The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-10-24
Our Club Conversations
By Orestes a. Brownson.
Conversation XIII.

Il hope" said De Bonneville. that | have due
reverence for the ministers of religion and would
never cOuntenance the adherents even of false
religion, in treating their ministers with disrespect.
The minister of religion, even when the religion Is
heterodoX, has for me something sacred and |
would never treat even Protestant minister rs if
he were the as a Protestant layman. But [
look upon the orthodox clergy, or my church.
as having received authority only in sprituals and
| hold the interests OF religion are best promoted
when the clergy let secular matters alone, and con
fine themselves to their own spiritual functions"
If we accept the principle that all authority in
morals and politics as we'll III religion comes
from God, who, through his creative act, Is the
law to all his creatures" said OConnor Il see not
how make any valid distinction between
thority i'll spirituas and authority III seculars. IT
the clergy represent the ideal element of thought.
not how we can say their authority does not
tend alike to all departments of life to seculars, as
well as to spirituals"
'The question" replied De Bonneville SIS not
ore OF reasoning, but Of authority Our Lord
says, My kingdom is not of this world and there
fore Render unto Caesar the things that are
Caesars, and unto God the things that are Gods.
That the clergy, in union with the sovereign
Pontif, their chief are a spiritual society. and pos
only spiritual authority, have only spiritual
functions Is | suppose" said Winslow, agreed on
all hands. The real question is not whether the
spiritual authority has secular authority or not.
nature, subordnates the secular authority. The
government. in both spirituals and seculars be-
longs to God, who only hath dominion. The spirit
ual society is instituted his minister in the gov
eminent of human affairs. 1t represents the spirit
ual law, and the spiritual law Is the supreme law.
from which all so-called human laws derive their
force. The spiritual society. then. is not merely
the superior of a secular society in dignity rank
but its superior in authority as the creator is SUI
perior to the creature. All authority belongs to
God; all dominion is his; the spiritual society rep
resents on earth his supreme domain; therefore,
secular princes must hold from God through the
spiritual society. the church, and be amenable
to that society, and iusticiable by it. The texts NJ.
de Bonneville cites do not sustain him. When orr
Lord says His kingdom is not of this world he
does not mean that he has not authority over this
world, for he says, All power in heaven and i'll
earth is given unto me-, but that his kingdom is
not of this world, not derived from it. or not
founded on its principles and maxims, in Ete old
sense of the word Of which is the sign of the gent
spoken by our Lord in answer to a captious ques-
ton put to him by the Jews, does not affirm that
Caesar owns any thing or has any right. 1t was
the Jews, not our Lord that said the image and
prescription on the tribute money Caesars.
Our Lord simply replies, if Caesars, as you say,
then render to Caesar what is Caesars. and render
unto God the things that are Gods. He does not
answer the question: Is it lawful to pay tribute to
Caesar" put by the Jews, to entrap him, but mere
ly asserts the general principle, that must give
to every one his due. That he did not acknowledge
Caesars right to the tribute. at least from the
priesthood, is evident, from his telling Peter to
pay it. not as an act of justice but expedient in
order to avoid scandal"