The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-18
RATIONAL VIEWS OF POpE'S BIBLE Commission

We learn by cable that the Tablet
! a London newspaper. has made an an
: noUncement concerning Roman Cath
olics and the Bible, which it describes
. as being of the prOfoundest interest &c
: the whole Christian world. 1t is thal
: Pope Leo XIII has appointed special
, Pontifcal commission for the consider
= alton of all questions connected with
Biblical studies. Catholic scholars all
J the world over will have the fullest op-
portunity of stating their views ana
difficulties. bringing them to the direct
: notice of the Holy See. Cardinal Par
occhi, high authority on all ques-
. tions connected with Biblical exegeSls,
will act as president of the commits
sion. Cardinal Segra and Cardinal
Wives will be assessors and Father
David Fleming secretary. There will
also be eleven ConsultorS chosen from
different countries.
Rome, Jan. 9.-The membership of the
papal commission on modern questions
concerning the Holy Writ is officially
announced. 1t consists of Cardinal
Parocchi, vice chancellor of the Holy
Roman church, and Cardinals Zegna.
prefect of the Vatican archives. and
Wives Y. TutO, as assessor. Among
the consultors chosen from various
countries is Professor Garrigan of the
OdIUOllC university OF w washington.
| The scope of inquiry Is to ascertain
the limit of freedom to be allowed the
Catholic exegetist in Biblical questions
of the day and to point out definitely
what must be maintained and what
must be rejected in the interests of or
thodoxy, what are allowable and what
are left to the individual conscience.
The commission, notably the presi-
dent, is said to represent broad-mfnded,
/ lT,r.S
The New York Sun. with the keen
vision which characterizes that great
| secular Journals observation of the
trend of fevents, says editorially on the
subject
THE announcement that the Pope
has appointed d special pontifical
commission to consider all questions
| connected with Biblical studies is of
great significance at this time of COM
plete revolution in the Protestant
world. so far as concerns it's attitude
| toward the Bible, the sole source from
which Professionalism derives it's re-
| ligious authority
This vatican commission. We are
| told, is to afford Catholic scholars
all over the world the fullest oppor-
tunity of stating their views and diff
culties and bringing them to the direct
having already championed the abso-
lutte verify and supernatural inspira-
ton of the Bible as the word of God
such difficulties submitted will be ex-
planned away of course in harmony
with that positive and uncompromising
catholic decision That is, the purpose
OF the commission is not to stimulate
criticism of the Bible after the fashion
now so general in Professionalism, but
to silence it and oppose to it the final
pontlhcal judgment. The appointment
of the commission, however. seems to
suggest that this new criticism has
brought difficulties to Catholic schol-
ars. as 1T has also to the great body OF |
Protestant scholars, if not to them uni |
VerSally, and that the Pope feels inn
PEELED to remove the stumbling blocks |
Undoubtedly. if Christian theology |
is to stand at all. belief in the Bible as /
supernatural inspiration must continue. |
Even for Catholics belief in the mirac- |
ulous authority of tradition also will be |
sault is on the destruction The as |
sault is on the miracles, all supernat- |
uralism. The present critical meth /
DDS applies to the miracles a scientific !
test, or purely natural test. which.
necessarily, discards the supernatural |
as scientifically undemonstrabIe."
The resolution of doubts of super
natural Biblical authority, however. is
essential for Professionalism rather than
for Catholicism. The position of the
Church of Rome on that subject is de-
termtned already and is irreyersible; !
but in Professionalism, though it has
no other foundation than belief in the
Bible as absolute and Divine truth. as
the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scrip
ture." to use the words of the West
Confession, there has been of
ont 49,
of that belief. A school of criticism
has arisen which practically reduces
the Bible to a human authorship no
more inspired than were Shakespeare,
Dante and Goethe, and it's seat is in
the foremost theological seminaries.
That is, it is inside of the Church, and
thus wields the profoundest influence
in undermining Christian faith
AT this time a Presbyterian COM
mission is engaged in an attempt to
revise the Westminster Confession in
to a demand which had its
origin in the s5epticism induced by the I
scholarly criticism of the Bible called
the higher OF course. the effort will I
be vain, for the general assembly in
appointing the commission timidly
avoided the essence of the question in !
or the authority of the :
Bible, whether it is Divine or human. '
But that pivotal question will yet 9
nave to be met by Professionalism as
;quarely as it has been met by the :
Pope. Mere verbal changes in creeds ]
quilt wholly on the theory Of the in t
'pired and inerrant authority of the l
Bible. as child's play at a time when Y
eligious thought has been revolution |
zed by destructive criticism of the va s
idity of that authority by Protestant t
heol0gians and scholars of worldwide '
epute. men whose teachings are not t
epudiated and mathematical by their G
but who are suffered TO re- g
main in the ministry without reproach /
1T is not the Pope. then. but the +
,reat churches of Professionalism, which '
iced to appoint commission, or COM t
MISSIONS, for the consideration of all t
uestions connected with Biblical y
tudies' The time is coming. if, in n
eed. it has not come already. when o
hese churches must take their stand f
efinitely and decidedly on the ques- o
ion whether the Bible is of God or !;
My of man. As it is now, the Pope is t
he sole bold, positive and uncompro- W
1ising champion of the Bible as the o
Word of Cod" g
Thus, at the beginning of the twen- p
eth century, the Church which has a
cen misrepresented for 400 years as u
ne enemy of the inspired Scriptures,
hows itself resolute to viudicate, safe n
uard and correctly interpret them, u
hen Professionalism is abandoning q
nth in them under the assault of the
1-called higher criticism.
THE AMERICAN DELEGATE. b,