The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-12-13


disputed the fact.
You are quite right; we know wht
is the Pope of the Church today, wht
was Pope a century ago, ten centu
ries ago, nineteen centuries ago. We
know their names, the dates CT theil
reign, their predecessors and success
sors. There have been troublesome
times in the history CT the Papacy
More than Cnce there were several
claimants for the Chair OF St Peter;
legitimate Popes have been deposeG
and uSurpers have seized the keys OF
supremacy. Sometimes the emtro.
Clio lasted but short time; more
than once it extended over several
years But at the end of each dis
pute there was no doubt about the
rightfui succession. These occasions
of dispute were very few in number,
and their very paucity, considering the
centuries of Christian history and the
ages of war and darkness, is proof Of
the divine origin Of the Papacy. 1t is
true that for the ages Of pagan per-
SecutiOn, we are sometimes doubtful
of the exact years Of the deaths of
the Popes; but their names are GER
tain. and the order of succession is
beyond doubt. Before the end of the
second century, St Irenaeus enumer-
ated the names of the first thirteen
Popes; the "Liberian Catalogue fur
nishes the names from st. Peter to
Dnnn I ihp,,;,rc fOo- hp
PontitCaliS' was begun about the be-
ginning of the fifth century and con-
tinued down to the fifteenth century.
From the end Of the eleventh century
Gregory VIII we know not only the
names and years, but the precise
days. Some confusion exists in the
ages Of darkness when tyrants Of one
kind OF other-kings, princes, power
full Roman families-usurped power
and tried to depose Popes. But the
fact that a legitimate Pope was de-
posed, and an illegitimate one thrust
of succession. because the difficulty
was always cleared up and the sue
cession maintained Nor is any in
surmountable difficulty created by the
fact that at times there were several
claimants for the Papacy There
never was moro than one real Pope at
one time, and if doubt did exist even
in the minds Of holy people as to who
was the legitimate Pope, that diff
Guilty, too, disappeared by the death or
resignation Of one or more Of the
claimants and the free election of
assails the legitimate succession of
the Pope.
Would it be warning if you heard
someone calling you when asleep and
felt the cold hand of someone on your
forehead?
Yes; it would be a warning that you
should be more careful of your eat
ing before retiring, or that your di-
gestive apparatus is not operating
normally, or that your nerves are run
down, and you need a real rest.
How can man be infaI!bIe? Is
that not a preroqative of God alone?
God alone is absolutely infallibie,
for He alone is Absolute Truth that
can neither deceive nor be deceived.
He can, however, for a certain pur-
pose-f0r example, to maintain His
Church in unity Of faith-make the
Pope the true mouthpiece of His Cos
pei by diyinely safeguarding him
from error when he teaches the Uni
VerSal Church. It is a question of
foot TO be learned from the witness of
Scripture and history.
Why tell Ccd our needs when God
knows them beforehand?
The object of prayer is not to in
form God Of our necessities or Of our
Utmost sentiment CT love, praise,
sorrow, Or thanksgiving, for He, the
Omniscient One, knows all the secrets
Of our hearts.
The Christian prays. however. to
fulfill duty written in the heart of
man and insisted on constantly by the
son OF God. The c,emency Of God as
our Creator, Lord, and Final Destiny,
and our utter dependence upon Him,
the revelation of Jesus Christ, IN
folding to us SO many new proofs of
that Creators love, makes this &C.
acknowledgement the more imperative.
If Masses Iiberate souls from Pur.
gatory, will not the souls Of the ric.,
get out of Pursatory sooner than the
souls of the poor?
We know nothing as to the manner
in which the merits of the Mass are
applied to the souls in Purgatory. 1t
is quite common practice for Cath
olics to have Masses said for forgot
ten or abandoned souls. The priest
prays for all the souls in Purgatory
during every Mass that he celebrates.
Your objection might be made to
many other religious, advantages
which the rich apparently have over
the poor The rich can go to church
more frequently and more easily than
the poor. The man Of wealth can
travel to shrines which are blessed
with rare privileges. He can have a
religious library, can study his relig-
ion and send his children to Catholic
schools. The poor enjoy few of these
advantages. Nevertheless Our Lord
tells US that it is difficult for a rich
man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
We may feel confident that God will