The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-03-29

than with the Greek church, or than
with your own."-Ed. I. NJ. CT
Xxx.
But you told me the other day re-
piled James. after short pause, that
the essential character of the Romish
church is. that she claims to have re-
ceived a divine commission or author
ity to teach, or to keep and declare tie
word of God"
ITO keep and expound or teach the
word of God, L grant; but 1 conceded
this only so far as concerned the spe-
cial controversy in which we we're en-
gagged, as then told you, Neverthe7
less, l admit now that the essential
claim of the church is. that she has
been divinely commissioned or author
lied to teach the word of God"
''Then you must concede that any
other church claiming to pc diyinely
commissioned is an adverse claimant.
"Divinely commissioned to reacn,
granted"
Then it is not true that there IS no
adverse claimant against Rome, as you
so confidently assert: for, in point OF
fact, the Greek church, the Presby-
terrain, and the Anglican each claim Tor
itself to be divinely commissioned.
1.-THE Greek church claims the 1om-
mission for herself in no sense in
which she does not concede it to Rome,
and therefore is not an adverse claim
ant. The Presbyterian and Anglican
churches do not in reality claim it at
all; for both deny the fact of ,tivine
in denying the infalli5ility
of the church.
"But to deny the infallibility is not
necessarily to deny the divine COM
mission of the teacher; and, therefore,
not to claim the infallibffity is not to
fail to claim the commission.
THE commission in question is the
to teach. and must be the
warrant of infallibility in the teacher,
unless God can authorize the teaching
of error"
"That proves too much. All the
teachers of your church, you hold, are
divinely commissioned; but you can
not hold that each is infallible; for II
you should, you would be obliged to
hold that Luther himself did not err,
since, as is well known, he was at
first a Romish doctor"
1.-THE teachers of the church are all
commissioned to teach in COM
muniou with and in subordinatlon to
the sovereign pontiff, the successor of
st. Peter, 1 admit, and so long as they
Sc teach, they teach infallibly; but
when they break away from that COM
and assume to be independent
teachers, they are fallible, for then
they have no divine commission.
rs there any of these teachers, tax
en- individually, who may not break
from that communion and assume to
be an independent teacher?'
mo one except the pope himself"
''What, then, is your warrant that
your particular teacher does not err
1.-The fact that he teaches in COM
munion with and in subordination to
the sovereign pontiff."
$50 the pope is his voucher?'
Communion with the pope"
''Who vouches for the pope?'
1.-The divine commission which gives
him, as the successor of st. Peter, pie
nary authority to teach and declare
the word of Cod"
eff the pope should fail, your whole
church might fall to the ground?''
Not necessarily; but the pope can
not fail, because he is divinely COM
missioned. AS the successor of st.
Peter he inherits the authority of st.
Peter and the promise made to him:
Upon this rock will l build my
and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. The pope, there
fore, since he has the promise of God,
cannot fail, unless God himself can
fail, which is not supposable.''
But your argument, nevertheless,
proves too much; for all legitimate
civil governments are divinely COM
and yet no man can pre-
lend that they are infallible."
Commissioned to govern, but not to
teach or declare the word of God.
There is difference between the COM
mission to govern and the commission
70 teach. Teaching has reference to
The conscience, to the internal act of
he man; government only to external
acts. The teacher is commissioned to
each the truth; government is COM
nissioned simply to control and direct
he external acts for the general good,
according to the rules of prudence; and
20 attain its end it is not essential that
t should be able to propose measures
which are absolutely in all and In
very respect the wisest and the best;
Tor is it necessary, in order to believe
t for the general good, and to obey<I
Ill it's commands, that the subject
should believe it infallible, or that it
an never err in any one of its meas
Tres. He can obey an unwise order.
md it may be for the general good |
hat sometimes he should do so. But !
he end of teaching is the proposition
Ind belief of the truth. All teaching
s order to truth If the teacher be |
allible, the end of teaching is not Sc
ured; for he may propose, and I may |
'elieve, on his proposition, what is not |
rue The commission is authority |
rom God to teach and a COM |
nand to those the teacher is commits |
toned to teach and to believe as the
ruth, and nothing but the truth, what |
lie teaches. If fallible, then, he may |
ropose, and / believe on divine au-
hority, what is false; and then God |
nay authorize the teaching and the
of falsehood-which cannot |
e; for he is infinitely true. and can
either be deceived nor deceive, which !
7ould not be the fact, if he could
the teaching or the believ-
lg of falsehood. Therefore, the di-
inc commission TO teach-and it is
~ he mn, injector, 70