Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 8, 4 March 1925, Page 22

Current Topics

A Letter and a Reply The Catholic Humid of India has had submitted, to it a letter received by a parish priest', .who asks for a suggestion as to how be ought, to reply to it:-

:, ''Rev. Father,—l have explained to you in what, dire straits I am, and I. cannot understand how yon refused to give me. the Rs. 100 1 needed so urgently. If you still persist s in your refusal, I am sorry to inform you. that 1 shall have to join the Anglican Church and go where 1 may have a better chance of finding greater charity, v ' • Yours, etc., N. ■ Following is the reply suggested by the Herald: "Dear Sir,—- -Go. ■!'! .' Yours sincerely, B." Our contemporary goes on lo say that people who stay in the Catholic Church only in the hope of extracting a few rupees from her cannot, lie worse off anywhere else. Let them go. They are no loss.

Chesterton on "St. Joan" ' It has keen asserted that Mr. (I. 15. Shaw-'lias-tried' to suggest in his play that St. Joan was a kind of primitive Protestant. Says Mr. Chesterton, commenting oil this: '•'Now considering -what a number of Protestant prophets and prophetesses have rioted over the world .since the Reformation —thousands in England and tens of thousands in America—it seems very strange that if one wanted, a Protestant heroine, one cannot find her except among Catholic saints." Last week the cables conveyed the announcement of- an Anglican bishop that the Anglican Church did not canonise saints, but just made. them. The foregoing suggests that the easiest way in which Protestant denominations can make them is to claim them alter the Catholic Church has canonised them. If they do that they will be able to rest secure in the knowledge that the saints they have are real saints.

A Healthy Sign '.-""According to a contributor to n Dublin exchange there is a religion's revival affecting powerfully the life and thought of Italy toinfluencing every rank and walk -and •condition of life, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, on a scale .so vast as to have no equal in past history. "As I. sec this; extraordinary movement in full operation," says the writer, '"it recalls the remark made -more than once tonic in the hard days of 'the war, as we sat in our dug-outs in the old-front line: 'Only a great revival of religion can save Europe. I am no religious man, hut I am quite sure of this.' Will : Fascism and religion hand in hand spread .out of Italy and regenerate Europe? Stranger things than-this have happened in the prist, and may happen again. Those who, like myself, have known Italy for twenty years or more, and possess a really intimate know.ledge of the country and the people, can only describe the change:as the most amassing phenomenon of our- time. Socialism- : Communism, and Freemasonry, not lo mention

Jewry, formerly dominated the country, the educated classes were largely unbelievers, and any public manifestation of religion was practically out of the question. Now all is changed, and amidst scenes ,of great enthusiasm, the Sacred Host is borne through the -streets, of cities that were, formerly hotbeds of red revolution; there is no shred of human respect, for men -who have never darkened church doors since childhood fall bn their knees as the Host is borne by, imploring forgiveness and calling'-'on the bystanders to pray for them. One of th.i outstanding facts iff’ this exlraonliua'y revival is its entirely spontaneous _ character. There is no great dominating personality, no great preacher like Savonarola to teens urn movement. Yet scenes are enacted up and down the country that recall vividly tne days of tli w great Florentine; immoral books and novels are brought forth and burned ;n the. public streets, blasphemy and earing are being rigidly put down, and there is no question as to the marvellous moral change being wrought in the character of ti e people.’’

Street Theology , It is customary for the ifees of the. Catholic

Church to speak of Spain and Italy as Catholic countries steeped in ignorance and superstition because they are Catholic, 'limy tell us , that it is ' only by keeping the, people ignorant that the Church call exist. To clinch their argument they, point to England, America, and. several other countries (excluding Germany, of course), which they term Protestant countries, to show that the high standard of intelligence and education among Protestant peoples is the great bulwark against' “Roman idolatry. 'Miss M. 'Ward, in referring to the work of the Catholic Evidence Guild, which consists mainly of street-corner 'preaching by lay Catholics in the big cities of England, cites some startling examples of Protestant knowledge regarding tin* Catholic Church. Here are a few of the gems that fell .from the lips of enlightened Protestant hecklers;

