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Show j Five Great Evils. Cardinal Gibbons' Pastoral to Young j Men. I ,',rd:n;l flihbris has issued a pas- , n. r addressed especially to I urs"1''1, :r",n tne following f jj-racts 8 re taken: 5 ; "KV young m.-n f today who are ,'v,'ous i" v;in success and anxious to ""! thp'r i'ui! duties as citizens, should realize t!i;t society of today is con- .-,nted by ':vr' K'oat cvi,s: "jijvorce, whi' h strikes at the root of he family jin.l society: an imperfect vj, i,iu.- system of education which I 'tMl-rnii!i's th" religion of our youth; P des- r'5 f'' tno Christian Sab-tiith Sab-tiith which tends to obliterate in our ; .. j u j t population the salutary fear of ; aI1,i the homage that we owe him; do gross :nid systematic election '-aiids: and lastly, the unreasonable d;av in carrying into effect the sen-vytf sen-vytf of our criminal courts, and the rjTotis sunt erf upes by which the criminals evade the execution of the our insatiable greed for gain, the eo- rxistence f colossal wealth with abject nnerty. the extravagance of the rich, the discontent of the poor, our eager and impetuous rushing through life, sr.d every other moral and social delinquency, de-linquency, .may be traced to one of the f,-? radiral vices enumerated above. The reckless facility with which di-i di-i we is procured is an evil scarcely !s deplorable than Mormonism: in- d-fd. it is in some respects more dan- frnus than the latter, for divorce has the sanction of the civil law which I Xormonism has not. Is not the law of ; i!:v(irce a virtual toleration of Mormon-!. Mormon-!. ism in a modified form? Mormonism i consists in simultaneous polygamy, v.hilc the law of divorce practically j ads to successive polygamy. The second evil that bodes mischief to i'ur country and endangers the stability i' our government arises from ouv c-'ertivc system of public schools. . I !am persuaded that the popular errors r.'iv existent in reference to education tiring from an incorrect notion of that I To educate means to bring out, to I li'-vriop the intellectual, moral and re- Isi'us faculties of the soul. An eduea- therefore, that improves the mind I and the memory, to the neglect of mor-i mor-i I si or religious training, is at best but : it imperfect system. Ir.i'ed, religious knowledge is as faf i'wp human science as the soul is 4l"ive the lio.lv, as heaven is above 'a-h, as eternity is above time. God given us a heart to be formed to , I V;"''Ue, as well as a head to be onlight-'vi. onlight-'vi. i'y secular education we im-, im-, rrvp the mind; by religious training ' . v direct the heart. he ( iMtion of the Christian Sab-! Sab-! la;!l 's th- third social danger against v'"'; it ld ves us to set our faces :,d take tim.iv precautions before it 1 '"'U!11 prop..rtinn. too formidable to , k- easily eradii-ated. A w,.;, nulst be added on two other t I ,';'e:""!t 'i!s. Our young men know j j: -"at t!;e iM;,,t is tile expression of the I "f a fr.f pe,,ple, and its purity j ri"uM '"' suarded with the utmost jeal- 'J-y. To j.,!;uo that purity is to woun '- state in i;s tender-st point. i-p.vi;, ,1 ,.,-y (Jf flection frauds" I "';e full ..f warning. In many in-I in-I '"iMces, u::-!..ul,tedly, it is the empty f: l.'"1'' ": d. feate.j partisans against I ; I'-t-Ts: y.-i enough remains of a f. i" '', a:: ;:: h.iraeter to be ominous. It t.)'- p:..m menace to free institu- ,ls- ,: " result of universal suf- ' ,;0?( '-iections very frequently J I l"1; votes of that large class f ; r' 11 P t h" rough and baser sort. I '' 'u- !-.. ,,nd organize this vote is; I t!:::-v - ii" of j.oiitics. Gentlemen; I .7'rt"y !,k f'ojn it. Hence it has , "''' most part, with general j , ",''d: hin- ry. into unreputable I , ' - 'in these hands issue the! j ' which thicken in great. I "! ! '! endanger our insti- I ' ballot is the ready and j I v-. ,""f ' r ' '" -"t which registers the jr ,.J "' :i' " l-'-ople for their own gov-I gov-I " '" I'"- violation of its purity! ' ' J '" !ho l,oin- where there j ! iK,',,' ' '" ' -i':,erty or revolution to.j I V. ,' ' I ti,,.., ! satisfaction that a ! fuhj,. ' ' i'u,'iic opinion on this j I,; ! ' 'iev-l.ping; that rcputa- I, - i-.-pf-ar more disposed to I ,1 ' ' 1 ' ia!l in I")I'ti-al iolitici, S ""' : "'"b" "a free ballot." "a I !:..;s,,7' '' ""' '"'eoniing, under the v. r,.,; ai)d more party walch-. walch-. V;-J '. 