The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-05
WHAT CATHOLIC
RELIGION TEACHES
Missionaries Begin Their
Course of Lectures on the
Work of the Church.

Rev. Joseph f. Busch, one of the
missionaries of this diocese, delivered
the first of the sermons of the mission
which was begun yesterday at ST.
Marks Catholic church, Merriam
Park. Father Busch and Father Arc
lander, also of this diocese, are con-
tinuing the work started last year by
the Paulist Fathers. The lectures de-
hYered are not of a controversial
nature, but designed to set cut in a
d1SpaSSionate way the beliefs and
teachings of the Roman Catholic
church. in order that Protestants, who
are especially invited to attend, may
nave better understanding of the
Catholic religion.
The lecture last evening was on the
topic of Christian Unity" and was
designed as a sort of outline of the
topics for the rest of the week.
Religion a Necessity.
Religion is one of the necessities OF
human existence, said Father Busch,
and all the researches of historians
and students have so far failed to dis
cover a people in any place or time
which has not some sort of religious
BELIEF, no matter what the condition
of life was. He briefly traced the
growth of the various religions which
flOurished before the Christian era, all
of which, he said, were marked by their
incompleteness and national character,
and each based on some partial con-
ception of the spiritual and material
world which were beyond the full COM
prehension of the worshipers.
The Christian religion proved it's
superiority over these other religions
by the fact that it had largely sup
planted them in all countries and had
offered more complete and satisfac-
tory explanation of the problems of
the mind of man in relation to God.
Father Busch then proceeded to show
how the Catholic church has worked
to establish this Christian faith-not
depending entirely on the Bible as the
sole means of salvation, but by sup
plementlng that with the inspired
teachings of the church itself In pass
ing he took occasion to deny the charge
often brought against the Catholic
church regarding its forbidding the
reading of the Bible, explaining the
early lack Of Bibles before printing was
invented, but declaring, nevertheless,
that before the time of the Reforma-
ton there were in existence transla-
tons Of the Bible in at least eighty
eight different languages.
Does Not Oppose Reading Bible.
ct cannot be said" remarked the
declared against the Bible when the
church was the instrument of pres
ervation of all the Bibles during the
dark ages following the barbarian con-
quest Of the most of Europe in the
early centuries. The Bible, as at pres
ent known, is composed Of those books
selected and stamped as the inspired
word of God in the fourth century by
the council of the bishops of the
church. and every Bible now in print,
in whatever tongue, is derived from
the work of this council of the early
church.
He said the late Pope Leo showed
the attitude of the church by granting
spiritual favors to those who read the
Bible for fifteen minutes each day;
and while the church did not teach that
the. Bible was the only or efficient
means of religious perfection, 1T was
recognized as powerful means of
grace and it's study strongly urged on
all.
The lecture tonight will be deliv-
cred by Father Busch, who will speak
on why 1 Am a Catholic"