The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-03-06

z. =.
condemn the whole papacys If l were to
single out one or more bishops or clergymen
of the Anglican or Episcopal church, who
happened to stray from the. path Of virtue,
whole episcopate is tainted? Is. that q fair
method of dealing with questions of his
tory? The bishop continues: s-,..
THE whole system Of medieval and mod
ern Romanism rests upon causes which are
directly human, partly accidental and part
ly designed, for the most part, for the &C.
QUESTION of power and wealth. The awful
crime of the system is Its setting aside of
the charter of Christ and substituting for it
constitution which revolutiorized the divine
policy Instituted by our Lord into mere
human monarchy, claiming to- be divine
This claim for the bishop Of Rome that he
is the vicar of Christ, the absolute monarch
OF the church, was not made q matter of
faith until the Vatican council OF 1870. But
practically the claim was made and pressed
from the seventh century, 60.
If it is a matter of faith that, the. pope of
there are very few good Catholics / am
sure that there are none here. AT the Vat
lean council in 1870 it was decgeed that the
pope is infallible when LIE. speaks on mat
not err. This council did not, decide nor
does the church mean, that, he Is a mon
arch or entrusted with civil supremacy, or
that he is incapable of SHINING. The very
fact OF Christ's having selected. St. Peter,
the man who had thrice denle1 Him. and
made him, In spite Of his human frailties,
lAe Acdu OI Ills CQuTcN, SHOWS IldC the
sstance of the Holy Ghost is not dependent
upon human power or human strength hut
Genes absolutely from God.
NO pope OF. Rome ever attempted to en-
throne himself a temporal ruler over the
nations. tits true that we believe st. Peter.
was made the head Of the apostles. and we
believe that there is no other reasonable way
OF interpreting the Scriptures.
In the gospel of st. Matthew we are told
that when Peter, replying to Christ's ques-'
ton declared, Thou art Christ, the Son of
" mo nnd N~l cotd
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar1ona. =
And say to thee, that thou art Peter, and
upon this rock l will build my church; and
the gates Of hell shall not prevail against it,
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom
OF heaven etc. Did Christ ever use such
language to any of the other apostles? Does
It not seem that he had special commission
for Simon. henceforth to be known as Peter,
the rock? Is not the entrusting of the keys
symbol OF authoritN-tO one and only one
apostle a strange proceeding the part of
CHRIST II "espicopal equality and solidarity
were the divine ideal of Gods city? But the
bishop does not believe his own theory since
he admits that an ecclesiastical pope might
be tolerated.
After Peter had denied the Savior, he was
made to profess his love for Him three times
and the Christ told Peter to feed His lambs
and His. sheep. And again He said to Peter:
Satan desired you that he might sift you
llEe wheat, but have prayed for you that
your faith fail not, and that thou, being con-
verted, confirm thy brethren."A-- Why was
simon Peter selected and made the rock upon
which the church was to be built? Why was
ne singled out and given the keys? Why was
ne alone commanded to feed the weddings of
the flock, and also the leaders? Why was all
this done unless there was to be head to
the corporation which He established? II our
Lord did not intend to put Peter In authority
who can explain these words9i- r.
We find st. Peter always in command. I'M
mediately after the ascension of cur Lord St
Peter, standing before the other apostles, tells
them the Scriptures must be fulfilled; and
that, therefore, they are Obliged to elect some
one to take the place of Judas. AFTER Pente-
cost, st. Peter was the first to preach to the
people, and he gave out the, Word with such
an erect that 5000 were baptized.
When discussions arose In the church at
Cornth or elsewhere, it was st. Peter who
settled the disputes. AS you know, a delega-
ton was sent up to Jerusalem from Antioch
to confer with st. Peter and the other apes
ties; and in COUNCIL which was he'd St.
refer stood forth as the one clothed with au-
thority. The findings of this council were
transmitted to the church in the most formal
manner. And so it is all through the his
tory of the church, the figure of ST. Peter
is most prominent towering above the 9th
eIs and commanding them.l sM,,
You will find in the history of the church
pontiff after Peter, St. Clement, wrote to the
church at Corinth. laying down rules for the
management of the church, with authority
as the head of the church. How could he have
assumed such an authority If the supreme
power left by Christ had not been trans
mitted? Do you thing it would be possible
ior tne cnufcn, immediately after the apoS-
ties died, to change its charter and to organ
ize an institution different from that of
Christ? And If they did, how could the
church have succeeded? Is there any institu-
ton upon earth the creation of human genius,
which could have withstood the ravages OF
nineteen centuries?
There is nothing to show us that the church
as instituted by Christ was not to have
head. No living thing can exist without
head; and when we are told that the papacy
turned away from Christ, and that the church
of the middle age became corrupt and was
consumed with greed for power. and wealth
instead of holding up the teachings of Christ,
we ask, where are the authorities for such
sweeping statements?
When you consider the churchs long ca
reer, that she has gathered to herself peo-
pies of all nations and all cases. it would
be surprising if charges were not brought
against her; and it is surprising that the
charges brought against her are so weak
The pope speaks today as Peter, as Glenn
ent, SPOKE long ago, so long ago that we can
just catch the echo Of their voice, and to his
lessons of morality the world listens He has
no mission in this word but to make men
better: He has no power to make secure, ex-
cept the power of virtue; he has no ambition
to subserve except the ambition of bringing
men from the lower planes of life to the
higher planes of virtue and civilization; and
finally to the eternal kingdom of truth with
Gcd.