The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-04-21

Thirteenth Error. 1.-The immunity of
the Church and of ecclesiastical per-
sons derived its origin from the civil
| law"
| Refutation-The clergy and the laity
| are alike subject TO the laws and regu-
lations of the Church. But the clergy
must also conform themselves to the
holy canons bearing upon their mode
of life. to ecclesiastical usage, and TO
! the requirements of their spiritual Of
| fees. AS far as their relations to gov
eminent and society are concerned, the
clergy are not, as Bellarmine Gays, eN-
empt from the obligations imposed by
any civil law. which does not conflict
with the holy canons or with their cler-
icaI functions . because, by be-
| coming ecclesiastic. they do not there
by cease to be citizens, but continue to
form part of the body polite
and must, therefore, be obedient TO the
clergy to conform to such laws could
only serve to create confusion and dis
order Non stunt exempt clerici alb
obligations legum civiliuon, qud non
clericale. Nom clerici, praeter-
guam quod clerici stunt. stunt etiam
Gives ct parties quadam reipublicae pol
iticae fgitur illas clerici SER
ware debent, aliquo magma perturbates
ct confusio in republica oriretur, 81
clerici non servarent civiles leges in
eommercus civilibus ct humane. Glib.
Oil ina
observes, however, in the same place
that the clergy are held to the obser-
vance of these laws solely by = di-
Deceive not by a coactive obligation;
in other words, he wishes to say that
although the clergy are bound to obey
these laws their mpliance with
them is punishable not by the civil
magistracy, but by the ecclesiastical
power. Now is this immunity from lay
jurisdiction of human or divine right?
1t cannot be disputed that the Church
has received from her Divine Founder
the right to care for the sanctification
of souls, and the consequent right to
employ the means necessary to the at
tainment of that end. One Of these
means is the liberty to choose and to
eudcate her ministers. No one can
enter the holy ministry self-chosen: he
must be called by God as Aaron was;
Memo assumpist sibi honorem sed qui
vocatur dec tanquam Aaron It is,
moreover, evident, that the means or
instruments partake of the nature of
the end; it the end be human, the
means must be human; if the end be
divine, the means must be divine; 9TH
erwise, there would be no proportion
between the end to be attained and the
means for it's attainment; az, there
fore, the end proposed to the Church,
viz, the sanctification of souls is di-
vine, the means employed for its at
tainment must also be divine. Now
that which is divine, is in it's very ma
ture beyond the competency of purely
human power; and accordingly, no hu-
man authority can as such legitimately
exercise any jurisdiction over the per-
sons of ecclesiastics. Hence, it is that
neither the Church or her ministers
recognize their immunity as proceeding
from the civil power.
But if this immunity or exemption
was derived from the civil law, will
they who uphold this opinion, kindly
inform us whether and where it was
first accorded? 1t can be traced to no
emperor or king; nor was it instituted
by the Apostles, or by the Pontiffs or
by the Councils. In the instructions,
which he sent to Timothy for the gov
eminent of the church at Ephesus, st.
Paul does not originate this immunity,
but, on the contrary, supposes it to al
ready exist. Against priest" he
says, receive not an. accusation, but
under two or three Witnesses The