11 ;s : puifying tendency in a f j)S' i Hi- foundation of all mor- I t.;,."..1S eornersiono of all oiviliza- 8 .'. '"" ")''' '-atui-p that distinguishes r vc"l" fr":n animal and the bond . " 'I tlu'c,., . I t k ' " 1:11 'ith his Creator. It ; j v.o.-jj, . v-hich due honor and! 1 I th..'"' 'S (i'Kl- It embodies all ' j I Gi.j-V "''"''"""tal truths that involves! I , '' '"ty over us and our en-j ! l-.,' ir'hn,'i' n him. 'I employ the f ('r '"" h?re ln its broadest and ' thp"1' '' h"1SiVe sense as ernbod-v" I'ov,trP. tx!M(-'nce of God; his infinite Cver un(i k,uuv'edge; his providence W ,lltf Cognition of a divine I l-ii:'y Je moral freedom and responsi-I responsi-I , distinction between I I I I I j good and evil; the duty of rendering our homage to God and justice and chanty to our neghbor; and. finally the existence of a future state of rewards re-wards and punishments. I hold that religion is the only solid basis of so-,t'iety. so-,t'iety. If the social edifice rests not on this eternal and immutable foundation, it will soon crumble to pieces.. It would be as vain to attempt to establish society so-ciety without religion as to erect a palace pal-ace on shifting sands or hope to reap a crop from seed scattered on the j "eean-s surface. Religion is to society What cement is to builders; it makes jaH hearts compact and coherent. "He who destroys religion," says Tlato, "overthrows the foundations of human society.- The social body is composed of individuals who have constant relations rela-tions with one another, and the very hfe and preservation of society demands de-mands that the members of the com-,munity com-,munity discharge toward one another various and comnlex dniie If the civil sword, even with the aid of religion, can scarcely retrain public disorders, how futile would be the a-t-j tempt to do so without the eo-opera-I tion of moral and religious influence! Still less do you fear the judgment that posterity may pronounce on your conduct. con-duct. For if you believe neither in God nor in life to come, the condemnation of after ages will not disturb your ashes reposing in the tomb. The esteem of your fellowmen will not be sufficient inducement to make you a virtuous citizen, cit-izen, for the great virtues, even those that influence the well-being of society, are practiced in private, and are hidden from the eyes of men, like the root which gives life and bloom to the tree, or the Igentle dew of heaven, which silently si-lently sheds its blessing on the labors of the husbandman. The case of the Founder of the Christian religion is familiar- lo the reader. Who was so great a benofactorUo society as he? He went about doing good to all men. He gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf,' and walking to the lame, and strength to the paralyzed limb, and comfort to the afflicted, and even life to the dead. He promulgated the most sublime and beneficent laws that were ever given to man. He invariably inculcated in-culcated respect for ruling powers and obeyance to their authority, and yet ' he was branded as a seditious man, an j enemy of Caesar, and he was put to j death by the people whom he sought to j deliver from spiritual bondage. I5ut 1 perhaps you will say that a natural I sense of justice, independent of religion, jean exercise sufficient influence in in- ducing you to practice the duties of an I upright citizen. But to discard religion j and yet profess to believe in natural justice is self-contradictory. It is j grasping at the shadow and rejecting the substance. It is unconsciously clothing erne's self in the garment of religion, re-ligion, while rejecting its spirit, "having, "hav-ing, indeed, an appearance of godliness, but denying the power thereof." If you seriously reflect, you will discover that I natural justice has no solid foundation I unless it rests on religion. Natural jus-j jus-j tice may sound well in theory, but it is a feeble barrier against the encroachments encroach-ments of vice. There are many that consider mental culture a panacea for every moral disorder. dis-order. "Let knowledge," they say, "be diffused over the land. Social order and morality will follow in its track." The experience of other nations, as well as that of our own, shows it to be a very great illusion to suppose that intellectual in-tellectual development is