The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-10-25
AT CATHOLIC:
CHURCH SUNDAY
RUSSELL, OF CHARLES
TON, breaches FOR cATHO-
Lies IN ABBEVILLE:LARGE
CONGREGATION HEAR
HIM-TELLS OF-VISITE
TO ROME, ETC.

Bishop William T.. Russell, of Char
lesion, Bishop of the Catholic Church
in South Carolina, preached at Sacred
Heart Church, in this city, Sunday
night to a large and interested con-
gregation. In the morning the Bishop
had preached at the new Catholic
Church in Greenwood, which he ded-
icated. He then drove through the
country to Abbeville in order to- visit
this church. He was accompanied. on
this visit by Father NJ A.. Murphy, Of
Spartanburg.
The visit of the Bishop to Abbeville
gave great many people their first
sight of Catholic Bishop in his robes
of office. Taking congnizance Of this
fact, the Bishop explained in meas
ure' the history of the vestments worn
by him; stating that they were the
same worn by the early apostles Of
the church. On his breast was a cross
containing a portion of the actual
cross on which Christ was crucifed.
These are so scarce he told the con-
gregation that each Bishop is requir-
4 . = - .
ed to bequeath his to some other like
officer of the church. The cap with
the two points indicated that he was
authorized to teach both the old and
the new testament scriptures. The
Shepherds staff indicated that the
Bishop was a shepherd tending the
flock The ring on his hand was also
of the insignia Of his Office.
The Bishop took for his text the
last passage in the Gospel by Mat
thew. Go ye into. all the world, etc" T"
He laid especial emphasis on the
promise that q will be, with you,
even unto the end Of the world" He
commenced his sermon with a graph
ic picture d tbs Church Of St Peter,
IN Hsme;w which he has just visited It
is built, he stated, At the point where
Nero built his circua and persecuted
the early Christians. The fact that for
three hundred years The Christians
were thus prosecuted, and that the
church still lived, and that in the
fourth century Constantine became a
Christian, was fulfllment Of the
promise of God, as was the fact that
the great church Of St. Peter was
erected on the very spot conseerated
by the blood Of the martyrs.
Following this, the preacher gave
a history Of the rise, supremacy, and
fall of the dynasties of earth, calling
attention to the fact that notwith-
#
standing empires crumbled and re-
publics fell away, the church still
lived. -. .......e.. I
!, He paid tribute to the. papacy,
stating that the Catholic Church was
the. oldest organization on earth,
numbering in membership a a1hundred
million more people than all the other
churches combined. Referring to the
InterIChurch Movement, and the Wis
it of delegates to the Pope in an ef-
fort to make the church one, he stat
ed that there was no ground upon
which the churches might unite be-
cause the protestant churches them
selves were in discord in matters of
faith and belief. To the suggestion
that all the churches 60 back to the
third century as a beginning point,
he stated that it is no less unfair to
the church to ask it to revert to the
status of the third century than it is
to ask science, the law, medicine, or
anything else to revert to- the same
period. Religion he said was pro-
gressive thing, and it cannot look
backwards. 1t must look forward to
new applications of the truth. The
Catholic was the Universal Church,
he said. While he did not say so in SO
many words, the plain implication was
that there could be no union between
it and the protestant churches ex-
cept through the absorption of the
/ latter. =
Calling attention to the fact again
that the people of this state seldom
D;.Lor orI fh OF