Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-02-26

AiON nm W Nv III Atoh
at the 10 o'clock mass. to the faithful
of this diocese is an earnest talk to
members of the Roman Catholic church
as to their duties toward the sacra-
ment of marriage, their position on the
question of divorce and the education
of their children in the truths of the
Roman Catholic religion. The arch
bishop reviews tenderly ana in a vivid
and interesting manne the audience
given him by his holiness. Pope Leo. at
Rome on the 2Sth of last May. He cor
tinues:
Now allow me briefly to touch upon
two topics of paramount Importance to
the Catholics of our day and this sec
ton of the country in particular:
Christian marriage and the Christian
education of your children. What are
we to think of those wretched Catholics
who spurn the divine gift of sacrament
tai matrimony and who dare plight
their troth in a form Goddess and I'M
Catholic? They set a most evil exam
pie to their fellow Catholics: they bring
shame upon the church in the eyes of
the world ever ready to impute to Aer
the wrongs of her children; they cast
a loathsome shadow upon their off
spring. and they bring down upon
themselves and upon their children the
curse of God. As'to the curse of the
church it is visited in a special man
ner, on those Catholics who marry be-
fore a non-Catholic minister. in the
form of an accommodation. that
dreadful cutting off from the church
and it's spiritual rights, privileges and
benefits.
Connected with the marriage con-
tract there is another crying evil
which deserves most seriously to be
denounced: it is divorce proper. follow
ed or not by remarriage with another
person. | shall not dwell now upon
the g%rievous sin of this detestible prac.
tice and its disastrous consequences to
good morals and to the proper training
of the offspring of such parents as re-
sort to divorce, and to the welfare of
society at large. They are too well
known. Suffice it to say here that the
church holds divorce in adherence Inc
that she has pronounced another eX-
communication of those Catholics who
being divorced by civil process. at
tempt to marry again.
There may be instances in which a
simple separation from bed and board
becomes inevitable between man and
wife. The church is not unreasonable
and will grant it and permit it to be
gained in the civil courts when. after
a thorough investigation of the case, it
is made evident to her that the claim
is a Legitimate one.
unfortunately the state in this
country has made no provisions for
the granting of this kin of separation
between man and wife: and in order
to obtain the civil effects of such a sep
aration people must sue in the civil
courts for a regular divorce. The case
is, therefore, quite embarrassing. The
church will tolerate, in special circum
stances, a forced recourse to such an
extreme action for relief, but only on
condition that the ease be submitted
beforehand to the bishop of the do
cese and his consent to proceed civilly
be secured, with the positive under
standing that the matrimonial bond
remains unbroken and that, there
fore, there is no thought, no intention
whatever of marrying someone else in
either of the couple suing for divorce.
whatsoever. then, among Catholics
of his own and sole accord secures a
divorce, even on good and solid
grounds, with the intention of dissolv.
ing the bono and entering upon an
OlIt marriage CONTRACT, COMMITS a
grave sin and puts himse.f outside the
pale of the church; there TO remain as
long as the matter shall not nave been
submitted to the bishop for his judg-
ment and, if there be good cause to
warrant it, for ratification. Moreover,
any Catholic who, having obtained a
civil separation with or without the
previous consent of the church. enters
upon another marriage during the life
time of the first consort incurs all the
penalties of accommodation.
Whenever a parent has the means
and the opportunity of sending his
child to a Catholic school in preference
to a non-Catholic one. he should do so
under pain of s~houldering a weighty
responsibility; even when the doing so
entails a sacrifice on his part and on
the part of his children. When dire
necessity compels you to place your
children in a non-Catholic school. it
must never be in a denominationally
Protestant school, where they will be
unduly influenced against their own
religion. Public schools are tolerated
where nc Catholic one is 10 be had, and
in which no religion is taught and fair
neutrality as to creed or belief is OBJ
served. In such cases, however, a
more binding duty devoives upon the
parents to make up for the want of
proper religious instruction in the
school. They themselves must teach
their children their prayers, the cate
chism and Bible history; they must
send them regularly to Sunday school
and to the catechism classes on week
days; they must take them to church
every Sunday to attend mass and even
vespers or the evening services: they
must pray with them at home and set
them, in every day life, am example of
Christian faith and practice.
THE custom is growing, especially
among our own Catholic Mexican peo-
pie. of sending their children either to
government Indian or TO Protestant
boarding schools, where the Protestant
religion is taught, or, at least, Protest
ant services-which are made com
pulsory-are held for them every Sun.
day. This is altogether wrong aud we
call uDOn the DaStOTS TO denOunCa this