The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-06-15

act.
CHURCH AND STATE I'm
AMERICA.
In the course of his sermon on
the relations of Church and State
in America, preached at the annual
field Mass in the Brooklyn Navy
yard, the Very Reverend A. P.
Doyle, G. S. P, Rector of the Apos-
tolic Mission House, Washington,
declared that the American people
have always had their false
prophets who sought to create and
foster prejudice against the Cath
Ollie Church by declaring that she
is the enemy of civil liberty and
that loyalty to her implies dis
loyalty to the institutions of the
country.
In dealing with these accusa-
lions he showed that there was not
the slightest foundation for them,
and declared that "the whole
truth is that mutual love between
the Church and America brings
benefit to both the Church and
America. The fairest field of the
Catholic Church today is in these
United States, and the Church,
therefore, accepts in it's fullness
the vital principles Of the Ameri-
can Constitution. She wants no
favors from any one, and even if
she could she would not change
the fundamental principle which
declares that the State has no
right to make any law respecting
the establishment Of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise
thereof. We have recently been
accused of desiring to use the
State for Church purposes, but we
stigmatize these accusations as
false and give out the assurance
that if it were possible tomorrow
to change the fundamental prin-
ciple of non-interference of the
State with the Church we would
not do it.
"The two orders are separate
and Church and State are supreme
each in it's own field and they can
mutually help one another by each
doing it's own work. Leo XIII
declared that liberty is God s
noblest gift to man and it is safe
guarded by the organic principle
of American policy.
"The theory has been affirmed
that society is a voluntary pact
and that there is no power except
such as is yielded by the indi,
vidual. In this view the powers
Of society are revocable at will and
bind only so far as the individuals
are pleased to recognize them. The
divine element in authority is to,
tally denied; obedience is no Ion
ger moral duty. God counts fo1
nothing. All this is false. Tt is
the open road to revolution. The
social fabric on this theory is but
a house Of cards, may be swept
away by every wind of rebellion
and may be crushed by the strong
hand of the political revolu-
zionist.
"The Catholic theory is that so.
ciety is Of divine organization. II
exists by the same necessity as
nature exists. God can be no more
excluded from society than He can
from any part of the physical uni.
verse. Society is not simply an
aggregation of individuals, like q
pile of stones. 1t is a moral entity
in itself. It is a complete organism
having it's own line and it's own
authority. Those who govern il
are invested with powers from
God. The reputation of the divine
origin Of society leaves no choice
| for the state between anarchy and
despotism.
/ against the onrush of socialis-
| tic ideas the Catholic Church sets
herself as mighty barrier. Her
rockribbed conservatism stands as
the bulWark of those who have
been placed in positions Of au-