The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-06-13
Church
Universal.

on an investigation having for its OBJ
iect to discover whether this theory OF
the lawyers corresponded with the
general attitude Of me English clergy
toward the Pope. For this purpose he
examines the facts of ecclesiastical
life, and the opinions of medieval
English churchmen who were not pro-
fessional jurists. The result of these
investigations he states in the frank
est manner
After pointing out that the spiritual
authority of Rome was constantly eX-
ercised and willingly allowed in Eng
land. and that communion with Rome
was regarded as vital to the welfare OF
English Christianity, the writer states
that from this 1T followed that the
attitude of England towards the Rom
an See was one of submission when
ever English policy was controlled by
men who had the interests Of the Ma
tional Church at heart. Communion
with Rome was universally regarded
as the badge of Catholicity and the
passport to free intercourse with the
other church of the west. For this
reason 1t was difficult to resist he eX-
tremest claims of Rome. And
Christian men desired that the apOs-
tolical tradition should be rigidly main
tanned; and it was through Rome that
the Prince of the Apostles delivered
his message to the churches. To con-
suit Rome on all points of doubt and
difficulty was valued privilege. To
obey Rome on those subjects of which
she spoke with inspiration was the
plain duty of the faithful. When
once the Pope had been recognized as
the repository of the orthodox tradi-
tion it was hard to avoid the concm-
sion that he had the right to exercise
great influence upon the government
of the national churches. This was,
in fact, allowed by the most outspoken
critics of the Curia and OF individual
Popes. England produced fair num-
ber of such critics, and some of these
were very bold. But there is not one
who ventured to deny that the Pope
had claims upon the obedience of the
English Church"
After this general statement the
writer goes into details, and illustrates
it from the actions and writings of
men like Archbishop Theodore, st.
Dunstan, Bishop Grosseteste, and the
DEGREES of various councils which "en-
dorse the DEGREES of Rome and Roman
councils, (and) repudiate none," and
frequently mention that they we're
summoned by command of the Pope
On certain matters they did not pre-
sumo to legislate without his assent.
The evidence of the DEGREES of dio-
cesan synods points IN the same direc-
ton. AS to the relations of the Pri-
mates with the Popes the writer says:
There is, in short, an overwhelm,
ing mass of evidence to prove that our
primates, from the Norman Conquest
to the Reformation, regarded them
selves as in very real sense subor-
dinate to Rome. Resistance, so
far as it was effectual came not from
the English Church, but from the Eng
lish crown"
The attitude of the kings towards
the Pope is then considered with a
like result.
The conclusion to be drawn from all
this was inevitable, and the writer
states it frankly and courageously:
''The breach with Rome entailed
therefore a violent breach with old
habits and old rules of conduct. The
church escaped from a tyranny, but
a tyranny in which she had to the
last believed. 1t was necessary in
consequence to remodel our ecclesias-
tical institutions. But this revolution
was trifing as compared with the rev
olution in religious ideas and modes
of thought The elimination of Papal
authority meant the introduction of a
theory of the Catholic Church which
might be patriotic but had never been
Anglican. These facts being con-
sidered, it is evidently mistake to
speak of the Reformation as a mere
episode in the history of the English
Church"
This makes hay of the continuity
theory. SO dear to the hearts of many
and so, says the writer, "all the great
historical apologists for the Anglican
position have recognized the futility
of appealing to the opinion of the me-
diaeval church, and, he adds" we
shall be well advised to follow their
example. "-Pittsburg Observer.