The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-07-10

pond with the designs Of divine proyi.
dence.
Every action, however, that is on.
posed to the positive will of God, is
nevertheless permissively willed for
ends worthy of His infinite wisdom; no
number of such actions can defeat the
final end God has in view; indeed, the
very misuse of mans free-will which
such actions imply serves indirectly at
least to further the final end intended
by the Creator in regard to the gem
eral good of the human race.
All the actions of men are wllled by
God, either positively or permissively,
with view to the external manifesta-
tion of His internal perfection.
The corollary to this law is: All
rulers and administrators in church
and state should work in harmony for
the material, social, and moral we'll
being of the people over whom they
have authority. For this purpose they
should cooperate as partners in a
common task In the upbuilding and
maintenance of those social institu-
tions and organizations that have for
their object the promotion of civil or
der In the state, and the conservation
of the true religious interests of the
people.
The manifold contingencies that
arise in the history of all peoples in
volving the countless variations of in
dividual purposes and modes of per-
sonal action; the complex racial, ma
tional, and social relations that have
sprung up with the ever-changing con-
ditions Of historical environment; in
word, all that has been thought out and
wrought into the experience of the
human race since Its advent upon this
earth comes under the operation of
this law of divine providence.
In the relations which came to be
established between the popes and the
emperors under the Romano-Teutonic
polity, evidences of provldential
guidance can be found in the fact that
the scheme Of government as contem.
plated by it's founders and promoters,
recognized the moral principles of
wisdom and justice as being the essen
tial bases Of the dual authority WELD
ed by the ruler. Good order in the
state and the moral progress of the
people were to be secured under the
conjoint action Of the head of christ
endom and the head of the empire; the
former was acknowledged as the su-
preme authority in all matters relating
to the welfare of the church and it's
members, while the latter was to have
an equally plenary authority and juris-
diction in respect Of the purely polit-
ical concerns of the empire and the
well-being of its subjects.
The doctrine that the church Is
divinely founded institution of which
the pope, as the successor of Saint
Peter is the supreme guide and ruler,
gives the key to the understanding of
the historical crisis which brought the
church into direct relation with the
new empire that was built upon the
ruins of the old pagan empire of the
Caesars. This same doctrine likewise
explains how these relations issued in
an enlarged conception of the ropes
power as the chief conservator Of the
civil order Of the Roman state. as we'll
as the proper guardian of it's moral and
religious interests. The people and
their rulers, from the emperor down
to the meanest Of his subjects knew
quite we'll that it was due to the
; church that the empire had not been
buried in hopeless ruin.
Thus it came about that the head
: of SO beneflcent an institution was re-
garded by all classes with the deepest
generation and gratitude; in conse.
J quence Of this regard, he was invested,
In thought at least, with dignity and
prerogative superior even to that Of
J the imperial Office. Why it was thus
may be gathered from study Of the
conditions under which the church
: was originally established and her
: doctrines propagated. sE#s
: The spectacle of an institution that
grew in power and influence the more
1t was prescribed; that drew to its
bosom constantly augmenting numbers
: despite the most cruel prosecutions,
l must have impressed the pagan Ro-
, mans with strong sense of its resist
3 less power. The failure Of the pro-
3 scriptive policy to check the strange
' superstition" was no doubt, one,of the
9 chief reasons why the Christians were
D allowed some respite at times, from
:. the torrents to which they were us.
Q ually condemned. Thus in the reigns
! of Antonious, Alexander severus, and
Q Nerva, the fury Of the prosecutors was
abated, but only to break out anew
l. with redoubled severity.
a Finally, after more than two cen.
g turtles Of cruel suterings, the church