duced. ID. Ross should remember that all the
people in San Francisco are not by their STU
pidity eligible for the A. P. A.
Let me give the quotation and Ross own
words as they appear in the stenographlo re-
port. ! must confess / cannot say whether the
reporter or Ross slipped a cog, but the SEN
tences are rather enigmatical. However, one
can gain an adumbration of what he means:
Speaking of the laws OF Germany, under
Bismarck Manning quotes these words: And
now the Berlin Government 1t is said, is about
to attempt to impose on every bishop the fol-
lowing oath:
Gust let US look at the oath and see how
reasonable it is. The bishops are heneeforth
to swear obedience TO the laws OF the country,
to bind themselves by oath to exhort the clergy
and the latty to be loyal to the Emperor petrl-
otic and obedient to the laws and not to per-
nit the clergy under their control 10 teach or
act in opposition to these principles
Manning says of that attitude of the Berlin
Government this: The cynicism OF that oath
is as clear as day Is that not conflict between
the church and between the state? Manning,
the authority of the church, says that they
ought not to be put to the bishops, but that
they ought to be free, absolutely free TO do as
they pleased"
Now as a matter of fact Manning SAYS no
such thing and D. Ross knows it. Manning
is speaking OF definite laws and what is more
he describes them:
''The result, them OF these laws is that no
| official function as the Berlin Government
puts it, that is no spiritual act from the ex-
Communication OF hereto down 10 the teach
ing of the catechism TO school children, can be
| power under pain of fine or Imprisonment
and this failing, of deposition. The Ober
President OF Posen has already called on the
Archbishop OF Posen TO resign his archbishopriC
for numerous offences ee eainst the Falck laws
| which offenSes are SO many high Spiritual
| duties. If he refuses to resign within eight
days he is 10 be cited before the royal tribunal
| OF Berlin. The act "a and %, Henry VIII
/ made the King outright head of the church
/ and by one stroke all jurisdict ion formerly be-
/ longing TO the Pope was transferred to the
! crown. This was Ineligible. The Falck laws
are indirect and circuitous. They compass
| what they do not claim They suspend all spirit
! ual Jurisdiction on the civil power and make
/ the sovereign absolute in the matter o.
| religion"
| Manning SAYS. and every American will
/ agree with him. that it is brutal eyncism &c
! ask Bishops to take an oath to obey such laws
! One might as well ask D. Ross to take oath
/ TO obey all the laws OF the Catholic church or
| TO ask IN early Christian to take an oath to
I offer incense TO idols. That Manning com
mends the German Bishops for their heroic
resistance to enactments which were viola
/ tions of the German constitution is a pretty
! proof that the Bishops must always have their
! own way. II q lawyer in this City breaks an
| unconstitutional law TO create test case for
! the Supreme Court does his action prove that
i he can ride roughshod over the civil law Il
/ there had been a Supreme Court in Germany
/ the Falck laws would not have stood ten min
/ utes. The Bishops, therefore, were compelled
| 10 appeal TO the court OF last resort, the peo-
pie, and Am happy to say they succeeded in
| spite OF Bismarck and Falck. Yours truly.
?. C. YoRKE.