1415 K4 i IP III! m llll II «iRii.ii:t?! mp ^C3 C.^^- CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ^"f^^ikf Cornell university Library BX 1415.K4C3 The catholic question in polltjcsxg •7 iitical action of our hitherto free and happy people* , I contend that the nature of our civil institutions, to insure their permanency, requires tjie fall recognition, by«veiy true American, of entire freedom of conscience ; and that no member of any church, sect, or denomination, shoutd be made to feel, unless upon, efear' and positive testimony of treason to the State on the part of that religious body to whicl) ha may T)e attached, that his faith is a bar to any position, Bpcjal oy jiolitloal, to which he may aspire. The leaders of the KnowNothing pai-fy, though they have ran- PRBFATOBY REMABES. 9 sacked,- With untiring energy, every nook and corner of the land, in search of evidenee to convict Eoman Catholics of being enemies to repnhlicanistji, and therefore dangerOTs citizens, have failed to show a single instance wherein they have been, in any degree, justly accusable of being less tniei to the constitution and laws of their country than those who have made all this ontepy against them. Foiled in their flffbrts to prove against the resident Eoman Catholics of this coimtry treason, either Ijitent" or open, these enemies to the Catholic faith have been obliged, in order to -make some show of justification for having introduced, into onr political partjr issues so extraordinary an element as that of proscrip- tion because of religious faith, to have recourse to the stale, slanders against Catholics, concocted and promulgated, hun- dreds of years ago, by men who were systematically taught to' believe tha;t the Pope was the anti-Chidst, and .that the religion of three-fourths of the Christian wopldj was nothing better than a system of superstition and tyranny. But the day is past for these things to be believed by men of sense. Eoman Catholics are AVery wh«pe, and their acts can be mea- sured. They embrace every class of men, from ike< most learned to the least tutored, .and it requires more ,th^ the ipse dixit o{ popery-mad fanatics, and the -interested specu- lations of unprincipled ofEce-seekers and- n©-popery editors, who make mgl-cbandize ef the prejudices of mankind, to render them suspected and despised. Proof befope conviction,- is not only a principle of law, but it embodies a sentipient innate to thesAmerican cliaraeter ; and though fanatics may rave of the intolerance and superstition of the Catholic Church, and "attempt to throw ridicule on observances, of the nature of which they' are profoundly ignorant, they must do something moi-e than rant and declaim, before they can induce the conservative portion'of. the American people to act upon their wild and unreasonable suggestions. The originators of the Know-Nothing movement were of course compelled to indioata some motives for their , action,^ more or less "plausible, in order to induce ^ny consideiable 12 PREFATOBT REMARKS. insure to her " a fair field and no feviiiT;" and tUs is all that «lie asks from any government ; but this &vea Catholic gov- ernments- do not always adcord to her. -Catholicity is no 'new system ; ihe obligations it imposes on conscience are iixed, and it is not at all sUppasahle that the framers of the constitution did not recognize these obligations, and fully ^eigh the question of theii' compatibility. Wtfc our republican institutions'. There has been no change in Oatholiff Church poUdy since the adoption of the constitution, and Oatholics, as Catholics, have never -attempted to oonti'ol National or State rlegislation. They have not endeavol-ed to influence Congressional action in accordance with their own peculiar religious views, as did a certain Protestant denomination in reference to the Sunday miaUs^ Their ministers have not thought it incumbent on them to petition Congress against the passage of laws 4eemed necessary for the interests of our common country, as did the three thousand P-retestant poach- ers of New .Eng^land. during the pendency of the Nebraska" Kansas Bill. They have not introduced religious qoiestions into the party politics of the day, nor presented to thfe wotld the spectacle of a divided Church on geographical limits, as have, the principal Protestant sgoietiesy feecause their members could not think ^like - «f their own people, in different parts of the co^nntry, wherej having popular majorities, they will be forced into the ■ofiS.Q^^ witliin the^gift of such communities. Thus will he brought .about the very state _of, things wMch the memhers^of thejUew organization -affect so muclx to. deprecate. . But, as I have . glsewhere indicated, the outcry, raised by. these men jagajnst theiRoman Catholics, of the TJnited Stjites, is nothing but '• a sham, gotten up for the promotion of the political, aspirations of a few unscrupulous demagogues, and party h3,p&s, th.e.aum ■total -pf whose interests in .the institution of Christianite' itself, maybe measured by .the phi;aae, " the loaves and.fislies." , Knpw-Notliingism see.ks to keep the Catliplics. out of office.^ Are Roman Catholics greedy of holding, official positions ? You, my Protestant fellow»citizens, know that , such is noj; the case. But suppose theyh^d their fair sTiaaie ■ of the public places-, instead of holding, 4s they do, pcargely one. office in a hundred, what evils to the count)>y couy thesp Caliolic office-holders possibly bring ^bout ? 1 can imagine none, unkss they became peculators on the pribJio purse, ai charge, which, so far as I am advise^ Jias- never been, brought against thepa. lam wholly unable to see) that the Catholic county-qlerk, the Cath.olic magistrate, or the Catholic member of .the legislature, would.possess any better, means of fomenting -treason, than the- Catholic lawyer, or merchant, or physician. But these gentlemen, ivh-o claim for themsel-^es alFthe patriot- isni of the land, begin by asserting that 'a Catholic shall not be elevated to any -office of hoijor or propt within -their gift'; and their neit step will, naturallly be, that none of the faithful shall be. allowed to employ a Catholic lawyer or physician, flr purchase of a.Catholje tra'desman. If I,am unfit, because of" my faith, to record a deed as county-clerk, I am equally unfit, .because of this same faith, to file a .bill, as a. lawyer, or bandage«a broken limb, as a surgeon. 'The mind aatOrally reasons, that if a man ongTiit to be pro'scribed as to one of his privileges, he is unworthy to exftrcise toy privilege at all. The. Know-Nothing party, if successful, cannot stop ■with depriving Cathjplie? Of the privilege to hold b^ce. The ball phefatOky remarks. 15 -wMcli its -advocates seek to set in motion, is at the top of an iaelilied plain, ajjd the slightest impetus will send it crashing and thundering on its destructive course, till every civil pri- Vilegs andcvei-y religious right- of the Roman Catholic will be^ obliteraied. Nor can the evil influence of such mad-brained foUy end Vith- the prostration ^©f the Roman Catholics. . Bigotry is insatiable, and its appetites will sot be satisfied till other vic- tims are immolated on its altar. And here, , our once free and happy people are to witness a war of sects. Is it tlje Metbodist, or the* Unitarian, or the Episcopalian, who is nexjt to feel the stripes tjfthts. rod of proscription ? Protestants of America ! follow to its legitimate results the idea I have indicated' for "youi- consideration, and decide for yourselves if it be wise or Christian to seek ^hg "abridgment of the rights of conscience. Oonsidei- .the evils which a war of creeds must necessari-ily bring ttpon the whole community. These evils, in the moral order alone, .shotdd caiise all well-disposed men to pause and' reflect. Among them, not .tlae least will be the indoctrination of a- large portion of our populatiofl, and particularly the young, wtth an insane hatred for men, fashioned as themsejye.s, and for whose-salvation; noless than for that of oQiers, the Redeemer came into -the world, and suffered and was nailed to the cross. This passidn, you must acknowledge, is repugnant to the 'Christian character ; but it is orie, you must also acknowledge, inseparable fi-om a war of races or crefeds. The' most- casual observer need but look around~him, in -oi-der to coiiviHce himsilft tha| already this dangerous indoctriliation is going on at a fearful rate. You must recollect, that very maiyiof those who have been influ- enced' to side -Against the recognition of the -cjvil rights of Roman Catholics, are not professors of religion ; that fe^wer still have a correct understanding of that eternal law of love, which forms the basis of true Christianity, and that most of these are practically lanable to discern the distinction between a certain faith and the worshipers attached- to it; Hence tave taken place the ■numerous "outbreaks already recorded 16 PREIfATOBY irEMARKS. against the KnoW-Notling party, and wliich have involved the- lives and property of Romftn Catholic^.; Thai; there are many attaohsd to the new party who are capable of seeing and rightly appreciating the distinction to whitjh I r«fer, I h^ve no donht ; still, these do not indicate the rule, but (Snly the exception. Fanaticism is the blindest of all passions, and those who are under its dominion ha^ve no power to weigh the consequences of their actions. Influenced by its l?anefnl spirit, the mbst revolting crimes present to the eye* of the fanatic the apptearance of angelic virtues. Many Protestants assume that Ronian Catholics are fanatical ; but this is on|j' an assumption, and, as I contend, a false one. Still, even were it time, is not fanaticism a s-in ? ■ — and are not, those who are seeking to implant it in flie ^^liii-de of the ProtestMts of this country guilty of the same crime they deprecate in the Roman Catholic ? How can they justify in themselves what they condemn in ©thei'S ? . - ' The Know-Nothing editors are much in the habit of charg- ing upon the foreign.porliiJn of the population that theyjare freC[Uently a cpst to- our ^o-rporatipng, and they attempt to prove this charge by exhibiting "ihe quarterly reports of the poor-house and hospital Wardens. This is clearly, an unfair mode of recl?6ni^g. Our own citizens seldom engaga in those avocations, wherein their health ^r lives are exposed to more than ordinary danger. ^ The exjjosed sitnatipns of labor are always filled by foreigpere, and principally by the inii«h- abused Irish. Who are they thai build our rsdlros^ds and wharves, and dfaih our marsh- iands ? Who are they that pave our streets, dig our wells and cisterns, and do all the rough labor uj)on ourpwblic and private bnUdings ? All, or nearly all, are Irish. It is but natural,, then, that those so mtlch exposed, and nnavoidAbly so, should be subject not ,only to nccidents to life'and limb, but that they should also contract diseases inseparable from constant exposm'e in our climate. Such being the casCj, it is not at all wonderful .that in the midst of such a population, there should -be frequent instances pf broken down eonstitutions and helpless families. PEEFATORT REMARKS. 17 The question naturaHy presents itself — are the W&rts, upon which our foi'eign bom population find employment, neces- sary, works? We are hound to conclude th^t the American people deem them necessary, as they are undertateen at their own instance, and for their own benefit ; and if this be so, where is the' justice in. charging upon some of these people that they are a tax on our corporations, in the face of the fact, that they have lost in the service of these very corporations the ability to provide for themselves ? I have myself been often taunted by. Protestants, some of whom, at least, to my personal knowledge, were indebted to the labor of foreigners for their present affluence, with the fact that a large propor- tion of the-public and private charities of our own city are contributed for tfie benefit of Irish Catholics ; and one of these gentlemen, who bears the character of a Christian phi- lanthropist, veiy pointedly intimated that "datholics ought to support their own poor." If Eoman Catholics were in the habit of shirking the duty of charity, there might possibly be some show of reason for these taunts ; but this is not the case. The Church teaches the exercise of charity as a matter of posi- tive obligation, nor do I believe that CatholiSs, according to their ability, are justly ejiargeable with omitting this duty. , The Catholic poor in our cities, doubtless, are in greater relative proportion than the Protestant poor, but, at the samq time, the Protestant rich are in greater relative proportion than the Catholic rich. If a single rich Eoman Catholic, in an otherwise OKclusively. Protestant community, would be justly exempt from the obligation of charity, then, it is pos- sible, the reasoning which would teach that each denomina- tioii shall support its own poor, is good reasoning. The. meres't tyro in Christian ethics, 'however,, could never be influenced by such reasoning. He sees a, parallel to it in the Book of Genesis, where it is recorded , of Cain, the first mur^ derer, that being questio&ed by the Almighty in reference to his brother Abel, he answered, with studied hypocrisy : " I know not ; am I my brother'-s keeper ? " Here ia the question plainly stated : Our citizens are 2 18 PEBFATOBT REMARKS. interested ig. fhe prosecution of certain public and private wei*ks, and finding none among themselves willing or able to undergo the hard lahor and dangers to health and life, incidental to their aocomtolishment, are compelled to draw their operatives from the r^nlis of our adopffed citizens. Sotne of these have died at their posts, and left helpless widows and orphan children without resources in a strtoge land ; and others have contracted diseases, and must either be cared for by public ot private charity, or be left to die in utter destitution. Shall those who engaged, these poor persons in the dangerous avocations wherein life or health was lost, plead exemption from the obligation of charity towards the widows, and or- phans, and invalids, become such' in their own service ?, Is- it 'honest, or fair, that Eoman Catholics shaE be taunted with furnishing so .many objecls of public and private charity, in the face of the notorious fact, that the blood, and ' tears, and destitution, and d^ath, met with among the poor Irish of our cities, is but the natural result, ip. our clim.3te, of the labor and exposure incidental to thosp avocations in which they have been employed by Americans and Protestants ? While upon this subject, let me remark, that American Catholics are as Inuoh opposed to the reception, into this country of European paupers as any other religiotis body in tft^ land. The system pursued by some of the European governments to impose upon lis the worthless portion of their populations, including criminals and paupers, is one which every Catholic will denoimce as highly reprehAttSible, and Which justly calls for such legislative action as v?ill effect its abatenient. But the honest and hardy lahprer, who seekk within our ■v^ide •domajn a home for life^, even tljough unpos- . sessed, upon his arrival, of jneans to insure a week's suppori^ ' is no ^atiper. Take him as a mere man-machine, and his boaes, and muscles, and sinews, are so much capital, and ttese, invested in tte Bank of Labor, will return a dividend to the aggregate prosperity of the country, more permanently useful, than would the importation, in his stead, of a thousand dollars in gold. Look not, then, my Protestant fellow-conn- PRBFATORY REMARKS. t9 trymen, on the poor Irish or Geitaan laborer as one out of place in our free land. It is here, precisely, that he is wanted. He may have faults ;' hut he has also virtues. Contempt foi* his pqiverty, and too rigorous exactions on account of his faults, can never have any good effect to reliev« the one or correct the other. Kindness and consideration may raise him in the scale of humanity ; ill-treatment and distrust will not fail to lower, in that scale, both' him and yourselves. It is 6bs.ervable, that those editors whiq are now advocating the interests of the Know-Nothing Srganization, but a few years ago, were engaged in singing pseans over Louis KoS- Suth, the ex-governor of Hungary -who Vas at that very time endeavoring to involve our goVeftnment in difficulties with foreign powers. The "foreign influence" spoken of by several of the fathers of the republic, and agairist which th®^ cautioned the American people, was here before the eyes of these very patiriotic editors, but until Henry Clay, whose memory I delight to honor, indicated to his revolutionary Excellency that he was going beyond the Spirit of our insti- tutions, not' one word of rebuke did these self-constituted guardians of republicanism utter against the artful and med- dling Hungarian. But now, they boldly proclaim, that the caution against "foreign influence" by Washington and Jefferson, had reference to our foreign-bom citizens — to those who have cast their lot fox Ufe amongst us, and who have necessarily the same interesLin the prosperity and happiness of the country as the nativ.e-born population. Again, these same editors, during the recent visit to this country of Archbishop BEDitn, the Papal Nuncio, joined With the infidel German radicals of Cincinnati, and elsewhere, in villifying the Archbishop for his supposed action against what they termed Italian liberty. . In vain did American Catholics protest against the exhibition. of a wild and reek- less fanaticism towards 9ne charged with a peacefal mission to our government J in "vain did the Nuncio' deny the slanders propagated against him; in vaii^ , did high-mii^deil and candid Protestants endeavor to Set the matter in its true 20 PRKFATOKY REMARKS. light. The editors were Anvah ; and if there ever did appear in any of thei newspapers conducted hy these now exceedingly- Christian gentlemen, a single paragraph of reprehension of the conduct 0/ a band of avowed in£delsi who openly sought the life of t^iB Nuncio, I have no recollection 4of having seen it. But a change -has come over these editors. The German infidel and the Irish Catholic, though antagonistic as watei and oil, are now put in the same ^cale. If the foreign infidel, ifalminates against the head of the government his manifesto for having acknowledged that thanks wesre due to Almighty God for preserving us in peace and, filling the land with tlessinga, the fpreign-born Roman Catholic, though recog- nizing in all its force the .idea indicated by the language of the President, is at once, because of his foreign birth, classed with the radical and atbeist, and made to bear an opprobrium which only attaches to the latto. If the dispute lies between the .FVmiawraer 'and the Catholics, the sympathies of these feminentlj- Protestant editor? is all on" the side of the infidel ; but when foreign radicals are guilty of attempts to revolntionizs American institutions, the foreign-bom Roman" Catholic, wha never had a sympatjiy with their agrarian notions, is set down as their aid or and abettpr.* . It has been so often stated by the enemies of the Catholic Church, that she is the foe to all progress, that the idea seems to have- become a fixture, as it were, in the Protestant mind. There is an obvious reason for this prejudice. Most of our literature is derived from anti-CathoUc sources. In England, t^ntil within a comparatively short time, Catholics were by law forbidden to engage in those pursuits which lead to emi- nence. They were not allowed to print or publish, and '^Since writing the ^bore, X hare seen it stated, that in the recent elec- tions in Kew York &nd some others of the eastern cities, the foreign radical element of the population voted with the Know-Nothings. ■ This Is as it should be. These men haVe at last found thSir true "ptsi^on. When the editor of the Louisville Journal recently attempted to classify these men with the Boman Catholics^ as being aiiti^gonistio to the Enow-Kotbing or^nization, he was not, most likely, aware of the fusion that was being oeneummated betweeja his party tnd Oeijnan radijs^lient. PREFATORY REMARKS. 21 ■coiis'equently, the aspersions upon Catholic faith and practice, thus of necessity left uncontradioted, came, in the course of time, to be viewed as " confirmation strong as proofs from Holy Writ," against the Church. This being the case for over two centuries, can it be wondered at, that the minds of men should be filled with almost irradicable prejudices ia reference to a system of religion everywhere spoken against, and whose upholders were afraid, on account of the laws in force for its suppression, to whisper even a mild defense ? The common people, always greedy of that kind of reading which gave excitement to their passions, were plied with horrible tales cff monkish superstition and fanaticisni, writ'ten by men who knew that they were not only catering to a morbid feeling of hatred of Catholicity general among the masses, but that th^y were, also, in alniost every page of their writing, circulating glaring" and palpable falsehoods. The prejudices thus engendered and , kept alive have comS down to us, from father to son, and from generation to gene' ration, so that, even in our day, there are many, who, though they have never read a Catholic book, or heard a Catholic sermon, or entered a Catholic church, or even had a Catholic neighbor, have no other idea of Ca&olicity than that it is a system of crude fanaticism, if not of open rebellion against God. Occasionally, here and there, a strong intellect might be found, much to the surprise of the Protestant community, to give up his prejndioes, and attach himself to the old Church. The excuses given for these instances of what evangelical* called perversion,^ were always of such a character^ that those outside the Churdi were still satisfied that Protestantism itself was not to be held accountable for them. They were crazy, or had bSen operated on by impropw motives ; and, even to this daj, when no other conceivable motive for conversion to Catholicit|^ except that of a desire to uphold the truth, can be indicated, the converts are held by many to - be deranged in their intdlects. Of late- years, however, there haa been going en, in the very heart of Protestantism itself. 22 PREFATORY EEMAnKS. a yearning for sometHing nnattainable within tlie lilnits of its jarring domain. Men have hesun to feel the necesMtj of unity, afld to aspire after peace., "Weaned with its flight over a sea of doubt and -distrust, the (Jove seeks iigain to rest its drooping wings in the ark of the Church of'Grod. Those who speak soflippan%j and write so fluently against the Catholic Church, either do not know themselves, or do not wish others to know how many benefits this much abused Church -and its members have conferred on soc^iety. The old adage says, "ignorance is bliss," and if this be so, then the state of extreme felicity enjoyed by these carping gen- tlemen and their confiding dupes cannot be otherwise than wonderful. Never was there a more strikip.g exemplification of the confidence inspired by ignoi'anoe, or by that '< little learning which is a dangerous thing," than that lately pre- sented by the tribe df politicians suddenly turned theologians, and by that other' kindred tribe of preachers suddenly tui'ned politicians. The former class have, however, made the most marvelous progress. Ignorant men,, reared in. the bush, and small-fry village politicians, at the cjy of tke Pope ! the Pope ! have suddenly started forth, armed cap a pie with historical and theological weapons, and with every hair ill their empty heads erect with inspiration ! Some of these men, unused to so great a pressure on their very limited- modicum of Jjrains, are abeady mad, and an indefinite number of them are hut a few degrees removed from the same sad state. Truly, we have fallen on an enlightened age, in which insanity has hew installed into the position, of teacher and" guide. Have these men, or those lyho take their -statements on trust, ever read history ? ' Have they eyer traced on the his- toric page the gradual progress jof modern civilization ? Have they learned by what successive steps^ and by whose agency, Christianity was spread over the world ? Have they inquired, to whom we are indebted for much of the advance- ment of literature,, and for most of the great discoveries and inventions in science and' in the arts, the comforts of which we are now reaping in so great abundance ? " If they have PBEFATOEY REMABKS. 