The San Francisco call., 1896-02-04

has remained one, and that church is founded
and rests on the rock of Peter.
revelation is Gods explanation to man of
the tnlngs that must be. If the Pope, as the
guardian OF revelation, spoke of it as an un-
truth then the gates of he'll would prevail
against the church. If the Pontiff could lead the
revelation than the devil has prevailed against
the church, and the mission of Christ was a
failure. Infallibility does not mean that the
Pope does not sin. The Pope is a man like unto
other men. We have had some 250 Popes.
There were twelve Apostles and one of them
was traitor. So there were men among the
Popes who disgraced their sacred office.
But throughout the 1900 years you can
OF one hand. And yet onr enemies are always
aludlng to these few eTring Popes in support
we admit that there were bad Popes but, my
irlends, II the time ever comes when some
congregational minister is vested with the
power ofpontiffs and comes out as unscathed
we VIII not feel called upon to criticize him.
When we find men trying to prove that the
ropes were not angels, and they fail to pre-
serve their own angelic natures themselves
we are inclined to think that they should not
poIlo until they get out of the woods
Ihe man who composed most of the psalms
was King David. We find that he stole his
ITlends wife and then murdered his friend.
Yet God, whose ways are mysterious uses
David as an instrument of his in
spiration. 1nfalIibility is not inspiration.
Mnen the Pope says certain doctrine
DSSh lSfSdlcu ny JESUS OHIlst tucH we
believe he tells the truth. If he could make
mlstake what is the use of revelation? If he
SAID that Christ taught certain doctrine that
proved to be untrue then he would not be in
IaLlple. 1t is TO preserve the revelation that
we declare the Pope infalltble.
The Pope may write certain opinions which
may not be infallible, but when he speaks ex
cathedra he is infallible.
Our blessed Lord did not come on
eartn 10 teach spelling or establish
new theory of government. But the Pope
may be as fallible in his spelling as
.phonetically. He may teach that the earth is
hat But Christ gave him no assistance in
tteacnlng the sciences He is open to. mistakes
tne same as any other man. When he speaks
ne ne Is inIallible. Twenty five. years ago. when
the Pope defined this doctrine, the hubbub
was ralsed that Catholics were divided in
die;d snea5 allegiance. and that they were
iapity on The the politleians ess1a0n tod ID the m
people that the Pope. did all the thinking
Ior the Catholic people; that when he told
tEem 70 DO certain thing, they were obliged
70 opey MIN; that all Catholics, and especially
the Jesuits. had wires attached to them and
when he pulled these wires they were to jump
~ oanroinal Manning declared that the civil
arrogance OF Catholics was as undivided as the
cYH'aiieglance of any one else.
There are two things which non-Catholics
ar%ays ana conIound.the authority OF the Pope
spiritual matters. He has not, by the words of
Cnrlst, the smallest authority in temporal mat
.e aers, no matter how much these quotations be
seasoned - and sprung up like hideous puppets
W iTlgnten those who know nothing about the
Sainollc church or her dogma.
III the Catholic church, which Is an orderly
government we have the Pope as the chief ex-
ecutive ofhcer and we believe that when he
speaks IN church affairs 1t is our duty to obey