sufficient of itself to make us virtuous men, pr that I the moral status of a people is to be estimated by the widespread diffusion of purely secular knowledge. When the Roman empire had reached the highest high-est degree of mental culture it was sunk in the lowest depths of vice and corruption. corrup-tion. The Persian empire, according to the testimony of Plato, perished on account of the vicious education of its princes. It does not appear that vice recedes in the United States in proportion propor-tion as public education advances. Statistics. Sta-tistics. I fear, would go far to prove the contrary to be the fact. The newspapers in our large cities are every day filled with startling accounts ac-counts of deep-laid schemes of burglary, burg-lary, bank defalcations, premeditated murders and acts of refined licentiousness. licentious-ness. These enormities are perpetrated, for the most part, not by' unlettered criminals, but by individuals of consummate con-summate address and skill; they betray be-tray a well disciplined mind uncontrolled uncon-trolled by morality or religion. If neither nei-ther the vengeance of the civil power, nor the hope of emoluments, nor the esteem of our fellowmen, nor the natural nat-ural love of justice, nor the influence j of education and culture, nor all these I motives t-oinbined can suffice to maintain main-tain peace and order in society, where shall we find an adequate incentive to exact of us a loyal obedience to the ' laws of the country? This incentive for young men is found only in religious principles. Religion, I maintain, is the only sure and solid basis of society. Religion teaches us that we are all children of the same Father, brothers and sisters of the same Redeemer, and, consequently, members 1 of the same family. It teaches us the brotherhood of humanity. Religion, therefoie, is the fostering mother of charity, and charity is the guardian of civility, and good breeding is one of the essential elements of the well-being of society. Worldly politeness, devoid of religion, is cold, formal and heartless; it soon degenerates Into hollow ceremony. cere-mony. Good breeding, inspired by religion and charity, inculcates a constant self-denial. self-denial. The young man possessing it is sincere and unaffected; he has the ring of the genuine coin, which passes current cur-rent everywhere and which is easily distinguished from the counterfeit. The Christian religion is all-pervading. It influences the master to be kind toward his servant by reminding him that he also has a Master in heaven wno has no respect to persons. It admonishes the J servant to be docile and obedient to his ! i master, not serving to the eye as it j I were pleasing to men, but as the serv- i ants of Christ doing the will of God I from the heart. It charges the rich to be high-minded, not to trust in uneer-' uneer-' tain riches but in the living God, who J "giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy." en-joy." It counsels the poor to bear their privations with resignation, by setting I before them the life of him who, in the words of the apostle, "being rich, became be-came poor for your suice. that, tnrough j poverty, you might be rich." In a word, religion is anterior to so- ciety and mere enduring th;m govern-jment;'it govern-jment;'it is the focus of all social vir-j vir-j tues, the basis of public morals, the most powerful instrumentation in the j hands of legislators; it is stronger than ! self-interest, more inspiring than civil threats, more universal than honor, I more active than love of country the surest guarantee that rulers can have of the fidelity of their subjects and that subjects can have of the justice of their rulers. It is the curb of the mighty, the defense of the weak, the consolation consola-tion of the afflicted, the covenant of God with man: and in the language of Homer, it is "the golden chain which suspends the earth from the throne of the eternal." Every philosopher and statesman who has discussed the subject of human governments has acknowledged tnat tlpere can be no stable society without justice, no justice without morality, no j morality without religion, no religion without God. I The foregoing subjects are worth: the serious consideration of our young men, who are destined to be the future bulwarks and support of our great republic. |
