St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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- llunuu 5.--E Susanna? El. V5 Z ll fllllll ll ' 77 ' ll ' Puritans. Elizabeth, however, did not propose to follow their lllllllllllll- Piwitanism and Catholicism in Colonial Times HARRY C FESER A. B. IGOTRY and religious prejudice, those inseparable agents of ill-will have within the past year, again made their appearance among us. A natural outgrowth of the circum- stances connected with the last presidential election, they served anew as weapons of attack for narrow-minded orators and illiber- al writers to injure not only the presidential candidate himself but his fellow-Catholics as well Many, not of the Faith, yet charitable enough to respect the religious beliefs of their fellow- men expressed amazement at these unjust attacksg while on the other hand they sincerely admired the calmness with which the Catholics bore them. This however, should not have caused undue surprise for it has ever been thus. History records many such instances. The very beginning of our own Colonial Days, in fact offers a notable example. the Puritans and the Catholics. It might be fitting therefore to inquire into the conditions of affairs relative to each party in England: the causes of their embarkation to America and finally the attitude taken by each after settling here At Elizabeth s accession to the throne, a number of Protestant clergymen who had fled to Switzerland during lVIary's reign, returned to England eager to spread Calvinistic teachings and practices Accusing the Church of England of retaining too many features of the Catholic Church, they immediately deter- mined to purify it from Romish idolatry. Hence the name advice and the government soon checked their agitation. For the time being the Church of England seemed securely estab lished but the strife between Puritanism and the crown was to have tremendous consequences under Elizabeth's successors In the matter of Church government, the Puritans favored an extension of the movement which had torn England from the Catholic Church Two groups stood in sharp opposition, an influential Low-Church element within the Established Church and the fanatical Separatists without The latter' the Independents maintained that there should be no national church but that each local parish be wholly separated from the C1Vll power and independent of other churches 4'-3 8.1 ll21l muuumh Ill alllllI Elll 'llllil lllllll' Q

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J lllllill zlllllli ElllE 'ummluun 'llll ll X Qllli - l ' 1 . 7 H ' ' Y . . 19 . . . . l Q . . 7. . . . . , ll ' c . , Qlllllllllllls , , glllg Q gllllllg sllls . . nun.: inn .fi-T lm lu I Ci ig? It is true that Mary s divine maternity is an honor, an un- fathomable clistmction but her Immaculate Conception is the fitting preparation for this infinite dignity. It was, writes St Anselm emmently Just and proper that the creature chosen to be the Mother of God should shine with a luster of purity far beyond anything conceivable in any other creature under hea- ven In her Immaculate Conception Mary gleams with a luster of grace so bright as to overshadow the brilliancy of the holiest of souls on earth, and even of the entire hosts of angels in heaven No wonder then, that immortal fame was the artist's reward when taking up his brush and having the Immaculate Concep- tion for his theme and inspiration, he executed a work that must continue to demand the admiration of all even of the most impious, throughout the ages. The Immaculate Conception it is that gives true significance to the words penned by the poet, when he, writing of the most pure Virgin acclaimed her as ' our fallen nature's solitary boast. Again it is the Immaculate Conception that has created for suffering mankind such miracu- lous shrines as Lourdes, where the graces of Christ are so freely bestowed upon man as to relieve not only his spiritual ailments but his physical ones as well, provided he manifests a sincere and whole-hearted devotion to the Immaculate Mother. , With the Immaculate Conception thus revealed to us, what is the attitude of the Church toward the sinless Virgin Mary? Though the iniquitous world may scoff at the virtues of Mary,- virtues that are the joy of the Blessed Trinity and the delight of angels-the Church joins with the heavenly choirs and re- joices with Mary in her sanctity. Thrice daily does the Church by the pealing of the Angelus remind her children of the angelic salutation addressed to Mary and thrice daily do her children greet Mary with those heavenly words. F rom the obscurity of the small chamber at Nazareth in which this salutation was first given it has been made Christendom's universal cry of greeting to Mary the Immaculate, and in this acclamation of the Immaculate Conception, the masterpiece of God's creation we are prix ileged to unite our voices. To Mary in whom abounds the fullness of every virtue, we offer our humble greetings, and in so doing we can find no better words than'those of the an- gelic salutation Hall full of grace! S2 ll20ll Ellllllillllllz 3 - . - - - I : alll: X ' -nnnmnun . . . i ! K 7 . . ! 7 i I I alllllllll ll 'alll Ellllll illl Illllllllllll

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Elllllllflllli: glllg slmls Ellli ammwm ig... zlll' Fill . 1 Y 1 1 . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . Y . 1 1 . . . . 5 1 . I 'X a n T f ' . . . . . 1 1 . . . . . . . - 1 C . . . . . 1 1 . . 7 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 C . C C I umuumm. ' E . . : IIIIIIII They tolerated the most radical opinions on religious questions and bore a deadly hatred against King, Prelates, and Catholics. To others they appeared a lawless element. Elizabeth, as well as James I persecuted them and several of their congregations Hed to Holland. Toward a group of these that later founded Plymouth in America we shall direct our attention Elizabeth appointed Whitgift, an avowed foe of the Puritans as Primate Under his regime, Puritan ministers were deprived of benefices and their parishioners punished for attending their services 1n the forests where they continued to exercise the func- tions of their ministry Prominent men sought some relief for them from Elizabeth but their exhortations went unheeded. The Primate moreover was empowered to establish a court of commissioners for the detection of non-conformity, giving freer course to the severities of the law. The Puritans, however, remained steadfast. Robert Brown a clergyman, after whom a sect was named, roamed about inveighlng against bishops, ecclesiastical courts, and I'Cl1glOUS ceremonies His impetuous and illiberal spirit hastened the publication of opinions not yet matured in the Puritan body and which but for his unseasonable interposition, might sooner have ripened into the system of the Independents. Elizabeth applied the remedy of persecution to this innovation. The congregation dissolved into parts, but the doctrines took root in the Puritan body These Brownists, declaring the prin- ciple of the Church of England superstitious, her sacraments and ordinances invalid renounced communion not only with her but with every other Protestant church not harboring their tenets. They could assemble only by stealth. Against these the queen directed the fury of the law. In 1593, it was decreed that any person above sixteen years of age, who obstinately refused for one month to attend public worship in a legitimate parochial church should be imprisoned, that if for three months he persis- tently refused he must abjure the realmg and that refusing this condition or returning after banishment, he be put to death This decree together with others of similar nature enacted under James I Ellzabeth s successor, caused many Puritans to migrate to Leyden Holland' but after ten years there, conditions prompt- ed them to migrate to America. Consequently, on September 6 1620 they set out and tvso months later cast anchor in the harbor of Cape Cod. Before landing they adopted a constitution of government 'md elected John Carver governor for one year The legislature at first 'comprised the whole population xx H2211 T Ellllllg ll I lll lllll sllllll slll 'I llll ll I U Y fi . -u n El-I ' ' Cl I Ill