The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-04-24
FATHER cLEARY CRI11CIsEs THE
. =. HARVARD PROFESSOR.
on LIBERAL THOUGHT IN AMERICA
HE PERvERTs THE PLAINEsT FACTS
OF HISTORY.
THE. fuRIIAns OF new ENGLAND
MARYLAND WAS THE FIRST HOME
OF TOLERATI0N.

MARYLAND WAS THE FIRST HOME
OF TOLERATION.
] .a'as ..z.v:1-.,.s "a,
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.z The following is but a brief
synopsis OF his mastery review:
Last Monday morning papers gave us
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
well 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 Cod" 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 I'M
philosophical position, In his. idea
of Cod" He shows eone4usively that
the distinguished Harvard scholar un-
derstands neither st. Augustine nor st.
Thomas, that he Is neither good his
torian, nor a sound logician. DR.. Fiske
has made no attempt to reply to the
criticism of DR.. Shanahan, 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 federation, and pro-
claiming his emancipation from the
slavery of religious orthodoxy, has con-
WINGED us that he is most liberal
thinker, and a most ardent admirer of
his own orthodox faith in the conjec-
lures Of speculative philosophers. With
a freedom which no one but a liberal
thinker would presume to abuse, he
perverts the plainest facts of history,
Facts which no honest student can deny.
with 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 SCOT at Protestant orthodoxy, he
praises fanatical, narrow-minded Pro-
testant leaders. who would think they
rendered a 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 ca 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 mistaken faith some
statement, no matter how absurd, II it
favors their pet hypothesis, or aids
them in casting contempt upon revealed
religion. They pretend to be extremely
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