The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-01-25

terest and greatly admire your earnest-
ness and zeal. believe yod to be an
honest and sincere man DESTROYS OF
knowing the truth. call your atten-
ton to certain quotations which you
made from the Fathers In support OF
the papal supremacy. I wish to say
to you that these quotations are apu-
rious. II you desire TO know whether
| am correct I'm what l assert, refer
you TO the copies OF the works quoted
| by you as they are In the Vatican IL
brary." The next few years young
Mel went through great agony OF mind
and heart. He found that the noble-
man was correct and that he. himself.
had been mlsled by forged Insertions
in the books placed In his hands in the
semlnaries in France. After earnest
seeking after truth and light, he left
France for the United States and be-
gan to teach French for a living. After
few years. he came to know a priest
of the Anglican Communion and
through him was led to the church
which, like the Greek Church, was
Catholic without being Roman. He was
received by the Bishop OF Pennsylvania
as a priest in his diocese and given
charge OF n mission in Philadelphia.
This grew into parish with which he
was connected until he died. He said,
not long before his death, that he had
received four hundred adult Roman
Catholics into his parish, eight of
whom were priests and all of whom
desired to be Catholic without being
Roman. These people were nearly all
French.
Now, my dear Father Beissel, IL you
will only undergo a course of reading
which / will gladly provide for you.
may yet see you officiating in st. An
drew's Cathedral. But seriously, we
ought all to work together for the good
OF these islands without these discus
sions of differences. II you refrain
from attacking the principles which
people hold dear, then these discussions
will be avoided. All this began because
you made a slur against the Church of
England which you could not sustain.
We should do well to emphasize agree
ments and not differences.
1t has been my good fortune and my
great pleasure to have been on inti-
mate terms with several American
Roman Catholic priests and two Ro-
man Catholic Bishops, one of whom
has just gone to his rest. From my
intercourse with them and their conf
Dental talks with me l have learned
how profoundly the Roman Catholic
Church in the United States has been
impressed by American life and
thought I consider this a most hope
full sign. You may, however, deplore
1t. When / was crossing the Atlantic
some years ago, / was In conversation
with an Irishman who was a membdr
of the State Legislature OF New York.
We were talking about the claims of
the papacy and he said: II am like
O'Connell; / get my religion from Rome
and my politics from my country.
look upon the Pope as kind
of supreme judge of the church
and that is about how the American
Roman Catholics regard him. AS for
the old claims that kings and govern
ments receive their authority from the
Pope and that he has right to absolve
the people of a nation from allegiance
to their governments we Americans
don't believe it." And yet that Popes
have such powers, is claimed and has
been set forth for Roman Catholics to
believe, in papal bulls which must be
accepted by you on peril of your soul.
The trend in America is all one way
| and it makes for ultimate unity. In
France the church of Bossuet and of
| F'enelon will come out OF its troubles
| to the position for which they strove
so bravely. In Spain the hold of Rome
| Is loosening. In Italy there Is a spirit
| among the young men which finds ex-
| preston in a book lately published
written by a devout Roman Catholic.
Those who desire to know about 1t can
read 1.-The Saint" by Fogazzaro, which
l commend to every thinking Roman
Catholic. 1t is true that this book has
been placed upon the Index" and so
Roman Catholics are prohibited from
reading it. But they are reading 1t by
millions in Europe and America. The
Index jars upon a mind imbued with
American principles. which believes
that truth and freedom so hand in
hand.
Archbishop Ireland. whom I last saw
at a reception given at the house of
James Hill. the railroad magnate, in
st. Paul, Mimi, he on one side of the
hostess and our Bishop Whipple on the
other, recently said of France that the
clergy were constantly plotting to over
turn the republic. "Monarchial ideas
and plottings have done dreadful In
jury to the church in France" He
also said that If good Catholics were
in the ascendancy today, they would
believe it their duty to make every one
go to mass. He was educated in
France and so ought to know. When
we consider the contents of such bull
as "Unam Sanctam" in which the TOM
poral power of the Pope Is set forth.
and see from 1t that all kings and gov
ernments are by his permission and
ut his beck, and that any one who
doubts this cannot be saved; and when
we consider the decree set forth in
1870 by the Pope that THE church has
the right of employing external coer-
cion, she has direct and indirect tenn
poral power, etc." then we begin to be
very thankful that you and your
friends are not in the ascendancy.
Why! II you We're in the ascendant We
might expect laws to be passed so that
the Rev. Serene Bishop and myself
would have to attend mass or -?
Well. we will not guess what the con-
sequences would be If we refused.
l almost feel inclined to ask you as
you did me about history, do you
really believe" in this power of the
Pope? but 1t is scarcely fair question