New Britain herald., 1926-03-20
PRIEST REBUKES
 CATHOLIC EATERS
Father BOnaVenture Hits at Evolves in Sheep'S Clothing"

. cd the seating capacity of St, Marys church last evening, Father Bona. venture preached the second last of n series of sermons. Father Bona- ventures sermons have caused much interest and each Friday night the congregations have been large.
 Last evening he spoke in part as follows;
 It Is oxpedicnt for you that one man die for the people that the whole nation perish not, words taken from the holy gospel according to st. John, Chapter 2ls'. In study ing tho history Of the sacred pas sion one fact particularly sad, impresscs the mind and that is that the prosecutions of Christ and the plotting against His life were the work not of the Romans but they were the work Of the people of Christ, the Jewish race, and what ever efforts were made to save Jesus were made not by the Jews but they were made by the Romans.
 Let us now draw the we'll over this particularly tragic scene in the passion Of Christ. We have in the world today counterpart of Caipahus in the lives Of mon and women living about Us who work under the pretcnse of justice, of patriotism and religious camoufage injustice and outrage. Take for example during the recent World war when. if there ever was a time Tn the history of our nation when Catholic and non. Catholic should have stood united: when the noble patriotism of our officers, our sol dler boys, our sailor boys and the generosity and patriotism of our Catholic people in the United States asserted themselves. they pointed with scorn and said that this show Of patriotism was simply to sup plant former power and place 1t at the disposal of the Pope in Rome.
 Today going up and down tho country We have men and women maintaining their patriotism and waving the red, white and blue flag of the United States and yet with rilest language they will condemn the priests and sisters of the Cath. ollie church. They are trying 10 turn the members of the United States against over 1S,O0O,000 Cath olics In these United States. Our papers today are reeking with the mad efforts of political religions who dare to try 10 force on the peo- pie Of the United States amend. ments to our constitution. They question our patriotism, our good in- tentions and in other words they would make us today If they dared, what Is being made of the Catholics in Mexico. It is well for us. my friends, to be thoroughly aware of the tactics of these wolves In sheep's clothing. Again from this scene Of the passion we are taught not to be scandalized by the fail- ures or mistakes Of life of those in authority. particularly of those whose vacations seem 10 us 10 de- mand Of them holiness of life. Cai- aphus was a rock Of scandal to the Jews. Perhaps If Caiaphus were q just man Jesus Christ never would have been crucited. Jesus Christ was a rock of scandal to the apostles. At his seeming failure in the garden of Gethsemano he was q scandal 10 Judas who betrayed Him.
 Very often he who takes scandal is worse than he who give it. Often- times 1t is a sign of a diseased heart, When we roam back over 2o0O years of the history of the Catholic church. when we remember how active is the devil, how dom mating is the world and how weak Is human nature. we need not be surprised or scandalized when we find written here and there, the lives of men, perhaps bishops. yes, even PopeS, who served the world in the flesh rather than God and the Kingdom Of Christ. When our friends read of these cases they hold them np to us and say You won't trd any such records in the history of our church. Certainly not but why? Because thore were no Pro. tcstant Popes, no Presbyterian pre- lates and no Methodist monasteries. There was for them no ages when mans passion was strong. They were not of yesterday. They have no past. They are of modern times"
 Here Father Bonaventure went on to tell Of the fates of France and Mexico, and admoniShed the Cath olics 10 be careful and not give scandal within their ranks or out side for most of the scandal which comes to the Catholic church comes from its own members, he said.