The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-04-14
A SERMON ON
H JESUlTS
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tConcluded from Page 81
OF the people. lie stained his skin until he
looked like a native. lie dressed, and talked, and
lived like a native. There was another obstacle
In his way, namely, the fact that the myridds
OF India were devout worshippers Of Brahma.
Hence they revcred and even worstipped the
administration they believed to be the lincal
descendants Of their god. In order to overcome
this obstacle. Nobilibus resolved that he would
be. hcnccforth, a Brahmin.
1t was a rather risky scheme, and In order that
he might be able. to answer some awkward ques.
tions that might be asked him about his lineage,
he drew up a genealogical table. beginning with
Brahmin and ending with himself. II was a bold
forgery, but forgers need to he bold. Nobili in
Rome. was In the true Apostolic succession, but
in Calcutta he was a lincal descendant Of
Brahma, the llindoo god. So elastic was the
moral philosophy of the .tcsuits Of that age,
that they could stretch it to any extent the
cxigcncies OF their case required.
THE VATICAN INTERPRETED.
The case Of Nobili was g~laringly wicked,
that the Vatican interfered and denounced his
~forgcries and repuiiated both him and his con.
vcrts. II Nobili feared the Lord, he also took
good care to serve his own gods. Bat this was
only the beginning Of trouble for the Je2ui.s.
They were so aggressive In dealing with the Of.
fairs Of state. and their claims to recognition
were SO bold, and their political influence was go
great, that measures were adopted by various
governments for their suppression. They forgot
the story of liaman and Mordecai. Their plots
to ruin others were discovered, and they chose
exile rather than death. They were banislcd
from France (avc times), from England Ohrico),
from Germany, from Spain, from Portugal. from
Belgium, from Venice, from Austria, from Rus.
STA, and it is only forty years since they were
again expelled from Italy. Indeed ono pope,
Clement NV, abolished the Order in 1913; while
another, Plus vi. in 1914. restored it. The his.
toric fact is that the Jcsuits refused to be sup.
pressed.
They practiccd a good deal Of what they
preached. Their philosophy was an effective an.
odyne for an accusing conscience. Good and
evil were deity intcrmixcd in this character;
and this subtle interinixture was the secret OF
their power. 'That gigantic power could never
have belonged to mere hypocrites; nor could 1t
ever have belonged to rigid moralists. It was
to be attained only by men sincerely enthusiastic
in the pursuit Of Il great end, and Mt the same
time INSCRIPTIONS as TO the choice Of means"
Whatever be the doctrines of the Jesuits of to.
day, there can he no doubt that in the six.
teenth century, and much later, they adopted
and defended the proposition that "the end
~justifcs the mean" They adopted and defended
the doctrine of "mcntal reservations which
means that n man may swear one way and think
another. and that therefore he is not bound by
his oath, but by his intention" These and
kindred doctrines exposed them to the severe
censure of their former friends, and to the mcrcl.
less attacks Of their foes.
CALVIN AND LOYOLA.
~lgnatius Ioyola and John Calvin were both
taught by the same professors, and they were
both masters in the art Of reasoning. but their
great mental powers were directed towards widely
different ends. The pupils OF Loyola were schol.
arly and skillful IN debate, but in the Jensen.
lists, the Jesuits met focmen worthy Of their steel.
The Jesuits had power, and the Janscnists had
genius, and B,aise Pascal was their champion
He was a man Of sterling integrity, and of great
intellectual ability, and withal, a devout mem.
Der Of the church of Rome. His exposure OF the,
Jesuits, in respect Of their doctrine and their
conduct, was at once witty, convincing and
mcrcilcss. IIallam declares that Pascal did
more to ruin the name OF Jesuit than all the
controversies of Professionalism. or all the full.
limitations Of the parliament OF Paris" And of
the same Pascal, Macauley says: ellis spirit
was the spirit of st. Bernard; hut the dclicacy Of
his wit, the purity, the energy, the simplicity
OF his rhetoric, had never been cqualledn, except
by the great masters Of Attic cloquencc. All
Europe read and admired, laughed and wcpt."
VIZ Wuot, uO"GNSi, tNS'1'b WI ~ 'u''pN'
the multitude of Jcsuits whose philosophy lie con.
futcd and whose conduct he denounced.
1t is not unusual to hear the church Of Rome
represented as a most delightful and living illus.
tlation Of Christian love and brotherhood--All its
members holding the same doctrines and all ami
mated by the same hope and all bowling sub.
missively to the same authority. Now that is
all very we'll in theory, and perhaps at no period
since the Reformation, has it been more nearly
tr,,a in fant than II lie today Tif II ~ pDf sn
always. The divisions and q%uarrels in Protest
ant Christendom have been many, and often bit
ter, but they were only triaes compared with
the divisions and warfare between the Thomists
and the Scotists. the Franciscans and Molinists,
the Jesuits and the Jansenists Of the church Of
Rome.
NOT ALL AT PEACE.
That great religious body is no stranger to re-
ligious wars within its own household. The his
tcrians state only the truth when they say that
her theologians have often bitterly opposed each
other; Synod has assailcd Synod, and pope has
oppose pope. Her kings. statesmen, pontiffs
and parliaments. have fought with fury in her
theological campaigns. Children have risen up
against their parents, and parents against their
children. The shock of her conflicting fac.
tions have c~onvulsed Christendom. The system
which one party called truth and Catholicism,
was called error and hcresy by another party.
ty reason OF THESE ulSsenSlOnS, tne cIlannplS ol
philanthropy and OF Christian charity were closed,
and the tioodgatcs Of malcvclence were thrown
wide open. Bearing in mind her debates and
discussions and divisions, the church ot Rome
cannot afford to throw any stones at the churche,
OF the Reformation, on the ground that they
have always been divided, while she has always
kept the unity Of the Spirit in the bond OF
peace.
There is much about the teaching and practice
OF the early Jesuits which no Bible Christian
can approve, ana which, it is 10 be Hoped those
who bear their name today utterly repudiate,
But, on the other hand, there are some things
about those old Jesuits that all Christians would
do well to emulate.
First-I1leir aim was to conquer the wide world
and thus bring into subsection to their sovereign
pontih. Let ours be the notler purpose, name.
~, to bring this wide world into subsection to
Jesus Christ.
Second-They kept in view a definite object,
and they bent all their energies toward its ut.
tainment. They did not fight as one who
beateth the air. Each soldier in that army on.
listed for the war and he enlisted for life. His
motto might well he the words of st. Paul:
This one thing ! do" There was no shrinking,
no hesitation, no apology for idleness or for
negligence, They planned their work, and they
worked their plan. In this respect. all Chris
tians might initiate them with profit both to
themselves and to the church at large.
THEY WERE AS ONE,
agreed with and differed widely from other sects
within their own church, they We're at the
same time united among themselves. They rcn-
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