The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-04-24
YATHER CLEARY CRITICIsEs THE
% ..-'. Harvard PROFESSOR.
on LIBERAL 1MoueA1 IN AMERICA
HE PERvERTs THE PLAINEsT FACTS
-,,,..s. OF HISTORY.
THE fuRIIAns OF new ENGLAND
MARYLAND WAS THE FIRST HOME
OF TOLERATIoN./

OF TOLERAIION.
Easter Sunday evening at st. Charles
Church Father Cleary delivered reply
to Prof. Fiske's lecture on Liberal
Thought" which was read at the Uni
tartan Church in this city on the pre-
ceding Sunday. Every seat in the ca
pacious temple was filed, many Protes-
tants being present to hear the Catho-
lie orator in defense of Christian or
thodoxy.7 The following is but brief
synopsis Of his masterly review:
]; Last Monday morning papers gave us
a sketch of Professor Fiske's discourse
at the Unitarian church on the previous
day. AS we are Informed that discourse
was delivered from a carefully prepared
manuscript, we have no reason to doubt
the accuracy of the synopsis in the
morning papers. The enthusiastic
friends of the distinguished Harvard
professor, of whom there are many in
this city, had promised us great things
as result of his VISIT The public had
some reason to expect that the distin-
guished apostle of evolution would
leave after him convincing evidence of
his profound and varied learning, as
we'll as of genuine breadth of liberality
Of thought.
Those of us who knew something of
the professors work, and who were IA
miliar with the exhaustive criticism on
his idea of God,'' by the learned DR..
Shanahan, of the Catholic University,
are not surprised at his utterances in
our city. DR.. Shanahan has directed
the attention of students all over the
land to Prof. Fiske's illogical and un-
philosophical position, In his. "Idea
of Cod" He shows eonclusively that
the distinguished Harvard scholar un-
derstands neither st. Augustine nor st.
Thomas, that he is neither good his
.torian, nor sound logician. DR.. Fiske
has made no attempt to reply to the
criticism of DIR. Sha1ahhsn Sha1ahss.nc,~ which has
been most favorably commented upon
by the leading journals of the country.
We would like very much to feel
grateful to the eminent evolutionist,
and to be able to offer him our sincere
thanks for any service he might rem
der to either the cause of natural or
supernatural truth. But his plain ut
terances prove that we are not his debt
ors. This eminent liberal thinker,
sheltering himself under the attractive
banner of religious toleration, and pro-
claiming his emancipation from the
slavery of religious orthodoxy, has con-
vinced. us that he is a most liberal
thinker, and most ardent admirer of
his own orthodox faith in the conjec-
lures Of speculative philosophers. With
q freedom which no one but liberal
thinker would presume to abuse, he
perverts the plainest facts of history,
Facts: which no honest student can deny.
With q strange inconsistency, but an
Inconsistency peculiar to all his class,
he let's no opportunity pass to sneer at
the Catholic church. While assuming
to scofe at Protestant orthodoxy, he
praises fanatfcal, narrow-minded Pro-
testant leaders. who would think they
rendered service to God If they could
have had him hanged, drawn and
sQuartered," because of his disagree
ment with their conceited opinions.
Any man who will attempt to hold up
Martin Luther, the most intolerant and
fanatical man Of his day, as leader,
or hero of liberal thought, must pre-
sumo much on the credulity or on the
ignorance Of his audience. Luther's
notion Of liberty of thought was to
compel everybody to think as he might
dictate, just as his wavering spirit
might move him. The notion of liberty
of thought INDUCED in by modern
champions of Liberal Thought" would
seem to be pity for those who are not
sufficiently enlightened (?) to think as
they do, or contempt for those who re-
fuse to surrender their reason and will
to- the vague guess-work Of these Wis.,
ionary thinkers. They are ever ready
to believe with the most unbounded
confidence and unshaken faith some
statement, no matter how absurd, IL it
favors their pet hypothesis, or aids
them in casting contempt upon revealed .
religion. They pretend to be extremely
cautious about believing any statement
made by Christian believers, or by the
church of the living God, lest they be
deceived or mistaken, but they do not
hesitate one moment in giving un-
bonded faith q. an zstate tement, no 1
matter how inprobsbia that {. tells
against tie ancient ael,o provided the: /:
statement comes from: one Of their
friends. ~ - s.-.s,-- -.-.s.
Strange effect this liberal thought
has on the minds Of men It makes
Professor Fiske tell us that "the revolt
Of Henry VIII gave rise to q spirit Of
liberation. he further assures us that
tho successive staxe d Protestantisn.Y q
throas ~