Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-23
CARDINAL RESTATES
ATTITUDE ON DIVORCE
Gibbons Also Points Out Need Of
Honesty in Industrial
Relations.

/ Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore in
pastoral letter read in the Catholic Churcl
of this country yesterday, dwells upon th'
need for Catholic education and the pat
riotism taught in Catholic schools, give
praise to Catholic war activities, touches
! on the divorce evil and insists upon 'th'
| right Of labor TO living wage with decen
maintenance for the present and provision
| for the future The abstract Of the lctte
given out for publication follows.
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.
| Az life and its relations have theil
origin in the home, whatever strengthens
the family tic will rebound to the good o
! society. On the contrary, all those in.
flucnccs and tendencies which weaker
the bond established by marriage nrs
pernicious. They destroy the home anc
| corrupt our social relations at the sourcc
The Catholic Church docs not and vii
not sanction divorce in the absolute sense
which permits either Of the separated
| parties 10 remarry during the lifetime oi
| the other The case and frequency with
which divorce of this kind is granted
make it a national scandal The bond
! which ought to be most sacred, Is re-
| garded by too many ~ a trivial circtitn-
stance, as something OF less Importance
| than an ordinary business agreement. Sc
| far as this idea prevails, it removes the
| one safeguard of decency and purity in
the sex relation. In a permanent union
that relation possesses q human eharnc-
ter. in a temporary arrangement it falls
on the level of animal impulse.
This degradation Of marriage leads %
more intense selfishness by making in
dividual pleasure or whim the one decisive
factor. IL consequently tends To deaden
the spirit of charity just where. natur-
ally, love should be strongest
The sense of Justice also will be 1ullcd.
II the obligations assumed through mar
riage can be 50 lightly cancelled, II Is
hard 10 see what value shall attach Ia
other covenants when these are not en-
forcibie by law.
THE WIDER SOCIAL RELATIONS.
Social intercourse. In the usual sense.
responds TO o demand of our human ma
turo. 1t is an efiectlal means Of drawing
more closely the bonds OF charity. And
ii often gives occasion for Joint endeavor
IN furtheranee of the common good
To attain these worthy ends. social en-
Ioymcnt must remain within reasonable
limits When il interferps with the di-
ties of home, IT defeats its own best pur-
pose. When it becomes extravagant and
develops craze for pleasure, it ~ likely
to peryert the whole meaning Of life. A
people that lives on excitement and SEN
sation will soon lose its moral fibre. The
power os endurance is directly propor-
toned to the power OF self-restraint. And
this We surely need at the present time,
when America is passing through the
gravest crisis in its history.
La this matter we appeal with all pos
siblc earnestness TO Catholic women. We
urge them especially to counteract, with
the force OF example, those tendencies
TO excess whereby the prescriptions of
plain deeeney, and even the slightest re-
straints OF convention too often are dis
regarded As every Catholic understands,
society, no less than its Individual menu
ners. is subject to Gods law. Neither
custom nor fashion. can justify sin. If
@e are prompt TO remove the causes of
bodily disease, we should be at least
equally energetic in banishing moral con-
tagion.
Frequently, IL is the carving for noto-
riety that unbalances certain minds In
Others, fondness for display leads to law
ish expenditure, arouses the envy of the
less fortunate classes, spurs them to fool
ish imitation, and eventually brings about
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.
The disturbances from which our IN
distries are suffering bring home to all
the people, IN direct and practical form,
the need of thorough readjustment. In
part, the present situation is due 10 the
war; but its real causes lie farther back
in our industrial history. Ii is not merely
that unwise policies have been adopted,
but rather that these have been framed
upon wrong principles and baseless as
1t is an error To assume that the is
sues involved are purely economic. They
are, at bottom, moral and religious. Their
settlement calls for a clear perception
of the obligations which justice and char
ity impose
In urging their RESI- eetive claims, the
parties, apparently, dlsregarded the fact
that the people as a whole have a prior
claim. The first step, therefore, toward
correcting the evil is to insist that the
rights of the community shall prevail,
that law and order shall be preserved and
that the public shall not be made to suf-
fer while contention goes ON from
one mistake to another.
The failure to reach an agreement is
that class is naturally hostile to class
In truth, each needs the other. Capital
cannot do without labor, nor labor. with
out capital This is obvious but the
more important point is that capital and
abor are bound 10y mutual obligations,
not simply by mutual needs or interest
In this whole question the moral value
1f man and the dignity of human labor
arc cardinal points. BY treating the
aborer as a man, not as a machine the
Employer will make him a better work
ngman. BY respecting his own moral
iignity as n man the laborer will com
pei the respect of his employer and OF
.he community.
The right Of labor to living wage,
With decent maintenance for the present
md provision for the fu~re, is generally
The right OF capital to a
air days work for a fair DAYS pay is
equally plain. To secure the practical
and exercise OF both rights,
rood will, no less than adherence to
ustice, is required. Animosity and mis-
rust should first be cleared away. When
his is done, when the parties meet in
riendly rather than a militant, spirit, il
will be possible to effect conciliation
We are confident that the good sense
If our people will find way out of the
PRESENT situation As the confusion oc~
asioned by war subsidies, calner judg-
nent will prevail. Man will see thatinternal
,eace and the corporation OF all classes
must be secured If our country is 10 enjoy |
at home and respect abroad. |
AMERICAS great opportunity must not |
\ 4. II.