23 -npt, then, for their own sakes, if fpr no other consideration, they should be silent, until they acquire a little information. To reason with the fanatic and the bigot is but a wjiste of time; but for the, benefit of the conservative and truth-lov- ing portion of my felTow-citiz^ns, — by far the largest portion pf the community — I have collected, from different published ^orks, a condensed statementof what we owe to the Cathdlic Church and to its members, in the several departments of Religion, Civilization, Literature and the Arts, and in Political Institijtions, T. Religion. . We owe tp the Catholic Church the pre- servation of Jihe Bible, through storm and resolution, through barbarian invasions and civil feuds, for fifteen centuries pre- ceding the period of the so called reformation. No one acquainted with history, can deny that the first Protestants received the Sacred Scriptures from the hands of that very 'Church, which they were pleased nevertheless to denounce as ihe , constant enemy of the Bible ! And, along with the Bible^ Protestants received from- . the Catholic Church all those igreat principles, institutions, and traditions of Christi- anity, which they choose to designate as fundamental, and which are admitted Ijy all " orthodox " Christians. Not only this, hut all Protesta-nts of the present day owe it 'to the Catholic Church, that they are descendants of a Christian instead of a Pagan ancskstry ; for ^11 history proclaims the fact, that every nation thatTvas ever converted from Paganism to Christianity was so converted by Catholic missionaries, acting in communion with the Eoman See, and generally fl,rmed with the broad seal of the Papal commission ! Is it not supremely absurd to hear men rail out so bitterly against a Church to "which they owe so niuch — in fact, everything — which causes them to be Chris|i4ns at ?ill, and without whose beneficial influence on the minds and hearts of their ancestors, they would probably have been reared" heathens instead of Christians ! II. CiyiLizATiON. Our revilers equally forget what we owe to the Catholic Church in the department of general civili- 24 FBGFATORV REUARE^' zation. Without her agency, the world would, in all proba- bility, never have been civilized "at all. Alone and "single-' handed, she for centuries successfully stemmed the rushing tide of barUarisnv, .which tlireatened Society with dissolution. After having codverted the Northmen, whose descendants now constitute the biilk of the most civilized nations, she set about the noble Work of ootitroUing their passions, directing their morals, humanizing their manners, and developing theit" naturally vigorous intellectual powers. Her patient labor of love was rewarded with the most abundant fi-uits. Fiereff wolves were gradually changed into lambs of her flock. Tyranny and licentiousness were curbed, and freedom was enabled to breathe more freely among the down-troddfin! masses. Serfism, or that degrading species of white slavery which Was closely intertwined with the feudal system, was gradually abolished wherever the influence of the Catholic Church could extend, or her voice could be heard ; and mil- lioils of poor slaves thus became freemen. In reality, we owe it mainly to her agency that we were bom freemen instead of slaves. Yet more. To her is woman principally indebted for the exalted position she now occupies in society. The Church found her, a slave, but raising the degraded daughtel^ of Eve, bifore- doomed to an ignoble vassals^ge, to the dignity of the daughter, of Mary, ehe placed her as the equal of man, and gave to her that Christian freedom, which is " the liberty of the glory of the children of God." III. LiTERATCRE ANDTHp Arts. Do our mali^crstiiow what the Catholic Churcii has done for matrjdnd in this department? If not, let them glandfe at the fallowing sum- mary, of iheir indebtedness, and blush, for very shame, -at their p?st ignorance or dishonesty; 1. We owe to the Church the preservatiofl of that consider- able portion of ancient classical literature which has descended to us, and which would probably have peiished but fbr the patient and zealous labors- of her clergy and monks, who de* voted much of their time to the transcription of manusci'ipts. 2. We owe to Catholics all our modern languages, which PREFATORY KEMARKS. 25 sprung up and were carried to conside!:?,l)le perfection during, w^at are called " the dark ages," long before the era of the boasted reformation. 3. Our modem poetry, whieb has sinc^ been greatly per- fected, received its first beginning and its early development during the middle ages, when foB the first time, rhythm or rhyme was introduced into poetry. 4. The paper on which we write, the noble art of printing, whicl^ has diffused thought^ver the world, and the postoffice Vfhich has so greatly facilitated intercommunication among mankind, are all of Catholic origin. 5. The principal colleges and universities of Europe were founded by Catholics, and it was they, in fact, who first originated the idea of an university^ as well as that of literaiy societies. 6. Catholic missionary zeal, in early ages, led to numerous discoveries in geography, and thereby gave .that powerful stimulus to commerce which has since resulted so beneficially to the world. 7. It was a Catholic who discQvei'edthe mariner's compass, and, through its agency, rendered widely extended commerce possible. 8. Guided by the unerring jnagnetic needle, the Catholic Columbus discovered the continent which we inhabit, and other Catholic mariners*— Vespucci, the Cabots, Cabial^, Ac, — completed, what^Colnmbus had so well begun. 9. The musical notes of the gamut, which have ffurnishe^ an alphabet to musical sounds, and rendered music a scieni», are the invention of a Catholic monk, Guido ji'Arezzo. '' 10. , The organ, and other musical instruments, have 4 similar origin, as well as bells in chnrohes ^nd town-halls, 11. We owe to Catholics the. first introduction of glass a? an article of domestic convenience, and we are indebted to them likewise^ for the beautiful art of staining, glass, whioll has since been partially lost., 12. It was a Catholic monk, Scljwarz pf Cologne, ^^ first invented — or ^% least introduced into Europe *— gup* ao PREFATORY BEUARES. powder, that terrible agent which has since-exerted so powerful an influence ovel- the destinies of mankind. 13. It was a Catholic, too, the monk Gerbert, who first introduced amodg Europeans^ the Arabic numbers, which we now use, and which are indispensable in all modem cakula- tion ; and it' is to Catholics we are indebted for the first development of the sciences of arithmetic and algebra. 14. It was another Catholic monk, Salvino of Pisa, who invented the lenses or glasses by which the old are enabled to read, and the short-sighted are relieved from their distressilig infirmity. 15. The clock, and the watch are both Catholic inventions ; ihe former of the tenth, the latter of the fourteenth century. 16. Finally, we owe -to Gatiiolios the revival of the beau- tiful ai't of painting ; the discovery or invention of the art of engraving ; the discovery of the Galvanic fluid, named after its discoverer, Dr. Galvani ; the introduction of silk and its fabrics into Europe, and the discovery and perfecting of probably the most beautiful style of architecture — the Gothic. We must blot from the pages of history all these incontest- able facts, and many more'of a kindred character, before we can eicuse the flippant ignorance or blind prejudices of our mod- em crusaders against Catholicity. In their bitter and vulgar tirades, they are basely slandering their greatest benefiactorsr and outraging with vile mailedictiohs the tombs of their own ancestors as well as ours. But I will- now pass to the fourth and last department; referred to above — thi^ one upon which our newly fledged' theologians are wont to lay the greatest stress. IY. Political Institutions. We are told that the Catholic Church- is the sworn enemy of all liberty, and the close ally of all despotism. Whole volumes of declamation have iwently gone forth to the world on this prolific theme. Now what are the facts, as unfolded in faithful history ? One prominent fact is often -a sufficient answer to Whole pages of declamatory assertion. Allow me to give you a few /acto on this subject, which no well-read man will venture to deny, and the inference ;&om which is obvious to the dullest capacity. PRBFATOKY REMARKS. 27 1. The Catholic Church and' the Popes secured tiie triumph of the Cross over the Crescent, .in that long and eventful struggle of a thousand years between the two rival banners, which decided the fete- of Christian civilization and of human liberty among our anees&fs. The Cross, \ipheld by the Popes, and by brave Catholic soldiers.janimated to the contest by their eloquent voice, finally triutnphed over the Crescent, and the result of this victory was the 'securing of European independence from tbe crushing yoljp^^of Mahommedan des- potism. Had the cohtest terminated differently, all liberty and all civilization would have disp,p"geared from the. earth, and. in this case, the development of free institutions would, have been simply an impossibility. Thus, we clearly owe it to the Catholic G-hurcbjand to the Popes, that it was joo^sJMe for our ancestors' ajtd' Tor ourselves to be freemen. But for, the triumpli of the Cross over the Crescent, our condition would now probably be similar to that of those countries in Asia and Africa which are at present, and have been for centuries, bowed down in thei> dust under the Mahommedaia fanaticism, with .all its attendant sopial evils. 2. We are in the habit of boasting of BUclLpolifieal insti- tutions as trial by jury, exemption from taxation without previous representation, regular courts for the administration, of justice, .and the personal security provided for by the habeas corpus. Now, do our revilers ever have the honesty to state to their dupes, that all- these precious political rights, which lie at the basis of all liberty, are, every one of them, of Catho- lic origin ? Oh, no ! They would thereby ruin their pet-theory oT Papal tyranny and Catholic despotism ! Yet every one knows that all these institutions were established by Catholics, more than thlree hundred years before Protestantism . was ever heard of. 3. The theory of our opponents would lead one to believe, that wherever Oatboliiiity prevails, and is predominant, no political liberty; and especially no "republic, could exist. What is the -fact ? It is as uudeniable ag it is importfint, that CathoHp communities founded ALL the republics wliich 28 PREFATORY REMARKS. ever exitted in the world in Christiaa times, up to the date of our owa — 17T6. The Catholic Chureh may, in fact, be styled the mother of republics. In the twelfth century there sprang^ up, under the fostering care of the Popes, the Italian republics of Venice, Genoa, Florence, Sienna, and others, and in the fourteenth century, the Swiss Cantons, ujader the guidance of William Tell and his associates, established their free confederation, which subsists to the present day. The two little republics of St. Marino, in Italy, and of Andorra, in Spain, were founded, the first by a Catholic monk, in the fourth century, and the -second by a Catholic Bishop, in the tfiath. The former is the oldest republic in the world, and one of the most radical in its democracy. What is most remarkable about it, is the fkct, that it is sm-rounded by the Papal territory, and that the Popes have always been the vigilant guardians and protectors of its independence. 4. We are told that all free institutions had their origin in what is called the Reformation. What says history on this subject ? Prussia h^s been Protestant for three -hundred years, and though she has had a shadow of a constitution since 1848, sh6 is, and always has been, a wretched despot- ism, with Church and State united. Sweden and Denmark ht^ve been blessed with the reformed religion for three centu- ries, and SweSfen and T)enmark are no- better ,o£f than Prussia. The same may be said of Holland, with some modification, introduced Only since the revolutions of 1848. The Reformation in England rather depressed than elevated popular liberty ; the crown over-awed and almost swallowed uj) every other element of government, from the date of the Reformation to the revolution in 16S8^— a period of one hundred and fifty years. Tte Refornitftion had full sway in many parts of the world, for two hundred and fifty years, before our Declaration of Independence ; — did it, during all this time, found a single republib, or even develop a single democratic principle before unknown? If so, when and where ? 5. Was it ProteslaVitism exclusively, which- established our own republic ? Did we not have to stwiggle for our liberties against a Protestant government, and did not a great Catholic power step gallantly to our defense against our Protestant -oppressoi' ? Pid not Oatholi.cs fight side by side with their Protestant brethren in our rovolutionary war, and did they not behave as gallantly in the field as their associates ? It wonld seem that Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a Roman Catholic, who .ventured so much in the cause of American libei'ty, was permitted by Providence to survive all Lis col- leaguesf as if for the very purpose of rebuking the fanaticism which now aeeks to deprive his co-religionists of their civil rights ! Does any man ask me why I api a Roman Catholie ? If so, let him but study the history of the Church, and he will no longer wonder. Let him investigate her claims to the possession of those unerring evidences, which even human reason recognizes -as criteria of truth, viz :. Unfty, Sanctity, Catholicity, and Apostohcity ; — Uhifif of faith and praetice ; Soilness as to the doctrjnes taught and the morality inculca- ted ; Gaiholidiy, in cai'rying these saving doctrines, and this heavenly morality, to every quarter of the globe ; ApostO' ?ia?^, in being able to trai?e the line of her authorized teachers back to the Apostles of our Lord. Let him also study th§ beauty and appropriateness of her liturgy, and her religious ceremonial ; let him, casting prejudice aside, follow that via erucis trod By'the footsteps of her ^ajnt's in every age, and reflect on the holiness of that faith, which was able to induce the. rich and th6 talented, the poor and the unlettered, the master and the. slave, the king and the peasant, all i^Uke, to strive, and to suffer, and to die, in order to uphold its truth. Let him doxbut this, and he will learn why it is that I cling with an abiding attachment to the faith of my fathers — to thsit eternal Church of Qod, wherein the Holy Spirit ever abideth. She it is that has set up land-marks, in every age of her existence, to be the guides of futu^ genera- tions in their search after truth. She it is that changes not^ though all things else are ever changing. She it is that 80 PRBFATOET REMAnKa. give? heavenly strength to human weakness, andchooseth the foolish things of the wor^d -that she may confound the wise. Sag it is that has the gospel preached to the poor, and iias no compromises for the rich and powerful. " I love, Lord, the beauty of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth."" This religion, in the language of Cardinal Wiseman, " alone" carries mte back to the infancy of Chris- tianity, and unites, in unbroken connection, through ages of fulfillment and prophecy, the creed Which I profess, with the inspired visions of the earlier dispensation." In conclusion, my 'Protogtant countrymen, I can find no more fitting language in which to address you, than that used by the' celebrated Father O'Leary, in his address to the Pro- testants of G-reat Britain in the last century : " What is to us the intolerance of past ages if we imitate it not ? We are a new world raised on the ruins of the former, and if hitherto we could not agree as Christians, it ia high time to live together as men. There is land eriongh for ns all ; and if is Tsy far better to see towns and cities rearing their heads on Ihe banks of our rivers, than to see our fertile country depopu- lated, by intolerance. In vain do we give ourselves up to hatred and vengeance — we soon learn that such cruel pleasure was never adapted to the heart of man ; thatin hating others, we punish ourselves ; that humanity disclaims violence, and that the law of G-od, in commanding us to lovp our neighbor, has consulted the most upright and reasonable dictates of the lluman heart." Wishing " a long life and -a happy death to all of Adam's children," permit me to Subscribe myself, Very sincerely, yours, A Kentccky Cathouo. INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES. GEORGE D. PRENTICE AND CATHOLIC PRO- SCRIPTION.* , In the year 1832, 1 became acquainted with Geo. D. Pken- TiCE, and since that time I have been a constant reader of his paper. I have not only had access to his opinions, (if I may so express my-self,) as embodied in his various writings during nearly a quarter of a century ; but I have also had freqtient, and, during the first five years of our acquaintance, almost constant opportunities to hear, in his private conversations with his friendB, his ideas upon a great Variety of topics, political, social, and religious. . ' T. need scarcely 'Say, that Mr. Preutice's political predi- lections were also my own, an,-d.that I had always entertained for him the warmest regard. I believed hinv to be a man whose integrity was unimpeachable, and who would scorn to use, for any supposed p^itical advantage, means not coii- sistent with self-respect, a deHcate sense of honor, and a just regard for the religious feelings, as well as the civil rights, of any portion of his fellow-Citizens. At no time, till within the past two months, had he expressed in my hearing, or, so far as my observation has gone,, recorded in his paper, any opinion savoring of apprehension of dUngerto the govern- ment on account of the Roman Catholics. *At no time had he failed to accord to "them their just meed of approbation, as good citizens of a' government to which -they were as warmly attached as were their Protestant neighbors. At no time had he intimated any suspicion of their fidelity io the Constitution and laws, or seemed to regard them otherwise than as men whose patriotism was not tp be eusj)ected. In his social intercourse friih individual members of the Cath- olic Church, Mr. Prentice always appeared to be respectful, kind and courteous. Nor do I believe that this was a mere show of courtesy on the part of the editor. His whole ■* Communicated to th» " LauisviUe Daily Courier" of July, STtbi "IgSS. INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES. course evidently exhibited the fact, that he felt his Catholic fellow-citizens were worthy of both confidence and respect. Let us now contrast George D. Prbktice, as I have known him for nearly twenty-four years, with this same George D. Prentice; new-born in the Know-Nofhing party. The change is complete, but also most humiliating. Self-respect and consistency, have both left him together ; hatred is in his heart, and dissimulation on his tongue. It were sad to see the dethronement of a noble intellect, even when brought abput by physical causes qver which the pos- sessor could have"no control. But, oh ! how much mOre sad, to see this same intellect debasing and prostituting its powers to unworthy ends ! The Louisville Journal, to which we, were wont to look for well seasoned, calm apd logical arti- cles upon the political topics of the day, now comes to .us filled, morning after ipoming; with most unwarrantable atid bitter denunciations of inoffensive and uhoffendiiag Catholics. And why? Not because of any personal injury they have done the edjtor, nor of any insult they have given him. Not because of any overt act of tlieirs against the laws. Not because of any combination by them for or against any set of men or political principfes ; but simply because—" oh^ shanie,' where i^ thy blush V^-^because~4hey fhoose to wof ship- God as -did their fathers before them / ■ Is it not truly humiliating that, in this country, to whiA the editor's forefathers, as- well my own, fled for the very object that they might worship God according to the dictates of their, consciences — in a .land, too, whose cMistituti6n, framed b,y wise men, positively forbids a rgfigious test as a qualification for citizenship or^ office — a jnan can be found, claiming the right bylii^ learning and lalents to form public opinion, so callous to th& t.eachings of the past, and so regardless of the future , prosperity and happiness of hia country, as to uphold for the favorable consideration qf American freemen, political proscription on accquxii of reli- gious faith ? The editor has no excuse for his course, in Chjs matter. The past of our country is before him. He has had Catholic friends and neighbors, whose ychole lives vould give the lie to the charge of their want of ^patriotism. He talksof f political Romanism." The editor must feel his cheek mantle with shame ■^hile he penS sjdch miserable twaddte. Outside of the Pohtifical States there is no such ^Ing as political Romanism. There is not a Roman Cath- olic on this whole continent that owes civil or political alle- INTRODCH3TOKY ABTICLES. 33 giance to the .Pope. The charge thst they do, is a foul libelj a thousand times advanced and a thousand times refuted, •and it has been used only by bigots and knaves, to inspire the iguopfint with distvu^ of. a body, of Christians whose patriutisHL is not less pure than is that of any other denom- ination in the land. Who, of all the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence, risked so much of ^Yprldly wealth by that act as did Charles Cakroll, of Carrollton, a Eoman Catholic ? Did Mr. Prentice ever heaj'of a Roman Catholic who thought Charlflig Carroll too patriotic ? Can he name a siijgle Ro- man Catholic who, either in his writings or in his public or private acts, has shown himself other than a true lover of the liberties of the country, as bequeathed to us by oux fathers, and bought for us by the blood of Protestants and Catholics alike 1 If this be true — and that it is true no sane and right-hearted man will deny — what have the Ro- man Catholics done to call down upon them this moimtain of obloquy from the editor of the Louisville Journal ? Have they liioBoprohzed more than their share of the offices of honop and profit under the State or 'Federal Government ? Not so. Roman Catholics are seldom, office-seekers, and from that of President of the United States to the pettiest • official position under a county magistracy, you will not find one Roman Catholic to fifty Protestant in<:umftents. Have those few Roman Catholics who have held, or do hold office, failed to discharge the. (J-Uties of the same with honesty' and fidelity ? Have they used their offices to pander to the real Or suppose^ interests of their oo-religionists ? No such charge has ever been made against them. Can the editor point. Out a single Roman Catholic official defaulter ? I defy him to do so. Are the Roman Catholics chargeable* as citizens with qualities dangerous to the poaee of communities ? Are they less obedient to the laVs, less honest, .less charitable than Iheii' Protestant fell-ow-cjtiKens ? You never hear of them molesting a Protestant meeting, or attacking ^ Protestant church. They are not rn the habit of insulting those who dissent from theosi. ? Was the late Patrick Maxcy • any^ the worse citizen 6r patriot because he was a Catholic and'an Irishman ? Who that knows the "Catholic: Lancasters, and HAMiLffosrs, and Elders, and HANLETSt'and Abells, and Spaldings, arid Ci as men and 'as religion- ists ; it' has been filled with slanders of- their faith, worded in most insulting language ; it has attributed to them motives' of action at war with every feeling of their hearts, and opposed to the whole tenor of thMr hves ; it lias raised- up -a spirit of di.strust, ill-will, and, in some instances, of positive persecu- tion against them, pervading a large portion of the comhiu- nity, and rendering their soeial existence one of constant fear and apprehension. All this it has donfe, and siu-ely there is cause enoiigh for their refusal any longer to feceive the paper into their houses. By his owii acts the editor has -p-evented them from giving him their patronage, unless at the expense not only of self-respect, but also of the positive duty which they owe to their families, that such reading shall be kepJt from them as it is likely to contaminate their faith or morals. But wheii George D. Prentice chfirges Roman Catholics with a desire to injure him in person or in pocket, he simply asserts that which is an unmitigated fable ; and the appeal which he makes to his party, .based upon the abominable slander, is of stich a character— ^ so extremely little and con- temptible—that it is hard to believe it had its emanation from a sane mind. I had hoped that when the fever and excitement consequent upon a hotly contested election had passed