The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-07-02


whose memory will live with the Greg
orys and the Innocents Of the past, have
| demonstrated to a doubling world that the
vigilant watchmen are still on guard, car
| Ing for the rights of the city Of God The
| venerable statesman of the mighty empire
| of Prussia. the man of blood and iron.
| who Is peacefully nearing the grave IN MS
| quiet retreat at Friederichsruhe. bears gen
erous testimony to the genius Of Leo, and
| to the fortitude Of the heroic sentinels on
| guard at Mainz, Cologne, and PoSen who
! consistently defended the spiritual rights
of man and the inviolablo rights of God
! in the kulturkampf Of the German empire.
I! In the gloom of the Catacombs the voice
| of the bishop cheered the flock and con-
| soled the stricken members of the persc-
| cuted fold. The heroism ci the provlden-
| tial men who stood guard on the walls of
Jerusalem in dark and dangerous days of
martyrdom. heresy and schism. saved. I'M
| der God, the Church of Christ for its glo-
rious work OF cvilizing the world. After
| the fall Of the great empire of the West,
| 1t was the mastery genius of the Christian
| episcopate that founded the states Of Eu-
| rope. created respect for authority in the
| confusion of dlscord, and protected the sa-
cred rights Of conscience and the spiritual
| power OF the church against rude barbarian
invaders During the dark night of Ire
| lands greatest sorrows, during three hun
dred years of religious persecution. when
lne usurpltlon OF an INSCRIPTIONS civil
| power sought to rob Il wronged people of
their faith. and to. force upon them a
| church and Il creed that were repugnant to
an enlightened Christian conscience. it was
| the episcopate of Ireland, a united hier-
archy. defending the walls of Christ's spirit
| uitl Kingdom. that preserved a prosecuted
nation faith. while other nations, whose
| ep'scopate was disbanded. lost this most
| precious gift with which God baa andou.aI
| the human mind
-, me sad discussions that have distracted
.he 1nristian world during the past three
| huhdred years bear mournful testimonv to
the utter inability of man to establish a
Shurch or found religion for himself
Every sect that appeals to the attention
| OF men claims to have sprung from tho re
| Nsaied word of God. but from the word
| VI 'o" as Understood and interpreted by
perhaps some earnest and well-mcaning but
! .nissuiued leader of his fellows. Each in
| ui'!''uai member of every warning sect will
Claim to build his religious convictions on
| MS private Interpretation of Gods sDoken
| "ora. GODS revelation cannot contradict
Itself The eternal Son of God cannot be
tne author or one truth for one generation
| or nation. and the author of Il contradict
| tory principle for another generation or
! time iiut these numerous conflicting sects
| al cEtlmlnS Christ as their guide, dcnounce
| ana condemn all who oppose them. disre-
saro me Faith and the practice of .Apos-
tone times. vie with each other in their
intolerant hostility to all who have adopted
| their own personal theories OF private in
depreciation of Christ's doctrine They
| lo'n'ly declaim of religious freedom and
liberty for themselves. an upon enjoying
| the liberty of compelling the rest of man
kind to accept their changing and uncer-
| tain theories.
! The Church that Jesus Christ established
| that he rested upon II solid rock, teaches
| with his authority and commands with his
| voice. 1t ccmcnts the children of the hui
man family together in Il united and fra
ternal bond of submissive obedience con-
iiding faith and God-lille charity. 1t leads
i! all the children of common Father in
heaven to Il harmonious loyalty to his laws
! upon earth. and IL common hope of endur-
ing reward beyond the skies. 1t proclaims
on the banks Of the historic Tiber the
very same eternal and urchanging princi-
pies of faith and morals that are incul-
! Gated in the jungles of Africa on the
sands of the desert, in the islands of the
seas. on the shores of the Chesapeake and
on Puget Sound.
Like the rays of the sun in the frma-
nient, they send forth their life-gving
sea.
The secret of this won,lrous harmony, of
! 'hlS universal concord among THE divers
+, Nations that are loyal to tic authority of
lhe catholic church. is unity Of faith, slls-
tanned by divine authority. There never
was I, time in the history of the human
race when visible and speaking author
itE did not exist To which submission was
due Before Christ came, that authority
among the Jews WAS in the synagogue.
When the synagogue w.IS On the point of
failing, jesus Christ himself appeared
| When he returned TO his eternal Father,
/ ne left Il church. and Will: it his; holy Spir-
it. Perpctuity had never been pledged to
+, the synagogue Christ, however, made pro-
! vision for the perretuity of his church in
supplying it with ample authority. legis-
laiivc. Judicial and executive through Peter
and Peters successors. the sovereign pom
lifts and the bishops. who are appointed to
rule the Church Of God"
AS Peter ministcrcd to jews and Paul
to Gentiles, but neither forgot his alcgi-
I! ancc to Christ who gave his commission.
| each was loyal to the authority by which
, he mad been sent, 50 the cpiscoMltc of
clrist's universal church. Its representa-
! tiros may speak divers tongues. may stand
| guard over the spiritual welfare of divers
nations. but each will respond with cheer
full readiness to the command of Peter $
successor. to the voice Of lawful authority,
by which he has been assigned to his post
| of duty.
contcmp! for the divine authority of the
church bcg@ts only contempt for whatever
brgetS not only contempt for whatever
the conservative influence of the church
may have secured for the temporal bcne-
fit of civilized man, but what is of iniinie
~ greater Importance, it hcgcts contempt
for the wholesome moral restraints of re-
ligion in the life of the individual ana in
the social life of the people. AS rebellion
against tho spiritual authority of Christ $
church was surrender of the soIl to the
dcSp"tism of the civil pow II. So also it was
Il yielding of human Intelligence and will
| to the Tickle caprice or human. passion
l.rgltimat" civil authority resrans the
l'wlrssness of society in the social order.
and inv;idcs the rights of none by such
restraint. Legitimate spiritual authority re-
strains the :rbellious impulses of waywnr,l
human natur" in the moral order. and
does not invade the sacred rights of con-
science by such lawful restraint. Unity
of religious faith ana submission to the
divine authority of the church rescued the
world from the slavery of passion cstab-
lishcd the family and protected rcsencratrd
society from the destructive evils that in
our day and county. are seriously threat
rning the very foundations of civ, society
The fearless sentincls on guard in Christ :
klnsdom did not hold their peace when
either peasant or prince, powerful baron
or Iclldnl lord, attempted to disregard Tho
divine law ard undermine the CONVERSIONS
OF human society by disruptiny thu, family
and dishonoring the sacred bond of l'br;s,
tan marriage.
Almost the first act of religions ,n,ro,,
was to abandon the defcnsrs of thn 1,hr;s,
uoh nome, and surrender at the dictates
VI way ward passion. 1t has been a mark
vi rellSious rebellion for three hundred
years. mat 1t has no cohesive power ia
, protect the hallowed sanctuary or the
home. and to save society from the blight
ing fury Of capricious lust. In some of