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Show MISCONCEPTIONS. One of the most widespread errors with wh'cli the Catholic church (Roman Catholic, if you wil!) has had to contend is that held and often expressed by good, but misinformed Protestants which places the first allegiance of its members to Home. The absurdity of such a notion is equaled only by the maliciousness which prompts its being handed down from one generation to another. Its origin dates back to the time of the reformation, when the corrupt cor-rupt ion among officers of the church and the ambition ambi-tion of heretics caused the great apostasy. Had the error which crept into the human side of the Catholic Cath-olic church at that time been expurgated by the Protestants, as it was later by the adherents of the ' faith, no doubt today the world would not be so sorely afflicted with sects and creeds and decadence in morals. But that is another story. The records of Catholic Americans in times oi war and peace should be a sufficient refutation of the stupid charge of their owing first allegiance to Home or the Pope. The Pope of Rome exercises no more influence upon the political rights or prerogatives preroga-tives of members of the Catholic church in America than does the Sultan of Sulu. Nothing on earth could so speedily wreck the cause of (Sod as represented repre-sented by the church as any unwarranted interference interfer-ence by the Pope in things outside the legitimate functions of the head of the church. These functions func-tions are narrow and limited to the principles of faith and morality, though of course in these things the decision of the Pope is final and binding upon members of the church. It must not be understood that the Pope is an autocrat even in these matters, for when grave questions arise an ecumenical council coun-cil is convoked and the opinions of its members are considered, for the bishops are judges of the faith as well as advisers to the head of the church. The. Pope is not and never was considered as one inspired in-spired to receive from God any new revelation and promulgate it to the world. He and the ecumenical council are merely the court of last resort in matters mat-ters of faith, which must be founded on the Bible. These dogmatic decisions, whether they pertain to faith or morals, are binding on the faithful. The Pope, though infallible organ, rarely uses that prerogative. pre-rogative. Neither the present Pope nor his predecessor prede-cessor has proclaimed any dogma of faith. Another error equally egregious which has a wide popular belief among non-Catholics is that Catholics think the Pope cannot make a mistake under any circumstances; that Catholics are afflicted af-flicted with a superstition that the Pope is more than a human being and incapable of any wrong; that his attributes are God-like. This bold assumption assump-tion of our Protestant friends is not warranted by the facts. The Popes from Peter to Pius arc presumed pre-sumed to have been men of excellent moral character charac-ter unless their lives have proved the contrary. That a few did not display any superior morality does not in any way discredit the divine side of the church any more than a corrupt judge in America proves the entire judicial system corrupt. A careful care-ful study of the lives of the Popes will show that finest of them were honest straightforward, intelli- - ' ; 1 gent and moral men. JJut they were all men. and they were all capable of making mistakes. The in- J fallibility of the Pope, as it is understood by Cath- j olics and from which all the nonsense held by Protestants Pro-testants spruiig. lies solely in the decisions reached and promulgated as the successor of the Apostles on matters formally considered, and from which decision de-cision there can be no earthly appeal. j Reason and common sense are two of the strong- j est features through which Catholic Christianity j hopes to redeem the world. Ur Catholicism were bet- J ter understood by our Protestant friends there j would be much fewer foolish notions entertained about it. At bast, the malicious misrepresenta- j Hons, defying reason and common sense, would disappear, dis-appear, j |
