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Show WOX IIOXOR AT MAYXOOTH. The Rev. Patrick J. Toner of St. Paul, Minn.. Took the Decree of Doctor of Theology at the I'a-nious I'a-nious Irish College. At the annaul closing exercises at Maynooth college, Ireland, the decree of Doctor of Theology was conferred upon the Rev. Pat rick. J. Toner, formerly for-merly of Armagh, but now Professor of -Theology hi St. Paul's Seriiinary, St. Paul, Minn. The examination at Maynooth for the Degree of Doctor of Theology comprises two parts. The first consists of a-tractate in Latin of at'least 100 pages 8vo, on a subject to b? selected by the candidate candi-date with the approval of ihe faculty. The second part consist of a public defense of seventy-iive theses selected and approved in a similar manner. The tractate is presented a considerable time before be-fore the defence, and there is, in addition, "should the candidate not be one of the students, of the college, col-lege, whose present attainments are well konwn a qualifying examination in dogmatic -and moral theology. Sacred Scripture, Canon Law, and Ec-. clesiastical History. It is in the tractate and the seventy-five iheses.that one may read the' bent of i the candidate's mind. It was easy to see from the tractate and the theses presented by the candidate that his line is the historical development of ' dogma. dog-ma. It is -a line which, owing to'the peculiar character char-acter of Protestant theology -and philosophy, has acquired a special, perhaps to some extent fictitious, fictiti-ous, importance. Protestant theology, as it's name imports, not being positive or scientific, must confine con-fine itself in great part to the history1 of opinions, just as the philosophy of Germany, England and America, as is well konwn, is more concerned with the history of views than with their objective worth. However this may be, it is the business of the defenders of the church to do battle with her enemies as he tinds them. Dr. Toner has caught up this spirit, and may be depended on, should God spare him, to do good work for religion. The subject sub-ject which he chose for his tractate is the "Fall of Man and Original Sin," considered from the his-toried his-toried dogmastic point of view. His treatise shows quite a surprising knowledge of the writings of the fathers, of St. Augustine in particular, as well as the early schoolmen. Dr. Toners character as a theologian will stand or fall with his tractate. He is the first of the past students of the college to gain this coveted distinction. |