The Irish standard., 1911-04-22
THE IRISH STANDARD, SATURDAY, APRIL %, 1911

cause II has thrown OIL lLe ulttSh OL
any religion whatever and shrieks:
Let there be no more misstatements.
(Plus d. equivoque!) Let us no longer
say: We do not wish to destroy re-
ligion'; let us say, on the contrary;
we mean to destroy religion! "
These are the words of Mr.. Aulard.
professor at the Sorbonne, in the AN
males de la jeunessc laique" august.
1904, page $50. 1t is significant to note
that this gentleman was selected to
write the history Of the French Revolu-
ton for the primary schools! We have
seen what has happened since 1904 in
france-the decentralization that in
evitably follows the loss of Christian
faith. 1t is time for all nom Catholics
to take as firm stand upon this dues-
ton as the Catholic Church has always
taken, for it is they who are in dam
ger.
If their recent movement toward
"Christian unity means an uncom-
promising insistance upon the belief
the Way, the Truth and the Life, this
unity will be a blessing: for it will
sever them absolutely from the insid-
ious and dangerous influences that
are trying to detach them from the
army OF Christ and make them de-
serters: traitors to whatever faith is
left in them.
In this connection it is most en-
couraging to read the answer of the
Rev. DR.. Ernest Nj. Stires to speech
made about two weeks ago, at a
Unitarian club dinner in New York,
Holmes referred tn the Episcopal
cathedral as "the greatest scandal in
New York Chrislcndom,' adding:
Think of it! Millions of dollars ex-
pended for that colossal structure,
built by one OF the richest corpora
tons in this city. while the societies
for social betterment and for reliev-
ing the immediate needs OF the poor
cannot carry on their Immediate work
for lack Of funds''
DR.. Stires when he had read this,
said:
1T occurs to me that first argument
in support of the point of view which
DR.. Holmes has advanced was voiced
about nineteen centuries ago, and came
from the lips of Judas Iscariot. When
Mary broke the alabaster box of ONT
ment in order to anoint the Masters
feet, Judas exclaimed. you remember
| Might not this ointment have been
sold for more than three hundred pence
and given to the poor?'
| The view of my Unitarian brother
is very different from that of the
Christian. He, of course, does not adj
nit the primal revelation on which
we base our faith, and he therefore
looks at the whole matter from slant
!
that the question divides itself into
three parts, which form close analogies
| to three great movements or phases oil
older civilization. The first of those
would call monasticism and it's at
tendant sacrifices. The second, the
crusades. or the following of an ideal;
and the third. the era OF great cathe-
dral building, when generations gave
Of themselves that the generations tt
come might have temples in which tc
worship
No better answer could be given.
1t makes us hope for u clear ant
definite cleavage between Christianit!
and modern heathenism. The separa.
ton must be complete and final
Rabbi Fleischer has complete RICH
to his views and opinions He is dis
tinctly not a Christian, and says SO
DR.. Charles Eliot has made the sam,
announcement in a pamphlet called
"rhe Religion of the Future" Hi
says: 1T is not bound to any dogma
creed book or institution" Rabb
Fleischcr says of Abraham Lincoln
He was not a Christian in the tech
nical @ sense. This was because h
was honest" He goes on to say: I'll
was thoroughly sincere. and therefor
he could not ioina church"
We Catholic American citizens poin
with equal pride to an honest ant
sincere" president who said that W.
can never hope to be a. happy nation
unless we try to be faithful to tn
Divine Author of our blessed re
ligion." Let all Christians, Catholic
and Protestant. stand by Georg
Washington. In such a civic unio1
there is strength and safety We hav'
the choice to be a Christian nation o
an ethical chaos!
We Catholics have a great oppor
1, ~,