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Show THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND MODERN THOUGHT Does Not Concern Herself About Purely Intellectual Speculation, But freely Sanctions and Accepts All Demonstrated Dem-onstrated Truths of Science. (Rt. Rev. Mgr. Edward R. Chase in Thy Xew World.) Most of those who are not within the actual pale of Catholicity receive their knowledge regarding regard-ing its spirit and teaching from non-Catholic histories, his-tories, and these are, unfortunately, singularly unjust un-just and prejudiced in reference to her. Hence we often hear, and perhaps not without reason, that "Catholicity and modern thought do not harmonize" harmon-ize" I say not without reason, because, as I have already stated, the sources from which the Usual knowledge of Catholicity is drawn are defective, and when the, spring is poisoned, the streams which flow from it be they ever so sparkling -ale infected in-fected also. Catholicity, as the criterion of universal and eternal truth, stands alone like a massive fortress against which the armies of heresy, unbelief and -rationalism have been from the very moment of her existence hurling themselves in deadly fury. Those in command of these armies are well versed in the tactics of modern logic; one by one. though seldom in unity, they have attacked the grand old citadel, each in its time to be. turned j back humiliated only to form under a new name and wage the eternal warfare which must continue as long as truth and falsehood are in opposition. In this I'Oth century, when men arc drunk with the wine of ambition, discovery and research, many have multiplied against the principles of true pro- p-rcss mill itnited tn nitm-h ( n t.bnl o tv Minor systems of religious as well as logical thought have been ignored. Great men, long since dead and buried, have had their writings disinterred disin-terred from peaceful graves and brought forth as arguments to prove that Catholicity and modern thought are antagonistic. but remember that Catholicity Was not founded to teach aught but the science of morality and spirituality, and, if ever her Pontiffs or priests have encroached on matters of learning not pertaining to her divine mission, they have done so as individuals and not ' as an authoritative teaching body and, while she is by no means authorized as an explorer into the hidden depths of nature, it is not her mission or purpose to retard such research or advancement. Again, if Catholicity were opposed to all she is accused of opposing, she could not have existed, or even be in existence today. One ray from the flashlight of modern investigation would banish her to oblivion. But her trut'h and teachings stand now after 2,000 years of battle with the world, and in her there is not a sign of crumple or decay. Monarchies are falling, republics taking their places these in time will give way to other forms of government, the laws of which are not yet conceived con-ceived in the mind of man; but Catholicity remains re-mains ever' the same -not the foe of progress or modern investigation, but rather its helper and handmaid. Xor do we find in her children 'the slightest opposition to modern knowledge and dis- covery. Take, as an example, ihat magnificent army of women, known as the Sisters ot Charity and Mercy their lives are given with a noble s.-lt' saeritiee to the care of 'the 0ick. yet. in their hospitals, hos-pitals, do we not rind ecry modern discovery of surgery used in the service !" the afriirtod; t hey-are hey-are among the most devout children of fhc Clunvh. but, do voir think that Catholicity or thc.v tliem- selves ask if a pathological di-eovery has been I found by a Catholic or a non-Catholic? No. they I make Use of all that (bid has given, -a.-in hninbly j "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." All that is moral and clean in modern 'hoiinlir. ideas and progress -meets with sincere eo-operat iotx at her hands all that is opposed to morality '.: strikes at the foundation- of society or the integrity integ-rity of domestic peace finds in her a most deter- , , mined foe. Xow, as always during the hundreds of years of her existence. t atliolicrty is ever the sponsor for I the principles' of sound government whether writ-j writ-j ten under the royal banner of a king or under the j glorious riag of a republic.. Kvery patrc of her " j theology teaches loyalty to legitimate authority. j When the Spanish flag was lowered in the Philip-! Philip-! pines Catholicity accepted at once the changed i conditions and. as soon js possible, sent American , j Bishops with orders to inculcate American ideas I and customs (religiously speaking) imiong the millions mil-lions of her children in those island-.-' She will succeed, because Catholicity never fails. Xaturally, her teachings are not in harmony with anarchism, socialism and the more vulgar forms of social upheaval. She does not ay; roe with Tolstoi, that all government is ueees-arily bad but she knows that each succeeding government, is transitory. In her wonderful eour-e .-he has seen them rise, prosper, fall decay and die; -he 1 ' has baptized them in infancy and sung their ' requiem in death while she herself remain.- im- ', mutable and eternal. Men learn wisdom from books, but from experience they learn true knowledge; knowl-edge; the same i.s true of society and. humanly- speaking, of Catholicity itself; therefore, while she is not antagonistic to modern thought or idea-. '- . she is necessarily conservative in her judgments. ' ' Knowing that she lias not been divinely eomrni ' sioned to teach cosmology, or natural science, she ' bids the student of modern research, first to prove his theory before she accepts it. If a learned stu- . i dent of natural history claims that the world is f several million years of age, iii place . of -several thousand. Catholicity does not forbid hiui to think as he likes or discover all lie can but she never deviates from the prerogatives of her own divine inheritance and, in matters of faith and morality, she bows her venerable head to no man. save the Man-God Christ. There is not. and never has been in the history of the world any organized power .which ran com-pare com-pare with Catholicity. From the simplest of her children, the vry beggar in the streets to the most illustrious of her scarlet-robed Cardinals, or even the august occupant of the Pontifical throne, there exists a union of thought and belief which has never before been known in the history of man. When Macaulav expressed in reference to her immutability im-mutability that she would be in existence when tho native and civilized Australian would stand at the Bridge of London and sketch its ruins he but put into words the idea of every thinking man. Yesterday a Pope lived, today be dies, tomorrow another takes his place, and so on down through the whole marvelous and wonderful hierarchy of I Catholicity, in which, from the highest to the I humble, each though but a unit forms, neverthe- i less, a part of that magnificent organization which I compels the admiration of the world. I |