The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-09-25
A CASE IN QUESTION.
How the Catholic World Views IN
lawful MARRIAGE, -

All oIIlcer stationed at Jefferson bar
racks married his brothers sister-in-
law last week, says the Western Watch
| man. There was nothing wrong about
that. But she was a divorced woman,
| her husband having proved to a court of
! justice that she had not conducted her
| self as became a wife. This was bad.
| "A young army officer should not find it
| difficult to win a girl against whom no
fault could be urged. But the young
| off1cer is represented as a Catholic;
! which makes the case look very bad in
deed A Catholic cannot marry di-
Vorcee. Acknowledging himself a Cath
Ole and knowing that the church would
| not sanction his marriage he sought the
| services of a Protestant minister to tie
the knot. In this he incurred the penal
| ty of accommodation. That closes
the chapter of the young mans Catholi-
| city. He stands now before the Cath
| one world as man without the cOur-
age of his convictions, which speaks
| very poorly for an officer of our army
But we are informed that the young
man was never very much of a Cath
| Ole; If he ever was one in more than
name. His family can scarcely be
| called Catholic. His father was not a
Catholic; and his mother was a Cath
Ole before she married. The children
their religion. They never saw any
Catholicity in their home, and they new
er went to church. People who never
go to the sacraments, stay away from
mass /habitually and eat meat every
Friday can scarcely be called Catholics.
II they bear the name it is only to scan
dalize those who bear it worthfly.
But the woman he married should
have required the young man to for
mally renounce his religion before Civ
ing him her second hand For him To
marry her as Catholic was to make her
his mistress. There was a time when
Catholics could validity marry outside
the church, but that time is passed.
For over a year every Catholic who
marr1es before any other than a priest
is not married; his partner becomes a
mistress and the children, if any are
born to them, are declared ilegitimate.
The laws of the little state of Missouri
may consider him married, but the
whole Catholic world pronounces the
union concubinage When there was
talk of Miss Ell1ins marrying the Duke
OF Abruzzi the European papers said
there would be no difficulty in her be-
coming the Morganatic wife of the
duke. She would not be his wife he
fore Italian law, but would be ac-
knowledged as a egitimate mate. She
scorned the proposition. IF she mar
RED the italian she would be his wife
according to all the laws. or not his
wife at all. When Protestant marries
a Catholic outside his church she con-
sents to pose before the whole Catholic
world as mistress, and only a mis-
tress. But when there is law of God
barring the union, as there was in the
present case, there is no possible chance
OF rehabilitation, without absolute sep
aratlon. The mistress, like Agar, must |
be put out with her children. Those !
children cannot be denied baptism; but |
they must be recorded as illegitimate |
"A man posing as Catholic; who asks |
a woman to marry him before a squire |
or Protestant minister, simply insults |
her: he wishes her to become his con-
cubine. To marry him and preserve her |
self-respect, it would be necessary for |
him to publicly renOunce his Catholf-
city.
We spoke some time ago of the need
OF a law empowering a man who OBJ |
tains divorce from his wife to name
TWO or three men whom it would be
ever illegal for her to marry. In like
manner of the wife who gets a divorce
from a husband. If there were such
law in this state it is more than likely
that we would not have had this latest
scandal to record.
We must not be deceived by the
glamor of old Catholic names. Fifty /
years ago the number of prominent i
Catholics in this city was very small II
and mostly confined to the descendants
of the early French settlers They were
a very decent Rset of people. especially
the women. But the last two male gem
erations of these early French have
turned out very badly. With few ex-
ceptions they are a worthless, Iistless.
thriftiess crew. They succeed in moth
ing. The few who have done well are a
credit to their religion and nationality;
but those who have nothing left but
their French and Catholic name have
not manhood enough to get into the
penitentiary, nor sense enough to keep
put of hell. We hear of them in such
as is presented in this in
stance, but nowhere and never under
circumstances that call for a man.