The Washington herald., 1920-02-22
q Pdstoral Letter Issued
By Catholic Hierarchy
Suggests Many Changes

patient, is kind; charity envieth not.
dealeth not perversely; is not puffed
up, is not provoked to anger. thinketh !
no evil. rejoiceth not in iniquity. but /
rejoiceth with the truth" u Cor. KILL 4
80. 1
The observance of charity must be- {
gin in the heart of each man. Through !
Its enactment and sanction law may |
compel US to do what Is just: 1t can
not force us to love one another. But
the reign OF law itself will be more |
complete and secure when willing obe-
dience does away with the need OF
And where the rule OF
charity prevails, justice will have no
to insist on its claims. II
is the same apostle who commands
that we render to all men their dues,
and who adds, ''owe no man anything.
but to love one another. For he that
loveth his neighbor. hath fulnlled the
law" CRomans XIII, Z, 81.
Let us not, then, wait for some
general movement that Will carry
us all together along the pathway
of Justice. Let US not beguile our
selves with the idea that an atmos-
phere of love will somehow be Gre
ated and spread abroad without any
thought or effort of ours. That the
blessed air of peace must spring up
first in the individual soul and
thence diffuse itself through all our
human relations.
Marriage and Divorce.
As all life and its relations have
their origin in the home, whatever
strengthens the family tie will re-
dound to the good of society. On
the contrary. all those influences
and tendencies which weaken the
bond established by marriage are
pernicious. They destroy the home
and corrupt our social relations at
the source.
The Catholic church does not and
will not sanction divorce in the alb
solute sense which permits either
of the separated parties to remarry
during the lifetime of the other.
The ease and frequency with which
divorce of this kind is granted
make il a national scandal.\ The
bond which ought to be most sa-
cred is regarded by too many as a
trivial circumstance. as something
of less Importance than an ordinary
business agreement. So 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 a hu-
man character; in a temporary ar
rangement, it falls to the level of
animal impulse.
This degradation of marriage
leads to a more intense selfishness
by making individual pleasure or
whim the one decisive factor. 1t
consequently tends to deaden the
spirit of charity just where. natu-
rally, love should be strongest.
Justice DulIed.
The sense of justice also will be
dulled. II the obligations assumed
through marriage can be so lightly
cancelled, it Is hard to see what
value shall attach to other cove
nants when these are not entorcible
by law.
Social intercourse. In the usual
sense. responds to a demand of our
human nature. 1t is an effectual
means of drawing more closely the
bond of charity. And it often gives
occasion for joint endeavor in the
To attain these worthy ends. So
cial enjoyment must remain within
reasonable limits. When it inter-
feres with the duties of home, it de-
feats its own best purpose. When
it becomes extravagant and devel-
cps a craze for pleasure, it is likely
to pervert the whole meaning of
life. a people that lives on excite
will lose
its moral fiber. The power of en-
durance is directly proportioned to
the power of self-restraint. And
this we surely need at the present
time when America is passing
through the gravest crisis in it's his
tory.
In this matter we appeal with all
possible earnestness to Catholic
women. We urge them especially to
cOunteract, with the force of exam
pie. those tendencies to excess
whereby the prescriptions of plain
decency, and even the slightest re-
straints of convention often are dis
regarded. As every Catholic under
stands. society. no less than it's indi-
viduaI members. is subject to Gods
law. Neither custom nor fashion
can justify sin. If we are prompt to
remove the causes of bodily disease,
we should be at least equally ener-
getic in banishing moral contagion.
Frequently. it is the craving for
notoriety that unbalances certain
minds. In others. fondness for dis
play leads to lavish expenditure.
arouses the envy of the less fortunate
classes, spur them to foolish imita-
ton. and eventually brings about con-
tiict between rich and poor.
The disturbances from which our
industries are suffering bring home
to all the people, in direct and prac-
tical form, the need of thorough re-
adjustment. In part, the present
situation is due to the war; but its
real causes lie farther back in our
industrial history. 1t is not merely
that unwise policies have been
adopted. but rather that these have
been framed upon wrong principles
and baseless assumptions.
1t is an error to assume that the is
sues involved are purely economic.
They are. at bottom, moral and re-
ligious. Their settlement calls for a
clear perception of the obligations