away, the Louis- ville Journal's anti-Catholic ebulitions would, also cease. I tad hoped that the aivful consequences of the late terrible riots would have taught the editor, that it is a fearful thing' 36 INTRODUOTORY ARTICLES. to aid in the spread of -dissensions based upon diEferences of religious belief. ^That suob has not been the case, I have_ no other feeling than one of profound sorrow. In the continu- ance of the course which Mr. JPEEN.floE seems to have marked out for himself, I can see nothing but evi} to the whole com- munity — Protestant as well as Catholic — both in its social relations and in its business affairs. The human heart, when uninfluenced by passion, is ever longing for yeace. Distrust of their Catholic fellow-citizens cannot give happiness to Protestani;s ; and the fear of the violence of the mt)b, and the feeling that their patriotism is doubted, and that the motives of a11 their actions are misconsti;ue^ and misrepresented, must have the effect to cause Catholics to seet. a more safe and quiet home elsewhere. I .speak for myself, when I say, thg.t no inducements of pecuniary advantage would sway me for one moment in choosing between a Residence in the land of my birth, and the consequent eviis which attachment to my faith would, under such circumsj;ances, render certain, and complete expatriation'. ^ Koman Catholics ask no immunities, other than those which the constitution allows to all alike. They claim no exclusive privileges. They ask only that they be let alo^e, so long as they obey the laws. I have still hopes that the better j,udgment of Mr. Prentice will cause him to cpase- a warfare which can: bring notliing but diegrape on the- American name, and unheard of evils upon our city. I^et him but read tagain the paragrajjh at the h:eadT)f this ai-tiole. He must see hijw unworthy it is of his reputation. We naturally looli for such sentiments from the mouths of the angd Gabriels of the land ; but God help us when they are filched from their insen>sate and bigoted origi- liflators, to be used by men of sense and judgm^t. Yours, 45C., A Kentdcky Catholic LETTERS TO GEO. D. PRENTICE, ESQ. LETTER FIRST. , - . Sir : — In many of your late editorials you refer, in justi- fieation of the course you haye thought proper to. pursue towards Roman Catholics, to what you term " the political aggressions of the papal hierarchy." May I ask of you the: favor- to instance some, of these .aggressions ? I have heen a somewhat attentive observer of the actions of tlfe members of this same hierarchy in the United States, ai^i I am compelled to acknowledge that I have failed to recognize the aggressions you speak of. What is their specific Character ? Being polfticali as you say, they must consist either in overt acts against the constitution and laws, or else treasonable endea- vors on the part of the hierarchy tending to the subvei'sion of the constitution, and to rendering the Idws inoperative. Since' your residence in Louisville, you have had opportu- nities to make the acquaintance of at least fom- individuals of th»- "papal hierarchy." The first of these was the late^ ifenerable Bishop Flagbt, a missionary, vt>hen Kentudty was almost a wilderness — a man whose whole life was an example of charity and good-w-ill, and who was esteemed and belovpd by all who knew him, Protestants as ■^ell as (Jatholics. Will you, Mr. Prentice, have the kindness to indicate when and where Bishop Flagbt was guilty of political aggressions ! And the second, the late Bishop of Charleston, Rt. Rev. I, A. Reynolds. He was a native of Kentucky, and for many years served the Fifth street congregation in this city. Thi only aggressions to which Dr. Reynolds could have possibly plead guilty — and I knew him most intimately — were those that he made upon the poverty and destitution which he fpu^d in the habitations of the poor of his flock. He made war upon these with all the energy of his noble heart. The third and fourth of this feared hierarchy are the present Bishop of Richmond, Va.^ Rt. Rev. John M'Gill, and your " friend " Bishop Spalding, of this city. They are both. natives, ajiA. both well know^ here and elsewhere. Again, wUl 88 LETTEK8 OF A KESTUOKY CATHOLIC. you, Mr. Pubntice, instance tlie political aggressions of these Bishops? I have eveiy reason to believe that yon know them well, and as you have charged the American papal hierarchy with,.be.ing political aggressors, it is but fair that you should malse specifications. If these men are guilty as you chaise them, you owe it to your own character to prove them so. If, however, you find that you cannot substantiate your charges against them, as I have perfect confidence you cannot, then, in the aame of all that is fair and honest, cease abusing them. I deny — and I challenge the proof to the contrary — that the Boman Catholic Bishops; of the United States, or the Catholic people over whom they have been placed, have in* any instance given cause for the charge oipolitical aggression.* I deny — and I challenge the proof to the contrary — that Koman Catholics are unfriendly to the government and con- stitution of the United States. I deny — and I challenge the proof to the contrary — that there now exists, or ever did exist, on this 'continent, a body of men more thorouglily imbued with deep reverence and love for the constitution of the United States than the Boman Catholics now living within the limits of these States. I deny — and I challenge the proof to the contrary — that the Boman Catholic Bishops of the tlnited States, and the clergy under their jurisdiction, have over prostituted theii pulpits to political* purposes, or that they have used the influ- ence, incidental to theii' offices in the C hurch, for the furtherance of political ends, whether for one party or another. I deny — and I challenge the proof to the contrary — that in those places in this country where Boman Cathoiics have popular majorities, they have ever endeavored to monopolize the offices, or 4iave shown the slightest disjJosition to • be aggressive. I deny -^ and I challenge .the proof to the contrary — that the Boman Catholics of the United States do now hold one- tehth part of the offices of trust and profit which their numerical' strength fairly entitles them to; and I affirm, from this fact, that they are at least nine times less aggressive xrpon the public purse than are their Protestant fellow-citizens. As one proof of this, permit 'me to cite the city of Leuisville. We have here a population of say seventy thousand souls ; of these there are certainly not less thati fifteen thousand Boman Catholics. I suppose that I will not be far from the mark, in estimating the number of persons in the public pay LETTERS OP A KJENTUCKY CATUOLIC. 39 at one hundred. Among them, the only Eoman Catholic aggressor upon the eity treasury, is one young lady teacher of the puhlic schools, who was accidentally ro-el^ctcil by the Board of Education — the Know-Nothipg majority of 4hat hoard not having been aware of her " Catholic proclivities." Here, then, in our own city, where -a fair representation would entitle the Eoman Catholics to more than one-fifth of the- public offices, they are officially represented in a ratio as of one to one hundred. This is no isolated case. Almost an equal disparity of representation will be found from one end of the Union to the other. Eoman Catholics have never complained of this. As I have before said, there arc but few hunters after office among them. How, then, can you say, as you do in your paper of August 25, that Eoman Catholics are interested in an organization having for its object the distribu- tion of the public treasure among them — "peaceably, if possible ; forcibly if necessary ? " And again, you speak of your party's opposition to the " corrupting influences " of the Catholic Church. This is quite a serious charge. If the Catholic Church teaches cor- rupt practices to its members, or, what will amount to the same, influences them to be corrupt, this corraption must be apparent on the whole body of the Catholic people. You have had abundant opportunities to test the truth of this charge, in reference to those Eoman Catholics whom you have personally known. Now, Mr. Pkentice, tell us frankly the nature of this corroption, and. all about it. Is it in the moral order ? If so, give- us the instances. Let us know the nature and quality of those crimes which the Eoman (Catholic Chirrch teaches to its members. What practical Catholic, or regular communicant of that Church, can you show to be dishonest, untruthful, uncharitahle, aggressive, or who, in a word, spm-ns the-comHaandments of God, and refuses obedience to the laws of the land? How much morCj'^as compared with others, have you lost through the dishonesty of your Eoman Catho- lic subscribers to the Journal ? Is this corruption in the social order ? If so, it will be easy for you to point it out. Are Roman Catholics socially hard-hearted and aggressive ? Have you ever known one that refused to keep faith with a Protes- tant^? Are they politically corrupt ? When were they so ? Have Roman Catholic judges been corrupt in their decisions ? Have Eoman Catholics refused to pay their taxes, or to march . ill defense of their countiy when called on ? I hod always been .under the impression, that the Roman 40 LETTERS OF A KEHTUCKY CATHOLIC. Catholic OliUrcli -taught obedience to the commandments of God; that it inculcated the' virtues of charity and forgiveness of injuries ; abnegation of self, and -love of the neighbor ; purity in thought and action ; justice and obedience to law ; truthfulness, honesty and, sobriety. Will you say that these are corrupt teachings ; I cannot think that you are prepared to say so. In conclusion, dear sir, pertait me to record the hope which I entertain, thst you ivill cease this most unjust, illiberal -and wicked warfare upon the Catholics of this country, because they happen to prefer their own way of worshiping God.-. Unless you can prove'your charges of "political aggressiou " and " corrupt practices," it is but sheer folly for, you to un- dertake to give any other reasons, in justification of your conduct. There are cei-tainly no, motives of public policy requiring such a course at your hands. On the contrary, the peace of society, and the very existence ef all those social and kindly feelings which go so far to make lifci a blessing, are placed in jeopardy by these constant efforts to render a well-meaning religious body suspected and hated .by their Protestant fellow-citizens. If yom- object be to enlist the sympathies of the bigoted^ portion of the community in order to pecuniary profit, by- seciiring their patronage, then do I much fear that there is very little, of hope of your ever again becoming the exponent of a conservative, wise, and consistent policy. But if, on the contrary, you have been led into your present position of open and virulent warfare upon your former friends and neighbors, of the Catholic Church, by the excitement of a-- political contest in which the Catholics wore opposed to you, causing you, in the heat of party strife, to forget the charities of life* and to be blinded to the teachings • of the constitution, then I, and many, others of your old friends, may cemfidently hope that with the return of your right reason, will also return the'< consciousness of th& wrongs which you have inflicted on the Catholic body, and a consequent cessation of those unchari- table and unprovoked attacks of which the Louisville Journal has lately become the vehicle. Yours, &.C., A Kentucky Catholic. Louisville, -August 29, 1855. LETTER.S OF A KEJfTHCI^T C^TaoLIO. 41 ii'roTii the ZouisvUle !Qaily vovrigr of September 2d, 1855. Messes. Edit&rs : I fiiid tjie followiag paragraph* in tjie Louisville Joiu'nal of yesterday : ' ' " To all whom it May ocincernrwo Tafive to say that we do not feol nncLer the slightest dbligation to respoii4 to questions pi)t to us by anonymous writers. ^ Let every man who wishes us to talk to nim show hia- face — if he has one fit to show." It may possibly be that some one othe^ than yonr corres- pondent has been prqpe"Bn4ing qMS'tions to Mr. Geo. D. Pkjsntioe, and that I may be altogether wrong in supposing, as intended for myself, the above very pleasant and amiable rerninder of the editor's non-obligations. I anj more inclined to believe this, as it so happens that the editor^ himself shortly after the appearance of the first article in the Courier over the dgriature bf "A Kentucky Catholic," did directly question me as-to its authorship, and v^as as directly answered upon thatipoint. It is possible, hoWpver, that Mr*. Pkenticb not^ Only requires a knowledge of the identity of hjs interrogator for himself, but argues, also tlfat it is requfeite, in order to remove the non-obligation on his part to answer troublesome questions, that the said inteTryogatoj shall shorn his face to the entire newspaper reading, population of Louisville. Now I respectfaUy subnait to the distinguished editor, that there may be other reasons than .the one he indicate^ why I 'Should prefer, so far ^s. the general public is, concerned, to remaiii incognito. It should be stifSci^nt for the editor that the face of the Cpurjer'^s correspqndent is known tq hin;i, and has been at any ^ine for nearly twenty-four years.. There will be ample tiine to call for the verdict of tl^e public> when Mr. Prenticij shall have charged that your correspondent's _^ctfis not Jit tp- be shown. '' . . , It is a matter of doubt, however, with me, whether an editor is morally justifiable in ?)efusing to answer questions of general interest to the community, when submitted in respectful la^gtiage, on the plea that they are anonymously piopoun4e!j, A conscientious editor will always .weigh well the ciroumr stances which niay or may not .render {he solution of the interrogatories interesting -to the oommunity,and act accord-, ingly. I am, myself, full^ convinced that there jieyer was a question demanding tte exercise of rn6re serious study and thought on the part of- ev&ry .true lover of his cotintry, than the religious one whicli ha^ unfo.rtunately been fois't^i^. in,tQ . • '■ ' 4 ' ' ' ~ ' '■'- ' 42 LETTEES OF i. KBNTUCKT CATHOLIC. tte-po-Htical arena by, as I think, the designing demagogues of party; The question shoiiM be -r— are the Roman Oatho- lics of this countryj induding bishops, priests, and laymenj chargeable "Tvith the crime of treason ? This -ohairge has been implied in a hundred different ways by the editor of the Louis- ville Jounial. If theeditoU' is right, and can prove himself so, he has nothing to fear from public opinion, and will de- serve the lasting gratitude of all true Americans. If he is wrong, he should be thjinkful for thfl iaformatioa that will set him aright, even thj*ugh it come to liiia through the medium of ah anonymous Jetter, or be directly teferable to the viva voce exposition~of his own Irish Eoman Catholic kitchen- maid, however unfit her face may be to appear in the cifolea of polite society. Youfs, (kc, A EENTtrcKT Catholic. LETTER SECOND. Sir: — I have read wiA tio little surprise your article olf September 5th, the piu-poj* of which, you kindly ^j, was suggested to you by the letter of a "Kentucky Catholic." I ha.ve great objection to using isfhat may be Construed into disrespectful language in refeionco to anything emanating, from the editor t)f the Iiouisville Journal, but a pi'op'er regard for truth will not permit me to give any other name to the entirety of yom- three C9lumn article than absolute nonsense. It is Sam SUcTc, I believe, who tells of a certain versatile authoi', that whenever be wished to vrvite a book, he was in the habit oT reading up for Ms. itiifeel, and however ignorant lie i^iglit be of the particular topic of which iie wished to treat, by diat of patching and piecing — stealing a scrap here * and a Scrap tliore — he was enabled to coricoet a very credi- table production. Now, it appears to me that yoUj Mr. PREifTiCE, hdve, for awhile past, been readiti^ up for your subject x)f Popvry, and oni3 of the gi-ealest ■ faults I find with your performance, mises from the fact, that you have been very unfortunate in your selection' of authors. " Dowliog on Romanism," "Danger in the"I>aik,'' and such lifce booked are scarcely of that Iciad which • a veritable historian, would obbose for authorities. "I iiad certainly a right to expect in LETTERS OF A. KENTOCKY CATHOLIC. 43 case you did me the honor to notice my communication at all, something like a candid answer to the queries therein propounded. It seems, however, that thotigh you are pecu- liarly haj^y in making sweeping allegations, you have not the facjlty of individualiziiig. You had direfctly charged the papA bierarchy with .being "political^ aggressors." The chafge being uiilimited, included, per consequence, each and every member of that body, at homg and abroad. It had reference as well to your "friend," Bishop Spalding, as to Archbishop Hushes— to the. Kentucky Bishops of Jif ash villa and Richmond, as wall as to the French Bishop- of Vincennesi. and the Irish Archbishop of Cincinnati. The question being as to whether the papat hierarchy is dangerous to our civil well-being as a nation and the perpe- tuity of our form: of government, it was but natural to sup- J)ose that you were prepared to prove the truth of your allegation from the w€^l known aets und acknowledged opinions of at least some one member of the hierarchy whom you had personally known. It will not do for yotf to say, that you e§ohew personalities^ -while you charge a whole community with being influenced by treasonable intentions. But. you " have forborne to say much that might have been said about the individual acts of aliin Prelates, resident among us, having a bearing upon the institutions of this country." These "individual acts " are precisely what I wish to get at. I will engage, though a simple layman,^ to give you absolution for all the additional sin you may incur on account of changing your allegation of political aggression from the whole body of the iderarchy to a few individual Bishops, First, however, permit me to set you right on one point, There are no eUim Bishops . in the United States. One-third of the American Bishops are native-born, and all of the foreig;n-bom Bishops have taken the oath of allegia,nce.' They all consequently stand under the constitution, precisely as do GEORate D. P«bntice and Caleb >W. Logan — free American -ekiietis. This being settled, I ask you to point out the acts of 4,hose American Bishops which you .gpeak of as "bearing "on the imstitutions of this country." I, have denied that the American Bishops are justly .chargeable with being political aggressors, and whenever the contrary allega- tion is made in such a shape as to be tangible, I hold myself ready to disprove it. Inasmuch' as your article can, in no sense, be construed into 44 IiBTTKRS OP A KENTDOKY CATHOLIC; an answer to the qTieries put to you through the columns of ike Courier, it wilt be scarcely expected of me that I should wade through its iiitemiiiiafele depths of twaddle and cant, nse a stronger term, into which you have fallen. - 1st. You say that the- Catholic system is peculiarly "un- congenial to our political latitude." So far is this from being the case, that it has been conceded" "by many of our wisest political men — Protestants mind you — that the members of the Eoman Catholic Church, ever since the formation of the government, have not only p-dfesseda love for the institutioiis of the country, but have shown hy their acts an earnest desire for liheir perpetiiity. They are exempt from the taint of Abolitionism in the' North, and of nullification in the South, 2d. You ignorantly charge the Catholic laity of this country is^ith being priest-ridden, ^ow I will venture to assert that there is not -a single Protestant sect in the whole countiy, against whom the same charge may not be made, with a much gneater regard for truth. 3d. All that you say on -ttie subject of Boman Oathoilio LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOtlO. 45 Ohiircli gpvernmeiif, is applicable to tlie Protestant Episcopal tend Methodist Churches, aiid in some .degree to the Presby-' terian and other forms' of Protestant Church discipline. ,4tju Yoja write as if you thought the Christian religion was so Protean-like in its character as to be made adaptable, by. chanffes within itself, for every peculiar form of civil gov- errinjent. The idea is most absurd. Christ being God, coulji not have possibly founded an imperfect Church. And the Church, if.it be a true oije, cannot possibly change its character. Your idea that the Christian Churches of the Unrtjjcl. Slates should copy their formula of government froin that of the country, argues, to say thq least, a direct squinting on your" part towards the annexation of Church and State. But I allege that Christianity, as taught by ^he Catholic Church, both .as to its dogmas and its discipline, is not unsuited to-,siny form of cjvil government, and from the simple reason given by the S,aviour for the gui4ance of the Church, "My Iringdom is not of this world." ■ 5th. Your idea that " all Christian gi-aoes flow from the Pop^ di)wnward to the people," is of itself so sublimely absurd that it i-equires no remark frotti me. 6th. You say that "they (the hierarchy) swear to perse- cute and wage war with heretics," &c. This charge is en- tirely gratuitous, and has hot a particle of foundation in fact. You garble and pervert the reading of the old oath at one time taken by the Bishops of the Catholic Church. The promise made by the Bishop at his consecration, that he will oppose the spread of error, is made by you to read that he ■will pTiysically exterminate the promoters of error; No such meaning can be attached to it. The Catholic Bishop promises at his consecration, according to the command of Him w^io Bent his apostles to teach all nations, that, in his teaching, truth shall be his guide, and as a necessary conseqtience, he IS bound to oppose; not by physical force, but by argument and the simple power of truth, that which is false. The position which the Catholic Bishop here holds is plainly incontrovertible, and is in some degree binding on the con- sciences of *all Christians, without the' formula of an oath. But tiie extracts which you give, with the exception of the one with referenfie to " the possessions ofjfclie Bishop's table," are not foimd in the oath now taken at the Consecration of the Bishops of the United States and several- other countries. There have been men before our day ■vyho* sought excuses for malice," by perverting the obvious meaning of words ; 46 IBTTEES OF A KENTtrCKY CATHOLIC. and in order to remove as far as possible any pretext for sack perversion, the wording of the oatE was changed over sixty ■years- ago. ' Ith. You say that "they (the hierarchy) solemnly sWear not to sell, nor give away, nor otherwise alienate, without consent of the Roman Pontiff^ the possessions of their table," jnd, strangely enough, you argue frofti this, that ATchbishop Hughes was influenced by this eltiuse in his opposition to the change bronght about by the action of the New York Legis- lature, in refcreijce to the tcnnrg of chni'ch property. This section of the oath has nothing to do with church property.' It was intended, by its insertjen into the formula of the oath, to prevent any abuse which might arise on account of the improper alienation of benefices set apart for the personal sup- port of the Bishops, and of which they only had the use during the terras^ of their administration. What wrong is done to the Catliolic people, or to the government of this country, by this clause of the oath ? The President of the United States has -the use of the White House during the term of his office, but he certainly wo'uld^not be allowed to sell or alienate it. Sth. You speak of the hierarchy tyrannizing over the con- sciences of men. What is tyranny ? It is th.eyordMe recfuire' ment of an homage neither rec^nired by the laws of God nor man. In speaking of human law, 1, of course, mean law founded on justice. No lloman t^atholic is thus constrained. When I voluntarily conform to certain practices prescribed by the Church, I do not recognize that she tyrannizes over me- When my judgment has tanght me that religious truth is only to be found in the Catholjc iShurch, there is no more servitude ' in my obeying h&r recognized lawS than there is in the Pro- testant's voluntaiy homage to the truths of revelation. Man naturally feels himself ennobled while he pays homage to the tnith. The Bishops are represented as self-constituted tyrants, and the laity as abject slaves. Now, the plain fact is, that the self-same law of obedience ta the discipline 6f the Church, is as obligatory on Pius IX as it is on the huftible Indian Neophite of- Kansas. Tlie duty of sacfamental confession, for instance, governs the one precisely as it (Joes the other. The duly of teaching the tnie Catholic doctrines — ^those which have always been taught tod received — is of as binding obli- gation on the consciences of the Prelates of the Church, as is the duty of hearing and being taught these same doctrines on those 'of the humblest tnembera of, tJie household of faith. LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. 