St Johns College - Ozanam Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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THE OZANAM 7 First of all, our incensed Italian friend tells us that the Roman Church denies to a large class of its members, male and female, the right to have a family. The fact of the matter is that the Church does not deny priests and religious the right to marry, but that they themselves surrender this privilege out of their own free choice. What the Church does do, however, is to deny them the right to make this important decision without long deliberation and thor- ough realization of the consequences involved. Dr. Kinsman had briefly shown to anyone open to conviction that Cath- olic principles inculcate good citizen- ship and patriotism. He was careful to add that If Catholics ever exer- cise in education, business, or politics, an influence contrary to civic moral- ity, the cause is not to be sought in their faith. All of which evidently made no impression upon Dr. Fama, for the latter affirms-without the least proof-that the contrary is true, and that a Romanist can have the American spirit towards his fellow- citizens, only to the extent that he fails to practice the doctrines of his faith! If by American spirit is here meant a tendency opposed to moral stability, then Dr. Fama has subtly spoken the truth, but then the spirit is not American, it is un- American, it is detrimental to the welfare of our Republic. In a futile effort to interpret the authorized Explanation of the Balti- more Catechism, Dr. Fama claims it is the official teaching of Rome, that if you are not a Catholic, you will be tormented forever and ever in a hell such as Dante graphically described in his immortal poem. 4 Trying to prove the absurdity, he gives the following quotation: Extra ecclesia nulla solus, which as it stands, contains two bad grammatical blunders Cwe trust they were printing mistakesj. What he meant to quote was the much-misunderstood state- ment, Extra ecclesiam nulla sa1us, of which the literal meaning is, Out- side of the Church there is no salva- tion. Dr. Fama tells the world that the Roman Catholic Church pro- nounces the sentence of eternal dam- nation upon all those who do not pro- fess Catholicism. But what does the Catholic Church understand by this expression? Certainly wholesale dam- nation of non-Catholics is neither meant nor implied. The meaning is simply this: Jesus Christ has imposed upon the Church which He founded, i. e., the Catholic Church, the duty of dispensing the ordinary means of sal- vation. He commissioned His Church to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments to all nations. The Master instituted His Church for everyoneg therefore, all men without exception have the obligation of actu- ally belonging to it or at least of de- siring to belong to it. If a man knows that he should comply with this duty, but does not do so, then he himself voluntarily destroys the bridge that leads to life eternal. But what about those non-Catholics who think they have the true faith of Christ? It has always been the teach- ing of the Catholic Church, that if these people are actually sincere, while they do not belong to the visible body of the Church, they do belong to the soul of the Church. So, if one firmly believes, for example, that An- glicanism, or that Buddhism is the re- vealed and infallible religion of God,

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6 THE OZANAM men's tastes, to show men the best way of serving their Maker and attaining their final destiny. The Church has ever insisted upon justice for all and towards all, it has consistently en- deavored to give men that peace which the world cannot give g in our own country it has always taught that there is no conflict between the prin- ciples of true Catholicism and true Americanism. Our very Constitution and Declaration of Independence are known to contain many of the funda- mentals of age-old Catholic philoso- phy. Yet in the face of all this evi- dence Mr. Chapman sees nothing but a great, deep conflict between the historic claim of Rome and the ideals of our Republic. His phrase his- toric claim of Rome sounds terrible enough, but in truth means just what it says-nothing. Mr. Chapman regards-of course he cannot prove-the Catholic Church as the world's most despicable despot, the enemy of free America, an institu- tion most to be despised. He closes his eyes to the fact that all the Cath- olic Bishops of the world, including those in America, have promoted the welfare of all nations by insisting on the principles which should govern our social, industrial, and political re- lationsg by deepening respect for civil authorityg by enjoining upon Cath- olics everywhere the duty of allegi- ance to the State and the discharge of patriotic. obligations. They have con- demned the errors which plan to be- tray humanity and to undermine our civilization. It would be a welcome revelation to know what induced Mr. Chapman to write that the