The Irish standard., 1899-03-18

tyrants was to deprive the Irish Catholics
of their property, and how well they sue
ceeded in impoverishing and degrading
them is known to every reader of history.
No Catholic in those days could worship
God unmolested in ireland. Thousands
fed the country and sought refuge from
persecution in foreign lands, and thous-
ands suffered death for their allegiance to
the faith.
Times have changed for the better dur
ing the present century; but to the pres
ent day the Irish Catholics are suffering
from religious disabilities in modified
form The Protestant minority have
rights and privileges which are denied to
the Catholic majority. The Irish Catho-
lies under British rule in ireland cannot
acquire the advantages Of higher educa-
ton without endangering their faith in
Protestant institutions of learning. To re-
tain the loyalty OF the foreign Protestant
element in ireland, the statesmen Of Eng
land will not grant equal justice to the
Irish Catholics by placing them on an
equality with the followers OF King Will
liam. But the day is rapidly approaching
when the British government cannot
withhold from the Catholics the rights to
which they are entitled in the land OF
their birth.
The readers of the Irish Standard are
already familiar with the life and labors
of their great apostle. He arrived in Ire
land in 432 with his commission from
Rome to rescue the pagan inhabitants
from idolatry and to preach to them the
gospel OF Christ. That was a thousand
years before the art of printing was in
vented, and hence the few records extant
from which true history of St. Patrick
can be gathered. The country of his
birth is matter Of controversy, some
claiming him to be French, some Scotch,
others Welsh, and a few biographers say
he was Irish. Some say he died at the
advanced age of 100 years, but the prob
ability is that he died on March II, 465,
at the age OF 70. Accepting this date as
true, he was as years old when sent by
Pope Celestine to convert the pagan
Celts OF ireland, and his missionary life
among them was SO years.
In modern times it has been stated that
ST. Patrick was Protestant, and that the
early Irish church was not in communion
with the See of Rome. The fact is that
the ancient Irish church professed the
same faith and had the same sacrifice
and sacraments as we have today in all
Catholic lands. There is no valid foun-
dation for the statement that ireland pos
sessed doctrine different from that OF
Rome. The letter OF St. Patrick to Corot-
icus, British pirate who carried into
captivity some of the early Irish Christ
ians, is still in existence and in it can be
seen that the sacraments were admins
tered by St. Patrick and his disciples in
the orthodox manner OF Rome. In an
early canon Of the synod OF ST. Patrick it
is decreed that call difficult questions
which might arise in the island should be
referred to the Apostolic See" Some
Protestant antiquaries like Dr.. Todd, of
Trinity College, contend that the first
leralds OF the gospel in ireland came
from Greece instead of Italy, and intro
duced into that country their own views
of ecclesiastical independence. Granting
this to be so, we may we'll ask where
was the Greek church in the fifth century
that did not acknowledge the primacy OF
the Holy See?" The spirit OF St. Patrick
was transmitted to his disciples, who al
ways had recourse to the Chair of Peter
for the removal of their doubts and diff
culties. OF this the life of St. COLUMBIA
furnishes remarkable instance in the
controversy that arose between him and
certain French bishops regarding the
time Of celebrating Easter. He addressed
two letters to St. Gregory the Great, the
then pontiff, and requested his authofixa-
ton to follow the usages Of his own
country. The Irish church was in the
closest relations with the Catholic church
in other portions Of Europe, and as the
faith protested in France, Italy and Ger
many was also held by the Irish people,
we are forced to conclude that the ST.
premacy OF the Pope, acknowledged in
those countries, was likewise recognized
by the churches in Ireland
| For two centuries or more after the
death OF St. Patrick students from every
country in Europe flocked to Ireland in
great numbers to study in its famous
schools, and Irish missionaries went to
the continent to preach the same gospel
taught them by Patrick's successors.
Some OF them went even to Rome itself.
There is no historical record that the
Pope or any OF the ecclesiastical author
tiles in the nations which they visited
ever found fault with the preaching Of the
Irish missionaries on the ground OF leter-
odoxy. All this talk about St. Patrick
being Protestant has no foundation in
fact.
The children OF St. Patrick at the pres
cnt day arc the most orthodox Catholics
in the world. The Pope OF Rome has
no more devoted adhcrcnts than they.
What would Catholicity be today ii the
Irish had abandoned the faith for a mess
of pottage, as the English and others did