47 The Roman Catholic layman reads in the sacred volume, - Hear the Church, and he esteenis it a privilege to do so. Hear the GhUrch, says the inspired Word — and Priest, and Bishop, and Cardinal, and Pope, how in like humhle rever- ience and obedience to the divine commajid. 9th. I observe, not only in your article of Wednesday, bnt in many others vrith which you have lately afflicted the _ truth no less than th^ unbigoted portion of the community, a something for which I can find no other name, than an intense selfislvness of Americanism, most inconsistent with the generally received idea of Christian charity. To be an American is a very good thing, and so 1 esteem it ; but it does not necessarily carry with it a hatred of all that is not American. Christ did not die alone -for Americans. He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and he has given us a rule in the case of the " man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves," whereby we may distinguish who is otir neighbor. Your pharisaical cant, judged by this rule, about the ignominy of Jloman Catholics "being ruliid by a hi«i'archy of foreign lords,'*^ is in exceed- ing bad taste. 10th. "A Kentucky Catholic" does "acknowledge that the constitution «f Kentucky utters the truth touching the ruUural and indefeasMe rights of mankind." But he doesnot acliUQwIedge that the head of hi« Cluirch is unceasingly invad- ing these natural and indefeasible rights. Almighty Grod has fiven free ^vill to voau. He has placed fire and water before im, and badeihim stretch out his hand and take which he will. But he has also commanded him in the new revelation, under penalty of eternal reprobation, to believe amd be bapUaed. You may as well then say that the Bible is unceasingly invad- ing the natural and indefeasible rights which the constitution of Kentucky allows to the infidel and unbeliever. The obedience which the Roman Catholic pays to the Pope is as much voluntaiT- as is the obedience" which each and every Protfestant pays to the discipline of his- church ; nor is it one whit,-mt)re dangerous to our free institutions. 11th. You speak of Roman Catholics acknowledg-rng the temporal power of the Pope. Now, I defyyeu, sir, to point out one single Roman Catholic Priest or Bishop in the- United States, that adcnowledges this tempoi-al power in the bead of the Church. The late Con-acils of Bishops in Baltimore and in Cincinnati, publicly repudiated this charge. 12th. You make a compaiison between Protest-ant and 48 LETTERS OF A KENTCCKY CATHOUC. Catholic countries very uiifayoyalile to the latter. In tliis cou- nection, however, you strangely enough forget to mention that the only two countries of Chiistcndoni which do, at tjiis day, systematically persecute on account of religious faith, are the Protestant countries of Sweden and Prussia. In Italy and Sp^in th^re are no Protestants to per.secute. In Catholic Belgium, eqiial In every respect to Protestant Holland, while the Catholics number 4,000,000, there are only 8,000 Pro- testants, and yet these Catholics voluntarily chose a Protestjftit king, and* the government fully recognises » free press and free wcuship. The Protestants of Catholic Austria are at this day, more free, in some respects, than are the Roman Catho- lics of the United States. They have their separate free schools voluntarily accorded to them. I would like tp follow you in this comparison of Protestant and Catholic countrieSj, and may do so hereafter ; hut this a,rticle is now longer than I had intended it should he, and I must bring it to a close. I will say, however, before Concluding, that, being of a very hopeful ^mperameht, and knowing that you have capacity to learn, and that Iby. some extraordinary grace jou may be brought to repentance, if the time should ever come that you will ask for admission into the Catliolic Church, 1 hereby voluntarily offer you my service's as sponsor onth^t interesting occasion. Yo'lirsi very truly, A Kentucky Catholic. Zouisville, Septemjier 8, 1855. LETTER THIRD. Sir : — I am forced to enter my protest against your man- ner of conducting, this controversy.' The side issues which you are constantly bringing up and reiterating with an energy ■v^ich might, under other circumstances, gain for you the reputation of the Bomhmtes of anti-Catholie crusade polcr mics, Itiave nothing to do with the matter in question. I asked of you to point out the poliucal aggressions with which you bad charged the American Catholic hierarchy ; and you answer that "some of them are Jeauitsr, and all are Jesuitical." I asked you to name a single Roman Caihclic Bishop or jriest outside of the States of the Choirch, who will acknow- LETTER'S 01' A KENTUCKY CfATHOLTO. 49 l^dgfe'- l^ftt'lie oT^es civrE allegiance to the Pope ; and' you aiiswer that " Pope Gregory the VII, (ho lived eigjit hnndred' yfears ago,) comiiianded bhaj; all the princes of the earth shonld kiss his feet." I shoiild likd "to, see th^t Bull of Pope Gregory. I-'fear mo mtich you have heeii imposed upon in this matter. ' Youi-c[uotatioits froin Archbishop HugSes, and from ■ Bishops Flaqet arid England are vagiie', evidently garbled, arid, tafken'out'of the connection' in which they were originally placed, efeix meaningless. In order -to give the' readers of the Courier the benefit of your labors', in proof of, tlie charges yfert had brought against the hierarchy, I append these ektraictg r .■ '' Bishop !^NGLAND once wvota to bis Irish friends d, letter of palpahla hostility fo the religious liberty of ijneHtfft. Says-n of old Esop's fable of the dead lion and the living ass ? It seems that Jis'hop >Flaget did, at onetime, complain of the Ai»eriean goVeramenfa permitting the free traffic in spirits with'the pot)? Indians., He found, doubtless, as many another jaaissionary: has found,, that it was. useless to la^or for the reclaiming of hi§ red children, s<> long as this traffic was permitted. It will fbe remembered that Bishop Flaoet was a refugee froSa the persecutions of the. French revolution. About the year 1792, we findhim laboring as a missioaary 4iiBong the French at Vincennes and the neighboring tribes of Indians. 'Thelocal and.military officials of the United States, about that time and till after the war -of 1812, were> indebteol to -Bishop Flaget Yor inVahiable' assis- tance, afterwards gratefully aetliowlfedged, in several of the. treaties made -with the Indians,. I>ouhtles6 the letter, from which you profess to exfjact, witS -ivxitten- in French, and • afterwards trajistatad alto English. .Under . suet circum- stances, it ia very deai-ly pei-ceptible that &e passage, could easily ' have been, and most ' \isJa]y :ytas, mistranslated and corrapted. Of one thing you may bejierfeptl-y assuisd, there never was a more e.ame^t.aitid sincere advocate of our consti- tjational liberties on the soU of the Iiaion,tham was Bishog Flaqbt. , , . , - The estraot. which yon give from Al•chbishDp^HtISHEs has no more force : to indicate, bis- opposition to our pecidiar institutions), than it has to prove his adherence to. the myste- ries of Buddhism, , I could point out to youmany an old-lijift- "Whig who has Sai yeai-s .battled at yoijr side for wiiAtheand yon then sfl-noeived io be the true conservative' policy, that will agree with the, Ai-ohbishopl in his sentiment of regret that the. "moral attribiitefi of , pur progressive gj-eatness are, in the estimation. of .the civilized world, sinking from'day to dayj*"- \ The. sentiment 'of the paragrapli which you give fromth?.-.' "Eai^bler,".in refoence to religious liberty, .taken in the sense in which the phrase^is ggneiaUy, .ijndeEstoods is false ; bht if taken in ftie sertse iiftended .by tha author, it is ineon- ' testably true-. Thi? edito'i was evidently not speaking of. that religious liberty which consists in one's being free to proffess aiLy . rnode, of woishfp independent of civil restraint. , He was speaking of that liberty of the individual; mind inform ft faith for it.self,,,or to.< discard all faitlji and -vshioh' argues LBTTEKS OS A KESTUCKJ CATHOLIC. 51 complete unaceountaTsHity to God tlierefer, because of the liberty of will with which He lias invested it. The same may be said wjib regard to the- "intoleriiiiee of Catholicism," If taken in the sense which yoa evidently intend that your read'eia shall' draw from it, it is false. Neitlrer dpes the editor of the "Rambler," or any other Eoman Catholic, believe it. But if taken in %! sense intended by the wthor, and whieh any logical mijid will be able to draw from it, it is true. Ti'uth cannot, be otherwise than intolerant of that quality which is opposed to it. If, for instance, T should bold, as incontestably true, that the writer of the a.rticle in t3ic Journalis a lunatic on the subject -of Popery, -tjiei^ would be no room in my mind for the tolerance of an Opposite opinion. The Qatholic Church is at tece tolerant and in- tolerant. She is intoleiant — not indeed of the impugners of her truth. ; not of tlieir social position a'nd civil well-being ; not of theii', libertiesj civil pr religious ; but she is intoterant of- those errors which they hold, and which are directly opposed to her ever-abiding truth. She is . tolerant because she holds the truth ; irnd truth is rooted, in love. A Catholic cannot possibly entertain hatred againsf his erring brother. The man must ^tiU claim his love, though heipay not tole- rate his error. „_ Agaijj; with tegaid ,to th6 bishOij's oath, you say, " It-is utterly false that the- language, or the Sense of the oath, only' bintds bishops to Oppose tile spread of enor." Now, I again say, that the v^ole teuor find scope of this Jiart of the oath has foi' its object this and this only. The sense which you giveto-the wording of the oi^th, is notthe Catholic seifse. It is oifie which you, and other enemies of the church before, you, have mannfactured to suit your pnrposes.- So learned a theological amateur as you have pro'Ved yourself to be, should know that the Catholic Church claims to Ije "immutable" only in. doetrine, apd -tljat sf change in the wording of the bishop's oath could be easily accomplished .without damage to hei immutaliility. I expressly stated" that the old oath' contained nothing wliich could in any wiiy compromise the civil allegiance of tlie bishops. %y defense was of that oatlh entirely, notwithstanding that the passages, ■s^lhich yDu object to, have been striclien out of the oatji as now taken by the American bishops. You speak of this oath in connection . with Archbishop PcpcsLt. No*, I respectfully propose that you publish the Ai^hbishop's desTense of the oath in the- Jbttrnal, and I -wilhwillin^y take the verdict of your readers'* 52' XETTEBS OP A RBNT'JC^Y CATHOLIC'. as to its Containing' Obligations at vai'iance- with tlje duty pf civil allegiance, ^ '■ ' ' Your ideas seeni to be extremely vagno aM> tiiieertain on tliepoint of mftn's inalienable and indefeasible rights. What?- is'i'eligious liberty, in the Sense in WKi eh 'it is implied iff-thS constitution of tjie United States ? It is the right to 'believe and woi'Ship according to '(?onsoience, ■unrestrained by pains and penalties from 'the civil government. ' The '.constitution- entirely ignores tbe g^uestion of the moral iight ^{ everyone- to believe as he pleases. ' It leaves this-^ where it should bc left.; between man and his God. Man is accountable to God for his belief •'a'n'd worship, and not 'to the -government. If I hold that'the Catholic Church is the organ'of God's comnl^u- ' nication with the world, I hold' that which' she teaches as* the doctrine and command of God, ^just as ' the Protestant ^olds ■■' ■that, to be the will of God, which is^ held and taught by hia particular church. There is, however, thia'diffetenefe. While I hold that the medium of my faith is stamped with adivine-' 'autliority, .'the Prptestanfaclcnowledges lihiit the authority .by whiih he holds any pinticul^r form -of faith 'and worship' is merely humaii. It ■were very easy hei-e to go into the question ' of private ihtefj^'retatioli of the scriptures-, and to'fihow that, though" both ProtestaptS aniCatholics believe th§ Bible to be the word Of God, yet' the ]cmrtb'ei4e"s's*'^yste!iiB of belief and worship professedly takenfrom it, on the pica o'f the rightfof private judgment, being only the private opinions of the individual readers, can Have no claiih'to be- called divine. You inquire' how comes, it that the greater" portion '«| the: Catholic clergy and people of this country are foreigners ? This 'woJiderful quandary is of so'easy solution that 1'aifa^ only surprised that any man of 'sense should have entertained it.,. With the exception" of that of Maryland," ali'thff old coliCnies gf thife^ eo'untrywere i^ade up of immigrants from Profestan^ States, who were' consequently Pratestaiits, as are tlieir descendants to' this day. The Catholic population has ■ been greatly increased' of '--late years byinyfiigration ;' in sufch a rMio, indeed, as to naturally require 'a proportionate number of foreign clergymen. As this decreases, so will the Mktive' ' proportion of native' aiid foreign pastors'.'" It'is, and always has been, dne'of the first objects of the hierarchy of the United States tc! rear up; a body of native priests. This is the uni- versal practice of' the Church -in all Conijtries. In MSirylani- and Kentucky, -tlje greater, number of brdinations' have been of natives. Even of the foreign-born Bishops, moat of'theiri. LETTERS OF A KENDUCKY CATBOLIO. , 53 previous to couseoration, liad teen i-esklents- of, , the GOunti'Jr from twenty to forty years, and tliei-e are few that did not "receive their, olericp,! training is. .the United States. You say that,, "the hiorarcliy of the United .States have ^i policy of their own touching the institutioi;s" of this, eou^try. To be sure they have. .But this policy is also. the. policy of every true patriot anllovei of liis country, Proleetant and Catholic. The happy possessor of the viitues of honesty aad truthfulness, may an'd does hold fhom as his own, but he does .not feel himsHf at all .the poorer when he sees the familia,r fades of his own virtues held in like duriinceby.his mortal brother. You refer to the encyclical letter of Pope Gregory the XVI, in teriiLS not ..warranted^ by tlie tenor _ of thai much, abused .document. During the term of' his Pontiiicate, France, a portion of Italy, and several of the neighboring states, were flooded with a multiplicity of immoral and infidel books. The Pope was appealed to by the Bishops ,\vhose flocks were being contaminated by tfl.eare..tra»hy and vile publications. Tlie. encyclical denounces "that indiffereniism v/hich is falsely called liberty, '* and strongly censures '.'the licentiousness of hooksidters (not of th.& pres^ as you -have it,l -vyhich induces them to piiblish all liinds, of iiifi-d^I_ and iiujnoral books." The^Pqpe illusja;atts.hisjneaningjjy -saying : '' \Vhat.man of .sense .wiU say, that we shall all Ji^ poisons to bo freely used, to b'e sold,, and transported from place, to place,, to be drm\fc even, on the ground that there is an antidote capable ^i sav- ing lj,fe if duly- taken." ; . . ■. . ' I have. before stated' tVt in Rome ajid Italy there al-e no resident Protestants. .^TJie. whole population being Catholic, there were_no motives of ju§ti<;ejto"induca Pope Piiis IX, after his return; fr.om ex;ile, to -change the. ancient law oif the goyernnient in tlie matter of the religion. of the-Statg. Thg Protestant sti'anger in Ro.me is. entirely unttiolested , in the exercise of his religion. Both English and American Pro- testants have their separate places' of worsiiip, under tile protection* of. the government, aiid I will venture tO: say thai the Catholic -ejtiziens. of !^|me have never, in a single- in- stance, stoned .these , edifices, or insulted the worshipers. Can you say as much in reference, to .the resident Catholics andxtheir churches in yiis fi;ee and ■enlightenbd country ? You speak' of the hierarchy .being a.",clos§ corporation," and.of their ignoring th.e "rights of the laity." Will you , be. kind enough to tell me iij, hojv.far the laity of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church are allowed to' partake in its govern- 54 LETTERS OF A KENTUCK? CATHOIJC. mental administraffon ? It soems to be vei-y ctifflcult to make yow ujidexstand that tbe lawn of the Catholic Gtrarcli areof np more binding forcfe -upo^i iht; laym4n thtin they'are on the priest and the Bishop. There are dntios, to tenure, peculiarly appertaining to each person,, aiScording to his state of "life, and every one is "responsible' to God for the faithful discharge of these duties. The aHvocate may not,, without sm, engagO' in the prosecution ^f aji unjust suit. The physreian may not -wantoiily endange* life by qxperi- memtilig on the comilittition of his patient. The editor may not impugn the known trtith, or endeavor to foist upcoi any party, or body of mfin, principles which they solemnly repudiate. The priest may not fail to give good example, and to spend his life if necessary for the well-being of those committed to his dharge. The Bishop m^ist guard with watchful care the whole flock ; he must " reprove, admonish, and advise " in. season, and so kt his M^ht shin«, that the people may glorify God for His good gifts. The constitution of the Church was Jiot intended alone fof.jmy paj-tioular form of civil govsi'nment, but *for all. it was framed so as to suit the exigencies of all times, of all peopled, and of all tojjjgues. Thstt man must be blind indeed who feiJs to dist cern the wisdom and beawt^inherent in the Church. Without her headship ia the Pope, tneie couM be no TMiity, and your desire for national chm-ches might be gratified— at the ex- pense of ChriBtianity itself. You tell US that tuther gave to the laity their just rights. If you mean by this thai Luther emancipated the- people from the servitude of tyrants, you have read history to viry littfe purpose. ' Wherever Lnther'aiiism. exists as the. dominant religion of any country, therfe "you will find a uiiion gf ehurci and state, the press enslaved, and to a considerable extent aotutilpersecution of non-conformists. I refer you to Prussia, Denmark, and Sweden, ■ Qu tfej** contrary, it is perfectly demonstratable, that in all Catholic cbuutrieB, where there is any considerable minority of Protestants, there you will find free worship, a free press', and Protestants having access to ^!he highest offices. I refer you foi- this to France, Austria, Bavaria, Hungaiy, and Belgium. A word with regai'd to "What yow say of the great Pope Gh-egGiyVU. ; Much has been ignorantly written and spoken of %Hs Pope. But Protestant historians have appreciate^ the glOT^ of his charaeter'u' They acknowledge that he was equal to Hie -task -which Providence had placed before him ; that he LfiTTBRS OI' A KriSTUOKY OATHOUC. 55 "saved-Europe fiioni baiioi-isrti," au,i -wiat is more boaatifal still, that "69 illustvaLe-i Christianity by his virtues." ^The last words on hi.s lips were: ""And I, tot), iave loved justice and h^ed in^iitiity, tiivi I dio in cxite." The German Pro- testant histonau, M. Voigt, sayg of him: " It is. difficjilt tq bestow upon liim e^giggerated eulogy";- for he has laid every- where the TouiidatipM of a solid giory. But every one should endeavor to render justice to whom justice is due; let no one cast a stone at one so janogent ; let every one respect and honor "a man who has labored for hi^ ag6, with views so grand icnd so gen^-rOTs. Let him who is conscious of having calumniated him, re-enter into his own conscience." You speak of "Catholic monasteries and other penitentia- ries, in which voluntary eonvifeta are confined and tortured." This whole sentence is replete with contradictions and. absurdities,'- It is. a principle of common law,, that every loan shall b(j allowed to follow that 'avocation, or manner of life, which best suits him, care being taken- thtit he shall not therein interfere with the rights and prhdleges of others. Now I take it; if I choose ta enter into a monasteiy, I seek my "individual happiness in doing eo-; and no man/)f mode- rate capaci^, however he may wonder at my mode of seeking "iappiaess, c&n avBr that in following the bent'of my inclina- tions I h.a,v6 not acted precisely as he would', were our positions reversed. Voluntary convicts, indeed { > Let mfe ieU you, sir, fliat some of tire happiest peapj-e in the ^tate of Kentucky are occupants of these- same penUettiiccHes, as yon sneeringly call them. Tliey earn by ike labor of their baiuls that which they^ eat and Wear, and they have withal 'something for the pooi: and tlie strpager, in avldition to prayere from clean hearts^ Wherein are you better off? But the monks of La Tr'appe actually " shave their leads, and bury their dead wjtk their faces downward." This, I suppose, you will call tBTik political aggres^n I Well, if I mnst-accede something to- yon, I suppose this item of Trappist treason will suit as well . as- janylhing else. _. . ' You are extremely fond of using sndi phrases as " drunk with tlie blood of ttie saints," "a despotic altar," "our lord, thePope," "the hierarojiy claim to have an exclusive monopoly ©f grace and trsfti," &c/, &c. Now allthjs I may very justly csAlcant. It ii not intended for mon of judgment, but for " the groundlings." When I read it, 1 cannot help imagining that I see before me an ignorant popery -Inad buffoon, or a tattered martyrdom-hunting stieet lecturer. 56 LETXEi^S 0P A K&Sf «CRY CATHOLIC. Bid yourself, my dear sir, of all such supsiiluous habiliments Your editorial figure is not overly pveposse^sing at test, Why ardd to. the bluudurs incidental to an ill-regulated, edu- cation these shapeless rags -of bigotry ? In the 'opening paragraph of yottf article of Wednesday last, you. seem to imply that you hay^ a dpuBt about "my being either a-Kentuckian or a laynmn. .. Indeed, it has been intimated tome fis a souaewhat geiiei-al opinion amqng those of your no-popeiy party who. have taken the trp.ubleto think of th^ matter, at all -— it is a lamentable fact that few of them arftmuch overgivento thinking upon any subject — that the corresponcffent of tlio Courier is ni^ne othet than a certain dignitary of- the Cath^olio Church, who is thei-ein. seeking to hide his. individual' rebponsibility uadej: tlw' cover pf ,a very contemptible dev-iee. NoVp I wish it distinctly rmderstood, that the wi;iterpf the articles signed "A Kentucky Catholic," is both, a Kentuoldan.and a Eotaan. Catliolip. lay mail ; and that, having himself written ^very line and syllable in eacB and every one of the aforesaid articles, and that.l^oo, without the assistance or dictation of anj othgr, clei-gyman or layman, he has no intentipn of aJTowing any one to assume his respon- sibilities, or-ta be, held publicly or privately responsible for the S]tatements7language, tone, and temper ef .said articles. If they contain errors pf induction or Fact, he alone is respon- sible for them. Should there be any one sufficiently curious to wi^h to kno.w the. real name of " A Kentucky Catholic," let him apply tp the editors, of ih^. Courier, who arc hereby authorized to give the desired infonpatipp. , In conclusion, allow me to repeat the questions previously asked, and which, up J;o , this time, , you have completely ' ignored: When were the .Roman Catholic Bishops of the_ United States, or, any one of them,, guilty of political a^gregsion ? Can you poiflt out a single Jlomaiv. .Catholic Bishop or priest in the /."Dpi ted States who does .acknowledge, or. who has acknowledged, tiiat he owes civil allegianee to the PopeJ What are the cpp-npt practices kloulcated by the Catholic Chm-ch? ' • ,„^ ' , ,'\ Y^omSi (fcc, . > . '.' A Kestucky Catholic. - I/Ot^isville, Sept, lith, 1855. LETTERS OF A KENTVCKV CATHOLIC. 57 LETTER FOUETH. 'fWorcUj^cvds, words „... filled with ' Sound and fiiry,'.sign}fyii)g nothing." ' SjE : I haye never been nxore impressed with the aptitude ,of the above trite quotation, than in reading -your reply to my last lettei- as it appears in your Journal, of the 22d inst. I have-lookeJ ia v-am through the closely printed columns fqr au answer to my inquiries regarding the "aggressions of tlje tapal hierarchy" of tlie United States, ^"tlie " corr^lpfing influences of the Catholic church," and the achno^vledgnient of civil fealty on the pUrt of the American Bishops to the Pope of Eonie. Sly dissatisfaction as to-- your manner of cojiducting wha,t yo\i call the "Papal controversy-/' ^Yiiii the natural result of jonmot stickinff to the point. A logical reasQner, in lay)a|p down a proposition, docs riot leave it till he has proved both his premises Jind their consequences. You l^id down the prop.osition that the liiorarchy of the United, Skates hold civil allegiilncp to a. foreign potentate. The Bishops themselves solemnly deny it, and you have .the effrontery to. say, that you, par excellence, know more about what the Bi.