The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-01-15
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or lneensidsrsts

g
olics to the true Church To thqse who have not
the faith that phrase, the true Church." is
instantly irritating For, lacking the faith itself,
man is inclined to consider all churches reig-
ions as so many organizations of well-meaning peo
pie who are in pursuit Of the things that more
excellent" That, and nothing more.
The notion of anything supernatural in the doc
trine or practice of any church group never enters
the worldly mans mind. The thought that there is
anything really diU1ne in the belief activities of
any religious body does not occur to him. Indeed,
the claim the part OF any church to the charac-
ter of the supernatural and divine is unintelllgble
to the hard-headed (or perhaps somewhat adde-
pated) man Of the world, For words like dlUsne,
supernatural spiritual eternal. meaningless
words TO him; these terms pattering into his
ears like mouthings of unrealistc whmsy; they
appear to be kind of petistic gobbedegook.
And therefore since churches and religions are
merely human clubs with high purpose it is intoler-
able that any of them should claim for itself
the exclusive right to be called church. The man
of the world. poor chap who knows little of man
kind-coud tolerate claims OF superiority made by
this church or that What he finds utterly outrag-
eous and little maddenng, is the claim, not to
mere superiority but to absolute uniqueness. How,
he demands, can one organization have the insane
brazenness to declare that il has the monopoly of
truth that all other organizations wrong, and
teachers Of falsity and futility?
To the common sense view (Which is not sense,
however common) there appears in the unique claim
Of any church to be the true church, pride
like the pride of nations This is the pride satirized
by Kplng in the wellknoVn reference to lesser
breeds without the law Just as it is neffable
effrontery and snobbishness in one people to
slider itself superior to all other peoples, in the
opinion of the who thinks himself realistic
and sensible (and thinks all who disagree with. him
dos scoundrels). il is unbearable in any church
to call itself true and all other churches falses
But the man Of the world has the wrong view
Of this whole business The Church which claims
TO be the one true church does not accept the
worldly mans unwarrsnted premise that all church
human clubs. The claim of the one true
Church to be what in fact it is is no prdeful human
claim 1t rests upon the basic facts OF the Christian
position. These facts the following: that God
exists In Unity and Trinity that God the Son took
up our human nature. and while changelessly
naming the eternal God, became man; that Christ
is, therefore, true God as well as true man; that
Christ who is God, founded a Church. that He
gave the Church the mission OF teaching all men
essential truths that lie gave this Church His
authority and voice, and guaranteed it, promising
to remain with il to the end of time.
Therefore the Church founded by Christ. who is
God is the only divnely founded Church. 1t is not
established by human beings. but by God Himself.
II is therefore club of good people. II is not
a product of nature. even human nature, but of
Supernature, that is of Gods direct action here
earth. Hence IT is an institution not subject 10
human decision about what it is to teach about
how it is to direct men in the conduct of life.
Its mission like its founding and its guarantee is
divine Thus its claim is no prideful snobbsh dec
laration of unique preeminence IFS claim is the
plain and even humble stating of fact The Church
knows what it is. and says II could not be Gods
Church and fail to know and to declare, ITS
character.
And indeed il is impossible for any man. or
for any organization TO deny to decry the claim
of the true Church without making
similar and wholly unreasonable, claim for
himself for his own church organization.
When the Catholic says, Mine is the one true
Church" he says so because Christ has said So he
has the word Of God To back his statement, and
1000 years of historical evidence to enforce it, He
does not say My Church is true because ii is
mine" but My Church is true because IT is not
mine but ChriSts. and Christ is God" When the
anti-C Caholic says My opnon,-namey, that the Ca.
tholie Church is not the true Churchis the true
and infallible opinion he is saying My teaching
since il agrees with the realistic Judgment of men
of the world, is the true teaching" In denying
the claim of the Catholic the anti-Catholic makes
for his own opinion the claim he decries. And being
so filled with common-sense he does not hesitate
to consider his own opinion completely superior
10 MS teacnlnR OF CHRIST
A thoughtful pagan, faced with the state of af-
fairs eIigiouS in the modern world, must be forced
to of three conclusions. to wit: that there is
Christian teaching, or, that il is impossible for
TO find out just what the Christian teaching
is. or. that there exists one true and authentic
organ of Christian teaching by which man may
know Enthusiastically what he is TO believe and TO do
to be Christian. The first conclusion is inadmiss-
ibe for Christ did come and did teach, and did
commission His Church to teach and to govern men
spiritually to do whatsoever | have commanded"
The second concluson,~-that cannot know
Christian teachings also inadmissble, for Christ
who is God set His Church here to teach truth and
Gods work is not in vain II remains that the third
conclusion is true. namely. that there is one, and
only one. true Church of Christ. unmistakably pro
claiming His doctrine and guiding TO lives that
accord with it.
Now, surely the one Church established by
Christ will know, and will proclaim, its own being
and character II is not boastfuness or pride that
echoes in the claim of the one true Church: 1t Is
sincerity and fidelity to Gods orders. The saying
that the Church claims monopoly of truth" is a
cheap fppancy God has monopoly of truth and
God has here commissioned His Church TO
proclaim truth. No gibe or taunt can weaken that