The Irish standard., 1897-02-06
Father keane Throws Much Light
on the Interesting
Subject.
SEVERITY NEEDED AT THE TIME.
Those Who Were Disciplined We're
the Worst Elements
Against Society.

Father Keane of the Immaculate Con-
ception church, preached last Sunday
evening on the "Med.aveal Institution"
getting forth the situation of the church
at the time the tribunal war was estab-
ished, and defending the inquisition
from the many charges of cruelty and
summary proceedings. His sermon was
in full as follows:
The Christian church had from the
first felt that as she alone had received
the deposit of faith, to spread 1t through
the world and to preserve it through the
ages, she was bound by all fair and prac-
teal means to restrain the madness or
the malice Of those who would corrupt
it. And after the conversion of Con-
stantine, and the public recognition OF
Christianity as the religion Of the Ro-
man empire, it's rulers were no less than
those Of the church opposed to heresy
and eager to extirpate it.
In the minds of the people the Cath
Ollie religion was, as {. matter OF course,
tn embodiment of divine truth, and it
was made crime of treason against the
state to be proceeded against in estab-
lished tribunals. How natural that old
feeling was we may realize from the
way In which our day, after the proc
lamation OF the paramount rights OF
private judgment, feeling it their duty
to become Catholics have all sorts OF OBJ.
stacles put in their way, are driven out
of home, dsinherited, and often reduced
to extreme restitution.
Before the beginning of the thirteenth
century there was felt no need Of spe-
cial and permanent tribunal for the trial
of heresy But that time found new
race OF temporal rulers In Christian
Europe, such men as Frederick H., who
perhaps had no faith a. all; John Of
England, who meditat I'd apostatis1ng to
Islam, Philip Augustus, refractory in
many ways and what was worse, Eu-
rope was menaced as never before with
a food not only of erroneous doctrines
but of vice and disorder along with q
paganis1a more dangerous and distruc-
tive than it had been saved from by
christianity. This was the plague of
swarming sects, which may all be class
ed under the generic name of Manichae-
ism, a monstrous congener of absurdities
In philosophy, blasphemies in religion
and Of practical principles the most i'm
moral and criminal, shocking and sub
versive Of all social order.
Heresy is bad, and intidelity is bad,
but both are good beside Manichaeism,
for with not a principle in common with
Christianity, assumed an outward form
and sembiance Of a profession of it, and
cloaking it's tenets in terms of Catholic
theology, the better to conceal itself, and
spread unsupported and unopposed. 1t
justified lying Discrimination and hypo-
cracy and had its adherents pass from
the most impious and beastly orgies TO
take part in the most sacred rights. The
moral rottenness and social disorder
which it's principles necessarily begat
had always and everywhere stood out
against it and made it the one heresy
which neither church nor state could be
indulgent with. Diocletian had many OF
its adherents burned alive, and rigorous
edcts were issued against them by sue
cessive emperors as late as Justinian.
In the vigorous effort which the Greek
empress Theodore, felt called upon to
make to stop the public harm they were
doing, some hundred thousand of them
were dispatched, others found refuge in
the dominions of the Caliphs, where
again they proved themselves enemies of
law and order and scourge to the whole
province Then, says the camel of Ibu-
Athir, "Caliph Madhi spake to his son
Hadi: When thou art at the head of
the kingdom bestow every care to extir-
pate the sects OF the followers of Mani
chaisn. They allow their disciples to
marry their sisters and daughters and
dictate filthy ab'utions.'
In $3.50 the survivors were transplanted
in the country of Philippopolis, the val
leys OF the Balkans, whence as from
metropolis they soon began to exert
great influence in Bulgaria and far be-
yond.
In the twelfth century the active trade
of Venice along the Adriatic coast and
the continuous passing Of pilgrims
through the valley facilitated their
spread through southern Europe, so that
by the close of the twelfth century
Manichaeism had undermined both the
civil and ecclesiastical governments.
At all assembly of it's adherents near
Toulouse, in 1167, Nicketas, an oriental
bishop Of the sect, appointed bishops,
parcelled out dioceses and drew up
regular administrative systssn.
These Manichean herettcs Of the
twelfth century naturally were of many
different scots, branches. Developments
and ombinatio1ls and are variously call
ed by nickna,nes given by the popular
caprice Of their time or from names Of
nersons or places or for some quality