The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-09-04
Tributes for Stand on Divorce
Praise for Catholic Church for Her Stand on Divorce Question

Her Stand on Divorce Question
ceremony" that he never knew of a
case Of free love- among the Cath
olfcs, and we have covered consider.
able territory during our existence"
and he then adds:
More Catholic Marriages..
III this ceremony will cause men
and women to live together until
parted by death, If the Catholic faith
will cause man and wife to be honest
and true to each other, then, in the
name of God, what is wrong with our
Protestant religion, for 1--WE regret to
say the divorce and free love evils
are increasing at an alarming rate
among the people of the Protestant
faith.
I'VE are glad to present these
thoughts to our readers, especially
those of the Protestant belief, and
ask them wherein are we wrong. Why
does not our religion bind men and
women together with that same de-
voutness the Catholic faith does? Is
1t because our marriage VOWS are too
meaningless? Is it because they are
SO frivolous that they are worthy of
no consideration-only a joke, as it
were?
IF this be true, let steps be taken
to right the wrong at once. Give us
more Catholic marriages-marriages
that will cause men and women to
dwell together in union as God in
tended them to. Then, and not till
then, will we have a better world"
offer the above without comment,
except to say that much of it had to
be omitted, lack of space forbidding
the whole of this fearless editorial
from an honest Protestant pen.
1t is incredible that any of US has
forgotten the shades of varying dis
favor with which non-Catholic Chris
tians looked upon the celebrated Ne
Temere decree, a disfavor occasioned
for the most part through misunder-
standing, many believing the decree
actually dared to invalidate wholly
Protestant marriages.! OF course from
the midst Of the battle Of words re.
sultant, when anybody and everybody
was rushing into print to defend our
legitimacy against Roman presump.
ton" las one individual declared),
there were many clear.headed writer's
and religious leaders who Cooked be-
fore they leaped," and whose study of
the decree convinced them that it was
veritable godsend, and that Rome
was altogether right in seeking to pre-
vent the evil of mixed marriages"
these being the precise words of a
contributor to- the Living Church
(Episcopal). Writing on this subject,
Rev. John Williams, Of Omaha, says,
in part:
rs it worth the while of Anglicans
to trouble themselves about this Ro-
man decree? In the first place, it is
,, only the putting in force the decree of
Trent on marriage, throughout the
United States. These DEGREES were
already in force in Baltimore, st.
Louis, and New Orleans, and no one,
think, has ever noticed any appre-
ciable difference between these do
ceses and the other Roman dioceses
of the land as to the rights of Angli-
cans in mixed marriages..
"In the second place the decree does
not. cannot, touch the question of the
legal validity of any marriage mixed
or other OF course it affects
its own people in the spiritual sphere.
But what have we to do with that?
Are we so sacredly concerned about
any of our people who may unwisely
consent in wedlock with Roman
Catholic, as to demand that Rome be
enjoined by law from casting any slur
upon such marriages? NONSENSE!
4. imagine those persons who
are waxing hot over a matter of in
ternal discipline in the Roman
Church are not greatly concerned
about the denial of the sacramento
nature of mixed marriages. They do
not admit, presume, the sacramento
character of any marriage
Rome is altogether right in seeking to
prevent the evil of mixed marriages