Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-04-10
DEFENDS HER CHURCH
AGAINST ATTACK.
Correspondent Takes Exception to
Words Of Missioner Who played
to the Galleries.
Communicated

ing sermon in Baltimore city several
weeks ago:
II never land in a town that |
am not asked why i don't preach
sermon against the Catholics.
have too much TO do cleaning ont
the filth IN my own back yard.
never knew a Catholic yet who
old not believe in God aud inChrisi
have to go among uProtestantS
20 find that Sind OF multi"
All of us may not be in sympathy
with Billy's methods we may be shock
oj an his free use OF expressive Eng
lish but we all have to concede that
he Is "savvy," Zone involuntarily falls
into slang oneself when discussing
Bt'lv!) and ne has, evidently observed
that no spiritual blessing ever attends
the work Of anyone who strikes UNI
kindly 81 the old historic church Of
Christan dom.
Although il is rawther the style
-cher-lnow to take shy at the
bally Roman Catholics higher things
were expected of the clergyman who
conducted the recent Lenten mission
~. ST. Anue's Protestant Episcopal
Church From tho nature OF the SER
mons publ shed in the Evening Capital
each week. il was a shock to hear such
preacher also playing TO the gal
lery" AT the closing exercises OF the
mission it was both a shock and a sur
prise 20 hear the missioner suddenly
leave his text TO make this attack upon
ts- Dnvfat, Eofhrffr broth~nY,.
500 you lmOw what IL is to have
conscleReel Mark you, the RO-
man Catholics have cOnscience!
And il i a rotten 0ne!. consider
them responsible for the iniquit0uS
liquor traffic"
Differences on doctrinal points a
visitor to q church naturally expects.
and IL is ridiculous 10 resent them but
Jncharitable Statements from a Christ
ian pulpit are too out of place to be ex-
pected Since 7 knew that any OF my
dissenting friends could attend any
service at my church without having
their feelings hurt ! assumed ! could
company an Anglican friend to their
service under protection Of the same
polenic fitness Of things.
Roman Catholics make no claim &c
human perfection That there arc
"tares' amongst us we frankly and sor-
rovfully acknowledge. bu. nowhere in
all this great world is the human ele-
ment free from tares nor is there
human being fitted for the ask Of sep
| aratins The tares from the wheat that
can only be done by the Great Win
mower when He chooses to come again.
Yes, we have our sins, and we are
striving by the grace of God to over
come them. but though we are placed
in the same boat with the poor doggie
who was given bad name. we 90 not
| deserve IT,
In the Catholic Catechism of Christ
ian doctrine of "gluttony" cr"drunken-
mes is listed as one of the seven cap
ital sins. The drunltard and unscrpu-
lous liquor man who happens 10 be
Catholic is a disobedient son of the
church. In tho devotional books the
Catholic is most earnestly warned
against gluttony end drunkenness; he
is exhorted in words Of Holy Scripture
TO abstain from excesses, and is adj
monished to 'shun the occasions OF
/ these sins, such as taverns, public
houses. feasts, drunken compaions,
etc, the unfortunate is told to pray
daily and beg of God, through the
thirst Jesus Christ suffered upon the
cross. and the gall and vinegar which
lie took, to show mercy to them, and
10 deliver them from such wicked and
pernicious habits"
AS a whole, the Catholic Church
does not express herself for or against
Prohibition, opinion, both among the
clergy and laity.is divided on that sub
ject The church does stard infexilJly
for temperance, but on higher grounds
than that of prohibition. She is engag-
cd in a spiritual battle against excess;
Holy Communion is her preventative.
the Sacrament of Penance is the rem
edy she offers, and the priest is ever
ready in the Confessional to help the
penitent win his way into freedom
from sin. Many a weak man, through
the Sacramento means instituted by
Christ when He founded His church.
overcome bad habits and regained his
lost manhood.
Now, TO publicly denounce the Ro
man Catholic conscience as rotten
to hold Roman Catholics responsible
for the iniquitous liquor traffic" is an
arraignment TOO serious TO go unno-
tced. 1t i'll becomes a clergyman. in
this hour of world tribulation and
spiritual crisis, to depart from the
teachings of the Gospel and arraign
another body of Christians-that, too.
church that has stood uncompro-
misingly for Christ through all the
storms of centuries; q church that has
been an unfailing witness to the truth
of doctrines that its opponents are now
recognizing and introducing as fast as
the mass-mirrl will permit This in
gratitude will not be endured in the
Communion of Saints. No spiritual
harvest. no blessing viii reward it.
write with sadness bordering upon
heartbreak. but the joys of truth are
worth its pains, and know. too. that
the grief 1 feel over the wounds of
Christendom is nothing compared to
that of the Man of Sorrows, whose
loving. sacred Heart is ever torn afresh
by the quibblings of His children. And
this is the Pasiontide of our Lord! o,
Spirit of Truth. what ails The world!
IL & ahSOJufa7x- rprfafn thar the Rec