■^hops believe than they do themselves. ,, I ain not at all disposed to fbllo-tv you in your efforts to escape 'from the main issue. Stick to your text. Givewsthev instaiices of political aggression which you. ha\c charged on the Bishops, designate thfe kiixd und quality of those crimes which the Catholic Church intuleates on her members. Give -US, the name of-oue single individual of the -American hier- archy who does acknowledge, or who has acknowledged, that , he owes civil allcgi-unce to the P-opg. To all your enlarges against the churcli, "cut aijd drie^" iorthe use of the anti-. Popery lecturerH, apd unsubstantiated, by fi particle of evidences or even of reference, I an-swei-, nega'totum-r- 1 deny the whole. To use your .own language, if you "-wish to titlk to me" about side issues, having nothing to do with th« matter^ in controversy, you must '- show me ihs fece " of your-autjbority. T ask for th^,23age and aiithor, chapter and verse, and until these are given, I do not hold that. 1 am " under any abliga* tion." to do more than throw ivf yoilr teetii thrt clincher to all argumtot based on unsubstaiuiated assertion — kkgo totum ! - You -say that-'yop have n-ot enlarged on the, private opiaiops •jof men, and yet the private opinion.s of m«n are made tbaf 58 LETTEBS OP'i. KENTUCKY OATHOLK!. basis of ahnost every charge jsoti bring against the Ckilrch., If you really wish to understand what is Catholic doctrin?^ get the Cateehism of tl[ae by eleqtnc flashes from heaven itself, and they give us' strength to " walli 'erect as in tlie day." We ask not " for your advice as to hoW we 'slialr worship. We have 'a ' better rule than' you cangiVe'tis. We ask you not to take ' charge -of dill' ecclesiastical affairs and' our c'hurch'pi'operty. Mind your own busiMsi ! TKis is th?" axioii of coiamon' sense ^ rough and unpolished, yet pure gold ; Ahiericdli in its aptitude, and triie as is the great American heart to itS' ' love of liberty. Mind y&ur own husiness', and let us alone ! We interfere rioVin the regulatiqii'of your sys-tem's of church governiiLerit. * We meddle not 'with.your sjfaods, hor'y^ur '; coiivocalions, nor your general assemblies ! Let us alone ! ' and, at the 'eame time, let alone the federal constitution by which our rights are girarb,nteed, Th'e c9nlempt whicli you promise us ilnless Vre shall consent' to" receive your pity, is a very harmless article. We can manage to get along 'with-out feeling at all inconvenien'ced from it. We only ask you to he careful that the feeling does noit breed in you a more, aggressive 'kind of passion, which may impel you to take upon yourselves the prerogq,tive of ' Almighty God, and punish'by physioaPpains the objects of ' your oonteifipt. The transitioh is singt^arly easy, -and sinCe the advent of Kno-w-Nothingism, something more than indi- cations of it have been- abuiidant in the land. " 'S'ou have much ^-e.ater cause to fear on account of the " possibility of such a result, 'than have the I^oman Catholics j ' fo'r though you may turn our churches,'maiigle and imprison our bodies, and fetter the' freedo'm of our Teligious" worship, you canno't put' chains on 'the immortal soul. This 'will BtUl b^ free, and from the tery ashes of our 'bodies 'frill spring' the"''' hosts to-^keour places. But you, who in the piide'of 'your human wisdom thank Grod "that you arSnot likethe rest -of men," in. doing these things, 'Will tS .able to ■ congratulatB •; yoursel-ves on having given the fatal bIow""to' the "freedom of our country, " and at the^aftie time to those qualities of its freedom in which ycki taite most pride; its advancement in' health and commercial pro^erity.' ' ' ' '^ Your reference To the act of J;he Continental Congress of 1774, is a very unfortunate one. This' Very act lost to us Canada, and^the a8.^istajiOQ'of her people in our striiggle for independence. ''For, when the delegation appointed to confer V'ith- the people of Canadfi in regard to the propriety of join- ing, forces with us, and 'which delegation consisted of B4v. ' John" Carroll, afterwards Archbifihop of Baltimore, Chase' 62 LETXEES OF A XENIlleKlf CATHOUO. and Pranldia, did urge tliis policy upon the Canadians, Ih^ j-ustified ^^r refasal ty pointiag toitkis very act. Charles Carroll, though the only (ithiOli<:^igner of the Declaration of Independence, represented the only GathoKc colony then ill ■ the country, and jeopardized thereby nttore than- any ten individuals that did sign that document. . If you Suppose yoti- have answered my queries, even to the satisfaction of any non-Catholic reasongr of moderate capaci- ties, you were never more mistaken in your life. First; you reason from, premises which are false, e.n^'wiaeh we do not acfaiowledge, and therefore Jrour eonclueiohs are likewisft jfalse. We hc^d no civU allegiaace to a foreign potrntatet' Secondly, the Catholip pesple are hefare and ^11 Sfonnd you, and if they are more corrupt than others, it needs no refer- ence from you to Catholic treaitises on moral theology, pritited in a dead, language, and for the guidance of the priesthood, to prove ihem so. The fact will be self-evident, if your charge is true. 'That it is basely false, will be the judgment of every right-hearted man that has ever lived in a Cath-oljfr community. Tliii'dly, ''aggression's" are always tangible. They can be seen and felt ; and it will not do for yqu to reason from your aljstra-ct ideas of what you conceive the Ohijich to be, of what ought^^to be her policy. You had chargedthe American Bishops with "boing political aggi-essois J and when asked for thj proof, you throw yourself upon your . ■ reserved rights,, and dedarp that men who hold to certain principles., which you manufacture out of whole cloth for ' them, if they are not aggressive, owgU to be so. ,TJie theoio^cal compartment of your brain i& ift a state of Wretched concision. NotwItEstanding, yqu ha,ve endeavored to enlighteiv me, and the^ rest of, mankind, on the sulyect of matfs " inalienable and indpfeasible rights,." I cannot possibly ' getjit your meaning, aad am strongly impi-essed with the idea that you yoorseK do not precisely know wh-at you believe on the subjeofc. From, your last explanation, I am led'to the ooadusion, tliat yeu heliev© that man has an inde- feasible right to refuse to obey the command of God. Is jTBereis one fdct connected with the Know-Nothing crusade agjrinst the Catholic Chnrdi, which is ccrUinly worthy of the att^jon of every lover pf justice; It has been _over an4 oveir again stated', that .the Koman Catholics of this country are, ani-bave always been, in reference ^o the elective franohifiei thl^fiubservient tools «f the priesthood ; that the clergy have LETTBKS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOXXC. 63 only to indicate for whom they sliall vote, and ajl individual, preferences are a-t onCe loat sig'bt of, in order that the whole Catholic hody miay show an undivided front in i'avor of tliose men and measures prfeviously selected for their siiifrages by the head's of the Church. A m.ore wicked libel than this- has never been promulgated on any body of men. There is not even the semblqace of truth in it. It is, known to yon, that my political affinities have always 'been fo^vards the Whig pai-ty, as have also been those of a large majority of the Ebman Catholics of Kentucky. The foreign element of the Catholic population — and the same may be said -of that of every Pioiestant denomiflation, the Protestant Episcopal Chm-ch, perhaps, excepted — is as well known to you to be Democratic in its tendencies. If the Catholic clergy have . xtsed the supposed influence, appertaining tQ,them as spiritual' guides, to induce the Catholic people to^vole in any paiiicular way, hoiy do you accoimt for this divevsityof political predi- lection between the two classes fef native and foreign born Catholics? . . / But I wilt still go fui-ther, and record it here, as my delib- erate opinion,T)ased.upon observation and intimate personal relations with a great many Orttholjc clergymeii, both native and. of foreigji Tairth, that a colisiderable majority even of tlie latter class, ^lave hereti^ore favored the pruicjples of tha Qld Whig party. They have not done tlidsj to be sure; by endea- voring to influence thelt people to vote in Tvccprdarice with the^ ow^ private individual' sentiments. This was no part of their diity as ambassadors for Christ. And had they done so, though you and your party might not have then thought pS^oper to bring this ch&rge against thepi, of urtdne inteifer- ence in mattcrSi not directly appertaining to their callijig, the opposition party doubtless would have so chajged^ theM. Thus, the inference is perfectly plain; that the Catholic priest- hopd are to be held accountable for a course of conduct, wliici, had they truly followed,' a* has been charged against them, would, have saved theui from all blame, ,so fai','at leist' as yon, and you^ party are concerned. ' ' The Roman CathoHos? among all the religious bodies of this country, are the least chargeable with being attracted by the divers isms of the day, Whether thgy be of a religious or a political char%cier. Monnonism, and Millerism, and F-our^ ierism count no Roman Catholics in their ranks. They -are eqnally free from Abolitionism, ■ Freesoilism, and fi'illjbuslet- ism. Always conservative, th^ are calm and fair in their' 64 LETTKKS OF' A KENTGCKY'CATnOLlO. ' opposition to Viiat tliey Joem error in politics and religion. They never silffer tlieir preferences to lead tliem beyond tlie pale bf 'social cQuxtesy, or to render tl^eiii legardless of the dtitles imposed by. heaven-bom. pliarity. , Intolerant, if you please, of the principle of Prfitostajjtism, they recognize the universal law of the Chiu'ch^ancl Jts Pounder, to know nd' man's i-eligion when it is a q^udstibii of the relief of distress, or of the general good. ' . If there be 'any man so credulous as to believe that the leaders of the Know-Npt^ing party, in appending'to their political creed this element of political proscription Vn account , of" religious faith, were actuated by motives of true patriotism, • and really feared for the safety of our peculiar institutions, because of priiiciples supposed to be held by Eoinan Galho- tics dangerous to the ga,ma, ,he is greatly mistaken.. They had no fear of the kind, and you Ijaye ho such fear. They, unfortunately, found iii the minds of great numbers of Pro-' testants and nominal Protestants,' an inteh'sie prejudice,agains't the^ Catholic Olniroh. This, prejudice had Ijepn suffered to run riot in places where a' Roman Catholic was never seen, and was daily added to by the oirctilatio» aihong the. illiterate, of ' gross iiid' lying publicatip'hs^.e^nioqeted .for profit by men whp^ knew no moi'S ol Catliolio usages than iihey did of decency, and WHch presented to the unwary eyes of our youth a tissue of "baseless charges against Catholicity, intermixed with'beastly and "obscene incidents. Kjisrwing the exisfence pf this wide- spread spirit of fanaticism, ajrd believing that they conld txara, it to politipal advantage, by enlisting against the old Demo- cratic J)arty ,a greater number of its then Udheronts than they would 'lose! thereby of Catholic Whig voles, the Know- Nothing leaders tackled to their clumsy craft, launched at'.l inidnight oh the muddy waters of civil discord and sec- tional strife^ this rotten planl^ of. Catholic proscription. Tlje Democrats must be beaten' at" any cqsK Wh"5it matters,, it, if it he' necessary in oMer to do , so, that "|lie-. constitution , I fllxall be trampled under foot, Ofid the. .demon of religious bigotry 1^ lopse in the land to destroy all the Eowers of social happiness! The plunder must "be obtained, _ said tl^ey^ and. we. will make .use of tjirs fecliiig of hostility to Cathodes, in , order to humbug the ignorant and .bigoted of the Demooiatio, party into assisting 'us in our schemes. The conservatjlve policy of Ci'iy, ajid Wobster vvas lost sight of in the de^ernji- ' nation to appropriate ^he, offices of goyeijiitient. Many of the pfettChers wino induco'.i tocnli.sf in the'eause.^ The pulpit LE'1-J?BRS OF A KESTUCKV CATHOLIC. 65 was clianged ialo a rostmm for political harangues, and a number of theso misguiSod- mtn were eyen seen to join with. secret, oath-bound plotters, to impose upon our beloved countiy, a pplicy positivly subversive of all liberty, civil and *e%ious. But by the mercy of aii overruling Providence,' the cunning of all concerned has overreached ■ itself. The degraded leaders, panderers as they were to the worst passion of the human heart, and that, too, for- base and selfish ends, reckoned not on that inherent love of justice,^ which is still, thauk God, the chief glpi-y of a vast majority. of the Ameri- can people. They reckoned not on the intelligence and patriot- . ism of those. ti"Ue men of the old Whig p^i'ty, who scorned the slavery of their ;oath-bouEd fscfion, and whose fidelity to the teachings of the constitution was not to he purchased. The preachers, too, who possibly th0;Ught they were doing God a service in forsaking the Gospel qf peace, in order to convert the Catholics from the enors op- their Tvays, hy inculcating a system of civil_ disabilfties not recognized by the gospel r— they, too^ have overreached tfaemselves; In every town and^ village throughout the ,countiy — ' even in those where' the face pf a iloman Catholic never was seen, there have been raised up from the ranks of bgth the old political parties, apologists for the Church, and defenders of the->patriotisim of her American membere. Even from- the hpdy of the preachers themselves, have come most withering rebukes of the spirit of fanaticism that had unfortunately fas.tened itself on the,minds of so mJiny of the brethren. All honor to these conscientious pi^achers awl true Americans 1 My- faithJias no affiaitj with theh- Teligious opinions; but of, the honesty of their- convictions I have no" doubt. They have shown themselves the tmcompromisiag advocates of that conservatism whidi I once thought the pecuUar attribute of the Whig organization. They have read aright. the page on which is inscribed the charter of our constitutional liberties. Not only this,_but they have read aright that higher page of God's law, which inculcate^ the duty of charity, ^d forbidB the assumption by man of His eternal attributes. And not only this, but they h^ve rgad aright that page of the book of common sense, which-teaches as the experience of all time, that religious faith, or even preconceived opinions on matters of less importance, can never be uprooted fro to what they esteemed error m the religion of the Koman Catholics, to make common brotherhood of political monntebanks and tricksters i» Know-Nothing lodges, becom- ing aware of the false position they h,ad assumed, have severed fill connection with the party.- Let them still withdraw from the disgraceful association, and every man with them whg has a soul to feel for the honor of his conntiy. Let them do but this, and while peace and good -will shall resume the places .usurped by discord and fanaticism, the Very name of the politi- cal monster whom they sei'ved, will goon becdme a my tji in the land which hs^had hoped to gjoyera, and, in governing, to ruin. -You may perhaps say, that now, at least, the Koman ■Oath olios of this country do show an undivided front in opposition to >vhat you unis-na/me the American party. You may even charge this result to the infljieno^ of the priesthood, though the compliment would be a poor one, both to the feeling of self-respect in the heai-ts of the Catholic peoplej afid to the jndg;ment of the clergy in suppasing the exercise of sudi influeuee on their part at all necessaiy. It would be wonderful indeed, if the- Catholics were not, to a man, ranked among the opponents of the Know-Nothing faction. This is' the faction that has falsely charged them with holding ■allo' giance not compatible with that which they owe to the constitution of their cou-htiy. ■ This is the faction that is seeking to degrade them soeially, and politically. < This is the faction ..that has slandered' thtem in .their religious faith and jjractice, and which bearg.on its banners, the open declaVation of " war to the hilt " against them." This is the faction that has already ca^used the shedding of innocent,Catbolic blood; ' an4 desecrated houses erected iji honor' of tlie living God, Finally-, this is the faction whose adherents seem txy have been permitted, in our day to prove themselves worthy of the "brottteriipod of Shy lock, and to be able to say with their anti-Christian prototype :- " I bate -him, for he is .a-*' €WAoi*c. Let ail- men be carefulhow they enter this Know-Nbthing eohool of hatred.' The benfificent God never intended that hife children sh^nld pfermit the seed of this baneful passion to be implanted in their hearts ; much less that it Aould bud and bloom there, and produce its natural' fruits of Strife and bloodshed. " VVbbsofever-hateth his^brother is a- murderer."' Yours, &«., A Kentucky Catholic. LETTBRS of a KEJfTnCKY CATHOLIC. 67 LETTER FIFTH. Sir :— I have now before me yom- four articles on " The . Pa|)al Controversy." They look alike» and they read alike. Take from each the matter of a hundi-ed linea, and they would be all substantially alike. In all are found the -same ad cizpftMic^wcharges, unsupported by imyVeliable' evidence or reference ; the same denunciations of Catholic practices, ,- which you neither underAand, -nor care to understand ; the . same evidences of your un-Christian ■self-righteousness, and your contempt of others ; the same anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-republican short-sightedness. , It is clearly impossible for any one to mate headway in a, discussion so ecihducted. I have called for proofs, and am met by mere asseitions. Bare assertion, according to all the ■ rules of logic, cails only for hare legation. If you are not satisfied with my neffo toium, in the name of reason afld- common sense, bring out your -proofs,, and in 'such a garb, and with such distinct references to original documents, chapter and page*, that I. may have the opportunity to ex- amine for myself. When I assure you that one-half ^Df what you assert against Catholic "belief .and practice is absolutely false, and that the remainder is a ipiserably garbled and twisted perversion of facts, I say what I am able and willing to prove, whenever you shall give me the opportunity to do so. Your last article, as weU as the three which have preceded it, contains no proof to support the charge brought againsfc the Anterican hierarchy of "political aggression;" nothing to show a want of sympathy for our civil institutions on the part of the Roman Catholic? of the United States ;\nothing to indicate to a reasoaaUe man that Roman Catholics are not as good citizens and as' true republicans as ihe best Know- Nothings.Ja the land. , The oUa .podridda dish of anti-Catholic invectives, which' you have weekly set bfifoie me, begins to assume.^' an ancient, and fish-like "appearance, not at all provocative of appetite. Were it not for the slightly peppeiy condiment^ which you have been kind enough to internjix wjth your usual ingredi- ents, in this your last effoit at iatelleetual no-popery cookery, I should be compelled to forego isny' attempt upon it at all. First, in order to set your mind at rest Upon a questioB which seems to trouble ydu not a little, peimit me to sav 68 EETTEBB OF A KSSTUCKY CATHOLIC. «g»in,j as I have s^id before, that the letters of *" A Kentxiclty Catholic " were not written for the purpose of defending C*tltolio doctrines. The dognjas of the Church need no defense from me. Though I may tie bath -willing and able to give "a reason for the faith that is ia nie" to any one who will courteously ask it, yet I fully concur in the views of most Catholic theologians^ that public disiaisgions on doctrinal points, sbonld, as a general thing, be^ left to those who have made such matters the . s-tgdy of their lives. No intelligent man can gainsay the reasonableness of such a conclusion. You say that it'is anti-rBpublicko. 1. -deny that it is ■Ro. Common sense has more to do witt it. Theology, like physic and law, is a soiouee 'requiTing years of study properly to understtand and be able, to expound. There are certainfy good Christians and firm believers in the vei;y lowest walks, of life, for -the gift of f^ith is for ail who -will, ask with the proper disposition* ; yet, you will not be pre- pared ia say,' that saeli are eqrvil to the task of convincing the educated rmbeiiever ted casuist. • Judges, as well as writers and lecturers on civil law, are expected to be learned in 'thq eeienCe; and the. same may be said of medical practitioners and lecturers. Is the science of religion, of the- covenant between God and his toeatmcs, of -less- importance than those Sciences relating only toman's civil and personal well-'being? Assuredlynot. I grant you that it is frequently the case that the earnest faith and good, example of even the most unlettered personsj have the effect to convert men far removedfrom them in-iearning and knowledge. But in tlie great battle between faith and unbelief, there is a necessity that the teacher, " sent of God," should- bo ieafnsd iirthe science of God, in ordef that he may be able to reason logiOally and clearly from the premises laid down in the Blvine Law. Your idea that tb& restrtetioh imposed tipoa the layman, in forbidding him toengage in pifblic discussions upon points of doctrine, unless by permission of his ordinary, is "antj- rejmblican," is simply an absnrdify. I have the privilege to accept or reject the teachings of the Catholic Church or any othef church. It is to be presumed .that when I do attitch inyself to any particular church, it is upon the principle that ■what that church teaches is in accordaace with my views of divine truth. 1. may not impugn one of her laws, and still ■ consider myself a consistent member of her communion. In. resigning my will to the captivity ot faith, whatever I as- sume, is assumed volimtarilyj and with my eyes tjpen.* It is LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATUOLIC. 69 just as anti-rcpuhlica-Q in the Baptist Church to require the gubmission of the will of ihc new co.nvcit to the act of immer-: sion, as it is in the Catholic Church to' .require the i)bedience of her niembers to whatever Iter discipline requires. Eepub- licanism has nothing to do with one or the other. As to my own particular case, no one is more fully aware than yourself, ^hat the questions I have proposed to discuss are entirely iinct)nne,ctcd with the dogmas of the Catholic Church. For instance, it is no doctrine of the Catholic Church that her Bishops, sliall be "political aggressors." It is no doictrine of hers that "faith is not to be kept with here- tics." It is no doctrine of hers that the Catholics of tius country " owe civil allegiance to the Pope." It is no doc- trine of hers. that Protestants shall be "cursed" by every priest in the United States, either " privately " or publicly, on "Holy Thursday," or any otlvcr day. It is no doctrine of Iiers that a simple layman may not, without the previous consent- pf his Bishop, stand up in defense of the civil rights of himself and his brethren, whenever these riglits are as- sailed from any quarter whatever. Finally, it is no doctrine of hers that such a layman shall refrain from calling things by their right names, even at the risk of offending the delicate _ nervous organization of a Know-Nothing editor. Havipg never questioned "the Bishop of this diocese" as to whether or not he woidd ""indorse" what- you term my "insulting expressions " in reference to Know-Nothingism, I am unable to give yauj;he iufoimation you require on this point. Since the apjjearaiicc of yonr last article, however,, I have consulted several good old-line Whigs and Democrats, aU sound Protestants, who have oficjedto make affidavit that the expressions complained of are all t.uuud expressions, and true as they are sound. You say that you "have treated a ,*_Kentu&ky Catholic" with a respect that he is not entitled' to," and that "the opprobrious terms he has seen fit to-apply to the American party demanded a different style of reniaili." What do you call respfect ? Is itrespectful to say, in the face of my solemn (ienial,that I hold opinions which- would n^ake me a traitor "to the government under which I, was born? Is it respectful to caricature my faith, and hold me up to public contempt ? Is.it respectful to call me " Coj-rppt," " superstitious," "un- patriotic," and " aggressive ?"