The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-03-17

attainment OF their final objective end
Twenty-ffth Error. - Beside +b,
power inherent in the Epicopacy. Other
temporal power has been attributed IN
it by the civil authority, either express
ly or tacitly conceded, and. Therefore
revocable at the pleasure of the ar-
thority By which it has been granted p,
REPUTATION.
The power inherent in the EpfscoDa.,,
consists in tie right to teach all thing.
which regart the eternal salvation NJ
| men; to preserve intact the DEPOSIT ne
| doctrinal truth and the precepts of
/ morality tC promote the proper Cere-
bration Of divine services and the due
administrator of the sacraments. The
Bishops have been appointed rulers Of
the Church BIZ the Holy Ghost. accord.
ing to the words of St. Paul: Take
heed to yourselves and to tine whole
mock wherein the Holy Ghost hath
placed you bishops, to rule the Church
Of God, which lie hath purchased with
His own blood"
NOW, as man is not a pure spirit
they who govern the Church, beside the
power inherent in them. they r7,,s+
have other temporal power: and as this
power is a means to the attainment OF
the end proposed by the Holy Ghost
1t follows that they receive it from. Him
and not from the civil authority. In
deed, Christ declared in founding His
Church that to Him was given all
power in heaven and on earth. and in
virtue of this power He sent His Apos-
ties to preach tue Gospel to all the ma
tons of the earth; in complete indie
pendence of all hhuan authority. He
dictated to them the fundamental laws
of His Church, and \entrusted them
with her government anu direction. The
first requisite to the good government
OF the Church and to the eRcient main
tenance of social order is the right 70
make and apply laws, to try and deter
mine causes-a right which was
exercised to its fullest extent
by the Council of Jerusalem bv
st Paul, in his instructions to Tim
othy and Titus, in the punfsbrnar-
which he inflicted on the incastUora
man, apd in the chastisement With
which, in virtue of the power given him
by the Lord, he threatened to visit the
dlsobedience Of certain members of t,l,
Corinthian church, and to Timothy 81
Paul gave this special direction ra.
garding the clergy: "Adversus prasb,--
terlum accusationem noli recipere. rf,
SUP duobus vel tribus testibus If is
therefore, evident that the Church has
a public tribunal in which charges
brought by the required number of VIII
nesses could be tried and determined
In this way Bishops governed their
locks, both under the Caesars who
prosecuted them, and under Christian
princes; and their right to do so re-
manned unquestioned for manv CEN
turtles. Ecclesiastical matters" wrote
Pope Vigilius, in the sixth century.
are reserved for the exclusive tudr-
nent Of the Bishops according to &C.
sIesla5tlcal usage, the traditions Of the
athers, and the authority Of the evan
Sellcal and apOstOlicaI doctrine
1t was so understood by the Emparor
Basil, who wrote to the eighth Oecu-
nenical Council as follows: 1T does
not become laymen, be they ever sn
earned and ever so holy. to NEEDLE in
he affairs Of the Church. Such action
IN their part would be wholly at varf-
lnce with the rules of discipline. tbe
ayman is but a subordinate member
Il the flock, owls est" And St. Angus
inc urges ecclesiastical judges to pun
sh the convicted criminal according to
us deserts. "Coerce, corriDe. excom-
nunica, degrade" and warns them not
o allow their clemency to interfere
nth the due enforcement of dfscfplin-
~ enactments. "Sic vigiIet tolIeran-
ia, ut non dormiat discipline"
From all that has been said above.
follows that the Bishops have not
lther tacitly or expressly received any
over from the civil authority; on
ne contrary, they recognize their pow
as proceeding from that fuIIness OF
over by which Christ constituted
lem shepherds of His flock under the
lpreme pastorship Of Peter; they rec
ynize it as coming from the Holy
host, who placed them to rule the
hurch of God which He hath pur-
lased with His blood. The Bishops
ave always SO believed, and have
,ted in accordance with that belief
nee the days Of the Apostles, whose
lccessors they are; and the civil au-
lority, having given them no power,
as none to take away.
Go be COntinued)