Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1921-03-17
UNNATURAL; INTERNATIONAL.


toned to the phrase 1.-THE nationa
evil of divorce 1t is indeed {
terrible evil. The divorce rate /,
much shigher in the United State.
than in any other country of thu
world except Japan. According t.
report. divorce is increasing in the
United States three times as fast az
the population. while approximately
one out of every twelve marriages
ends indivorce. In his book or
Social Problems Prof. Towne says
that within the twenty-year period
1887 to 1906, nearly 100000 di.
vorces were granted"
In face of these deplorable facts
1t is gratifying to read of the de.
termined opposition to the divorce
will in Canada. The Rev. John ],
O'Gorman has issued a booklet, with
the imprimatur of Archbishop Me-
Neil, of Toronto, which contains "an
appeal to Protestants" to help in
fighting the evil.
In brief compass Father O'Gor-
man presents both the scriptural
and the ethical arguments against
divorce. The occasion for the writ
ing of the booklet was that on
April 26 and 81. 1920, the Senate
of Canada passed two private bills
to provide in Ontario and Prince
Edward Island for the dissolution OF
marriage by giving, the superior
courts of those provinces authority
to grant divorce on account OF
adultery. But the writer adds
"These bills fortunately failed ia
pass the House of Commons. They
were crowded out. The attempt will
doubtless be renewed next year
Now is the time for the anti-divorce
forces to canvass the Legislators
Individually and collectively APP
proach your member of Parliament
and get a pledge from him." These
lines provide a hint how we may
set about the duty of checking OF
fensive legislation.
The proofs from the Bible against
divorce must appeal to the fair
minded Protestant. We have seldom
seen these proofs presented sc
briefly and urgently. "The scrip
tural argument" says the Rev
author, must always be decisive
one with a Christian. If Chris
legislated on this subject. those who
profess themselves to be disciple:
of Christ, whether they be voters oil
legislators, must be governed by hi:
laws. Now Christ did legislate or
this question. and this authority i:
anterior and superior to that of the
Canadian or British Parliament
Three of the eyangelists and the
Apostle Paul have recorded what he
said Can it be seriously
maintained that the acts of Parlia
ment or DEGREES of courts, such a:
we have here in Canada, which per
NIT adulterers or adulteresses to re
marry. are in accord with the mar
riage legislation of Christ? There
are seven paragraphs in the New
Testament which answer in the neg
alive. If we Canadians are to leg
is,ate as Christians, our Parliament
should pass an act declaring in the
words of the civil code of our oldest
province, that Marriage can be dis
solved only by the natural death Of
one of the parties. During theil
lifetime il is indissoluble!"
No less forcible is the reverend
authors presentation of the ethical
proofs to his Protestant fellow-cit'
liens. Anything opposed to the
procreation and rearing of children
As condemned by the natural law
Now divorce. that is the dissolution
of marriage, is opposed to the pro-
creation and education of children
Therefore divorce is condemned by
the natural law. Divorce is OPP
posed to the natural law because by
its very nature it dissolves mar
riage, and breaks up the most sa-
cred and most necessary natural
unit. the family"
Father O'Gorman shows that d.
vorce is unjust, unnatural, anti
national and immoral. 1t is unjust
because the right of the child is
utterly ignored. It is unnatural
because 1t breaks the natural bond
between. father and child, or be-
tween mother and child. 1t is
anti-national because not merely the
child but the race itself suffers
from the dissolution of marriage al
divorce. 1t lis immoral because il
encourages the commission of those
other crimes on account of which
divorce is given.
Catholics everywhere will wish
the reverend writer Godspeed in his
final appeal. Are we Canadians
to have our moral sense so blunted,
our moral vision so blurred, our
moral decision so weakened, that we
must. have divorce, when the saw
ages of the Andaman Islands, the
aborigines of Ceylon, the Papuans
of New Guinea, and other races
just as barbarous, never tolerated
1t? In the name of God, let us
unite to abolish DIVORCE"
q d nf n "