Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-12-22
TRUTH

We know that the whole human race,
including savants and philosophers,
have always regarded such things as
superhuman and supernatural, and
have styled them magical. Under the
name of magic are comprized the do
ing and appearances which the forces
OF nature were not sufficient to pro-
duce, and always and everywhere it
has been admitted that such works
were wrought by the assistance and
the influence Of an agent superior to
nature. Magic was universal in the
world, and still prevails in pagan
countries"
The writer then relates the cases of
| naturalization described by William.
Crookes. He also refers to the signed
| testimony of Cesare Lombroso, and
| adds that "Lombroso, like other ma
terialists, tried to interpret in a non
| spritualistic sense the spiritualistic
phenomena which he dared not to de- |
ny to be real"
While this writer is a firm believer
in Spiritualism, including materializa- |
ton, when he comes to answer the |
question whether Spirtualism can be |
brought within the range of reason and |
Christianity, he shakes his head It is |
inscrutable, he declares. Lomborso |
tried to interpret it by an imaginary |
and artificial materialistc theory. The |
animists, on the contrary. find that |
the active causes of the phenomena
are in the souls or minds of the |
mediums and rho Z
their latent powers, etc. " He accents
neither of these theories. With re-
2ard to Spiritualism and Christianit,
he naturally enough points to the at
titude taken by the Church of Rome
in this matter, and records the an.
swer which certain director of souls
made to the member of his flock who
asked whether she might attend Sc
ances wherein her little son came
back from the dead and sat upon her
knee. The director said:
In showing you the true answer to
thls question | can not do better than
REFER you to one of the last decisions
made by the Congregation of the In
QUESTION, and approved by Leo XIII.
In 1898 devout Christian questioned
the Holy See as to whether it was al.
lowable for him, provided he refused
all communication with an evil spirit
and put himself under the protection
OF st. Michael, head of the celestial
army, to communicate with the spirit
or a certain person, a spirit whose
answers had always been in conform.
ity with Catholic doctrine. The Sac.
red Roman Congregation replied. AS
matters stand, it is not allowable And
the voice of the Vicar of Jesus Christ |
the sentence of the Inouisi.
ton" ;
Father Franco gives the following
reasons why the Roman Church has
thus decreed. Spirits are indeed |
called up but who can say whether |
they are not evil and deluding spritsq
In his own words:
Were we certain that the shirts q,
who profess to be this or that person
were good, serious, and benefcent
spirits, such as sanity souls must
necessarily be, were they permitted
% perform the great miracle of return
rom the other world, and manifest
themselves to us, and work wonders r
II the seances, contrary to nature p
md therefore inexplicable, the case b
night be different. But the opposite S
S the case. Worse than this. the
pirit which presents itself at seances
'ften shows plainly that he can be il
h. hot. Il