■• Is i^, respectful to say that I am, unfit, bepause of my fai^h', to gerye my country in any -position- to which she- might' call me? Is, it respe^j^ul. to 70 LBTTEHS OF A KEKTDCKY OATHdUO. recommend the formation of secret societies for the avowed purpose of practically annulling in my regard the spirit of the constitutional compact by which my rights are secured ? Is it res.peetft;il to swear, as you have done in your dark-lan- tern assembly, not only that you will not vote for me were I a candidate for* any office, hut that you will break off all " social " relations with me ? Shall I, with " fawning hum- bleness," say to the party, which kicks me into the gutter, wait till I rise and Mdc me again? 'Eespect, forsooth ! Why, you would'treat an ill-natured cur with more respect than you are now according to Eoman Catho&s, though born on fte soil, and equal to yourself in all those cjUalities which maA the patriot, the Christian^ and the gentleman. You do not like the " expressions" used by me in reference to your bogus American party. I scarcely supposed yon would. And yet, the lenns used, were " good-set terms," and " marvelous proper "expressions. Sooi'et political asso- ciations, even when organized without the element of Teligious proscription, have alwaj's been "disgraceful." It is but a few yea»rs since you yom-self so designated them, 'knd in much stronger language than I have "seen fit" to adopt towards them; You were' wont to call the Native American party, a faction with but one idea, &^^ you roundly rated it for its pi'oscriptiveness. Is .it less .prostiriptive now, that it has, added to the number to be proscribed the native born Roman Catholic ? Does the addition of this second half idea to the '■ one idea of Native Americanism, alterthe featm-es of the party so much as to take from it the proscriptiveness of which you complained? You have doubtless had your reasons for so material a change of opinion on the subjects of religious proscription and secret societies. lago's injunction, "put Bjoney in thy purse," may indicatq -their character. Can you say, that you are not " pandering " to popular prejudice, when you endeavor to raise a wall of separation, socially and civUlyj between the Protestant and Catholic? Can you say that the constant stream of vituperation and calumny which you are pouring upon thcfaith of the Roman "^Catholic, is not calculated, and well calculate'd, to make him hated -and contemned by Protestants? There , are almost daily instances of our clei-gy being insulted on the streetsj by young boys, and even young girls. Where do these children learn such precocity of hate ? In the family circle, no doubt» where your fanatical tiradas- are road, and freely commented on. Are you noii theSi engaged in eSt»hKtfllin|t'ftnd pro- LKTTSRo OF A KENTnCKT CATHOLIC. 71 moting a most extended " school of hatred ? " In doing' this, you have not the excus6«of th? higot. He is insane, and is seai'oely responsible for his acts. But you were not bora yesterday, nor has your education been in the school o^ intole- rance. You do know, or ought to know, the almost certain effects of the principles you are advocating. The horrible atrocities, which, ^rom one end of the country to the other, have marked the pathway of yo,ur party, give unmistakable ovidejlces of what may be expected fiom it, should your views be adopted by a majority of the American people. YoiT are iiot battling for constitutional liberty ; this, is already secured to yott, and to every free citizen on Our soil. ■ The legitimate' Conseqtience of that fanatical hatred of Catholics, ;which, whether yoa know it oi' not, you are laboring to diteseminate- in the hefirts of the people, can beinonaiDther than the license of the mob, free from all legal restraint, to cut Catholic thi'©a,t8, to desecrate Catholic altars, and to overturn, at the same time, those "-peculiar institutions" Of our country for which you affect so much regard. I speak to you not as a Catholic, but aS aa American citizen, when 1 say, and mark my words, the days of your anti-republican faction are Aumbeaed.' The hand-writing is- even now on the wall, which will consign its pernicious principles to -the pit whcnre they had estilBd, as, a dark cloud in t|ie Hioral atmosphere, (.aiisiiifr thc'tnio lover of his country to tremble forlhc fjnicLy of his hopes in tlie perpetuity of our jnstitutioivs, and glailtlouilig. the political freebooter with the prospect of phrailer in tiio gciioi-al deyastatioii which it threijtened. The coiitompliblo party tritk by wMch Know- Nothingjsm had atteniptoii to giiin to its ranks the whole Protestant vote of the hmd, iinuv'i- the maliciously slanderous plea that Catholics were (lani;.jro;!.s 'citizens, has proved a miserable failure. . Many l-'iotesTants, indeed, were caught in the trap so artfully laid for thom ; but the great majority hav§ seen through, the shallow' device, and haive spoken cxut in man- ful and stern robiiks; of the iniqijity of those, who would here, raise the standard of persecution, against any, - even the ■weakest religious body in tlie land. The patriotic blood which once held -its course in the veins of iheir liberty-loving Bires, has not Josfits virtue in tlie hearts of the children, to Btill pulsate for freedom, eivil and. religious. They haye,look^d,npon their Catholic fellow-citizen as he is, and not as you represertt him. T^ey have seen 'that he was as ready to shed, his blood at the .^U of his. country as 72 LETTE&S OF A KESTUCKV CATHQLIC. j were any of his tradticers. They have^eou that-wrheft dotted iji offioJftl authority, he has niOLleBtly borne his honors and., faithfully discharged his duties. They have recognized .ia_ him no laggard in the promotion of tlio pwblic good, irt.the advancement , of knowledge, and in all that relates to iine. charities of life and. its social requisites. Thoy claim no authority to he the judges of his religious faith, which they clearly perceive does not prevent liim from being a good ftiend, ft good neighbor, and a good citizen. Free, themselves, to worship according to conscience, and recognizing the wisdiom; of those time-honored precepts left them as an inheritance by their fathers, they do. not find themselves called on to abj-idge the rights of others. -With views so manifestly juat on the part of the great body of the Protesta-nte of the Union, do %.- not well say that the doom of your pfoscriptive party is aliseady pronounced ! Let ' it perish ; and so parish every political »faclaoilthat shall attempt to lay a sacvilegipus hand, on the Constitution. .. ' nt I ha.fe prepared a critical review of many of the chajigea which you have brought against the- Catholic Church, But the increased length it Would give to this letter compels me to defer it. Whenever the editoi- of the Courier, for wljose- extrpme courtesy I am upder many; obligations, shall find room for its insertion, I will again pay my respects, to you. Youw, &c., A Kentccky Catholic. Louisville, October 12vs ; " Most lUustrious and Most Rev'd Lords and Brotherst, "We jJerceive frorif your late letter the great uneasiness 70U la/bor un&F ■inee tli» publioation of a jsiqiphlet entitled. The Preeent State of the Ohumh of Irdandf f^om yrhioh our detractors hUre taken oQcaalon to renew tjtiO'' old calumny against tlie Catbolio reIi|[ion with increased acrimony, that thfe religion is by no means compatible wtth' the safety of kings and rejiublics; because, as j^hcy say, thejlomaa Pontiff being the Father and Jdaeter of all, Catholics, and inrested with such great authority that he can free subjects of other kingdoiufrom their fidelity and eathff vf aUegi&nce to kings and LETTERS OF A KENTUO^y CATHOLIC. 77 princes ; he has it in his power, they corttend, -to cause disturbances and i^ure the public tranquillity' of kingdoms with ease, TVe wonderthat you (K)nld bo lineasy' at these complaints, eapeciallyafrer your most excellent brpther and apostolical fellow-laborer, th? ArehbisUop of CaBhel (Dr. Jameb Butler) and other STBEiraonB nEPEUDEBS xjf the biohts op the Holt SejI had evidently refuted and explained away these slanderous reproachfa in their aeUhrated vmtings." Sepond.: — ^You charge upoa the Church that she teaches persecutipn of heretics. Thjs is a falsehood. However individual Catholics may have acted or taught upon tMs STi^ect, no proof can be furnished that persecution ever was a. doctrine of the Chilrch. During the first five centuries of the Christian era, the Fathers of the . Church topk for their motto the famous saying of Tertullian, " ^en est religionis, religionem cog'ere" — " it is not the provittce of religion to force religion." / 1. St. Gregory the Great, i^ the sixth century, wrote to. ft pishop who hadbeateli one of his, clergy for heresy, "That it is a novel and ainheard of method.'of preaching the Gospel, to enforcp f^th with the cudgel." . , %. Two Spanish Bishops, Ithacus and Ursatius, aoUcitecl the tyrant. Maximus to put the heretic Pi;iscillian to death, from which causej St. Martin of Tours, and all the Bishops of Gaul and Spain, refused to communicate with the sangm- nary prelates ; and they were afterwards banished. This Priscillian, by the way, maist have been the iSrst of the Know'- Nothings, as the maxim of his sect was, that its members shpnld be allowed to swear and foi-eswear themselves, ratha: than betray their secrets. ,*» ' 3. The Council t>f Toledo forbids the use of violence to enforce belief, " because," add the Fathers, " God shows mercy to whom, he" thinks fit, and.pardoas whom he pleases.'* . 4. The Council of Lateran, under f'ope Alexander HI, ^acknowledges that "the Church rejects bloody executions on the soore-of'fcligion." 5s St. Bernard says, "Jjet heretics be convinced by words, not blows." ,; • 6. St. Augustin, in his letter to Count iMarcellin, says, "■No doctrine should strike a deeper horror in the human heart than that which teaches that it is lawful to kill -any person or^r«ons under the pretense of Ijaresy, and, uadte'r the mask of religion, , spread the dismal ^eds. of the greatest evils in the Christian world -^murders, dissensions, and wars." ■ • .' . 7. An Irish divine who wrote in the last centnry, says, that - 78 LETTERS OP A KENTDCKY CATHOLIC "to stlppo^e it is a principle of Eomam Catholics.to nmrder or cheat any person wliatever, for, or under the pretense of his being a heretic, is to suppose^ theln ignorant of the com- mandments of God," and he adds, " We are never to arro- gate to ovlrselves the power of life and death which God has entrusted to the legislators, and to them alone." Third, — There is' touch absurdity and ftot a little disingen- ■nousness in ybur attetopt to prove that American Catholics owe civil allegiance to the Pope, because they sympathized with him in his troubles dm'ing the rebellion of his own Subjects in 1848. Did you ever read the history of this- rebellion, and are you aware of the character of the men that prbmoted it ? If not, you m«.y be in some ipeasure excusable for not having yourself sympathized withj the JPope in the difficulties to which you refer. After the accession of Pius IX, the whole Protestant world was ^jLimorous in its praises of the wisdom of his acts and the purity of his motives. He released or recalled the political prison^r^ and exiles whom liis predecessor had juatly punished for their open treason. He labored to improve the eondition of his entire people, the Jews included. He paid from his own purse the amounts necessary to release those imprisoned for debt. Living him- self in a style of the utmost simplicity, his entire income was employed for the promotion of the public good. But in Botoe, as elsewhere, there were men who cared not for God or con- stitutional freedom. The devil has always his strongest adherents at the door of tide ChurclL Kevolution was their object, and no concessions that Pius IX could conscientiously offer them, were acceptable. Thoroughly unprincipled, their idea of liberty only a license to gratify passion, they strove, and for a time successfully, to usurp the reins of government. The P:Ope was banished, hig minister murdered, and a com- iplete reign of terror inaugurated in Rome. , The leaders of the insurrection had been indebted to the clemency of the -Pope for the very freedom they enjoyed to walk the streets of the city. Banished Or imprisoned by his predecessor for treasonable acts against the government, and- reinstated with all their civil privileges by Pius IX, on their PTomise of future loyalty, thsy were scarce at liberty before Jhey were itgjiin fomenting treason. Theii' object accom- plished, and the government in their hands, what policy did they pursue 1 Did the~ new government give any protection to life and property ? None whatever. They at once iiisti- • tuted a complete system of espionage, robbery and murder. LETTEES -OF A KBJJTUCKY OATilOUC, 79, The religious eommnnitius were ruthlessly driven from their tomes, and tlieir property apjpropriated by the inob ; the priests were murdered in cold blood while officiating at the altar or when visiting the sick : the public buildings were rifled ; black mail was levied on ^11 wbo could not or would not. join in promoting the horrid -atrocities which were publicly perpe- trated and-publicly boasted of. This is a true picture of what these men did in the sacred name of liberty. Loolc at this other picture of the great and good man for whose blood they thirsted. I quote from a letter dated Rome, August, 1849 : "On another occasion tjio polioc ifrrested fin individual that was clandes- tinely distfibuting copies of a tract entiilcd ' Tho History of Pius^ tX, the intFiisive Fope, the foe of religion, and the chief of young Italy.* , The Holy - Father, hearing of his arrcst^had tha accused brought before him, asked hima few questions, and then said ;. ■' Ad your faults affect only me, I pardon you.* The man jtouched with the generosity of the act, threw himself in teara at the foot of the Pontiff, and offered to name the writers of the pamphlet. * No, no,' said the IVpe, * ] et thairTaults remain buried in silei^ce, and may repenta.iice touch their hearts.' " . liook upon these two pictures, and tell me, upon which will the eye of the Irue man, -be he Catholic or Prolestanti E^publioan or Monarchist, best love to rest? Can you 'f sympathize " with the cnt-thToat and the robber,, and look with abhorrence on the merciful and kind-hearted I*ius IX? I can scarcely think it ; but if it is so, I can :no -longer won- der that you should, even here, labor to disseminate prejudiees likely to breed outbreaks of populai- fury, equal in aferoeity to those enacted by the revolatioiiists of Rome, in .184§g, I have thus far confined myself to iioticing the principal .objections you make to the Catholic Church,, namely, the Temporal Power of live Popes, the Deposing' Power, and Persecution of Beretics. There are minor objections which j^ill receive due attention in my next. To a Catholic, it is not at all wonderful that the -enemies of the Church should single out the Papa^cy as tJie first object of their attacks. True/ to the instmcts of the great enemy of all truth, whose emissaries, wittingly or unwittingly, they Sre, they make their fiercest assaults on the citadel -of the faith. Blinded by |>assion,' they liope to destroy the Papacy, andthas take. from the mighty fabric, whoso downfall they contemplate, the keystone- by- which it is held together. Fu- tile are all theii- bopes, and imbecile all their efforts ! One mightier than they has lajd-tiie strong foundations of thsBt edifice,, and reared that glorious, arch, Ag^st whioh thff 80 LEtTBRS'OP A KESTyCKJ CATHOtte. "gafes. of hell " sViall rage in vain. The rock- of Pete, crowned with the everlasting Church of Geo A, though buffetted for ages by ths sitrges of an ever-restless sea, fanned into fury by the, passions of men, will still remain, and so long as. time shall last, will serve as a beacon to guide thS sonls of ^ thei-edeemed to the haven of never-ending peace. The Charch' of God throughout the whole world, bound indissolubly to this " Rock of Ages," ever suiFeringand ever triumphant, will still continue to present to all generation^ the beauty and comeliness with wliich, He hath clothed her, whose etems,! beauty she but relloct.-;. Yours, &c., . A Kentuckv Catholic. ■Louisville, Dcioherl'ith, 1855.. LETTER SEVENTH. SrE: — I find tllat you frequently confound the power of excon^municition, as sometimes exercised by the Head of the Church, •vj^th the teiaporal, power, which you falsely impute to him. Excommunication is merely a severing itom. the communion of the Church,, and is a power claimed and exer^ cised by every Protestant denomination. The word anathemay in the form of excommunication of the Catholic Church, is the veryd word given by St. Paul in this connection. - What do you think of the authority ? , .. 2d. Ths "Bulla in Coena Domini^" whieh you woefully misrepresent, has not been pronounced, ev«n in Rome, since the days of Clement XIV,, nearly one hundred years. By this bull, it is true^ all heretic^ w1. 0., A. Loch- KANK, a Protestant, of Macon, Oeorgia. He says : Is it not known to you that Luther himself said the moiAlB of Gtermany 'had docreaaod since the aholition of the confessional, and is it not a inelan- eholy faQf that in England the Protestants of ihe low8r~ class are fearfully immoral J Take three counties, Lano»shire, Jforfolk, and Herefordshire, and onihe aubbority of Dr. Durbin, an Amerioaa ■VSFusli^^a Methodist, we find LETTERS OF A KMrrtrcKY c.vTirouc. 85 • that Lancashiro, with a pojpuWion of 1,807,6154,, for the years "Si-'iO-'H, had ;pegi3t6red of *U illegitimate children tljo astunishiug flumber of e,!^. Norfolk, with a j>opulatioQ of 412,361, for the same time had 2,422, and Herefordshiro, with^ population of 114,438, had for the same time 681 ; deduct the minor population) and then the adult malesraud you have con- filled the. statement of Mr. Gee, of Lincolnshire, himself an Englishman, who said of the low female class working in fields, out of fifty there were forty-nine cases of delinquency. Contrast this statement with Ireland where the people are poorer, the habits of life more seductive and sdcial, and yet how anomalous the change J their delinquency is rare, not even one out of fif^ is guilty of moral delmqueiicy. It has been probably well said that virtue was Indigenous to Irish soil, but it has taken cultivation to make it perennial. ^' £/x iie quce dicta sunt hoc conjicio" I now come to a paragraph from your article of the 3d, which shows conclusively an open and bold advocacy, on your part, of a union of Church and State. Look at it, my Protestant fellow-citizens, and ask yourselves if this imported editor is not endeavoring to introduce anti-repuhlican notions in the public mind. Here it is : Whether church and state are united -or not, ecclesiastical and civil tri- bunals should be alike subject to the soviireign of their own country — with God alone to- preside ovci- all. In England tliey are subject to the king. In Kome, they are subject to the Pope. In America, they should be subject to the people. ■By your theory, it would. follow 'that Methodist Confer- enees, Baptist Associations,. Mid I'resbyterian Synods, are all under tire jurisdiction of the State, which has the power to modify or abolish them at will! .Is this Know-Noth- mgism ? If so, I do not wonder that honest men will have mothing to do with it. Of course, you believe that the fathers of the republic, in embodying in the constitution a guarantee of complete religious freedom to all, only meant such freedom as majorities should be willing to accede to minorities. Now I beg to say to you, I will never believe that you can make " Americans " subscribe to any such doctrine. They will still vindicate the wisdom of the framers of the constitu- tion in proclaiming freedom of religious opinion to every citizen on the soil. Your principal objections tp the Catholic Church, having now received attention at my hands, before concluding this letter, which I trust is the last I shall be under the necessity of addressing you, I wish to ask you to cast a retrospective look over your life, from the time your foot first pressed the soil of Kentucky, up to the day when, regardless of your duty to your God, to your countjy, and to society, and. for ends unworthy of a patriot, you became the leader of a fac- tion, whose vitality was the elemi^t of bigotry which it had 86 LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIO. assmned, and whose aims and purposes were aH unconstitn tional. Beliold a man welcomed to oijr soil with true Kentncky hospitality, and cheered on from year to year by liberal hands and sympathizing hearts ; see him the statmoli supporter of the State and Federal Constitutions, the advo- cate of sound' principles, and the unswerving opponent of, sectionaj legislation ; see him the rebuker of intolerance, the friend of the oppressed, the defender of the acquired rights of our adopted citizens, and the stem opponent of political trickery and social meanness ; behold him, at all times the consistent friend of the Eonlan Catholics, making no differ- ence between their rights and privileges, and those of his fellow-Protestants; se'e him rebujting theintoJeranca of the convention of New Hampshire for peimitting an odious test- qualification to remain on its statutes ; in a word, behold him the unequaled editor and the right-minded man. Such a one was George D. Prbntioe. The picture is not yet finished. All at once, a new party has sprung up in the landman invisible party, which stalks in the dark, and hides in holes. All that is known about it here in the West, is, that Catholics and foreigners are not permitted to enter its lodges, anct that its members are bound to secrecy, not only as to its plans and movements, but a§ to their own connection with the order. It is thought little of. till It is found that the new organization has tricked the old parties out of the offices at most of the elections in the Eastern States. Its precocious strength, gives to it a respectability in the minds of many, to whi^b intrinsically it has no claim. The leaders- of the- movement, becoming bolder, seek to extend its ramifications over the wTiole land. They write, and preach, .and declaim, publicly, of danger to the republic on account of the Eoman Catholics. An insane fear of some portending and unknown evil, seizes on whole masses of the pfiqple. Suspicions are excited, friendships broken off, .and enmities engendered. The Catholics, though *none can see that they are at all changed since their fathers of old S-t. Mary's opened their doors to the fugitives from Protestant persecution, are strangely enough discovered to be deadly foes to "Dur peculiar institutions." To be sure, they number but one to twenty pf the Protestant population, and hold scarce one' office in a hundred. But what of that ? They are too strong to be put' down by means less extraordinary than secret Jacobinical telubs. 'People must be sworn not to vote for a Catholic, nor to LETTERS OF A KEiCi'LKJKY CATHOLIC. 