The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-11-21
(San Francisco Monitor.)

aas not your church. in striving to maintain an
impossible uniformity of belief ever been the natural
nemy of natural science?
How do you reconcile the teachings of your church
nth the teachings of modern science?
The Catholic church is not can she be the
nemy Of science. The truths of natural science
annot contradict the truths of revelation, for the
anne God is the author of both Any apparent
onhict. therefore, between science and religion
rises from the fact that theologians have put
orth their own views for the doctrines of the
hurch or scientists have either been ignorant of
he Churchs teaching put forth improved by
otheses for undoubted truths. On this subject the
Tatcan council says (Sess. Ill, ch. w., On Faith
nd Reason): "But although faith is above
on, there can never be any real discrepancy be-
ween faith and reason, since the same God who
eveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed
he light of reason on the human mind; and God
annot deny himself, can truth ever deny
ruth The false appearance of such a contradic-
ion is mainly due, either to the dogmas of faith
lot having beeen understood and expounded
.ording to the mind of the Church, or to the in
'eptions of opinion having been taken for the
lets of reason. We define, therefore, that every
ssertion contrary to truth of enlightened faith
utterly false"
The Catholic church has no direct mission to
each the truths of astronomy biology or geology;
Ter mission is to teach and defend the revelation
If God Yet she claims the right to prescribe
III false scientific systems which are opposed to
he deposits of faith The true scientist, a rule
the most modest of men, never claiming abso-
ute assent to what he knows is merely a working
hypothesis for the advance of science. But the
he popularizers of science who reach the people
through the magazines and lecture platform,
'ften the most dogmatic of men, demanding ac-
eptance by all of hypothesis they themselves are
Incompetent to demonstrate, and declaiming
.gainst Christianity for refusing to swallow whole
ale theories of day. So the Vatican council
continues: "'The Church. which together with the
apostolic Office of teaching, has received charge
guard the deposit of faith, derives from God the
light and duty of prescribing false science, lest
my should be deceived by philosophy and vain fall
Reyn (Col ii, 81.
If men in the name of science, although with
,ut its warrant, deny the existence of God and
he unity of the human race, or maintain the evo-
ution of man. body and soul from the monkey,
he infalble Church of God in the name of truth
lenounces them as false teachers. But if, for ex-
mple men declare the six days of Genesis to be
ong epochs and not days of twenty-four hours
ZACH the Church has no quarrel with them. They
have contradicted none of her dogmas.
AS a matter of fact, the Church has rendered
sreat services to science, can see from the
lact that the great universities of Italy, France,
England and Spain were founded before the Re
formation. Indeed, even in the seventeenth cen
AIRY the great majority of scientists belonged to
he secular and regular clergy. (Vaughan, ''Sci-
nee and Religion" Zahm. Science and Religion;"
Lahm, "Bible, Science and Faith" Ronayne, Re
igion and Scence' Wiseman, Science and Re
realed Religion;n Brennan, what Catholics Have
Done for Science;" Molloy, Geology and Reve-
ation").
Why do you forbid Catholics to attend spiritistc
eances?
Can q Catholic be a medium?
Why is the Catholic church opposed to Spiritism?
A short summary of the facts and teaching of
Spirtism will at once explain the attitude of the
catholic church. Spiritism, the systema c
communication with spirits that claim to be de-
,arted souls, is merely new form of pagan ne
romancy, mathematical by the law of Moses
Exod. xxi, IS; Lev. XIX, 26; Deut. xviii, 10; |.
Kings xviii 81. In its modern dress, it dates
rom spirit revelations of the Fox family at Hydes-
rlle, n Y, in 1S48. Within few years Spirit
SIN counted some ten million adherents in this
country alone. The fact of its rapid progress
howed the evident weakening in faith of the vari-
us denominations that fed it. Its doctrines,
parned from spirit manifestations, given us
n detail by leading spiritists like Wallace, Kar-
&C. Rival Crookes, Home, Tuttle and others.
1t claims to be religion, although it gives