The Washington herald., 1910-05-02
HIS CHURCH
Representative Repels At
tack on Catholicism.

| In his address on Catholic citizenship
delivered before a crowded audience IN
/ Gonzaga Hail. Representative J. II
Graham, Of Illinois. shattered the com
mon delusions regarding the Catholic
/ Church as being opposed 10 civil liberty
TO republican form Of government In par
ticular, and 10 higher education.
He upheld the contention that there IS
no surer guarantee OF the perpetuation
of this republic than the Catholic Church.
the upholder OF the home as the creative
Punt Of society.
Freedom Under Law.
Defining liberty as the freedom OF action
OF an individual under the law which pro.
tects the rights Of the weaker and the
simpler against license on the part OF the
stronger, the speaker affirmed that the
submission TO authority exacted by the
Catholic Church does not On any sense
restrict the civil freedom
The church sometimes recognizes even
the provisory rule OF the revolution as
the powers that be- when the revolt
represents an upheaval Of the majority
OF the people against unjust government. "
said Representative Graham; but II
eXacts submission 20 the new Caesar-to
the new power. or rule established IN
place OF the overthrown order Of things.
The Catholic Church is not bound N any
particular form Of government. fl is Uni-
versaL There are other churches. which
are purely national institutions. where. tho
head Of the government is also the head
or the church Gas. for instance. In ortho-
doX Russia), and where loyalty 10 the
church means also loyalty 10 the King.
In the Old World. Great Britain al
though a monarchy. represents. beyond
any doubt, the freest country in the civil
sense. The great charter of liberties was
won by the Catholic England 800 wears
before the advent of reformation. II was
Wrung from King John by Catholic
oarons and the people. led by a Catholic
archbishop, Steven Langton.
First Republics Catholic.
The speaker ridiculed the idea that Ca
tholicism is opposed 20 the republican
form Of government. saying the first re-
publics in the world, those Of San Marine
and Andova. in the Pyrenees. always
were solidly and uniformly Catholic.
The so-called dark ages OF the ola
world, the outcome Of a prolonged in
vasion Of Europe by barbarians ara
most unjustly laid at the door OF the
Catholic church. which alone had ac-
comDlished all the work and borne slI
the burdens and martyrdoms of prose
yuzing in those gloomy and troublesome
days-and emerged victorious" said the
speaker.
sixty Of the greatest universities Of
Europe were founded before the advent
OF reformation, and less than half Of that
number have been established since de-
spite general progress and the enormous
growth Of the population. Even such a
biased witness as Thomas CARLYLE &C
knowledees that the immortal Shakes
peare was the product of the middle
ages Of Catholicism and nothing else.
Three SaviOrS of Humanity.
History repeats itself necessarily. 1t
moves In cycles one thousand four hum
dred and ninety-one years before the
birth of the Saviour, Moses led the suf
fering people across the waters Of the
Red Sea into the land of milk and honey.
Precisely l,492 years after the advent
Of the Saviour. a new Moses arose in the
midst Of the age of feudalism and chat
tel slavery. and led the way across the
waters Of the Atlantic to this land Of
prosperity.
1t was Christopher Columbus. and he
was a Catholic; so was Amerigo Yes
p,1cci and almost a,,ar,- ono 90 ~
neers Of this country, as the names left
by them on the map testify so strilx-
ingly and undeniably."