The Irish standard., 1899-02-11
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE EXPLAINED
BY A CATHOLIC PRIEST.
MANY PRo1Es1AN1s IN the AUDIENCE
ELOQUENT LECTURE FOR HOME OF
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
DOCTRINE IS FOUNDED ON SCRIPTURE
SIX REQUIREMENTS ON THE PART OF,
PRIEST AND PENITENT.

SIN REQUIREMENTS ON THE PART OF
PRIEST AND PENlTENr.
''The Lost Confessional was the title
Of lecture recently delivered In Rouse's
hall. Peoria, ILL.,. by Rev. ]. F. Nugent,
of Des Moines, Ia The following re-
port of the address is taken from the
Peoria Journal, which says:
He was greeted by a large audience,
throughout. FIR. Nugent is brilliant
orator, and is cordially welcomed wher-
ever he goes. The lecture last night
was given under the auspices of the
Home of the Good Shepherd, and neat
sum was realized. There was a large
number of non Catholics in the audi
ence, who were anxious to learn some
thing Of the status of the confessional.
Fir. Nugent spoke from Scripture,
and ridiculed no creed or creeds. His
lecture was free from sarcasm through
out, and he said nothing to wound the
feelings Of anyone. He simply explained
Scripture as his proof for its origina-
tion and history. He went back and
reviewed the old records of Scripture to
the time Of Christ, and produced evil
al through all the centuries. He said
he feared not the whole world on this
point. and was never so bold or so
brave as when he was defending the
ance He spoke at some length of the
number of young women who had been
| saved from countless sins and their
standing preserved by the confessional.
He said nothing in general way of
church unity, but said he would be
charitable and kind. but he could not
!! be liberal. In this connection he repeat
ed those words: Can woman be lib
honor?" He spoke of disrobed priests
and discredited nuns who were lectur-
| ing against the Catholic faith pretend
ing to warn the uneducated of the
crimes of the confessional, but he mere
ly expressed words of sympathy in their
| behalf. Father Nugent has been in
Peoria at other times, and is always
| welcomed upon his return. He spoke
in brief as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen: l think there
Is no subject within the whole scope of
Catholic theology upon which SO much
has been written, so much spoken, and
yet SO poorly understood as the question
known as the Catholic confessional.
There Is probably no other question.
and no other institution in the whole
domain of religious thought that for SO
many centuries has exercised the public
mind, and is still a question unknown
to large portion of the world. The
institution of the confessional, as we
! understand it in the Catholic church,
is a peculiar institution. 1t has done
great service inside of the church Of
Rome, and it has done great service
outside of the church of Rome. Inside
Of the Catholic church think the testi-
mony of every good Catholic will be
that it has exercised a wonderful influ-
| ence on the lives of people in enabling
them to overcome evils and vice. and
outside of the Catholic church think
it is we'll understood that it has kept
many an apostate priest and escaped
nun from starving to death. In this
sense it wields great influence in and
out of the church. One Of the most
pitiable sights of the world is a priest
who has fallen from grace, and whose
passions have hauled him from the
sanctuary as the sin of Llcen hurled
him from the seat of heaven. And one
of the saddest sights Of the world is an
escaped nun, yet comparatively young,
who devoted her best days in the morn
ing of her youth and the flower of her
innocence to the church. and for years
had gone before the altar day and
night, and finally, by yielding to the
| impulses of passion, has been cast forth
from the Divine, and finds herself now
|
compelled to stand before the CLEAN of
the gaslight before a prurient lot, and
detail to them the crimes of the con-
| fessional, and having to do that for
| bread and butter. The education of a
priest, as we'll as the education of
sister, unfit them for the higher pur-
| suits Of life. In studying for the
church it is the science of the sins, and
IL one leaves the church and goes forth
into the world the science of the sins is
| not the science that you need to accu-
mlllate wealth, and therefore, when
priest leaves the church and goes forth
| into the world. he looks back to the
| church where he had to celebrate. He
stands in a cold, barren spirit, and
three times day the demand for food
presses upon him, and like the unjust
steward that was called to give an ac-
count Of his stewardship, he says, to
beg am ashamed, to dig am not able,