.“My good sir, ; it’s no earthly use you trying to convince us yon don’t pay to got your sins forgiven—l’ve seen it in yonr, own prayer-book— -it. says you’ve got to make an act of iiiit I on I ion when you go to confession !’’ ’■ ’ \

“I take confession to mean, sir, that you toll your sins to the priest, and the priest (ells ’mu to the bishop, and the bishop tells ’em to Hie' archbishop, and the archbishop tells ’em to the Pope, and the Pope tells ’em face to lace with the Almighty. Am .1. right P”

A man had been giving a vivid description of the tortures inflicted upon nuns in convents—'‘hut the.,very worst one of all is a tiling they call Extreme Viielimi-. and this is so terrible ,| he. wound up w ith gusto] that the' nun practically'• always dies- after ill”

“Purgatory’? Purgatory ? That there Leaching was invented by Hie’ Vestal • Virgins of ancient Greece!” ’ ■ '

“Look here, Air. Sneaker, can von tell ire what the Catholics, did to the Protest ids in Hie catacombs of Rome?”.

A speaker had been dealing excellently for twenty minutes with Papal Infallibility, taking questions and constantly driving home what Infallibility was Uni. Finally he asked : “Any more questions:I’’ 1 ’’ An old woman act the, foot of the platform, who had been listen/ mg attentively to the whole lecture, raised her voice; “You may talk, young man, and you may talk till you are black in the face, but never will you convince mo that your Pope is (hid !”

Hum Evolution and the Church We hope many of our leaders are. familiar with a series of .American press publications which deal with the burning religious, social, and ethical problems of the day. They are reasonable in price, averaging 10 cents for each brochure; ami they .are worth ten times the money. Among the most recent we must notice a pamphlet entitled Human Evolution and Sc'wnce, by Francis Lebuffo, S.J. Having discussed the. bearings of the problem from all sides, and examined the arguments adduced by evolutionists, the author gives us.a masterly exposition/of the Catholic view in the last few pages. Considering the importance and actuality <;f the subject, we are justified in presenting our readers with a summarv of his conclusions here.

1. It is often asserted that the Catholic Church has no definite attitude on evolution. As the statement stands it is not true.. The Church lias a very definite attitude where there is question of the evolution of mam—that is, the whole man, a rational creature composed of hotly and soul. No Catholic can hold the evolution of man in this sense', because the soul comes into existence fresh from the hand of Cod Himself. >:.'

2. The question is then narrowed down In evolution of the human body. - Has the Church any altitude on this point ? Certainly it has. ■ The Bible tells us that the human race had one origin, that it desecnideii Anun Adam and Eve. Hence no Catholic is permitted to hold the tribal evolution of man from non-man ancestors. On the descent from common parents is based a great body of dogmatic teaching, viz., the supernatural elevation of the whole human race, the fall', original sin, and redemption by Christ. The Council of Trent says—

“Can. 1. If anyone does not admit that Hie first man, Adam, when he has transgressed the command of God in .Paradise, immediately lost the holiness and justice in which he had been created . . . let him be anathema. ■'

“Can. 2. If anyone assorts that the' transgression of Adam harmed him only and not his offspring and that the sanctity and justice he lost, lie lost for himself only and'not for us . . , let him he anathema.”

In these Canons is contained the ’ teaching Unit Adam and Eve were the first man and woman and that from them we have all descended.

M. Docs the Church admit (hat. Adam’s body may have originally been the body of im animal or a sub-man with a non-spiritual soul? Dors the Church admit that God took tin’s non-man body, removed therefrom its non-spiritual soul, thus forming man, “composed of body and soul P” Again, the answer is, the Church does not. The Church’s atti-

