The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-05-09

'"That was well argued on Protes
tant principles" replied Diefenbach
but very badly argued on Catholic
principles. Professionalism is based OF
the opinion of men, but Catholicity re
poses on the word of God, and Catho
lies have an infallible method of de
termining what that word is, withou
drawing invidious comparisons be
tween individuals, whether eminent Of
not. Neither Chief Justice fancy mol
the editor of Brownson's Review is al
authority in Catholic doctrine, and il
the question arises which of them rep
resents that doctrine truly, the appeal
must be to standard jurist, but ii
does not follow from that fact that
he is an eminent theologian. There
have been many able jurists who could
not be accepted as authority in Cath
Ole doctrine, such as Ulpian and Pa
pinian, Domat, Mansfield, Blackstone,
Marshall, Kent and Story. A man may
be eminent in one line without being
eminent in every line. Count Boni-
face was no doubt superior as a mill
tary man to st. Augustine, but prob
ably several degrees below him as a
theologian. A man may have been a
Catholic from his infancy up, without
being father or a doctor of the
church, and l have never heard that
Chief Justice fancy has distinguished
himself by his theological attachments
or proficiency. The principle assumed
by the journals is invidious, and op-
posed to that freedom of thought and
criticism which our religion allows 1t
would invest eminent jurists or civ
ilians, who may have devoted no spe-
cial study to theology, with papal pre-
negatives and immunities with regard
to all humber or less eminent indf-
viduals. 1t is an ungenerous and an
unmanly attempt to silence every mod
est man by an appeal to the argumen-
tum ad verecundiam, argument
seldom resorted to when other argu-
ments can be had"
Il raise no questions, said Winslow,
between the chief justice and the re-
viewer. 1 do not censure or defend
either. The question l raise is, as to
the justice of the reply the Catholic
journalist gave to the reviewer, which
was, as understand it, that Catholic
judge is not bound in his official char
acter to consult the teachings of his
religion, and may administer the civil
law, although it conflicts with the doc
trine and precepts of his church. If we
accept the principle of that reply, a |
Christian might have officiated as
judge under Nero, Decius, or Diocle-
tian, and doomed his fellow Christians
for being Christians to the amphi- |
theatre, or to any of the various forms
of torture and death authorized by the |
laws of the empire; or Catholic |
might have sat on the bench under
and sentenced the priests |
of his church to be tortured, hung, |
drawn and CHARTERED for daring to per-
form the proper Offices of their priest |
hood. That may be so, and it may be |
that it is because am only convert, |
and too green as Catholic to see it's
lawfulness, but as at present informed |
cannot admit it. 1t strikes me that |
no Catholic can hold an office that re-
quires him to act against his religion;
and if the constitution and laws of |
the Union really do require the Judge |
to go against his religion, the least |
he can do is to resign his seat, for I'M
der constitution and laws that really !
do that no Catholic can hold Office"
"The case made by the reviewer can
be disposed of without raising the
question as to the mutual relation of
the two powers" said De Bonneville.
But not the case made by the Cath
Ole journalist in his fiippant reply to
the reviewers" replied Diefenbach.
"The chief justice is an officer of the
civil, not of the ecclesiastical court,
and his duty is to declare and apply
the civil law, the law of his own court.
as he finds it." replied O'Flannagan.
THE law by which priests were
hung in England under Elizabeth, was
a civil, and not an ecclesiastical law"
replied Diefenbach. Technically they
were not sentenced and executed for
performing their priestly functions,
but for treason, because the civil law
made the performance of those func-
tons treason against the crown. Trea- |