HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SCOTLAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 78, 24 October 1874, Page 11

HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SCOTLAND.

~*;? B .f7 f ICB '" » s J' Newman asserts in one of his invaluable works, «• is the life of the Protestant view," and untrue tradition « its sustain' £ g JT 6r> * t ? nd 111 l1 11 lf nt ? 1 P 1 T otin S tho former, and in swelling the dark mass cf the latter, false historians have taken a very prominent part. Scarcely a writer on the ecclesiastical history of England or Scotland has flourished since the time of the Reformation who has not bu pen to the cause of wrong, and so lent his aid in thickening around his unfortunate fellow-countrymen the mist of ignorance and misapprehension by which they have been so long and fatally envekped. The clouds, however, are at length becoming less 2£? f'f tt atmo ?P bere " Perceptibly lightening. Here and there rays of truth are piercing through the surrounding darkness, and bv-and-bye we firmly believe, the obscurity will altogether vanish. ♦1 nßutn But , meffect . ln g H » 8 designs, however great, God acts ordinarily through human instrumentality, and there is no doubt that writers who, like Mr James Walsh, stand forth boldly to confront falsehood with truth, are to be amongst His honoured agents in the work of Britain's enlightenment. The volume before us, we are told by its author, was commenced more than twenty years ago, and had the Wrf ofth ° se .y ca F9F 9 been occupied in its compilation we should not have deemed the time misspent. Evidence of laborious research and of painstaking industry in the collection of facts is stamped upon every El™? 1 ? 7 "i ?. Ye \ f °, r - each aßserfci °n. Prote=tant authors are largely quoted, and the book is characterized by an impartiality and absence of b.tterness which will render it very generally useful. * ■ *;«„ nf pf - J f- c 8 -, •' * he £ 18tor y commences with the first introduction of Christianity into North Britain, and interesting accounts, '^i n!l!,!f ()niT£ 'AOUBA OUB8 TT Cnß>areC nB>aren B>are &™*ot the earliest missionaries to the country Amongst them appear the well-known names of St. Kegulus, a Greek Bishop who brought to Caledonia the relics of St. t^C'tT T' Sfc ' PalladlU8 > Sfc - Servanus, St. Columba, and the JSI 1 V Conßec !^ve manner the Church's history is conShSfj? VV h H *T <f the Reform^°": immediately preceding which event Scotland is shown to have been in a flourishing condition, prosperous and l wealthy with universities and colleges, compulsory t™3™£w} y of Parliament| virtuous and leligioS8 > an d The historical facts brought forward in this chapter (wrtes Mr Zm&E.!"? *T BU ? Cient t0 disprove the statements of super! ficial Protestant writers, who assert that tho people of Scotland were €ftho£tK ran f> " Wrefcchedly P°°N" and P « miserable slaves" fn SS 1 V ° n the contrar y. *c have seen Scotland become conHt^S rtSTTET ; h,h ,* PP * free ' and dependent under the fostering «are of the Catholic Church ; her Catholic kings courageous and leTruesTand^ % fiel< V- h " Ca «^ bishops and g priests patriots of inH W« ,T 8 UnfllDCh - mg kind} andthe Catholic people heroic *nd brave, under every circumstance, in the long-contiiued and f n iT 8 /W ct ° fl i ce o their natiT °l*»d from a foreign yoke The aSS reroS - aCe ,r d BB T t ° f ? ou S laf > ™ d Randolph: are imperishand connlil fl* T- alB ° f b >° ttish hißtory - We have seen trade and commerce flourishm*, nnrt the various arts of civilized life encouraged and protected by the Church vi^Sl^/ 08 " 11 ™ 8 /! 1 " the h amletgrew into the village, the rimmumtv T 7°' ♦"S * he tOWQ int ° the rOyal **** and mercantile S5£JS^ , m T ] he ear] y reCOrdß of Scottish history SSwuSf Vh ° m-°m -° r l Cl , early doea £t a PP ear that fche People Called the 'Jl- P ar , fclCUlarly tho6e whored by their kbou?, now fed better eTotl^W 868 * T, better mBt ™*« d ™ religion, better 21™ irl ' •"r CM f d for> more eaßil y woAed » and in every ZnThJvV * rtuoU8 > '"^pendent, happy, and free in Catholic times T& 6V f b . eeDßmCe the Protestant Eeformation. the book whJn e ,£ 'p 9 P ? Bant^ pi , ctuM ifl e ivea a little f urther °* « on the mo^r^ f ,, r ° te^ ailt , E . efo I nn » ti <>n with its blighting effects ' ' phyßieal condition <>f «*« people was in hardS'lZf ° f th V ountry ™*U have dmwn pity from the other LnZn; lv^. pe °?. lete t" gaged ia a furiou9 butcW of each reacetuTanSf I6Pl 6P f" P ** i ? fernal P olicy of Elizabeth. Every £rtm» In Z art Waa entirdy afc ft Bttm(L Agriculture, manuSSrfrt, commerce w ere neglected. Nothing was heard from one Sarmierv^Z^ t0 "" 2 th " fc the arms and the roar ™3 17 ' mg 86 / Q , but Tmageß in flameß . to^ns beleagured by fathers or 'hT»h en / U ? hi L dreQfl y in g from the cottages where their S^ armed IS, b^ en mas9 »c« d . the pulpits surrounded SeaXn ZZ *!t T hands . on the^ sword, ; whilst Knox and the £ ,» I*JX i th I flame Of dißCord by declaiming against the Queen SiSSS ' * mUrdere . r > and » n adulteress, deserving of instant deat£ SarfnTt! c , IC , omm » ni^«on to all who supported her cause, and iernartf^ 6C °" ld ? Ot be P««» in the couatry until she and ier partizans were punished with death. No ecclesiastical history of the country coald be complete without *£?£?!!$ VW*?* S"fc"w." whom Protestants claim?' this day ns the chief founder of their religion in Scotland, and the life ~»nd character of John Knox is thus summed up by our author :- *urb^!nnY /S hc J hfe J was 8P e nt in treason, conspiracy, rebellion, turbalence, and bloodshed. He was born of poor parents educated Jwlttfi tyOft i ieoatholic Church « ordained ap ?iest at the age of i7tK'V a 8/ dm °^ 19hed ' and a fte"»ardß expelled from tho office «t tne priesthood for his crimes of impurity and for teaching heresy. •„,! ht~ JJ ° in !^ * he , ba ? d . of assassins who murdered Cardinal Beaton, «f ft™ 6 tb6 - ir « ha P laln . wa s condemned to the gaUeys in Franco as fh« n r? 6 717 1 ? 11118 ] 8 ' were he remained for nineteen months, and was preacher of Lntheranum and Episcopdianism, although he professed Sse a ZH 0 nf IVini9 i i , aS uCotlßndu CotlBnd - • • • • 1n1559he P returned IL£?a d BtUI » "bel; he at once joined the rebellion going on 3EE£m I" 8 "? Ma / y of J Guiße - H « w ro*e otters to the Enflish Government under a feigned name, loliciting money to aid the rebels,

