The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-08-07
BISHOP M'FAUL
Pays His Respects to the New ReIig-
ion of Dr.. Eliot.


Trenton, N. J., July 24-When asked
for his views on the summary of an adj
dress before the Harvard summer
school of theology by DR.. Charles w.
Eliot, former president of Harvard,
who announced the advent of a new
religion, Bishop James A. McFaul, head
of the diocese of Trenton, criticised the
doctors statements.
TT appears that Dr. Eliot" said
Bishop McFaul, has now assumed the
| role Of a prophet. / am sorry for this,
because l have always esteemed DR..
Eliot highly and have observed that
| modern prophets are not "ery success
full in their representations.
In my comment upon reported asser-
| tons of the doctor my point of view
mustbe that Of a Christian and Cath
| Ole. DR.. Eliot, / am Informed, is a
Unitarian, and therefore denies the
Trinity and the divinity of Jesus
Christ. Consequently he is not Chris
ton. 1t is easy, therefore, to draw the
conclusion that our ideas upon religion
must be very different.
1T has become fashionable in the last
few years to speak of the church in q
very wide sense, and as including the
doctrines Of various non-Catholic de-
| nominations, some of which are con-
GdulCIOTy 10 one auOI06T,
''Thus some, in speaking of the
church, would include Christians and
non-C Christians, or Catholics, Episco-
palians, Baptists, Methodists, ETC., and
| Unitarians under the term church.
When 1 speak of the church L mean The
Catholic church. governed by the sue
cessor of st. Peter and the vicar of
Christ in Rome. I consider her alone
the Christian church in the strict sense
of the word.
1T would be ludicrous, were it. not so
pftiable, to hear man Of I)r. Eliot S
reputed learning and character cutiin-
ing the church of the future God help
humanity when 1t has to deal with the
so-called religion of the future.
Catholics always held that religion is
a necessity. and it has been just as
necessary in the past, just as necessary
in the present as it ever will be in the
future. W" have not to wander about
in the midst Of doubt and confusion
looking for religion of the future and
dissatisfied With that which we possess,
like the Unitarian and other denomina-
tons.
THE doctor says the religion of the
future viii be bound by no iogtua or
creed. In that case it will be a sort of
a nondescript, jelly-fish religion. e will
difficult to retain. In fact, few even
will be able to recognize it when
brought into contact with it.
''I am amazed when I hear men of
presumed learning talking of religion
without dogma or creed. 1t is like talk
ing of building a house without foun-
dalton. How could any religion exist
unless it had fundamental principles.
He says the workings of the religion of
the future will be simple. Yes, should
say So in more senses than one.
ct will attack all forms of evil. In
that case it will not differ from the
Christian church. She has been at
lacking ali forms of vice for nineteen
centuries. and she stands as the only
institution which offered an effective
barrier during the ages to evil Of every
description. 1t is true she has not sue
ceeded in extinguishing evil. but she
has greatly limited its influence and its
progress, and she is still warning
against it as courageously as when she
uproored the unspeakable vices of an
cient paganism.
Let me assure the doctor that to the
Catholic church alone has the promise
been made by her divine founder that
she never shall fail, and that she shall
be the church of the future until The
contamination of ages
"All signs point to the fulfillrnent of
this promise, for we Catholics now
number between Ii, 1000. 900 and 10000 900
in the United States, and we are max
ing converts to the Catholic church
from the non-Catholic body at the rate
of over $4,000 a year. Besides, race sui
eide is not fashionable among our peo-
pie. Among us there are not more
deaths than births