The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-10-08
THE GENIUS OF CARDINAL WISE
MAN

MAN.
When the famous Seminary of
J-shaw is preparing to celebrate the
centenary Of the enrolment in the col
lege books of its most distinguished
aIumnus, it is instructive to take a
glance at the career of a prelate who.
it was well said at his death, made
Catholicity possible in England in the
mid-NictJrian age.
That age, it is hardly necessary to
say. held more real bitterness towards
catholic truths and aspirations than
any preceding one, the period of the
Reformation not excepted, since the
Established Church saw itself forced
O1 look helplessly on at the spectacle
IF some Of its brightest luminaries
going over to the adversary they so
much redOubted
The history of those days clearly
shows that anti-Catholic feeling had
reached SO passionate a climax that
only man of superhuman ability and
genius could have been able to give
the Church the firm footing its subse-
Quent triumphant successes have
proved it to possess.
Wiseman was once described by
learned German who intensely admired
Irish family descended-in - England
notwithstanding Syrian
scholar
From 1881 to 1885 he occupied the
rectorship of the English College in
Rome, where he distinguished himself
as an Oriental scholar One of the
Curators Of the Vatican library. he
met all the most distinguished schol-
airs of his day. an advantage that was
TO stand him in good stead when the
Vatican decided to re-eStablish the
Catholic hierarchy in Britain. for
Wiseman was personally we'll known
to the most distinguished men in Eng
land.
I'm those days following on a period
Of scepticism and doubt, not unlike
our own. the young divine gathered
round him an international band of
Catholic thinkers all fired Csays Viii
frid Ward. the editor of the Dublin
Review, by the hope of a great tri-
umph for the Church TO be won by a
new Apologize couched in the Ian
guage of the age, making use of its
culture, showing how that culture
could find its true place and it's true
expression in Catholic Christianity. The
age was to be Durged Of the remnant
Of the eighteenth century scepticism
by the development, under Catholic
influences. of its own best thoughts
and aspirations To this end he lee
tured in London, with marvellous sue
cess, and following his series of lee
lures founded with O'COnnell. the Dub
lin Review. Newman was then one of
his bitterest and ablest opponents.
The two qualities which enabled
Wiseman to fight the opposition in
Britain were, says Mr.. Ward. his deep,
i
able Unborn power of imaginative SYM
pathy due to his Irish descent
II was the very firmness of his
faith based on the rock of Peter
what / may call his Catholic backbone
that allowed him to give full play
to his sympathy in his dealings with |
contemporary men of learning He was
so confident that in the end scientific |
investigation and discussion. if fair |
ly conducted would lead to nothing |
Incompatible with Catholic faith. that
he entered into the discussions of the |
day fearlessly. freely, frankly. sympa- |
thetically There was nothing sec !
tartan Gin the invidious sense of the |
word) in his attitude.
Let me add one word" says Mr.. |
Ward. ION the lesson we may learn |
in our own time from the character |
istics of Wiseman. We are now in the |
presence Of perils which he himself |
never suspected will name |
two dangers which are likely to in |
crease as time goes on, and in which I |
think Wiseman's union of faith SYM
pathy and hopefulness are especially |
called for: ] speak Of the Incorporate |
cEcesses of the democratic movement 1
which have issued in the danger to So
ciety presented by Socialism as we see |
it i'm Italy and Germany and elsewhere, !
and the anti-Christian theories which |
are being preached In the name of his
1orical criticism. and by those who |
devote themselves to the study of the !
historical origins Of Christianity.
The popularity of both these dan
gers is that they often present them
selves in a form which cannot be re-
sisted by indiscriminate attack. Not |
an that the advocates of these modern
urge is false and anti
Christian The democratic movement
owes much of its influence to a geneT-
Gus resentment Of real wrongs which
the people have endured in the past
and still endure in modern civilization.
study Of the great EncycIical Of
Leo jill. the "Rerum Novarum." so
fun Of sympathy. so firm in Christian
will long stand out as an al
most ideal application of that Catholic
spirit which was so prominent in Wise
mans work, to one of the hardest
roblems of our times.-Monitor, New
TaTregv.