and an English army to invade and lay waste his native load. Heurged the people to destroy and ruin the churches, abbeys-, ancl religious establishments, and to burn all the civil and ecclesiastical histories, documents, charters, and records of the country. He was « course, vulgar ancl vindictive rebel and traitor to his queen and countrr from the day Mary landed until she was dethroned. ... He was at all times a despicable coward, who fled from that danger which wasthe consequence of his crimes. In his writings he defended and praised the assassination of Cardinal Beaton, the Duke of Guise and David Rizzio, as being the work of G-od j he also maintained that all Catholics, clergy and laity, kings and subjects, ought to be put to death, so that lie was thus tho advocate of murder and the fiercest intolerance. He was unsettled in his own creed, or else acted the hypocrite, as he was an Episcopalian during his stay in England whilst m Scotland he was a Calvinist and Presbyterian. He was a calumniator and slanderer of the worst kind, as he in his writings and sermons distorted facts, misrepresented passing events, falsified history and defamed the best of men and the most virtuous of women. . Mr Walsh's valable history is continued down to the present year and ends with au encouraging reporb of the present condition of Catholicism in Scotland, and a hopeful augury for the future of the Church in that country. In conclusion, we would say, that as a book for reference, no more useful publication has of late issued from the press, and we have no doubt that it will become, as ifc well deserves to do, a standard work. The materials contained in it have been thrown together in an attractive form, and the stylo is altogether pleasant and readable. — • Tablet.'