The Irish standard., 1914-05-09
Declares That Even Mont Catholics
Are Looking to Catholic Church
for Guidance
Social Unrest Must be Re .ulated by
Principles of Religion and
Justice
Head of English Benedictines De-
clares Origin of Peril Began in
Religious Revolution

Dom Abbot Gasquet. head Of tho
English Benedictines and commits
stoned by Pope Plus K to revise the
Latin vulgate. gives his ideas Of tho
present social unrest and Socialism
in the Oxford Arena. Regarding
Socialism he says:
In England, as in all other parts
Of the world today, the word Social
ism is on the lips of almost everyone.
The present social question broods
like a spectre over every community
and produces in the minds of states
men and citizens a well-founded
dread for the future Of our civiliza-
tion. This fear is the more terrify-
ing because like all spectres Social
ism is still without shape and re-
mains vague and indeterminate. For.
although SO much has been written
and said in regard to the Socialistic
program, it is yet impossible to de-
fine what exactly the upholders of
modern Socialism really mean by the
term. Thedeclarations of an extrem-
lists today are repudiated or modified
by speaker or writer Of the same
school tomorrow, and herein lies the
difficulty of effectively considering
the position of those who claim to
be socialists. It is. in fact, impossi-
ble to read the literature of the sub
ject without becoming convinced that
hardly two of the apostles of medern
Socialism agree with each other on
fundamental principles. Argument
would appear to be hardly profitable
when the declaration as to the rights
Of property put forth by one teacher
is repudiated by another.
Origin of Socialism.
There are, however, certain broad
facts in regard to socialism which it
is useful to keep before the mind in
these days. The origin of the pres
ent peril to society must be sought
in the religious revolution, which
swept over Europe in the sixteenth
century. A study of the later Middle
Ages. and in particular an examina-
tion Of the books of popular instruc-
tion given at this period, shows that
the relation between the upper and
lower classes was forcibly changed
by the Introduction of the principles
of the Protestant Reformation. Pre-
viously the Church bad been able to
protect the interests of her poorer
children by exhortation and example.
It insisted that there was a real
brotherhood between man and man,
and that through Christ, Our Lord,
all were members Of one another. /"
AS one vigorous teacher in London
in the fourteenth century put it.:
"God did not create gold and silver
man from whom the rich were de-
scended and a clay Adam from whom
come the poorer brethren" but all.
rich and poor alike, were descendants
of the same stock, and were so close
ly allied that no Christian could ask
the question, cam I my brothers
keeper?"
Then, too, in the Christian centur-
les when all held the same faith, the
Church's denunciation of usury-or
the lending of money at exhorb liant
rates of interest, however foolish and
impracticable we may consider such
laws in these days. most certainly
protected the needy against oppres-
sion.
On the other hand. the voice of the
Church was equally raised against all
who would seek to deprive those who
possessed private property Of their
rights. When the followers of Wy
cliff at the close Of the fifteenth CEN
tury preached their Socialistic doc
trines in England, they were opposed
by the Church, not more for their
heretical teachings than for their at
tacks upon the social order then ex-
listing and in particular upon the pos
session Of property. In other words,
history shows the Church as endeav-
curing to hold the even balance be-
tween any possible oppression Of the
poor and attacks made upon the
IL g. -