The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1956-03-09
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or ineonsidersts

Holy Father. The article is not without merit,
and il speaks with clarity on some points which
nonCatholic writer's generally muddle and con-
fuse. But il is just one more instance of the
ending worldly attempt to deal with the
Church or the Papacy in worldly fashion. That
is it is an attempt which with whatever in
cidcntal excellence is inevitably an essential
failure.
Those who are not of the household of the
faith are simply incapable of appreclatng The
faith. Those who are outside the Church are
such complete outsiders that they cannot talk
two minutes together about the Church without
absurdities and imbecillities. They cannot speak
the language of Cathocity nor can they under
stand it when Catholics speak it.
And Catholics are always speaking their
language, always making valiant effort TO
give the non-Catholic world some true grasp
of what the Church is and of what the, faith
means But the non-Catholic world has its own
fixed notions about the Church and refuses to
be instructed. The non-Catholic world will not,
and indeed cannot, take tie Church it really
is that is as the one dvinely established insti-
tuition for the saving of mems souls. We say
that the n0n-Catholic world cannot take the
Church as il is because if it did, it would
longer be the non.Catholic world; it would be
part of the Catholic world
The nonCatholic world processes to fear
what it calls dogma. Ye. the world is insistent
upon certain dogmas of its own For example,
fundamental non-Catholic dogmas are these: man
is TO profess religion; any form of religion will
do so long as it is not the Catholic FORM man is
seeking truth, but never dares to say he has
found it; everything will somehow be all right
when man dies and takes off for Beulah Land
religion is mainly for the consolation and fine
emotion of people not primarily for the de-
mandlng worship Of God person must hold AS
a prime requisite for religion an up.todateness
which keeps him man of his time, not 10 say
a man of the world.
The trouble with these dogmas is that they
have no backing but the opinion and attitudes
of men. They do not rest upon the authority
of God. Yet they are stubborn things, these un
authentic dogmas; no one is more dogmatic than
a man who complains about Catholic dogma
Nor is such man troubled by his own incon
ssteney when 1t is pointed out to him.
Says NepSoceb, "trhe Pope) reaffirmed such
traditional beliefs as the necessity of be-
longing To the true church in order to gain
salvation" What are we TO take from that re-
mark with the phrase "thc true church" set
IN quotation marks) but the realization that TO
nonCat holics,-or the NeuSlOeek man al any
rate,-there is no true church. and no need for
a true church? This business of "the true
church" is only traditional Catholic belief"
Again, NetgSweek saws. THE Pope's attention
TO Marian theology, too, has been scandal to
nonCatholics," Why? Because they refuse TO
recognize the place of Our Lady in Gods plan
for human redemption. They have a dogma
which says that Mary is not the Mother of God.
Catholics have dogma that she is The differ
enee is that reason, revelation, and the living
history of Christ's church support the Catholic
dogma, while determined prejudice supports the
non Catholic dogma. NeWslveek obliquely sug.
gests that noh. Catholics have finer apprecia-
ton than Catholics of what is suitable in relig-
iouS doctrine, and are Scandallzed at the hard
saying Of Catholic truth
The article in Neiosoeek quotes Feinhold
Niebhur Ca foremost US Protestant Spokes-
manO who complains of "the constant efforts
ID exalt the Virgin Mary until she has become
virtual replacement of the Holy Spirit in the
Trinity Such a statement is not only fantas-
tcaly untrue; IL Is the statement OF either an
addlepate blind bigot No one, even fore
most spokesman for Professionalism, can really
be so stupid as TO believe anything of The sort.
No enc of any faith or unfaith, has right {, in
suit human cars AMI minds with such carleature
Of the Catholic faith Why does not Niebuhr ask
any instructed Catholic, even child, what we
believe of the Blessed Virgin?
NcmSlDeek appears to feel that the rumOred
proclamation of Mary as the co.redeemer of the
human race would be "infallbility run wild That
phrase is an essential expression of the point We
mentioned at the outset: the complete inability Of
nonCatholic writer's to understand Catholic Ian
guage, Certainly, nlaability cannot run wild.
lnfallibility (Which exists, as the Catholic knows
and the non-Catholic doubts means the divine
guarantee of truth, 1t means no human preroga-
tive; il means no achievement of man; il means
the guarantee and promise of Almighty God
that His Church will lead men to truth and
heaven and not to falsehood and hell 1t means
divine protection and guidance; and how can di-
vine protection and guidance run wild?' The
very phrase is an absurdty
The Catholic Church is a constant lrrltant
and challenge TO a world that wants TO put a
shaping hand on everything, truth included. 1t
stands there the city set on hill that cannot
be hid: the light of twenty centuries gives IL
unique prominence The outsider peckS away at
it, century after century, year after year, and
bitterly resents his inability TO re.shape 1t and
mold il nearer to his own hearts desire. He dis
cusseS the Church not as ii is but in its distorted
image in his own mind And therefore his discus.
sion lacks reality and value His achievement is
like discussion Of Shakespeare's sonnet as ex-
amples OF parliamentary Choetaw.