The Irish standard., 1916-07-01
Legislation Is Useless
The Church Has Its Own Pro.
gram Which She Always
Shows---has Long Ago
Anticipated The Need
And Provided For Il.

session in the midst of great popular
clamor for extreme reform has become
proverbial. Calmly she points out the
error and the danger in the radical de.
mand of any particular place or period
and at the same time recognize it's
element Of truth. Her own program,
she can always show, has long ago an
t1cipated the need and provided for it.
The widespread eugenic movement
for the regulation of the marital rela-
tfoHship was a recent and interesting
evidence of this old story. All of a
sudden certain scientific gentlemen
had awakened to the fact that all mar
riages were not productive of healthy
or desirable offspring, and Legislation
of the EXTREMIST type was proposed as
the great remedy. The state was to
decide as to who should he married
and who should not, and a compulsory
physical examination was demanded
for those about to enter upon the state
of matrimony.
Catholic thought could not agree
with such proposal. 1t pointed to
the fact that the Church had always
recognized that there were certain
marriages which, because of the evil
results to health and morals of the
offspring, were prohibited by the nat
ural law. Their prevention was to be
the work of moral restraint and edu-
cation among the people rather than
by arbitrary action of the state. AS
last recourse, the state might, indeed,
and should impose certain restrictive
regulations for the common good, but
these must not go too far. The Church
itself, through it's centuries-old battle
against vice, had been and is the
greatest eugenic force in history.
OF course, this did not at all please
the gentlemen advocating the panacea-
legislation. The Church had for an
other time clearly outlived it's me
dieval" usefulness. Alas for them, the
pendulum is swinging back again at
this very early day. In the Survey Of
June 8, a very instructive article by
DR.. Adolph Meyer, of Johns Hopkins
University, vindicates the Catholic
view. DR.. Meyer, it is we'll to note, is
hailed by that journal as lone of our
greatest psychiatrists."
Very emphatically does he declare
that 'the conclusions from heredity
study can not be codified in the form
of legislation. A careful student of the
literature and of the facts of eugenics
realizes the completely of the problem
and the reason why we should be eau.
tious about pushing everything to the
point of legislative enactment" Even
many of those of a so-called tainted
strain can marry if proper care be ex-
ercised in the choice of partner.
Education is indeed needed and the
prevention of undesirable matings.
There is sane remedy for this, how
ever. "The first help" he says, sis
protection of the foolish against play
ing with the hottest of all sacrements
marriage" He points to the regula-
lions in force in Switzerland, that mo
marriage license is valid that has not
been posted for three weeks by the
civil authorities and published in the
newspapers" 1t is this which he rec
f1r
matches and marrying parsons" he
says, "have no place under such con-
ditions.'
Here we have strong, unqualified
endorsement of the stand which the
Church has taken. Long ago did she
throw this suggested safeguard around
marriage in the publication of the
banns, three successive Sundays be-
fore the ceremony. Among the So
called "bleeders' of mountain village
in Switzerland do we see whole sec,
ton of the people under the influence
of Catholic thought stamping out the
disease with which they were afflicted
not by legislatiOn-but by vOlun'
tary VOW of chastity. That is the way
she has proceeded-by education and
persuasion among the people. And
when the doctor adds that he does not
on the other hand wish to encourage
Intentionally childless marriage" but
that this problem should be met by a
greater measure of economic security
among all classes" he again voices the
attitude of the church on this subject
Certainly it is instructive to see one
of such prominence in his science
writing in this vein. His expression
tho Survey declares, lis call to cleal
courageous thinking away from tn HI
exaggerated fears founded on INSULT
Gent knowledge and also away from
- s,.o ontimism founded on unWil]