Correspondence.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXII, Issue 13, 26 July 1895, Page 27

Correspondence.

[We m not responsible for the ojnmons expressed by our Correspondents.] THE SUPREMACY CF ROME. TO THK KDITOU SZ, TABLET. BIR.-I have read with interest the cjrre Bpondenc38 pondenc3 which has taken place in the Daily Times biariog on the question of the claims, of the Roman Catholic Church. to lan a*'* rt , Eicbardp - T keS wbat he '« P^^ed to call a modest assertion tbat " dibtiuctmly Roman doctrines have not exiitel frotn tae fi H >, no haen kno»n inJeed for centurie 8 aft* 314 A.D." He nl 80 tells us what these distinctively Roman doctrines are, but refrains from s ,vhw when they w.re introduced. I vias takea by surp.ise w.th his enumeration, f jr he omitted to mention some of the doc-rmes a d pructiceiwich I whs always taught to relievo wa. onsideicd by the leaders of Rev Mr U.chanls 1 cmmar.ion th-> most distinctive of the Roman doctnnns, to w,t that '• modcra " itutitu ion of confusion atidthe' blasphemous figment," the Sicnfic of the Mass " (ThiHy. first art,cle-«Aa,M.c»i Joufe si ,n/'). Arc * S «, bjlieve that m th. shifting of the sands lh, 8c grouuds of gnevanc, are buritd for evtr in the mighty dt ep 7 Let us hope so. Mr Perriu, on .he Catholic side, has w.it'eo a ktter, the gist of which was an invitation to Mr U.chards to read that esceed-.n-ly able pamphlet by Dr Carr, Archbishop of Melbourne, " Th d oi.gmcf the Church of England," ln wh.ch Dr Cair t hows beyond doubt and from the adnuuions of Protestant historians thenwlviß, that those claims which Mr Uichards is pleased to call modern, are not m ,der«, unless h3h 3 wishes e> to call all c aims which have existed ever since the dawn of Christianity. I notice vi Mr Kicbards 1 leter the words, -Mr P err n'a account of the Coune.l of Aries (of which there ,s question) is good enough tor the purpose." Does tMs mean that the Hue accou ,t of the Council of Aries is good enough to bear out the C'uihohc c mention viz., that tbe Pope's authority Wfß there iecognißid? It bo .he Catholic contention m^t be granted. Or doe* it mean th»t Mr Porrm d.stor-ed the meaning of tbe Coudcl to suit h.s purpose? lh.e latter must be the meaning wh.ch Mr Ricnarfs w.sh s his Readers to draw, for he 9l y ß tbat, " the Council, not summoned by the Bishop of Rome nor presided over by h.s representative," wr/te to Sylvester, who was Pope, " we have made various regulnti n°,' and

further, ■< they seni tho 3 e regulations to Sylvester in order that they any be promulgated to at) tbe faithful." •< This," .aye Mr RichardH r T, c -' D A n T\* ° f Bff " ira DOt c>n9ißfent w i'h Home's modern Cms. A Cathol.c would answer that < these do represent a state of affair* quite consistent with Rome's claims, ancient or modern' But we must remember Mr Richards is carefnl to omit three verr important words t*ken from the first Oanon of this Council, quoted by Dr Carr. These words are according to custom. The Fathers of the Cuunc.l r e que 8t the Pope, whom .hey afterwards by letter style most gracious Pop.." «We salnte you m omoBtm 08 t gracious Pope with the venerauon that is due to you." And again in the letter they say, We have considered it oar duty to transmit them to von «ho preside .over the great diocese, m order that they maybe made kn OWa and proma'gated to all the faithful." Now remember the Fathers add-All this is done '• according to custom,' which shows hat thu is rot the first time the Pop-'* right of promulgating, and thereby sanctioning, decrees was acknowledged. thP a V nil " gy ' mere ClPar 'y "dwtand ib» action of he Fathers of the Council of Aries. Tbe Hous, of Represent^ n b,s Clony may nnke cer'ain regula ions, which they send cm U> th« Gov,rn.r. B.fore they are approved of by the Governor they have no b.ndmg force on the Q .een'H subjects. W. the MSB could truly *ay m their letter to the Governor '• We hava made certain regu! a t lons ." which we ask jou to promulgate By so doing they would be recognising the Governor'authority to sanction and promulgate the regulations as he thought fit. I D a sim i!ar manner Pope Sylvester, though not asked in so maay words to sanction the regulations, when asked to promulgate them, was certainly ask,d to sanction them. For we cuinof be required to believe that those Fathers would ask the mont graces rop 3 to promulgate regulations which he could not .anc'ion The q-itVum may now occur to anyone, What would have been the I -I c s action towards those regulations if he could not conscientiously sanction them? VVoul , ho, notwithstanding, promulgate them toaU •he Utbful? Certainly he w uld co ,. Nor wa| h / agked ™ Aries fathers to promulgate th^m wubout h.s sancMon, bemuse when Jh-y wnt the decree to him, with the letter which accompanied them, they clearly IPBie ned the w.ole question into h.s hand, "llowmg h,m to tr.a- the regulations as he ,h>ught best, thereby' acknowledging lura as supreme judje. Is it tru-, tLur, to say, a a Mr Uichards has siid, -that the .Com of those Arks Fathers rep-went a s ate of .ff.i,, tot con . «H:.nt w.th Homes modern claims"? Io my ,-p.u.00 it is not hard to «cc who has given an account of the Aries Council wnich ■• is good cnuugh for the purp )ee." B liev Mr Liichaids gives uh four claims of tbe Church cf Rome wh-ch he calls modern, but, for present purp seß , they may all be tended in the first, which „ "That .he B.shop of Hum, i. the Bupremc heal of .he Church an j her infallible guide." All the other claims ment.ontd by him follow from the truth of the first with « few trfi-ng mod fictions. 8 Fiona the conduct of the Fathers at the Council of Aries at which th.cc Briton bishops were pre 6 enr, it is B ho*n that those Fat he a so early as 314 p actually acknowledged at least the fi at part of Mrß,chardß' Propoßition-thatP ropoBition-that is, they acknowledged Pope Sy lvcter supreme head of the Cburcb, aad supreme jud- e in ecc'esias t.cal c u.s P) an 1 they di Iso aecord.ng to custom Therefore v waJ tb- cus om at that e,.r!y date to lock on the Pop, as suprlw I h t>O t \ n t7 Bay "^ bl ° X tO the BeCOUd Parl °' the P r °P°» (and her mf,,l llb . e gU,dOg U ,do This wonld bring ,n too much matter I ArlJ"r a K dd M lOnt ° the l'Btimnl ' Btimnn yof tie Fathers at the Council of Arlee, I. Hhall now gtve a few quoUtioui from the ancient Fathers of