Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-05
BISHOP CONATY
SPEAKS OF SIN
REMISSION AND AT0NEMENT
ARE EXPI AIMED
CATHOLIC PRELATE SHOWS THE
METHOD OF FORGIVENESS
Declares Power for Blotting Out
Wrong Acts Comes from Divine
Source Only, but Human
Agencies Are Used


Angeles preached at the Cathedral
Sunday evening on the remission OF
sin.
After explaining the purpose of
Christ in redemption was the atone
ment for sin, the bishop dwelt on the
means established by Christ for the
purpose of bringing the atonement to
the individual life, and said in part
From the New Testament it is
clearly evident that Christ established
an organized corporate body which he
called his church, to which he entrust-
ed the application of redemption to the
individual life He selected the apos-
ties, taught them his doctrine. invest
ed them with his authority and gave
them the power with which his rather
invested him when he assumed our hui
man nature that he might by his blood
atone for our sins.
1.-The sacrament of baptism was in
stituted by him that original sin and
such other sins as might be on the
soul of man might be blotted out. He
instituted the sacrament of penance by
which the sins committed after bap-
tism might be submitted for forgive
ness to the tribunal which he had es-
tablished in the person of the apostles
and their successors until the end of
time. The clear meaning of the
words of Christ to Peter and afterward
to the apostles would seem obviously
TO indicate the establishment of a judi
cial tribunal having in it power over
sin. In the establishment of his
church to which he confined the work
of salvation among men Christ saw fit
to use men whom he invested with the
authority which his heavenly Father
had invested in him.
Defines Right and Wrong
at is easy to say that the meaning
of the words remit and retain sim
ply mean right and wrong, but it IS
hard to understand how such mean
ing can be taken from these words
when they are placed in context with
the previous statements of Christ
when he promised to Peter the power
of the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and that whatsoever he would bind on
earth would be bound in heaven, and
whatsoever he might retain on earth
would be retained in heaven. The pow
er of the keys indicated authority, not
a mere declaration of right or wrong.
but an authority over heaven. just as
the keys symbolic the highest au-
thority in the city or state.
"It is also well for us to bear in
mind Christ's teaching and his acts
previous to the day of promising pow
err to Peter and the apostles. In many
OIL his IllTdClSS he Ildu u0CidIeu liO
forgiveness of sin as a reward for
faith in him. He had pardoned the
Magdalene. he had forgiven the sins of
the man i'll with the palsy. so that by
what he did in their presence he indi-
Gated what his apostles were to do in
his name and by his power until the
end of time. 1t is true that it belongs
to God alone to forgive sins, but God
may make use of instruments that are
Il tA do
just as he used Moses to fuch the
rock and Joshua to make Nche sun
stand still.
Sin Is Greatest Evil
"The greatest evil on earth is SIM
the means by which it may be removed
from life is Gods choicest blessing.
When sin has entered the human life
it cannot be removed except by the act
of a merciful God through the redemp-
ton of Christ. To say, as Christian
Scientists do, that the way to escape
the misery of sin is to. cease SHINING
offers no means of removing sin al
ready in possession of the human
heart To say there is no other way
of escaping sin but by ceasing to sin
is simply saying words that bear to
the human soul no certainty of for
giveness. The words sound well, but
they have not the character of the
words of Christ.
1.-The commandment of Christ, Love
your enemies, do good to them
that hate you is entirely independent
of how sin shall be RENTED when sin
has once placed it's guilt upon the hu-
man soul. To love God is the height
of wisdom, to forgive ones enemies is
the height of Christian perfection, but
to have ones sins forgiven is an act
of divine mercy coming to us, not from
ourselves, but from the means and in
the way decreed by Christ. That way
is the sacramento one, which the
Christian church has believed and
teaches to have been instituted by
Christ. Otherwise, it is impossible to
understand the words of Christ promis-
ing and afterward bestowing authority
over sin upon the apostles whom he
selected to be the ministers of his recon-
ciliation. The church never teaches
that sin can be forgiven when it is not
forsaken, because the essential element
in the forgiveness of sin is repentance,
which means sorrow for sin and de-
termination not to commit it again.
The destruction of sin can come only
through the blood of Jesus Christ,
brought into our souls by the means
which he established for that purpose,
Attacks Doctrine of Church
on the doctrine of the Catholic church
concerning the remission of sins and
would have us believe that to love our
enemies and do good to them that hate
us would remit our neighbours sins, just
as our failure to do it would retain
them And so according to it's teach
ing the binding and the loosing, the
power for which was given by Christ
to Peter and the apostles, was not the
power to remit, but was simply a
declaration that Peter could speak with
authority on the truth which had been
unfolded to him. How anyone can read
the full text of the New Testament and
be satisfied with the Interpretation of
these words of Christ in relation to
the forgiveness of sins seems difficult
to understand. Christian Science de-
clares it's ultimate aim to be in the
destruction of sin. While it strives to
convince man that there is no pleasure
or power in sin and so urge him not
to commit sin, the question still re-
mains. what power does it bring toward
the remission of sin already committed?
Then. again. how can it reconcile It's
teaching concerning sin and it's method
of forgiveness with that which seems
to be the plain word of Christ in the
establishment of a judicial tribunal
which, in the name of Christ and by
his authority, passes judgment upon sin
and RENTS or retains it according to
the disposition of the sinner? Then,
again. twenty centuries of Christianity
is against these novel theories con-
corning sin and its forgiveness for the
Christian church has from the begin
ming stood for the Interpretation of the
words of Christ as meaning the estab-
lishment of the-sacrament of penailce."