The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-04

pie. Civil power" he said, when
ever it is found in a man or prince,
has emanated from the people and
the community, either directly or re-
motely, and it cannot otherwise be
Justly possessed He pronounced
the doctrine of divine right proclaim
ed by James as contrary to the
ancient, received, true and neces-
sary' principle of civil authority
taught by the Angelic Doctor and
the illustrious Cardinal Bellarmine.-
He characterized it as new, singular
and apparently invented and that
he thought it highly perntcious as
exalting civil power at the expense
OF communal rights is very plain.
Suarez did not stand alone in his
opposition to the novel claim OF
James that Kings rule by the cleo
ton of God. In Cardinal Gotti's
Treatise on Laws, in Concina's Dog
matte Theology, in the Moral Theol-
ogy of Billuart, and in that OF
Busenbaum, in the Compendium Sa-
lamanca, in the writings of ST. Isl
dore, ST. Anselm, Dominic Soto,
Covarruvias, Ledesma and a host OF
Others, exactly the same principle is
enunciated, and these books and
writings, I beg you to remember,
were taught in. the seminaries and
Universities of all Europe, in Austria,
Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and
| in England wherever they were al
lowed. Nothing in the world is more
impressive of the truth of the DEM
ocratic principle embodied in Amer
ica's Declaration of independence
than the uniformity with which that
principle was taught in spite OF Kings
and under the very shadow OF their
| thrones, not by one bold Jesuit, but
| by practically every Catholic moral
list and theologian during five hun
dred years.
| In these anxious times it is an in
| spiration to read those old writer's
and sees how fully we OF America,
though regarded with condescension
by some of the older peoples of the
world, stand in accord with the purest
reason and truth in respect to that
most important relation of ruler to
the people, neither adopting the err
rors of some French philosophers
which would bankrupt civil authority,
nor subscribing to the fallacies of
some English Kings which ignore the
rights of the people, nor yet, above
all, pretending to be allied with God
in making an engine of destruction
| that strikes terror into the heart of
mankind at home and aboard.
1t will no doubt occur to you to
ask, Why, since this principle of
government by consent of the people
| is such an ancient doctrine of civil
authority, was there not long ago
| some people to establish it in its
lpurest form as here in America we
believe we have. A reason which
explains this to me is that the other
countries of the world were all orig.
inally pagan, and the democratic doc
trine being Christian to the very core
it had not only to win recognition
but to battle for existence after
wards. 1t is difficult matter tG
convert an individual so thoroughly
4 that he will not be Influenced by his
former habits and notions; but it is
far more difficult to convert a whole
people to such an extent that they
will change their laws, their customs
and their manners, rewrite their lit
erature and let their traditions die
And yet that is exactly what it mean:
for a pagan people having large
i civilization of their own, to be re-or
ganized throughout SO as to place al
: their institutions upon a democratic
basis.
America the ExempIar.
j, Now, America was born Christian
/ There is no need to dwell on this
fact, our laws and observances ex
tending over three hundred years
| make it clear. In the beginning al
) our institutions were Christian
through and through. We had M
: pagan traditions, no habits, no lit
! erature that belonged to pagan civil
ization. We were free, unsoiled
| like an innocent, untaught child
Z Here was the place for democracy t
: be born. The providence OF Coz
!. seems to have destined that the tru'
: Christian idea of civil government
: should be realized in this virginia
} land of ours and by us be transmittet
| to the world. 1t is noble destiny
Il a great heritage, a wonderful mes
: sage we have What an awful thin:
r lit would be if we did not play on
? part nobly and well! If we ceases
1 to be Christian and no longer a fl
r vessel to hold the seed of democracy
t if we commenced to be- selfish AM
t sought to withhold ourselves from tn
: service of mankind; if we forget tina
t God is the God of nations or tina
man, made to his image, is born free
IL This war will sober America. Sh
E is already sobered. A little Will
/ ago we were inclined to play witt
Ell dangerous things. That is past
: safety first is our slogan now, no
$ for ourselves but for our children
t We have entered the play and oe
| cupy the center of the stage. TIL
) time for idling behind the scenes an
: meddling with stage properties j
g past! we must now play our part a
Il. N1,r- n trr11i =,