The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-02
WORD CATHOLIC
New York " Freeman's
Journal Explains the
Roman Catholic
Meaning
ePPoslH ION { llhs REEurED
History Of the Use Of the
Term Traced Through
Religious History
Among the Churches

The article in the Apostles Greed, y
believe III the Holy Catholic tnurcn'
has troubled many persons. When they
have found cut the meaning of the word
The trouble ceases. The word catholic"
means universal. and the Church, as thus
defined. is spoken of in our. Form of Gov
ernment thus:-"The universal Church
consisfs III All those persons, in every Ia
lion. together with their children, who
make profession Of the holy religion OF
Christ and of submission to His aWs
The Roman Church has no right or claim
to the name "Catholic." 1t Is not me
universal Church., and 1t IS full Of errors.
The Holy Catholic Church is the great
body Of Gods people in all lands and
ages. The word is ri~ghtfully used IN the
Aposaless' Creed. and VIZ do not propose
to be robbed Of it BY the false assump-
lions of the Roman Churcn.-CineinnaTi
Herald and P~resbyter.'
History repeats itself, say the New
York sFreeman's Journal" The hereslcs
Of the early centuries made the same
claim that the Herald n Presbyrer
makes. Fifteen hundred years ago ~.
Augustin met this claim and refuted y
In his book sDe Vera Religiene" he says;
1--WE must hold the Christian religlon
and the communion OF that cnurch "iich
is Catholic; and it Is not only caAeo ~
by her own children. but by al her ehe-
mics. For heretics and s~cn1sinatNs'
whether they viii or no, they speak not
to their own people, tut to strangersscaii
Catholics, Catholics only. For they can
- ~ ,,uHorr+aod If thew give them not
that name which all the world gives
chem
That st. Augustin was a Roman catn-
Ollie Bishop is certain. Among other
considerations which he enumerates as
keening him in the Catholic Church, ne
mentions the following-4~rhe succession
af ,sastors from the chair of the Apostle
peter. to whom our Lord, after His res
direction, committed the feeding OF his
flock. down to the present bishop, keeps
me in it." In another passage ne tens
whom he meant by 'sthe present plsnop.
sarbi long line Of bishops, succeeding
each other, from Peter to Anastae'us,
who now occupies the Holy See. LOOK
at any list of Popes and you VIII sec
this Anastatius under the date SS A. u
the time when Augustin wrote. Anasta-
titus was succeeded by Innocent IN 4z.
rro mis- Pone Auglstin. in conjunction
with the Fathers OF the Couneli u
Carthage, write, Lord and holy prothef'
we have deemed 1t rignt TO communicate
this action to you. in order that we may
have o,,r weak DEGREES strengthened by
the authority of the Apostolic Sector the
purpose of insuring the salvation OF many
and correcting the w~ickedness OF certain
individuals.
Continuing to give his reasons for re-
manning in the Catholic Church, Angus
tin wrote:-'Lastly, the very name OF
Catholic holds me, Of which this Church
alone has. not without reason, so Kept
the possession that though all hereties
desire to be called Catholics Oote this,
Herald and Presbyter), yet If a stranger
asks them, where Catholics meet, none
of the heretics dare point out his own
house or church"
As it was in Augustin's time-ffteen
hundred years ago--so it is today. II a
stranger risks the way to the Catholic
Church, in country or city, the Protes-
tant never thinks of directing him to his
own church.
ST. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem IN the
early part of the fourth century GID,
gave the following direction to his pu-
pfls:-"If you go into any city. do not
ask merely. where is the church or house
Of God. because the. hsretics pretend to
have this; but ask. which is the Catho-
lie church, because this title belongs
alone to our holy mother
1t clearly appears from these carry
| CHRISTIAN writer's that the term catholic
was the distinguishing mark OF our
church. and not a general term including
heretics and s~ehismaties who PROGRESSED
| Christianity. The term was used by 81
Augustin n st, Cyril of Jerusalem to
| exclude heretics and scfIismatics. In the
I same sense 1t was used by st. Paciafi,
who Standardization is my name, Cath
| Ollie is my surname: by the former am
| called. bv the latter I am distinguished.
nv the name of Catholic our society IS
| distinguished from all hereties. II was
| IN this sense that the name Catholic was
used in the Apostles Greed, and It Is
not surprising tina those Protestants
who use that creed ars troubled when
they come to that word.
n is 100 late for the modern sects-
who until recently held the term Catho-
lie In detestation-to snuggle to that
name. It was appropriated centuries be-
| fore they came into existence. They
cannot be robbed of 1t, because they
! never had it. The whole world knows
MAR catholic means: and it knows it
does not mean P~resbyterl ian, or .Calvanist,
Or Methodist. or Lutheran, or Baptist,
etc. And when these heretieal sects pc
gin ~ claim 1t the world laughs-which
IS the sensible thing for II to do under
the circumstances