The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-07-01
THE CHURCH AND MAMMON.

| is state of eternal emnity between God and Mann
mon.
The Church militant represents God upon earth;
hence there can be no alliance between her and the
! enemy.
The charge frequently heard that there is
tuay in existence such an alliance in this country
today, emanates from the deluded brain of the SUI
perfcial observer, from the perverted hearts of
men who disposed to foster the reign of inqui-
| ty.
1t is most regrettable that any wcll-disposed
person should be led believe that the Church of
Christ has aught in common with the spirit of
! Misunderstanding These should remember that the
gravity of the evils thus wrought upon society has
manifested itself only during the last decade so,
and that its inherently Goddess character is even
now apparent to only the more earnest students of
sociological conditions and tendencies; that, whilst
1t Is palpably evident that the amassng of stu
pendous wealth i'll the hands of the few results i'll
the lntollerable oppression of the of mankind,
1T is not equally evident to all that this is logical
and necessary consequence of our modern spirit of
commercialism.
Hence 1t follows that to condemn or reprehend
the Church for not having long ago set her seal of
condemnation, III specific terms, against this God
less tendency and influence is irrational and unjust
Implicitly she has always done so: her very exist
ence is a constant protest against ubiquitous self
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and ruthless oppression.
Now however, that the essentially Goddess char
acter of this modern spirit is becoming unmstak-
ably apparent humanity has a right to expect the
Church to array all her righteous forces against
this spirit of unrlghteousness: and as the infinitely
Just and loving God guides this majestic ship His
holy Church, this reasonable and fond expectation
must be eventually justified
Just now there is appearing upon our mental
horizon financial luminary whose advent may well
fill the hearts of our devoted churcEmen with grave
concern. Loudly is it heralded that the man who
controls more millions of money than any other
one individual, and who is therefore a magnate of
high finance of the first magnitude the most power
full of all of the captains of industry who are ma
npulating gigantic financial institutions and
trusts, isNa representative Catholic.
Is there in this startling development aught of
momentous significance to the Church as factor
in the affairs of society What concern has the
Church with the financial affairs of her individual
adherents? Are responsible churchmen in duty
bound to take or warranted in taking any for
NAL cognizance whatever of the situation here de-
picted?
The problem involved is one that must be de-
ermlncd after much earnest, soleitous and prayer
full consideration. The duty implied is one fraught
with much grave perplexity. That, however, there
is here problem presented that may not be lightly
ignored, we deem an undeniable proposition.
The "robber barons" of the Middle Ages, we are
told, posed as dutifuI Catholics Is there anv one
who will now deny that the Church should have
openly rebuked, at least to have publicly dis
countenanced these ruthless human parasites at the
very outset. Ultimately these depredatory barons
had to succumb to the inevitable and for the very
reason that they could not permanently co-exist
with the rule OF the Church. But was not the
Church herself badly crippled in consequence of her
"dereliction"-or more justly speaking, the dere-
LECTION of her responsible cergy-in so long permit
ting the unrebuked reign of that iniouitous ele-
ment! Would the Reformation-or the ''Deforma-
tion, as the Protestant Goblet so Justly styles it
itself born of the Ubiquitous spirit of ruthless
greed and self-aggrandizement have attained to
one-tenth of its baneful proportion had it not been
for the culpabe delinquencies of the 'human side"
of the Church. in respect to It's attitude toward the
depredatory spirit of the time!
1t may be fair to presume that the arrogant
captains of industry" of the Middle Ages were
equally adroit with their ilk of our day in keeping
their wouldbe mentors in the dark as to their true
character-their depredatory Vaccinations. and
the baneful influence of these upon the material |
moral and spiritual we-being of the society over
which they exercised dominant sway. Thus NAV |
be- perhaps justly, explained why they were regard
ed as really good fellows" by all whom thew saw At
to treat with patronizng condescension or toera- |
tlon-even the really well-meaning ministers of re-
hglon and--were there and religious publicists in
those days.
1t may be frankly confessed that it is not In
cldly obvious wherein the acquisition and boarding
of fifty or hundred millions of wealth. within
halt generation, constitutes a crime against God
and man, per Sc. But until our religious leaders
and teachers can find righteous justification in
SO declaring, the influence of the Christian religion
must continue to be negative quantity with the
American masses.
lis uot1y ea n