The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-15

one day and said that her sister at
school, who is also the teacher, had
said that it would be all right to steal
some food If person were in danger
of starving to death. Why then can It
be wronu to commit venial sin by
TELLING a lie to save your life? AS both
sins are committed for the same pur-
pose, that of saving life, where does
the difference come in? 2. If the Sec
ond and third calls of couple who
are TO be married can be eliminated
by merely paying a small sum OF
money, for what purpose were they
originated in the first place il not to-
safeguard the couple the same as the
first and why is the safeguard of the
couple allowed to be weakened for the
sake of money? 8. Can the eImina-
ton of any call be had without an al
lowance for the same in any case?
1. There is a great difference be-
tween stealing" food in case OF eX-
IRENE necessity, that is, when one is
on the verge of starvation, and telling
lie to save life In the first case, it
is not really stealing. To steal
thing is to take away secretly what be-
longs to another against his reason
able wish. In order that sin OF THEFT
may be committed the owner of the
property must be unwilling that it be
taken in this way by the thief. More
over the owner must be reasonably
unwilling, and SO man who is In dan
ger of dying from starvation or VINO
is in extreme necessity of any other
kind may take or use what is neces-
sary to save his life, even if the owner
be unwilling that he should do So.
The reason of this is that, by the pri-
mary intention of our Creator and
Lord, material things were created Tor
the preservation of human life, and no
rights of ownership can prevail
against the higher claim of one who is
in extreme necessity. In such cases,
the owner of food, for instance, is rea-
sonably supposed to be not unwilling
that a person in danger of death from
starvation should help himself to the
food without first securing the owner
consent and permission. One can see
that. in such cases, there is in reality
no question of stealing" The per-
son who takes the food under such cir
cumstances is not in reality guilty oil
a sin of theft. 1t is quite different,
however, when there is question of
telling a lie even for the sake OF saw
ing ones life. This is never permlssl-
BILE no matter what the circumstances
may be, because, according to the con-
slant teaching of the Church, lie is
always of its own nature sinful, and
no one is permitted to do evil that
good may result therefrom. Hence no
one may tell the smallest lie even
though he could thereby save the uni
verse from destruction or any number
of perishing souls from eternal loss
No matter how harmless we may con
slider lie to be, it is, nevertheless, a
venial sin and as such is direct al
front to Almighty God, sin against
His law and we would not be justified
in committing a single venial sin even
though we could thereby eliminate all
the evil and misery in the world be
cause these evils and miseries affect
creatures only whereas lie AFFECTS
Almighty God directly. 2 and ). II
is not true that the second and third
calls" or publications OF the banns
of matrimony, can be eliminated by
merely paying a small sum OF money
No sum of money, whether large OF
small, can procure dispenSation from
the banns, or any one of them. There
must be some good reason stated OF
implied in theology and applicable tC
the particular case before dispense
ton will be granted. Money in itsel
cannot buy dispensation of any kline
from the Church because no Bishop OF
Pope can grant dispensation lawfully
unless there be sufficient reason fol
it. Now in the case of the calls the
Church requires three publications
That is the general legislation, But
she does not wish to work hardship
in particular cases and if there be 6
good reason why certain individual
should not be held to the strict letter
of the law the Church, like good ant
considerate mother, grants dispense
ton which declares, in fact, that the
law does not bind in his case. The
publication of the banns of marriage
is intended as safeguard for the con
tracing parties and a notice to the
public. They are not so absolutely
necessary that without them a mar
riage would be invalid. Hence they
can be dispensed with and often are
dispensed with for good reasons, o.
which the mere offering of money is
not one. Get the idea out of YOU
head that the Church is willing to dis
pense from her laws for money. AS 6
matter of fact, she does not take
money for dispensations from persons
who are so poor that they cannot af
ford the moderate fee which is ordi
narily expected. You would be sur
prised to know the large number o.
dispensations which the Church grants
without the offering of even cent o.
money. She has compassion on the
poor, much greater compassion thar
those who charge her with having al
itching palm"
Is il customary in case of Catholic
wife wishing to be buried in her hus
bands family Tot in non-catholit
cemetery, to have Catholic cere
mony and to have the priest bless thu
grave?