The record-union., 1896-01-25
III RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions From Various Religious
Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed in the sectarian Press
Some Matters of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

The development OF Mariolatry may
be classed as one Of tie most astound-
ingly gratuitous delusions Of the human
mind that has manifested itself outside
OF lunatic asylum" 3" remarks the New
York "Churchman The way in
which the Holy Mother has been forced
into a place IN some senses higher than
that Of her divine Son is exactly an ex-
ample OF the rowing and inconstant
course taken by human speculation
when whim and freak. not reason, are
its controlling motives. But the strange
phantasma goria has recently taken an
other guise. The devotion Of Romanists
has begun to be transferred from Mary
TO Joseph The attributes and proper
ties Of the Blessed Virgin, as the Ro-
manists represent them are passing
into the hands OF Joseph. Both the
present Pope and his predecessor have
labored at developing the cult Of Joseph.
Joseph in modern art carries the an
nunciation lily; he is st. Joseph of Good
Succor,' as Mary was Our Lady of Sue
cor He has now his seven dolors' and
his seven joys Even an Ave is grant
ed to hirn-'Hail Joseph, full of grace
In recent statues he carries the child
Jesus in his arms. He has become Pa
tnon of the Universal Church. patron Of
a pious death, protector of the souls in
pUrgatory. Recently the Pope has or
dered to be held a solemn votive mass
of the patronage of st. Joseph, spouse
of the Virgin, Mother Of Cod The OBJ
servance Of this order entities the wor-
SHIPPER to certain indulgences. The
whole incident is exceedingly curious,
even if it be not extremely sad as
specimen of the facile innovation which
characterizes the teaching of infallible
Popes.''
THE most obviously aggressive or
ganizaltion for the Capitalization of
power" says the Interior" (Pres.) of
Chicago "are the manufacturing, car
rying and mercantile trusts. They are
crushing out liberty, opportunity, possi-
bility, for the individual everywhere,
subjecting free-acting and Independent
individuals into the condition of bond
servants and slaves, and subjecting all
others to unjust and unequal levies of
tribute. The same thing is in progress
in ecclesiasticism. The strongest ex-
isting ecclesiastical systems are yet in
the barbaric condition, the centraliza-
tion Of all power in the hands of sin
gle despot The two great churches,
the Greek and the Roman, are survivals
Of the first condition of organized bar
barism. By slow and painful con-
quests religious liberty based upon the
distribution and balancing of powers
was won by a few ecclesiastical systems,
notably the Presbyterian. Within the
last decade-and less than that, within
the last FIVE years-strenuous and sue
cessful efforts have been in progress to
overthrow the principles of liberty and
order which cost centuries of struggle
to attain, and establish centralized
power. Thus the general tendency of the
times takes the churches with them in
its drift The last and most striking
exhibition Of the renaissance of bar
barism is the attempt to create an edu-
eational trust now in progress in Chi
cago. 1t is cast upon the same lines
as all the great trust combinations and
enterprises: the subjugation. absorp-
tion and enslavement Of all educational
institutions to one. centralized power,
and that power practically in the hands
Of one man. 1t is an amazingly auda-
cicus attempt of ambition. The edu-
cation of all Roman Catholic children
is in the hands of one man-and that
man an Italian residing in Rome The
higher education Of all the Protestant
youth in the great interior region of the
country to be concentrated in the hands
OF one man-such appears to be the
dream of ambition
"It is true that the mere fact of nu-
merical increase is not a conclusive an
swer," says the New York ''Independ-
ent." But even in itself it has great