87 told' " social " intercourse with liim. The " order " increases with wonderful rapidity. Borne are brouglit into it becau.'j& of the novelty of the thing, for we aa-e a curious people ; sonie because they do not like the religion of the Catholics, and having been unable to convert them through reason, imagine better success will attend their efforts when armed with a more tangible weapon; some hate the Democrats,, and are ready to try any desperate measures likely to procure their overthrow. Some join the lodges with the expectation of bettering their condition^ and maldng business friends ; some with the hope of office at the hands of their brethren, and some, good honest soul's, with more credulity than brains, because they really believe all the stuff and nonsense preached to them by the. leaders of the movement. But the order is in search of a fugleman for tiie West, and our gigantic editor has not yet pronounced against the new monstrosity. He is hoping to turn the dark affair to Whig account, and is, in western parlance, '-' on the fence." Over- tures are made him to lead the movement in Kentucky. Too intelligent not to see through the transparent humbug, the ends and aims of which were as repiugnant to his judgment as were the means it employed to his ^;astes, he cannot, at once, make up hi« mind, even for sake of the pecuniary advantages likely to be gained thereby, to take charge of this child of darkness, and hold it up to his countrymen as the impersonation of republican beauty. Vacillating from day to day — at one time determined to hold to his old course-, and stand by Whig principles, without meddling with new issues ; and at another, excited by the proseriptiveness of the new party to write a leader which will consign ids blundering carcass to the " tomb of the Capulets ; " now listening to the inward monitor, and again giving way to the outward pres- sure, he finally meditates an inglorious surrender. His party is daily becoming weaker, and the councils of the hew order are fast filling up from its almost abandoned camps. Will the editor follow ? He cannot yet conclude to do so. He says to himselfj how can I advocate principles which I have publicly opposed for so many years ? How can I associate with men who are afraid or ashamed-to pror claim their policy and mode of action, and who strike in the dark? ..He firmly resolves to oppose the oirder'; he even writes an article denouncing it, and already speaks of its appearance in his next issue. But the leaders and wire-pullers of thp party know the Vjilue of their man, and hearing of the 88 LETTER? OT A fcENTUOKY CATHOLIC. tllreatened exposuve, are deteimined to prevent it. The char- acter of the- argujaents used maybe readily imagdaed. No' doubt they showed him (on pa{)er) theu- certain suece^s in the coming elections ; the twenty thousand majority in Vir- ginia "^illready sworn in;" North Carolina, £(nd Georgia, and Tennessee, and Kentueky, and the whole South, already with them ; and then, the perquisites, which his adherenoe Would insure to the editor \ No doubt, too, they held up the scourge of proscription before his face. Still' he vacillates. While conscience whispers,\paep^the Mystery of Iniquity — the Mother of Harlots. If this dreadf^l personage never imposed fetters or practiced persec'ution, it Certainly displays no mean profleien<^ in tho art of cursing ahdswearing. " In refereneq to tlffi first paragraph above quoted, I suppose that you -will 'admit that Almighty God lias me ri^t to reign over your "spiritual nature," and that yort recognize the Divine Voice as' speaking to your spirit through some outward -fiystem of Church government, ■whose. rules of discipliije are |)inding on your conscience, and with- 'which you do not admit that ihe State has airy right to interfere. So with me, in listening to the teachings of the Chui'ch, I recognize the voice of the PqundeV of the Chutch, of whose sacred doctrines she is the keeper and the exponent. The only difference bet'ween us ill this respeiit is, that white' the seat of the authority which claims for you the right to say when the State does interfere with conscience, is" in the General Assemhly of the Preshy- terian Church, or in some other local b6dy of like character, the authority for me, iti the same eoimection lies, in the last resort, in the Supreine Pontiff, not of a.loCEtl or even national Church, hut of the Catholic or Universal Church of God. Go teach all nations — One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. * ■ , ' -, Your saying tkat "Popes lovedespotism, and despots love Popely," is as false an assertion as was ever penned. The Popes have always been the most consistent and Unswerving advocates of the rights of the people. For centuries the Papacy was tlie only, power able to curb the lawlessness of despotic kings and rnlers. To their praise.be it spoken, and as an Ainerican and a Kentuckian I am neither afraid nor aehanied to eay it, the'Popes of those ages never shrank from the duty, imposed upon them by their positron, of holding up before 'the eyes of iniquitous rulers, the just judgaients of Gpd for the evils of despotism. And ' '-despots love Pojery !*" Just so muchas they love" -virtue and truth and religion! There never was a despot who was a true child of the Church, and every act' of despotism is aniilsult to tl^e Pivjfie Jjaw 88 promulgated by the Churo)i. 'q 98 LETTERS OF A KENTDCKY CATHOLIC. So far from recp^izing anything in my religion repugnant to civiLand religious liberty, iriy love of liberty is increased and concentrated, as it were, by my loye of Catholicity. The Papaey is a part, and an integral part, of my religion. With the Pope, as "King «)f Rome, " or as "a foreign monarch,'' I have nothing to do. Hfe asks for no civil ailegiarice from me, and I owe him none. ^ By a positive" law of the Chm-ch, of which he is the .earthly head, I am commanded to pay true and faithful allegiance to the conatibution and laws of my country, nor can I ever refrain from doing so, under the penalty of sin. But in spiriiuals, in matters of conscience, whic!^ both Protestants and Catholics acknowledge to be above all human law, Chiist, for me, " speaks by the voice of Peter." I reve- rence the Vicar of Christ," not as Jesus, as yon profanely charge, but as having Authority from God to decide questions of conscience ; and therefore to be reverenced, in order that I may ijot fail to pay due homage to Him with whose commis:- sion he is charged. " Be that hears you, hears mey he that despises yMi, demises fne."^ , AH who have the power' however they come byit, to piin- ish and to remit, punishment,' m'e capable of the virtue- of clemency ; and I again say it,^ tliis is the proper word whereby to designate the quality (sf those acts of forbearance and kind- ness on the part of Pius IX, to wliioh I referred you. . Why should I, as " an American and a Kentuckian, be ashamed to tell the story ? " Kentucbians have been wont to give honor to whom honor is due, and to recognize good deeds, no matter by whom enacted. Do you imagine, that you have so much changed them, by inculcating a system of deception and prevarication, as to make them ashamed to tell the truth? Many of my countrymen, doubtless,' have been inveigled into the dirty temples of Know-Nothingism, where you, its hig^ priest of the order, are engaged in offering sacrifiees, and Dloody ones, to the Moloch of FanaticjslH ; hut better counsels will yeit prevail, and these men will live to be ashamed, not only of their associates and the, unfair means employed by them to compass their ends', but also of their groundless and -unjust suspicions of the patriotism of thar Catholic fellow- citizens, " Ashamed to talk this way jr ifrotestint America ! " By what right do you undertake to call this l^nd Protestant America? The constitutioii jn^icales »p such distinctive appellation. You cannot so calj it ou account of prior dis- LETTERS OP A KENTOCKY CATHOLIC. 99 coyery^ for the Catholics were before, yeu ; nor on aaaount of Protestafits having firgt promulgated within our borders principles of religious freedom, for again the Catholics of the Colony of Maryland were the pioneers of religious toleration ; neither can you beca;use of our civil Hbei-ty havinjj been won, exclusively, by Protestants ; for Catholics ' fought, and bJed; and died beside theii- patriot Protestant conntiymen, in order ,^ to establish this very liberty ; nor yet can you do so on account of your present numerical strength, for a vast majority of Ihe American people are attached to no religious body, and, according to reasoning based_on such an idea, our country might be well called the America of Indifeventism. Protestaiiit America, indeed ! This land, let me tell you, is Tieillier 'Protestant America, nor Catholic' America, nor' Infidel America, bijt the America of Freemen_ — but freemen only in the sense- of the" constitution £tnd right reason ; that is, each citizen is free to act as he pleases, and believe as he pleases, xaA worship as he .pleases, so long, as his actions, belief, and worship, are not oppos'Od to the good order of society, and the enjoyment of eq^at rights and privileges on the part of those who choose to act, .and believe, and worship in a different wayfromhiaiself. „ But " Down with Popery and the Papacy, and eveilasting hostility to all who sympathize with them!" There is Bothing equivocal about this. It is as palpa'ble as a drawn sword, and as threatening as a bhinderbuss at your breast. It looks to physical force, and is intended to-provolse it. ' It means /civil disabilities and social serfdom io all those Ameri- can citizens, who happen to be Roman Catholics. It means d6wli with the coastitution, and up with the racli and faggot. It means deatli to liberty, civil and religious. But hold! you " desire to ti'eat with kindness the persons of Papists,' and never td molest -any of their rights, civil or religious." Everlasting hostility/to Catholics as sympathizers with the Papacy,, and no Biolestation of their rights, civil or religious ! This is queer, and>I am unable tp understand it. Perhaps you intend, to give to the word-s . everla^ng hostility only a Pickwickian signification, and that, after all, you are sincere iucyour desire to ^eat the perSons of Papists with all possible respect. Were this §o, however, then the acts of mob vio- lence at the Last August election, provoked as they were by incendiary appeals simjlar to that now under review, should. have been of a character, equally Pickwickian. But these were stern realities ; and I very much fear your everlasting 100 liETTPHS OF A ■SESTUCIiy CA^EfOLIC. hostility to OatlioUos, even wlien modified by yous disclaimer of personal molestation, is a reality }io less stej-n. Perhaps you mean to say, yoH do not desire that Catho- lics shall he heU as cofisiitutioiiaUy- eiJslaved and degraded, but only practtcaiiy so. ':Tbis is a distinction without a difr ference, and you therein accord to oiir persons' a measure of liupposititious kijidness, requiring at our hands but suppositi- tious thanks. " Down with Popery, and down with Papists ! " but show them all kindness — after t^ey are down, we must charitably suppose. " Everlasting hostility to. all who sym- pathize witk the Pope!" Shoot^ hang, and burn — but take care to dp it all in loudness towards', their papistical bodies, and in order to, indicate how dear to your hearts are their "6ivil and religious lights." Here is kindness, of ilie tfue Kuow-Kothing stamp ! Good men are you, and loving ! -.— in fact, you bid fair to rivalliim who was' " The mildest mannered man That ev^r cat a tliroat-or scuttled' ship," ' -You ate ejctremely facetious on what you- term the cursing propensities of the Oathtilie Church, and yet you will not acknowledge that ^er anatliemas are any mure to be regarded than, would be her blessings, so far as their result for evil or good to you is fionoemed. . ' Herd is a strange inconsistency, and it will show conclusively to every candid mind, that wiien jrou .attempt to justify* your interference i^ the religious affairs of Roman Catholics, by calling in question the right of their Church tp indicate what crimes against God's la-iv are just cause for excommiinieation frem her fold, you are only Seeking "excuses fcfr malice." The Bible, in a thousand places, tells ws of the state of reprobatibu in which the, sinner always stands. But you would liave the Church, which.' Catholics hold to be the exponent of the teachings of the Bible, to gloss over these threats of Divine vengean(?e. The Church but repeats the anathemas of H6ly Writ against the evil doer, and for the very purpose, that seeing his rebellion against God in its' true light, and the dreadful penalties whicli' are its eonfeeqUence; he may "make restitution and come to repentance/' The charity of God, which/" willeth not' the death of the sinner, but Tather that he be converted and live," influences Kef to hold up the awful judgments of the Alniiglity before the eyes of the unrepentant sinner. Of a piece with ybul» usual bourtesy, when writing of Catholicity, are the expressions by which J-Ou designate tlia tfiTTEns OF A KENTDCKT CATHOLIC. IQl Chnrc-h cf God in youi- closing paragraph. The Church, to say the li.iaet of her, ha,il an existence for centuries anterior to any form of Protestatitism, ' She hii.s included within her pale the hrightest intelleets thp world over saw, and she has been the nursing mother o'f^aiii.ts in .every age of her existence. She has been the instrument of the conversion ^f -every hea- then nation that has evei- been brought' into "the fold of Christianity. Your own fathers, but a few centm-ies ago,* were -her obedient children, and you yonrself, indirectly at, least, owe to her al! that you have of Christianity. " She ig no seot,'foT she exists every wh'ei'e, and as she has alw'&ys existed, ijnckahging and unchangeable — " the same yesterday, to-day, and forever."^ ■ You-'c'annot but aijkijowledge, that theTe was a time, w-henno oth?r Christian'OhBrch did exist upon earth. You will also acknowledge, that in the Bible, which jqtx hold to be the i-ule of your faith, there is record«d a distinct promise of t^e Saviour to be with his ministry all days. ' It ttecessarilji follows, that if' the Catholic Church is not the ;Church of Christ. He, whom Protestants ajid Catholics alike, acknow'- ledge to-be'' the God of truth, ^bsolutelj- failed to make good; his promise during those days yrheu no other Churci. had existence.' And this is tha Church which yoti blasphemously call "the Son, of Perdition" »ndthe^" Mystery of Iniquity." Still, I am not surprised that you should so call her. Insul-fcr naturally follo-ws injury. You have causelessly, and lathe, face of the con^tittttiqli of our country, banded with higota, to depri-ve your'Catholic fellow-citizens of their civil rights, and it is most fitting that you. should insult them in that which is to them their one hope £or time and eternity. Years, &c., ' A KENTncKY C4THOL10. ■£ouis>)UtefI)fce'mbef4ik,lSb5^ lettek tenth. Sib : You .commence your response to' "A Kentuoltjr' Catholic," of the 15th of 'Novemoer, with , a paragraph, of glorification Over the recent .Know-Nothing victories in Oali- fomia and Maryland. I see it stated that, in California, your party entirely abrograted the religiSus test question; conse- quently, its success was not insured oil principles necessarily i62 LBTTEKS OF * KBNTUeEY CATHOLIC. repugnant to HMJ as a CJatliolic. I am individually opposed tck^tke proseripti'oo of foreigners, and think .that onr present laws in reference to immigrants, if rightly administered, are ample for the protection of American interests, so far as our adopted citizens are capaWe of complomising them. But as there is no reason why a Qatliolio should not honestly enter- tain a contrary opinion, I have not considered mysqlf called %pon ta discuss the sutject at all. jBut, with i-eference to Maryland, you indicate as one- of the principal causes of the Success of your paity, "that- no xjther State had such an opportunity to witness the atrocities and horrors, of Piiest- cr^t and Popery." Will yon have the goodness, sir, to indicate a few of those Popish atrocities whichhaveso much horrified tte good Protestant people of Mai-ylan^ ? First, of honest G-eorge Calvert — a C atholic from choice ■ — he,- who, at a time when persecution qf Cfitholics was considered a duty incidental to official position, wrote to Ijis Sovereign, on tetidejing his resigjiatiop. of the office pf 8ex:retary oi State, Qiat " being, now a Ronian Catholic, he eould no longer hold his office, Ijecause in ^oing so ^ he must be -viranting to his. trust or violate his conscience/' Of what atrocities was the old Maryland Proprietary guilfy ? He had the hardihood tp j:;efuse to hang up the rebellious Protestant non-eonformists, of Massachussetts, who had fled to him for prptedtion. Here was "an instance of unparalleled, atrocity ! And Charles OarrOlLj of Carroltoh? . He hopified Protestant England by affixing his signature to the Declaration of Independence, and even went to ^uch a length x>i atrocity as to,jeopard.ize a princely fortune in the cause of American freedom. Was not this an act of unpardonable atrocity ? And Archbishop Carroll? — he was so abominably atrocious as to aspii'e, and successfulTy, to the friendship and confidence /of such men as Benjamin Franklin «nd Gbokge Washington, and to have acted with the foiiner in a delicate mission on public affairs to a neighboring uolony. Could any man ask for better proofs of the "atrocities and horrors " of Popery in Maryland ? Shame on you, for haviug written so atropious a -caluinny ! Purer patiiots, ol' btittor citizens, no State can boast of, than can Maryla&d in the descendants .of the colo- nists of old St. Hary's. But what were the ^ti-ocities exhibited by the Catholics of Maryland, and which caused the triumph of Kjiow-Nothing- isjn in that State? X wfll tell you. They were the atrocity of being true to their* God and tiiie to their country ; the LETTERS ©*■ A KESTUCKY CATHOLIC. 103 atrocity of wishing to live in peace and sbare in the blessings of freedom won by a common, ancestry ; the atrocity of the lamb, as perceived -by the eyes of the wolf, which still sees the stream of our national liberty muddled by the Catholic in his efforts to drink of its waters. Those are the atroci- ties which engeildci- your spleen, and which you and your followers in Kentucky, and your brethren in Maryland, are endeavoring to abate. You say that it was your "purpose to dissect and resolve thefiystem of Popery into its original elements/' and you go on with a colunajr. and a half of what, no doubt, you intend for a dissection and resolution of that system, but which, unfortunately for yourself, proves only how little you really know of the nature of the system you would dissect Polemic theology, like the gun of the redoubtable McFingal, becomes, in your hands, a power, not for the overthrow of your enemies, but for the discomfiture of yourself. Every argument you use is as applicable against the system of Cliristianity as it is against that of Catholicity. For instance, yousaythat " the Papal organizatigm. has managed to prolong to the present day, through tedious eenfnrieg, its homble exist- ence of fraud and rapine, of superstitious darlmess and hardened power," Now, the Papal system, until three hundred years ago, was the only continuous and sustained system of Chris- tianity, recognized as . such by the. Christian world, if we except that, of the Greek Chu*ch, whose sacraments and nipde of government are identical with those of the Catholic Church. It follows, therefore, ahd particularly so, inasmuch as the acts for which you most impugn the Papacy occurred previous to the so-called reformation, that the system of Christianity itself, aScording to your reasoning, and in spite of the Bivine pi'omise, that the Holy Spirit should be with it always, leading it mto ali truth, was' nothing better than " a system ofjFraud sand rapine,, of superstitious darkness and hardened power." The "Papal system has managed to pro- long its existence." It has dpne no such thing, . Almighty God has V managed " t9 perpetuate his own work. Catho- licity, and the Papacy as an- integral part of the system, does not depend upon the wisdom of man for its permanency or stability. Were it otherwise than a l)ivine system, no power of man could have prevented it fron^being influenced by the all-pervading law of mntatiop, inseparable from the works of mere human wisdom. In what sense can you call Catholicity a system of " fraud JjQ4 LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. and rapine? "—"of power, of finaijce and • ?tipergtitio.ii ? " T^oii seem to infer" that her ministers are rapacious of power. Power over whom ? — and how to beoxerted ? Certainly not power over the. State in its civil affairs. They ask pf the State only the liberty of teachings and ministering, that they- may, in the first place, gain souls' for heaten, 'and in 'thS second place, he instrumental, by inculcating Ihe niorality- of the gospel,, in forming good citizens for the State. Can you point to me a single Catholic government on the face of' the globe, Excepting the States of the" Church, in which the- Catholio hierarchy 6xert any more in'fluenoe over temporal matters than do-, the Protestaiit ministers of Great Britain and the United States overthe civil' affairs of those countries'? As Lacordaire says, "The Chui-ch asks bdt a free passage through this worl^." "A system of fraud'and rapine?*' Whom- does it rob or' defraud? Can- you or any other man point tO a, single piece of Ghurch property in the Union, to which the Bishop.'or pastor, Gt trustees cannot show- you a clear title, and which has not been honestly obtained ? For what purpose should' the ministers of the Church act as robbers ? They have no families to aggrandize by the fruits 'of their frauds/and. thejr * Style of living is of the simplest kind. Nonsense ! my dear sir; you have been readi'Ag lying books about Jesuit rapacity until your mind has, Uecome diseased. ' ' ^' ■ " A system of finaijee ? " If y'ou mean by this, that the Bishops and priests of the Chureh areiii the habit of speou-' lating in^ttfcks, and, lands, ,aud money, even for legitimate, objects, you mistake completely in your estimate of their fipffiicial propensities. If yott mean, ho-Wever, that their' financial acunien is -very frequently exerted, for the purpose of raising funds for, the bliilding of churches, schools, hospi- tals,- orphan -asylums and the like, you are not iax from the" mark in saying tiiat they are attached to a " system of finance." Of one thing- you maybe perfectly advised, ho'w- ever great "sums may happen to pass through the hands of the Catholic elergy, but little sticks to their fingers in its transit. ' 'Did you ever 'acquaint yonrself. with the routine of life generally exhibited by the missionary priest in the United States ? Let- me picture it for you. The missionary priest seldom has a patrimony of his own, and, consequently, he is at Once dependent upon his congregation, iitnine oases out of ten, a poor "one, for his maintenance. After leaving the sejnioary, he is agpoiijte^ to the. pastorship of the congre- LKTIM2IIS OF A KEDlijCKY CATHOLIC. 106 gatipns,. if a few isolated Catholic families may be called a. congrbgation, covering often, one, two, three, and sometimea a half dozen counties. The duties pertaining to his pastor- ship, in so exteiided 'a mission, are alway,? 'ardnoiix in thg extreme; that o£ the confessional, which you seem to think one of his most pleasant employmenf^, being the most so. Liable to be called upon at all hours of the day or night, to attend to siok calls', sometimes at tTie' distance of a day's journey on horseback, he is frequently under the necessity of reading Ms ofSce (a duty never omitted) while in'tlie saddle, or af an hour when the fashionable ministers of Protestantisjn are resting after the fatigue consequent on the delivery of ati evening discourse. On Sundays, after hearing confessions till perhaps Jiear midday, and aftei-wai;ds saying 'mass and preaching, ho js permitted, for the first time since the previous ^ening, ta take some refreshment. '■ His da*y's_ labor is- not yet ovfer ; the sick and infirm of the neighborhood are to be visited, the wanderer to be reasoned' with and admonished,' the children to be baptized, and pei-haps the' burial ser-vice to be. read over the remains of one who has gone to rest. The, delicate man of the- world would consider the life of the missionary priest in the cities little less revolting. Sick calls are more frequent ;■ the hospitals and poor houses are to be . visited, and his do-b'r is hourly besieged by the Jpoor and the stranger, who look' upon the priest as their natural friend and adviser; and perhaps the only one whom God has left theni. These must bs relieved, and if. t6o poor himself to extend the necessary aid, lie is compelled to exert Msfinancial abilities tb procure, by rap&cious onslaughts lipon the po'ckets of his more fortunate parishioners, 'that which may be requisite to keep destitution from the gg,rrets and hovels of .God's poor." Yes, you are right ; 'the Caitholic system is a "system of fin^ance," and 'the treasures af cumulated by its operations &r& laid up ."where rust does not consume nor thieves break in and steal." ' You may form, from the abovCi seme idea of the missionary life of a 'Eoman Oathplic priest ill the 'United States-; and to endble you to understand liat the only motives capable of influencing, men to undfergo so much labor and pri-vation must be supernatural motives, j,t is only necessary to add, that thi usual income of a C'atholic missionary, iii this qo^intry, does not equa.1 in amount the salary of a sexton in one of your fashionable churches. The excess of iis income, too, over and above what is necessary for his simple wants, is almost 106 LETTERS OF A KBIiTCCiyr CATaOLIff. . invariably &xpeiided in cUaj-ity, no tliat at; bis death, hk pffecfe. are seldom more than enough to t;over the expenses attendant on his funeral..;-*' And thes6 are the men you call rapacious and fraudulent ! They will forgive you, but it should he difficult for you to forgive yourself' for having published so iniquitous a sland«r. The Catholic Church is also "a trading corporation." I recollect to have read in the papers, Spnofe years ago, of some njissionaries, in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, and elsewhere, wjio had made very pretty business operations in trading with the natives; but these trading missionaries were not sent out lay the Pope, and having families to support, and sons and daughters to'e.diicate and set up in life, I cannot find it in my heart to blame them for looking to the main cianc4 . These good missionaries, doribjlesB, found that furs, and peltry, and. b'aaT&M fish wei-e to be had, and money to be made out ofthe^i, Njitiye labor, too, was cheap, qnd- though possibly they would have preferred to exchange, for both commodities and labor,, Bibles and tracts, which cost them nothing, ^and of which the natives, being unable to read, could make no use^^these sons of the wilderness preTened the low wages offered for catching fish and trapping beavers.. It \f as not for men situated as these missionaries were, to weigfi too nicely the delicate questitm of moral ethics, presented for their consideratioij, and bejng..unable to live by their ministe- rial calling, they added to it that of traders in fiu'Sand salmon. They were fishers, but not "fishers of mem." • ' I do not mention these eircumstances for the purpgse oi xjalling in question the good intentions by which the generality of Protestant jnaissioaaries are influenced, but merely to indi- cate, that before yon charge the pathp|io Church with bei^ "a'trading corporation," you should first loOk ^t home to see if your own skirts are clear. And Catholicity is also a "system of darkened super- stition!" The unbeliever wdl, say the same thing of the system of Christianity. But I deny that you ai'e cg^able of judging of the Catholic Church, in this respect. You look at her through a false medium, which di;sforts- and laystifies your vision, J and makes those things appear superstitious, tvhich, when clearly seen and rightly understood, ^are in reality beautifully harmohdpns and perfectly consonant with enlightened resison. No Protestant, whose, ideas of the teach-; ings and practices . of , the Church , are gathered from the writings of her enemies, can possibly have a clear perception LKTTEES OK A KENTCOKY CATHOUC. 