The sun., 1903-11-01
BOLD CATHOLIC ChITICISM.
4 Striking Declaration Of independence
OF Thought by . Catholic Priest.

OF Thought by . Catholic Priest.
To THE EDITOR or THE SUN-SI: May
| presume that. even In the deluge OF religious
correspondence by which you are Submerged.
| you will accord me little space TO thank
Mr.. Richard Tobn for his timely protest
against the absurd claim advanced on ne
half Of Neo-scholasticism by the Rev Father
Wynne in his edition Of the Encycice!s'
Tho assertion tha, to the attempted re-
| vival OF scholastctsm Is due the Dreeent
| reaction from atheistic and materialist'c
J philosophy we might expect to meet IN the
, essay OF n schoolboy. but not from the pen
! OF any one acquainted with the course oi
Wrought In the last quarter OF century
| The writings Of McCosb. Flint, Mivnrt. Nal
| lock. Iadd. James. Wallace and host of
| other English scholars, not to mention Ger
man and French. must be terra incognita
| TO the learned Jesuit. have heard one OF
| the foremost IL not the very nrst. OF Catholic
| philosophers In America say: i left Rome
with the scholastic philosophy at my fingers
ends. had the great edition OF ST. Thomas
! In my trunk: and | thought ] was ready for
| all comers. ] very soon discovered that all
| this knowledge belonged to another world.
| and Is practically worthless so fur as any
application to the thought of the day is con-
| cerned."
Father Wynne's procedure is a particular
| example OF the general method deporably
| common with our Catholic spokesmen at
| present, When there Is question Of assign
! Ing the credit Of anything that makes FOR
| good, they adopt the famous advice "Claim
! everyhing- II The responsibility tor some
undesirable condition is to be fixed. then
| their motto IL: "Deby everything" And
! from any criticism or comp int on the part
| of Catholics they take shelter in the authority
Of the Church. Woe to the Catholic. priest
or layman. who ventures publicly to dis
sent from this system. The least oppro-
/ brious epithets he may expect nrc ration
alist Liberal" sni "apostata."
! Among those interested in Catholic educa-
| ton, for example. it is generally recognized
| that great number of our Catholic col
, leges are beneath criticism But who mem
| tons this publicly? DO so. and you are
| denounced as a traitor. Snv that IN th's or
| that particular college the courses are poor.
! the catalogue n sham and results unsat!S-
! factory-you will be treated to "A dlHserta-
-, ton on the superiority OF tn" Ratio
Studiornm" over the elective method. Affirm
F! that even In the pet subject classics. pupils
are wretchedly prepared. and. in proof, give
| the notorious fact that young men from
| Jesuit college OF high renown have failed
| TO pass the modest test Of II seminary en-
| trance examination; your fact will bc grnc"-
fully ignored by those who ought to deny
! II. II It could be denied. and denied by thoHe
! from all equally you will bc overwhelmed
| with citations OF euoGies pronounced on
| the Jesuits a hundred years ago; and you
| will b. treated TO !ol! cal! o! learned Jesuits
and their distinguished pupils who lived
| in other times and in other lands.
| Similar methods in other matters. is
| there a sugsestion that some subordinate
ecclesiastical authority has committed
mistake? Deny the charge: is not the Church
holy. and guided b. the spirit Of Truth? Hint
| however mildly, that some OF our clergy
| prefer the society OF Dives 10 that Of Lazarus;
| you are convicted OF DENYING that the Catholic
| Church 10 the church of the poor. DO you
| pretend that gold watches. superf'ne clothes
! connoisseur's taste in wines. square but
awkwardly with the rule of Dominic and
| Augustine? You are foe TO religious orders,
| and the Monks OF the West" is hurled at
| your head If you express your belief that
| the members of a parish served bv mere
| secular priests would reap as much advantage
| by communicating in their own church on
| Sundays as by attending the Gesu or ST.
| Ignatius's on the first FridG-or that the
Messenger and promoters badges are not
| sold at loss. your talk is offensive to pious
| ears, scandaIous, nay. downright herelical.
When driven to acknowledge the moral ex-
cellence OF nOn-Catholic. be sure to add
| damning But" otherwise you are guilty
| OF maintaining that ono religion is as good
as another Remember that though the
Church. by some inexplicable oversight OF
Providence, fourishes here separated from
| the State. we are only allowed to say Of this
condition of affairs: Toierori. potest. Be
ware Of saying anything that might hurt
the theological prejndices Of people in Rome:
pal superior..s chance of an archdiocese or
| a red hat, And so on. and SO on.
While IN some cases this policy proceeds
| sxamipe too closely il is frequently prompted
by a mistaken and short sighted prudence
faith OF de Is on
authority, any Interference with establishes
practices and antiquated beliefs may shock
spectab p BE; but the policy is carried far be-
| yond the measure that the reason jnsthes
and thoss WIG pursue i i3 PSI shunndns 1lhd,s seyla
Of an!e our cashoe People people who are thinking for
them,elves They have passed ~, the 81 stage age
So says. They are profoundly dissatisfied
With What /. called b, courtesy our, hi CHER
some . extent. the execution Wrought in lot Of
They think that ssh the NJ noi Of
TO the American character is not oondueise
for example. with the Infant Of Prague. They
ssA. ana beefs the "
the Latin races have foisted on us as Catholic
| tedCnlHS iney 40 not DeIeNc tiHt unicos
impossible. for Providence to preserve tho
Church. And what is more. they know that
| their views and sentiments. but dare not
| loyalty Of such Catholics lie producing bad
| results that elude episcopal vigilance.
| Here. Of course. the crushing retoinder
| il ready: You presume TO be wiser than the
| hierarchy" reply, Bishops are but men,
consecration does not remove the limita-
tions OF human nature nor confer infallibility.
| 1t would be no small help to Bishop II. while
! alive. he could enjoy little Of the frank
| criticism that will he nbundantly best owed
| upon him in the reign OF his Successor often
| the successors policv Is the strongest con.
!, buried Denmark could revisit these glimpscs
prised to discover his trnstiest henchmen
! leading the annlause for the new departure
! The cleric with an eve to the main chan""
: modfes the old motto so that 1t rIns. De
. pirjA nil niai bonum
| shall be roundlv abused for exrressinC
: these views in n secular nrwsnsper. But
/ there Ia not one Catholic organ. high or low.
/ Independent enough to piblish line of
! honest criticism or dissent. For them the
frown Of authority snolls pncurinrv ruin
! II is for this reason that many look prato-
! fully to your columns as nm ontlnt for
! righteous dissatisfaction against stron ely
| intrenched abuses. SACRhpos.
IL This Teacher RiEht. or Thi. Bow
| To rHR EDITION TIN SUK--.Sy. public
! school teacher In this city. whose class OF boys
! ND heen hrh nv conye tion spd