tude -is .definite .towards this theory :_ if; is one of condemnation. in the jnescnl slate of ride lice. The Biblical Commission, June, ,19jQ9»-.decreed,negatively in answer to the following:.— ..-.'■ '-'Can we, in particular, call in question the literal and historical meaning (of (Jenesis ; caps. I. 11. 111.) when in these chapters if is question, of the narration of facts which touch the foundations of Christian religion;as, for example, the creation of all i lungs by (Jod in,the beginning of time; the particular creation of man; (lie formation of the firs! •woman from the first man; the unify of the. .human,-, race?" ,- That is, in the present stale of. evidence, the Commission jueanl; lo deny the animal ■ancestry of Adam's body ami in assort Hie immediate formation of Eve's 'body from Adam's. . . •1. What, is the binding force of ibis decree? .-.The-, decree is not an infallible pronouncement, but in Ihe matter of such decrees a Catholic is ...bound not to leach anything against, them. We cannot verbally or in writing combat these decisions., without., incurring the note of temerity, lint, if is held by theologians thai, if in our own mind we are convinced of the cogency of the contrary arguments, we may represent (hem to the Commission or we may hold them internally. The. .Church's course; is the rational one of forbidding her subjects lo advocate publicly . a doctrine that entirely hicks proof. She thus protects the unlearned and upholds truth. '

The Public Conscience v Some time ago we listened to :m orator criticising out' social and economic conditions. He produced much evidence in support .his arguments; and lie emphasised repeatedly the need of letting the public ki&w the facts. He assumed that when the public knew something they would do something. It was not : the first time •we had heard that, fallacy enunciated.; and as the orator was speaking we could not hut remark /that here was a. man, a professed supporter of secular education, expecting'a result, from secular education which only religious education- can give. . People do not act so much from what they know as from what they foil; and their feelings are determined to a great extent by their early raining. Knowledge t by itself has no .propelling power. _ It is only when knowledge is confronted with principles which have been deeply impressed on the heart that we are moved to action. It is not sufficient to know the difference between right and wrong; we must also feel it. We heard two men discussing a war-time conspiracy, in which a number of highly-placed public people were alleged to,,have filled their pockets with the fruits of their dishonesty. Said one: "1 .suppose we should do the same thing if wo wore -.in, their places.', 5 , The other replied: "I suppose so." And then he added: "Good luck to them if they can get away with ii." To those "two men the fraudulent act was as unmoral as a dogfight. To them the criminal: ; was to' he envied if he escaped detection and : punishment. That little discussion indicated the root cause of many evils in our midst. It showed first a toleration of wickedness

that, only an unmoral system -of ■ education coupled with a laxity in horho training could * inculcate. It is vain. for men to "-raise their voices against rampant evils : in the State so long as •they • support .a ..system, of education that does not influence feelings on. que;! ion:; of right and wrong-, that places t]ic material before the spiritual. . As long as that system obtains,-the schools-will be (he birthplace of moral plagues will inarch like an army of 'occupation, 'throughout the land.. ..'Until no learnito .shudder at evil, evil will remain an ; 'honored guest- in our. household. How;Conscience Is Trained . . ". hi this 'connectionPalmes is worth quoting.; --.''l 1.,,is an piper lo suppose,',' he says, "thai, conscience .resides solely .in I he intelligence;.it .is i a.i.so-.routed, in.,.the. heart. Ii is a judgment-. ) it--.is true.; but, we -judge of thing's-..in a very, diji'evenf way according to the manner in wlu'eh ,we feel. I hem. Add to Ihi-s, thai, th.(.\, feelings have.-an immense influence, -on. moral ideas and actions; the result; i-; iii. a I conscience ,is-formed, under the influence of all the causes, which .forcibly act on our hoar!.-;. . ("'o.m.imunieale to 1 wo children I ho. same, mora.!, principles, by. leaching them from the same book and under lie same master; but suppose that one.'in his own family sees what, 3 he,.is taught constantly practised, while the .other, sees nothing -but indifference to.il; suppose, moreover, that, these I wo..children, grow up with, the same moral and .religious conviction,- so .that as far as the. intellect is concerned there,is no difference between them ; nevertheless, do you believe that their judgment of the .morality of actions will , be the, same J* .. By no means; and why? Because,the one has only convictions, ..while the other has also feelings. Ji{. , the one, .flic doctrine enlightens, the : mind ; while, in -the; other," example engraves it constantly on the heart. , Thus.' what -one regards with indifference the other looks upon with horror; what the, one. does with negligence the other perforins with .the, greatest, care;.and the same subject that, to one is of slight, interest'is to the. other "the highest importance. Public, .conscience, which, 1 in fact, is the sum of private consciences, is subject to the : same influences as they are ; so that mere instruction is not .enough for it, and it requires, the. concurrence of other causes to act on the heart as well as on the. mind.'' If .our secularists had . imbibed a ; little of the wisdom of Balmes they would understand that the surest way in which to, stem the tide of evil is not to.tell indifferent : adults : about it,, but to train "the 'children to . hate and avoid it. In that case, they would. cease to be secularists. ',,"',' lie " Coming: Christ " of the Theosophists From the Fu,tn\<jhll y lievje-w ; we learn that Airs. . Anuie,-.Besant;. the ' loader of the Tlicosophical Society, has Cor some time been cpachihg a young Hindu to play the part of the "coming Christ." " She' I) ad .this follow with, her in Holland nof,long ago at. 'the annual meeting' ofjhc Order'of the, Star of the /East, the esoteric section , of the Society. His name is Krishnamurti, and the adulation lavished upon him and Mrs. ""Mesa 111 herself throws'a significant jig])t ; upon the whole movement! "VYe have been. extra-'

