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Show LIBERTY; ITS EXTENT, LICENSE Religious Persecution The Massacre of St. Bartholomew a Political Persecution. (Wriltou for Tho Inlonnountain Catholic.) ' Liberty is iho cry of the age. "(live mo liborly r.r -ivc me dcalh." wrote the patriot, whoso name ;- . 'ti.-hriiio in the grateful memories of his coun-1 coun-1 tr. in. 11. Liberly is f reel. .111 to ad. Hut freedom i-.-i.-t must Im-limiio.. That limii ;itjon comes from i The authority of ;. who is tho Croat. r of .- !! initios vi-ihlo an.l invisible -vst riots liberty., for 1 . nig absolute. Supreme, and masler of all oroa--; !!. his authority hin-ls and hofore Him no man i- five. Body ami soul wo belong to God. We po.s-- po.s-- - . iily what II- bestows, "What havo you that, a.m! .Ii not receive, ami if you received why glory , if .v"" received not." Lihorty thou does not eive J n:; !i fr.rdom to act against tho commands of God. Wain-I the rights of God lihorty ooasos. Any viola vio-la t i..;i of His commands js 110j liberty, hut license. 'I !i- -tat- derives its authority to rule from God, f ii.l any violation of its laws is considered an abuse ' lilx rty. I ho government does not violate, ro-vr.nii ro-vr.nii or curtail tho lihorty of its subjects when it. i.;.-. laws against drunkenness, ihoft, murder, etc. .either is tho imprisonment of iho two former nor ill-' hanging of tho'latter any inf ringement on lib-r.y. lib-r.y. It may appear so 'to those who arc morally 1n ''ir h.ws of God, and those of a nation. , n)'iV- s they lo claim that human authority is V ' usurpation which oarrios no obligation to obodi- ( m and submission. That, no man has an inherent right 1o curtail the liberty of a follow being, or limit or sot hounds to his free actions, for to do so Mould be tyranny. So reason our free thinkers. Miar.-nisis ana ot ners. l hey lorget that the obedience obedi-ence and submission demanded is not to the individual indi-vidual who executes the law, hut to the law itself, i iid that the observance of iho law, which represents repre-sents truth and justice, is real freedom, whilst its Intio,, is simply license wrongfully claimed by any individual. Hero we come to the point where the accusations accusa-tions against the Catholic church, that she iVhos-.-. 1i!c to liberty may bo continued. Her attitude regarding re-garding the Inquisition was treated in the last j i-Mio. Only in her authoritative and teaching ca- ' pa.-ity can she be held responsible, j To implioatejhe church in her authoritative oa- pacity as sanctioning "religious persecution," the j 'massacre on St. Bartholomew's day" is often ad- rj dn.-.-d in evidence. To confirm the charge the sanc- I 1 loiiing of a "To IVum" to bo sung by the pope to commemorate tho event is considered sufficient. This unexplained may give some coloring to the .J charge. But what are the real facts in the case? H he real facts show (1) a "persecution." (2) the ab- II M iH-r of rolicion and (3) that it was a political per- ! s. ,-utioi:. French history during the last half of ! ihe sixteenth century and down to the first decade or the eighteenth show a wonderful decadence and a barbarous spirit in the sentiments that animated i'- people. Savage hatred animated both Catholics rnd ProK'stants. Both alike were imbued with the I . sfirit of anti-Christ. Tho massacre of St. Barilud-f Barilud-f em, w occurring within that period. 1.172. is simjily an incident arising from such unchristian feelings. ; S. ,';ety was demoralised and in the earnaire that '. Milled in . much l3oodshed the responsibility, at f "h-- very worst, could bo equally divided, share an! ' sii.uc alike between both parties. ; r"tli artios had ihoir candidates for the throne, j -"'m1 boih wore determined to win the prize. The i lliioiioi would at anv cost be soverned onlv bv a I'l oi. -iaiit ruler, the Catholics w( re equallr leter- i .. Here is where Catherine dc ledicis, noted ? o '' h'T cunning craft and ferocity, more than for !P b' r t-i 'ligion. for which she had no lore o: respect, "-nr.-. To s(cure ihe prize she mad:1 use of the " : animosities that existed to carry out the t 'b:i.-;il massacre, lieligion was no facitor in the T.;i'ii-r. Xoither Catherine nor her son, Cliarles I IX. a;e credited with being zealots for the Catholic I i The author of the ".Martyrology" of the ' .-'Ivinists states ihat after the massacre, "the par- I V iin.-nt of Toulouse )ublished the. will of the king I no one should molest those of the religion, but - oii',l rather favor them." A similar edict was t'li'.lishr-d in Paris Aug. 20. Neither Charles nor 1 - mother was stimulated to fury by religious con-1 con-1 '-lions against the Hugonots. but because the lat-"' lat-"' : had caused entire provinces to rebel, and brought iiin troops to France, also had plotted to kidnap ' ,;;rlrs. To arouse the people it M-as only neces-; neces-; -y i,i point, out that ihe Hugonots wore danger- -is in ihe stcto, ami bore an intense hatred for " ryihing sacred to Calholic belief. On the king's i l i'-e they posted ribald verse showing their con-'i con-'i 't for the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantia-' Transubstantia-' '!. They desecrated churches, monasteries and '-i;vf nts. After looting those sacred edifices, they " "iild next completely demolish them. Priests and 1 i"iiks were tho first objects of their fury. These would butcher in cold blood, and sometimes 1 nrv alive. n the province of Dauphiny alone 2ofi' TTi.-t?. plus TOO religious, were murdered. Will f-'-'-'arian prejudice condone ihese atrocities in s'nving to convict, ihe Catholic church of "relig-i "relig-i ir- persecution'' in ihosc bloody wars? Religion. V may be true, was used as a pretext, but the real cau-o was semi-political, and semi-fiendish. Put how came the pope to sanction the singing r' the "To Ileum?" After the massacre the king f-oni his pliant tools to Pome to inform the supreme t p. Mil iff that the conspirators against the state so- j on ty and religion were now conquered and peace j restored to the kingdom. Xo mention was made of the terrible massacre. Relying on the report -sent, Tamely, ihat peace reigned, he authorized a "Te I Ileum." In those days ihe medium of eonimunica- lion Mas very slow, but when the real facts had 1 reached Rome the sovereign pontiff shed tears, and I censured the king for permitting such an inhuman - f-laughicr in his kingdom. In the part of 1hc w church authority, instead of persecution it was the i very opposite. To saddle the blame. on the church , tnd condejoin her i'or favoring '"religious . persecu- tion" has been always a favorite theme of sectarian prejudice and hatred, but in the real facts connected w ith tho massacre -of St. Bartholomew it is evident that it was the result of political, not religious, persecution per-secution on both sides, and that the pope was no more responsible for ihe bloody deeds than was the president of the United States responsible for the riots and murders in Colorado. P. D. |