Pope is identified with God by the Roman Church. If he means that Catholics consider their Pontiff to be the same as the Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, if he thinks that people in their right mind be- lieve that a mere human being, in vir- tue of his election to an exalted oHice can become equal in power to Omni- potence Itself, then he does but mani- fest a credulity we thought impossi- ble in an enlightened age like ours. In the personage of Mr. Chapman it is not difficult to recognize a quasi- prophet of the hour. With prejudi- cial emotions warping his better judg- ment he attempts to tell over three hundred million Catholics what a cruel terrorism they are living underg what the intriguing policies of their Church have been in the pastg what they are at presentg what they will be in the future. He foresees nothing less than the ruination of our country if the Catholic Church endures. With his creative genius he has pictured Catholicism in a horribly dramatic as- pect-a tribute to imagination, but an insult to right reason. The broadest analysis of this sig- nificant subject, is undoubtedly made by Dr. Kinsman. He is one of Amer- ica's leading historians, and thorough- ly familiar with both sides of the question. The mere fact that he re- signed his oftice of Episcopal Bishop of Delaware in order to become a Catholic layman, shows how firmly he was convinced that the Roman Cath- olic Church is the one and only in- stitution of Christ. In considering the article of Dr. Fama it should be remembered that he claims to be an apostate Catholic, and this may be a reason for much of the bile he pours forth against his former co-religionists. An ordinary Protestant would be incapable of so much rancor.

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8 THE OZANAM observes the natural law and the moral law, he is obligated in conscience to adhere to his conviction, and acting accordingly, retains his claims to salvation. The public school has become the target of Romanismf' thinks Dr. Fama. It would be closer to the truth to say that the Catholic school has become the target of atheism. As if the Catholic Church has any desire or any business meddling with the pub- lic school! and likewise, as if the pub- lic oiiicials have any business med- dling with the Catholic school, as long as its policy violates the rights of no one. It seems to grieve Dr. F ama that The Church says this institution is Godless because it does not give instruction in religion, and he asks, Is there no time to teach reli- gion after school or on Saturdays or Sundays? Any system of education which excludes God and religion from its curriculumi certainly is without God: therefore, it is Godless, if words mean anything. The twenty-seven millions in America today who are not receiving religious instruction, do not seem to think their time after school or on Saturdays or Sundays would be well spent if it were devoted, even partially to religious consideration. Are we to expect that these people, though products of the public school, will turn out to be ideal, God-fearing citizens? The fact of the matter is that Catholics do not want their chil- dren enlightened by a liberal educa- tion, says Dr. Fama, forgetting that all the oldest and the most celebrated universities were founded by Cath- olics, who have always shown them- selves the defenders of true liberal educational ideals. As the crowning calumny our friend concludes on no objective evidence whatever that Catholicism stands self-condemned, condemned that is, by its own utter- ances to be a religion so opposed to all that we call American that no citi- zen can practice both whole-heartedly and at the same time. Undoubtedly, one of the intentions of Mr. Williams and Dr. Kinsman, was to clarify some of the popular misunderstandings and perplexing difficulties of our Protestant country- men. judging from the replies of Mr. Chapman and Dr. Fama, the real object has not been very satisfactorily accomplished, more fuel has been heaped upon the fires of prejudice, and a greater misunderstanding will perhaps result. That the Roman Catholic Church is the enemy of America, would be the poorest, were it not the most obnox- ious joke of the generation. So fel- low-Americans have not the slightest fear for yourselves or for your coun- try, and above all things, do not allow this worldly-wise nonsense of Mr. Chapman or Dr. Fama to disturb your dreams by night. And fellow-Cath- olics, remember, if the Catholic Church is the true Church, as you be- lieve it to be, it would really be un- usual were it ever free from persecu- tion. It has always been persecuted in the past, it is so at presentg and in the future, as Christ, its Founder, predicted, it will be a chief object of men's scorn and criticism. Defeat, however, and extermination, can never be its lotg for Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world CMatt. xxvii.20j. Its para- doxial history has been-the more severe its persecution, the more glori- ous its triumph.