ordinarily fortunate,” writes, one member r .‘‘because we have been walking !in ' tlio wonderful sunlight cl' tho presence of . Dr. iJtv ;nii/ ; whilst another, -asks 7 1 Ms there, any language ■ in the world in whioli . one, could \ *'■ ■ • v *; .A V, ■adequately express line infinite Jove a nyl .tenderness pm rod out by Air., Khishpamurti upon each one- of us during .I hose iiever.-tq.-be- • forgot lea day.-, “1.1 was amusing.” : we read .again, “to see Air. Krislinamnrti fejch bis meals ami wash bis plate and fork..and knife, just its the others did.”., ■ One- must be a Theosophist to appreciate the 'humor of the spectacle, for in M rs. .Ifosantfsl circle Krishnamurl i appears not as a . man, but .as a divinity. It would be unjust to s ,b]apie this luckless youth for the cult of which die is made the object. Notoriety has -been thrust upon him against Ids will. , Left. to himself, be would doubtless . have preferred a. 'manlier profession than that of forming the centre of a, group .of adoring women. Sane Thoosopbisls, not under t lie domination of Mrs. Besani, describe him as .“quite a good lad.” lie confesses naively, to .having discovered an affinity in ..'-Igirlie .Chaplin: “Many a philosopher would give many years of his life to fee! as bo does,” •We may ,yot live to see the famous mouslach.e and interminable. trousers figuring on the .platform of the Theosophical Society. , ... • . ; Sensible Warfare Tl l e war in (Tina is said to.ho , progressing wonderfully well.- One observer lately, returned from the seat of war describes it ~.s a war lie tween generals. No soldiers, are killed. Every combatant shoots, wide of the mark, nr pops paper balls into the enemy • ranks; hut all honestly try to get hold of. the enemy general, and if successful,: cut off his bead. That kind of warfare has much to , commend it, but it would not cut much , ice in Europe. Think, for example, ■ how, discon- . ting, it would he, how opposed to all con- , stitutional usage, if .in the event at* n European war, the soldiers decided to refrain.from attacking one another but confined- themselves strictly to capturing ; : and -punishing the enemy politicians, financiers, and diplomatists. That would put an end -to war talk. Several Radical newspapers.- recently expressed dismay .pit,: a»■ state-ment-to the effect that it is now possible for an aeroplane carrying super-Louis gas to fly over a city and exterminate all the inhabit- , ants ,in a few moments. We see no .cause for uneasiness in this. On the, contrary,, it is about the. most hopeful note that -.has yet been.sounded —it brings into the dangerr zone . the. politicians and conspirators , who- make , the wars. Hitherto, this confraternity have ,been able to insult the enemy, from afar, to dispense hot air in comfortable . halls and f C()sy luncheon rooms miles away from, •■.. the trenches. . But. to run, the ~ risk .oh being , choked with gas in the midst a passionate lament that the, duties of State prevented . them, from rushing out to seek 'death* in -.“the .far-flupg battle line” would lie 100 ridiculous .altogether, Peace, distasteful as it is,, would .he hotter than that. - . s.