The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-25

After recalling the contempt in which woman
was held by the leading minds In Greece. the
Cardinal reminds us that the Christian Church.
following tho maxims OF the Gospel and st. Paul,
proclaimed from the outset that woman Is the
peer OF man in origin and destiny. "Ye are all"
said Paul, the children of God by faith. which
is in Christ Jesus. There is neither jew nor
Greek; there is neither servant nor freeman;
there is neither male nor female" This was
tantamount to declaring that. in the distribu.
ton of his gifts. God makes no distinction OF
sex. and that, as woman's origin and destiny are
the same as mans, so should her dignity be
equal to his. 1t was by vindicating the unity,
sanctity and indissolubility of marriage that
Christianity conferred the greatest boon upon
the female sex. The Roman Church has
always maintained. In accordance with tho
teachings of Jesus, that no man can
lawfully have more than ono wife, and
no woman moro than one husband. Moreover.
the rights and obligations of both consorts are
declared to be correlative. The Church has also
invariably taught that the marriage contract,
once validly formed. can be dissolved only by
death. While admitting that there may be a
legitimate cause for separation from bed and
board, she never allows any pretext for the abb
solute dissolution of the marriage bond. This
law has been enforced by the Church against
fearful odds. and has cost her many a mortal
combat. In vindioating the sanctity ofmarriago
she has had to contend with a triple enemy. the
fierce passions Of barbarous tribes. the arbitrary
power Of princes, and the compromising spirit
of rebellious churchmen. The uncivilized tribes
by which Europe was periodically invaded from
tho fifth to the ninth century were. for tho
most part, strangers to monogamy and the
restraining maxims Of the Gospel. When
tho flood subsidized. however. tho voice Of
religion was heard in defence Of fe-
male honor and the sanotity of marriage,
and the barbariaps submitted to tho woke OF tho
gospel Virginia. and conjuGal chastity found
no less formidable opponents among many of
the petty Princes ard Barons of the Middle
Ages. Fortified in their castles and surrounded
by submissive vassals. they recognized no power
that thwarted their lust; they set the laws of
tho land at defiance. intimidated tho local
clergy. disregarded even the authority of the
bishops. Tho only voice before which they
trembled, and which compelled them to sur
render their prey. was the anathema of Rome.
Impressive, also, are the examples cited by the
Cardinal Of papal refusal to tolerate divorce.
even in the case of powerful sovereigns. 1t WAS
n Pope who compelled the French King, Philip
Augustus, to dismiss Agnes de Meranie, whom
he had unlawfully married. and to take back
his lawful wife, Ingelburga OF Denmark,
whom no had discarded. 1t was a Pope
WHO ueVllHSu U buHCliOH inc divorce OF
Henry VIII. from Katherine of Aragon. In
the present century. 1t was a Pope. who. even at
the bidding OF Napoleon, refused to dissolve the
marriage of Jerome Bonaparte with Elizabeth
Patterson. "What woman can reflect" asks
tho Cardinal. ION these facts without blessing
the Catholic Church as, undor God. the savior OF
her sex II virginia. and conjugal chastity is 70.
garded to-day as the brightest gem in the diadem
OF woman: II the wife is looked upon as the peer OF
her husband, and not as his slave. not as the toy
ofhis caprice and passion. as is a wife among the
Asiatic nations; II she Is honored as the abiding
mistress Of her household. and not considered a
mere tenant at will, as was a wife in Greece and
Rome; II she is respected as the queen of the
domestic kingdom, to DO dethroned only by
death and not treated as the victim of some
rival queen, as Is tho case with a wife in Mo
hammedan countries, she Is indebted to the
Church. which has always held i~nyiolate the
unity and indissolubillty of marriage"