The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-22


to save all peoples. OF her alone are
still true those words which st. Cyril
of Jerusalem wrote in the fourth cen
Itury: "The Church is named Catho
lie because she is spread Throughout
the whole earth from end to end be
cause everywhere and unfailingly she
teaches all those dogmas that are
necessary for men to know;
because, also, she brings into the right
way of worship all the human race
princes and subjects, learned and I'M
learned" We, and we only, mem
bers of the Church of all times and Of
Iall lands, have just title to this sa
cred name of Catholic.
Why "Roman Catholic?
j This being so, why should we ever
use the term 4Roman Catholic? Is
it right or is it wrong? Without a
shadow of doubt the name Roman
Catholic in itself is right. Why?
Because to be Catholic is to be Ro-
man; no one can be Catholic unless
he is Roman too. Christ built His
Church on the Rock Peter; and Peter
lives on in his successors, the Bishops
Iof Rome. The Holy Roman See is
the foundation, the centre, the source
of faith and religion; the power-house
$50 to speak, of energy and efficiency
for all Christ's Holy Church through
out the world.
Space will not permit the bringing
forward now of the Overwhelming eyi
dence available from Scripture, from
| Christian antiquity, from facts, clear
as the MONDAY sun to those who are
mot blinded by preconceived notions
in every age of the Church's long his.
tory-facts of today as well as facts
OF past centuries back to the be-
ginning, all proving that the true
4 Catholic Church of Christ is that one,
and that one only, which rests upon
Peter living on in his successors, the
Bishops of Peters own See of Rome,
who hold his place, possess his
pferogat1Ves, and exercise his au-
thority conferred upon him and them
| by our Saviour, Jesus Christ, when He
said. Thou art Peter, and upon this
Rock / will build My Church," and,
Feed My lambs, feed Ny sheep
Communion with Rome, the Test.
Suffice it to say, as regards the past,
that Father after Father, Council
after Council, make this the test of a
true atholic,-whether or no he is
in communion with the See of Rome
and, as regards the present, that the
Catholic and Roman Church alone pre-
sents to the world, now as she has
done in the past, the only notification
| to be found upon earth of Christs
words, Thou art Peter, and upon this
Rock will build My Church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against
/ it." And the Catholic and Roman
Church verifies Christ's words by the
/ living fact that she is built upon
| Peter; that she owes her marvellous
unity, her mistaken stability and in
defectibility, her Indying vigor and
deficiency, all tfidt makes her a won
der to the world, to her foundation
upon Peter and upon Peters See of
Rome.
The Pope, then, as Head of the
Church in succession to st. Peter, and
the Holy See of Rome to which that
headship is attached since Peter lived
and died in that See, are not a mere
matter of convenience to the Church
of Christ. The Pope as Head, the
Roman See as foundation, are essen
TALLY necessary to Christianity as it
came forth from the hands of its Di-
vine Founder; essentially necessary to
Catholicity as it has existed from the
beginning. All is summed up in the
famous dictum of st. Ambrose,
Where Peter is, there is the Church.
The first thing to be done in setting
UP a building is to choose firm site,
an unshakable foundation. Christ did
this when He prepared to set up His
Church. Thou art Peter, and upon
this Rock | will build My Church,
The site, the foundation of a building,
is essential; the building wholly de-
ponds upon it. Blow up with dyna
mite the foundation, blast to pieces
the firm site upon which building
/ stands, and the building is no more
Take away the foundation of Peter
from Christ's Church, and there would
be no longer any Church of Chris.
at all. But, Thou art Peter, and upon
this Rock will build My Church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it, Built on that Rock
Christ's Church shall stand for all
time, by the promise of Him Who es
tablished it.
So then, we may not reject the
glorious title of Roman" The Vati
can Council calls the Church the
| Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman
Church. The "Catholic Church and
the Roman Catholic Church are one
and the same thing. Roman adds
nothing to the essence of Catholic
for it is of the essence of the Catho
j lie Church to be Roman; and "Cath0
lic1 is not true Of us il we are not
lalso Roman" AS Father of the
Church said, christian is my name
Catholic is my. surname; SO with
4 equal truth we can say, Catholic is
my name, Roman is my surname.
Misuse of Term "Roman Catholic"
But our friends the enemy those
who wish to claim the Catholic name
misuse the expression Roman Cath
Io1ie :, taking .,d,,anfape for their own