The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-12-16
CARL sC4URz AND THE CHURCH.
His misleading Statements in Popular Magazin


Timely editorial comment Is made in The Piloa
on series Of articles attracting attention in Nc
Clurcs Magazine They entitled "Reminis-
eenses Of Long Life" and are written by Carl
Schuz.
Mr. Schurz was born of Catholic parents was
duly baptized and confirmed, made his First Com
mlnion. and acknowledges his Indebtedness for tho
splendid groundwork OF his secular education to
Heinrich Bone, good Catholic, and ono of the mas
tiers of the gymanisum of Cologne. Yet Mr. Schur1
left the Church OF his baptism and traces tho
causes of his apostacy to the doubts and scrupleS
generated in his mind by the religious instruction
Of his early childhood. He says:
"What was most repuonant to me was the claim
of the Church to he not merely the only tru3
Church, but also the only saving one. and that there
was absolutely hope of salvation outside Of its
pale, but only damnation and eternal hell fire. Thai
Socrates and Plato, that all the virtuous men among
the heather; that my old friend the Jew
Aaron; nay, that the newborn babe if it hap
pened 10 die un-baptized, must forever burn in UNI
quenchable fre-yes. that /. too were I so much as
to harbor the slightest doubt concerning their ter
rble fate must also be counted among the eternally
lost-against such ideas rebeled not only my rea-
son, but my innermost instinct of justice. These
teachings seemed to me directly to contradict
the most essential Attributes of the adjust Deity
that they only served to make me suspicious of all
other tenets of the creed"
II TINS were q true transcript OF tne doctrine OF
the Catholic Church. the Pilot remarks, something
might be said for Mr. Schurz's scruples. How he
could have studied "zealousy,' as he declares,
clesastical history and dogmatie writings, and
availed himself of every opportunity to listen to
preachers of renown. and still have accepted the
horrible caricature above given the teaching Of
the Church. will pass the understanding of every
Catholic 1t is true that the Catholic Church has
never wavered in her claim to be the only true
Church Of Christ and the sole medium of salvation ;
but it is also true that the Church is big enough
to cover all humanity, that she has soul as we'll
as a body and counts as belonging to her soul and
therefore in the way Of salvation al who faith
fully following the light as they see IT. and keeping
the moral law No un-baptzed infant viii burn for
ever in unquenchable fire, nor will any virtuous
heathen God will judge every rational creature
according to his opportunities, and will certainly
not hold him guilty for the sins of others nor for
his own inculpable or invincible ignorance. That
Mr. Schurz in his exhaustive study of Catholic dog
matic writers could have missed the mercIful and
reasonable presentation of the teachings of the
Church on this supremacy important subject in the
works Of ST. Thomas Aquinas-not to speak OF
lesser Iights-is a phenomenon impossible OF ex-
planation Even the 'Divina Commedia' of Dante
might have cleared his head Portions of Mr..
Schurzs "Reminiscences relating to his renuncia-
ton of the Catholic faith are held over for the
forthcoming book, but enough is given in Mcclure
TO show that he is not dealing fairly with the
Church. but presenting IN her place hard and
narrow Cavinism utterly repugnant to her spirit