107 of their real nfieaning. I hold, theiefore, that if you are really sincere in your opiuions, as you state them, you are, to -all iutents and purposes, insane on those suLjaots connected with the Catholic Church. " Money is power ! '■' In worldly affairs, yes ; in spiritual affairs, no. Have you ever examined the yearly reports of the different Protestant foreign missionary societies, whose enor- mous incomes, if money was really power in religious affairs, ought to enable'them to convert the whole pagan world in a few years ? It were well for you to make this examination, and to compile, for the benefit of your readers, a table, showing the^ cost, per caput, of each convert to Protestantism. Jtis a Well established fact, that'ther College De Propaganda Fide, ifl. Eome, the yearly income of which is just $85,000, annually con'^erts more souls io Christianity than the whole machinery of Protestant missionary effort is able to evan- gelize. Almost every known language is taught in this Institution by the first masters of the age, and it sends out yearly its bands of missionaries, like those sent out by our blessed Lord, without scrip or purse^ to preach the gospel, in every land where man has a habitatron. Money is not power ! But the Word of Grod, preached by the authorized ministers of Christ, is power — not because of any intrinsic -excellence of the teacTierS themselves, but from the Divine aid given to those sent of God, which enables them to pro- duce fruits, where the efforts of mere human wisdom, sustained by millions of money, can find naught but unfertile fields and barren wastes. ' , ' , , "Knowledge is power ? " Yes, but.the tree of knowledge has two stems, one for good and the other for evil. Know- ledge with religion is "powerful feu: good ;_ knowledge without reUgidn is as powerful for evil. " Popery monopolized for ages the learning of the world, and seeks to-do so still," but "■fts hostility to common schools and general intelligence has grown into a proverb." Here is a fla.t contradiction ; but I suppose you mean to assert, thdt the Catholic Church reserves for its clergy all the learning, and is opposed, to the spread of intelligence, among the people. This is an old slander, the falsity of which you 'have had abundant oppor- tunities to learn.'" 'A'ccording to theii- numbers, the Catholic people of Kentucky expend more nioney for, educational purposes than dofes any Protestant ,sect in the State. They own and control a greater niimher of schools, academies and colleges for the ;gdiS5ation of the youth of both sexes' than 108 Lt;TTURS or a Kentucky catholic, any dononjinatipn of twice their iiumljer. But the Catbolrc Chnrch is opposed to the education of the iiitellect. to 1|he exclusion of the education of the md'at faculties. She wishes to have nothing tO' do with educatipn whgre these' are left to run wildly to ruin. There are many Protestants, of known virtue and intelligence, who fully' agree with Catholics upon "this point. No Christian, who will reflect on -the tendency of this S(Jrt" of education, as exhibited- in the fruits of the G-erman rationalistic school of the -present day, can fail to recognize the wisdoin of the Catholic Church in preferring that her schools he ilot only schools of intellectual knowledge, but also of viitue and religion. If you mean- by saying "the'te is scarcely a principle or tenet of Ca£holicism that' does not bear a direct relation to the enslavement and -degradation of mankind," that tho Catholic Church labors to bring all men under the yoke of the gospel of CW'ist, you are perfectly correct in your estimate of her purposes. Butth(3re is no " degradation" In this. If you mean that through her- principles and tenets she labors to decade manhoodfroia its true dignity, you entirely mistake the object of her mission. She "seekS to raise up, brat never to degrade. Your synopsis of the principles and tenets of the Church is, without doubt, the most unique ' affair of the kind that has ever come under my notice, and your explana- tion of the nature of her sacraments, affects me only with wondef at the insufferable stupidity" of that mind,' whose ideas are so much opposed to the plainest dictates, of common sense-. You 'Say; in effeiit, that the ministry of the Chnrch 15 th& ■vital force^of the Catholic system. Will you be kind enough to telline-what other foroe, than the teaching, of- the ministry, is indicated "by the -writers of the- New' Testament for the spread of the Gospel ! You say that the Sacrifice of the Mass does a-way with the. " great doctrine of Justification by faith alone."- Inisay'ing this, are you nob treading' on the toes of some of your non-evangelical Protestant neighbors ? You say ""the Kentijcky Catholic believes that Jesus' Christ constituted the Eomish King his 'special Yicar on earth, and therefore gafS his perfectly conclusive tfestimony and sanbtion in favof of a royal form of government." The Kentucky Catholic says no «uoh thing. He says that by appointment as provided, for by Jesus Christ in the economy of his Church, the rPope, as BL-shop of Bome, possesses and exercises the office of ^iear of Christ upon earths 'He comes by his royal prerog^tiv«s as other rulers come by theirs. LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. 109 according to tlie genius and constitution of the State over wHcli he is placed. , His office of Grovemor of Eome is not necessarily connected with his offlce-of Vicai- of Jesus Christ. The most astonishing poition of your- whole' ai-ticle, how- ever, is thatip which Pius IX i.s charged -with having ordered the execiition^^of Ugo Bassi. This matter has oft'eh heen put in so clear ?. light, that t^ere is no excuse for your being igno- rant of the facts connected with it. , Mi-. Cass, our Charge at Eome, whose letters were published in the American papers two years ago, says that the Austrian Military Governbr.'of Ilologna was alone responsible for that act, and -that neither Pius IX, nor his N-uneio, Archbishop Bedini, had anything to d-o with it. Now I ask you, , provided Know-Nothingism has^not, deprived you of all candor, to correct at least this one of your many aspersions of the Pope. You Qonchide by saying, "though it isj mCet that Pius IX should be the head of such a, system as Roman Catholicism, it is not meet that there should bs such an unnatural person- age as 'A Kentucky Catholic' " You are at peifect Liberty to think of me and my opinions as you please, and I shall not c[uarrel with yoli for- expressing your thoughts. You and I are to be judged by tribunals composed of essentially dif- ferent materials. SoMe of those for whom you write wiH very likely think with you that I am an unnatural personage, and you may possibly put your heads together to devise ways and means for exterminating all such. Those for whom I write, -and who disclaim to be governed by the spirit of fana- ticism, will be.content to allow me and my fellow-religionists to believe as we please and worship as we please. They will Ipok at Qur acts in order to discern if there he dangerous sen- . tiii\ents in our hearts,. Will your party succeed in ostracisiiig Amierican citizens, on aocount of their faith ?— r- or will the true Anieripan party succeed in upholding the. constitution and in rebuking fanaticism ? I will tell you. Desiderium ■ 'peccaiorum peribit, which, freely translated, means, Americans Jthall still rule America. , - Yours, &c., A Kbntdoky Catholic. ' £imisvUle,I>fcemMr 14cth, 1855. 110 LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. LETTER ELEVENTH. Sir : — It is a remarkable circumstance connected with this controversy, that you almost invariahly state my jiropo- sitions unfairly. For instance : you speak as if I had asserted, that the judgment which Almighty God has given to eaeh one of nSi is not to be used in spiritual matters ; whereas, I argued only against the reasonableness of the Protestant prineiple of private interpretation of the' scriptures. You speak of private judgment in the sense that itis a right. Catho* lies have no objection that all men shall hold the right to- judge for themselves. • But we also claim this same right, even though our judgipcnt should lead us to the relinquish- ment of. this "pi-ecious" privilege into the hands of the Chhrch of G-od, so far as the interpretation of the scriptures is sGoncemed. If I, through .my judgment, am convinced, that Jesus Christ instituted a tiibunal for the certain inters pretation of His revelation, I am making a very poor use of iny judgment in refusing to acknowledge the interpretations of such tribunal. In searching foi- truth, we are bound to use our judgment, aided by the Holy Spirit, invoked in prayer ; and the Catholic Church not only does not oppose such use of our reason, but positively enjoins it. If men will but use the reason which God has given them, they must come to the conclusion, that if there be no other tribunal for" the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures than that of private judgment) then Chri-st has left his work in, such a state as to render it practically impossible for them to arrive, with Cer- tainty, at " the knowledge of the' truth." There is' scarcely a dogma held by any one of the Protestant denominations, that is not denied -by some one or another of its sister churches. Eeason must inevitably lead the- logical mind to the appjeoiation of a principle conservatite of truth — which is one ; but the principle, that each individual Bible reader, must pick his faith out of tlie book, according to his own judgirient of the meaning of its passages, is a principle that inevitably leads to- diversity ^ — which is error. If the Apontle PBtei-, in his Epistles, "addressed hittiSeW to private intorprctiiLion,'" us you .sny, why does he caution the people agaiusi, so interpreting, the Epistles of St. Paul, his co-laborer. He says that many of the writings of St. Paul " are lianl to be understpod," and that " the unlearned LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. HI and the unstable wrest them, as also the other scriptures, to their own destruction." ^ You say that I acknowledge iii one sentence what I contra- di(3t in another, and you instance tliis by my acknowledging that the Church has no Tight to force conscience, but that she has the right to command moral obedience. Almighty God has. the right to require obedience to His laws, and yet He chcjoses to leave us free to disobey them. Tlie Church is the organ of Christ, and has the right- to command my obedience to her -laws ; yet, as there is no merit in worship that is not Toluntaiily accorded, so the enforcement of the outward manifestation of worship is not only useless, but is also opposed to the manifest will of G-od, that his creatures" shall exercise the attribute of free-will. Your argument is based entirely upon the idea, that there is no such thing as free- will in man. It is uniiecessary to say, that Catholics hold to no such doctrine. . ' I shall now take-up your deductions from what you claim to be the admissions of " A Kentucky Catholic," and append to them, in the order indicated by yourself, such rejoinders as their context may require. l«t. " That the Diyino law, oi' the law of conscience, is above all human law, and no legislirfcion is binding which contravenes the Divine law or the latv of conscience." -This is correctly stated'. Do you deny the truth of the proposition ? Would you obey any legal enactment which commanded you to do that which you believed to be opposed to the Law of God ? 2d. " That this Divine Liw or law of conscience is binding to any ex- tremity — even ag-ainsfc personal violence or death itself, and must bo enforced — no matter what the consequences." I am really pained to have to charge you, .in this, with having given your readers what appears to me a willful per- version of the obvious meaning of the text. In order to •illustrate the ])i'bposition, I gave instances, supposed ones, of course, whidi could Irot fail to convey to any ordinary mind it's exact "meaning. It is very difficult for me to believe, that you misappjchended the idea I endeavored to convey, for the words '.,'and must be enforced," embodied in your deduction, and which cannot be, even Jof the largest license, deduced from anything I have ever written, give another and an entirely different sense to the proposition. You endeavor to make your readers believe, that I hold, that Catholics, in order to uphold tjie law of their consciencej are bound to 112 LETTERS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. • make waiMipon the State, slionlj it eAcer pass»a. la^ conti-ary to theii- understanding of the Law of Goil ; whereas, I only- said, that if the law of the State commanded Cjatholics to- do tha/t -which they b'elieved to be opposed to the law of God^ it would be th§ir duty to refuse; ■obedience to such, a 'taw, even though dqath were the "penalty of their refusal.. Allow me to give you another illustration,, ifr ordej. that you "may have a clear notioji of my meaning. Wo will suppose that, the mobocrat6|,-v^ho surrounded. the burniijg buildings of Qxiinn's Bow, on the nigltt of the 6th of August last,' had. been em- powered, by previous legislative enactment, to grant , an amnesty to such, of thie beleagured. inmates as should consent to trample on.ths.law of their conscienQe, and , aposfatke from their faith ; and, further, that according tp the same enactment, ■ they were commanded to shoot, hang, and burn, indiscriminately, all who refusej the-' boon of, life except at the expense of treason to their ,Go,d., In, such' a dase, I_^con- tend, ,that the law of consoienpe, which is' tin^ individual ' conception of what the law of Grod requires, shouH have induced" these persecuted foreigners to.. accept the penalty attached to their coatumacy, and to have thus upield the " higher jaw " of their conscience. 3d. "That -the Pope of Rome is divinely inspii-ed to nifike kliown thd Divine lawr or the law of conscience, and thei'pfo^'ts -the law of God can always be infdllihly known.*' , . .1 said that the Pope, fis. Vicar of Jesus Christ, has'auth.o'rity to decide for Catholics all questions in the spiritual order, and that should the State enact a law of questionable obli- ga,tibn,on conscience^ his decision wo'tild be, fprthem, defini- tive as to the character of tlie lawv 4tfe. " That th,e law of coDseience.niay be interfered -with, by human legis- lation, an(^ a conflict may !i,t an^ £i,me occur between spiritual and temporal jurisdiction.'* "* This is so palpably true, that I suppose yon will not. deny it. The civil law, under the Jloman. Envperors, demanded j;hat Christians should offer sacrifices to the gods of heathenism. Will you say that tliese- Christians were wrong in refusing- obedience to the Ijiw ? - 5th. "Thiit in case of sneh*oonfliot, the Pope of Borne is the supreme arbitoi^ of the question, and hie decision is final and conclusive. 6lh. f That, among the questions be has been called 6n to decide, is the validity of ,tho constitutibn of the Uhitfid States." .1 I ^gnly gave, for your considera:tiQn, a quotation from Dr. Browhson, wherein he states that "the Pope has already LEXnSUS OF A KIIMLCKV OAXIIOLIC. 113 (lociiled ' that tlie Constitution of tlie United gtates requires nothing of the Catholic which is opposed to the law of coa- scicnce.' " I do not. suppose that Dr. Brownson intended to assert, by this, that the question of the compatibility of the constitution with the Law of God, had actually been brought before thePope for liis decision, but only that, inasmuch as no Catholic has ever refused to obey the requirements of the constitution, the sequence was clear that it does not ask any- thing of liim contraiy to the Divine Law. 7th. " That no Catholic can plead conscience for violating a law, so it be piiHted in accordance with the Constitution,^* Laws ill reference to temporal matters are of binding force until they are repealed, or pronounced unconstitutional by the proper tribunals. But no law, of any State, whether constitutional or otherwise, which commands either the Catholic or Protestant to do that which is in itself opposed to the Law of God, or the law of his conscience, is of binding force on the mind, and the Christian who should uphold the provisions of such a law, would, by the fact, cease to be a Christian. 8th. "That, though the Sovereign Pontiff has pronounced a decision favorably to the constitution, he may yet have to decide upon the validity of the statutes ', and in case ho decides that the statutes are unconscientious or unconstitutional, the loyalty of every Catholic is that moment released. 9th. " That the acts of our Congress, or the statutes of the States, are not conclusively settled by the supreme courb? of the country, and huve no bind- ing effect unless sanctioned by his Holiness — of dernier resort, 10th. " That if the supreme courts of the Federal or State Governments should decide a statute one way, and his Holiness the other way, the latter must prevail, because his Holiness is infallible, and the spuiitual order is superior to the temporal order. 11th. " The higher law doctrine is distinctly avowed and explicitly taught in its very worst form. The Foreign Judiciary at Eome is made superior t» the Domestic Judiciary of the United States." Sir, you either grievously misapprehend or willfully misstate the whole question. Your premises are false, and your con- clusions are necessarily no conclusions at all. Yoix assume what you should prove. In merely temporal or civil matters, the State is supreme ; and neither the Catholic Church, nor its chief executive, the Pope, has any control whatever over its enactments or statutes, so long as they remain strictly within the civil order. It is only when the State departsfrom its own appropriate sphere of action, and wantonly tramples on the rights secured to every Chiistian alike by the Law of God, in the spiritual order, that the Church has an inalienable right to step forth, and vindicate her outraged independence. Her motto, then, becomes that of the persecuted Apostles, 114 ''tETTERS OF A KliSTLXKV CATHOLIC. who, when. -arraigned before the Jewish tribunals and com- manded to cease preaching Christ and His doctrines, answered, with a noble courage, " It is better toobey God than man." Your entire reasoning is based npon that fallacy which ^ logicians designate ignoraiio ebenchi — a misconception of the question. If Dr. Brownson means to say, or even to intimate, that the binding force of the constitution ,dependp upon the Papal sanction — which I cannot, as I have affeady said, believe to have been his meaning — then I differ from him in tola on the whole question. There is no evidence to show that the Pope has taken any action whatever on the subject. The civil authorities are supreme in the temporal order; their enactments are of binding foVce as long as they do not encroach on the rights of conscience, or, what is the same thing, trample on the Law of God, with which they have, obviou^y, no right to interfere. You would do well, sir, before you proceed further in this controversy, in which you have plainly already got far beyond your'depth, to take some lessons in the elementary principles of a science commonly ^called Igffic. -The pope has nothing to do with civil constitutions, con- gressional acts, legal enactments, or courts of civil judicature, outside of his own dominions, and his decisions on questions of conscience are not given with the purpose of influencing these. They are rendered only in order to indicate to the children of the Church what is d-emanded of them by the Law of God. All Christianity — Protestant no less than Catholic — teaches that human institutions are fallible. It follow's, therefore, that laws for the goveniment of human afeirs may be of such a nature as to be opposed to thp law of conscience, or to that individual understanding of the Divitie Law, according to which every man must regulate his actions. Frdm the very nature of the Being from whom it emanates, the Law of God cannot be otheiwise than a perfect law, and eveiy legal enactnfient opposed to it, or even to the individual perception of the obligations flowing from it, is necessarily unjust and iniquitous, and, as such, positively rec[liiires, at the hands of the conscientious man, that, sooner than obey its requirements, he shall consent to suffer whatever penalty it may enjoin for contumacy, even though that penalty be deaJth itself. The Christian, in refusing to obey such a law, does not, as you would seem to indicate when you nse the words "and must be enforced," attempt to control the action of the State, and endeavor to enforce the law of his LETTEKS OF A KENTUCKY CATHOLIC. 115 conscience against those who may as conscientiously di^er from him. He acts solely for himself, -considering that he owes obedience first and above all to the laws of his God. If this be the " liiglier-law " doctrine which you speak of, chen it is the exact doctrine taught by every Christian deno- mination in the land, and a doctrine which every Christian, who is able to reiison logically on the nature of his obligations inihe moral order, is bound to uphold. The Northern Abolitionists may be conscientious in holding; that slavery is sinful ; but they, not content with using moral means for the eradication of the supposed evil, are endeavor-i ing to enforce the law of their conscience over those who as conscientiously believe that the institution is not opposed to the Divine Law. It is hot required by our laws that these men shall be slaveholders, or even that they shall make use of the products of slave labor. In their mode of upholding the law of their conscience, they trespass as well on the con- sciences of others as upon their civil rights. If they believe that the institution of slavery is opposed to the Law of God, I blame them not for refusing to have anything to do with it. But I do blame them for seeking to measure the consciences of their neighbors according to their own standard, and for endeavoring to eradicate slavery by trampling on the rights of the South. The question resolves itself into a nut-shell, and may be thus stated : Will not the Christian be held responsible before God for rendering obedience to an enactment which he conscientiously believes to be opposed to the Divine Law ? If he will not be so held, then, the martyrs of all ages, who have shed their blood rather than compromise the law of con- science, were in fact no martyrs at all, and absolutely, by the very act of refvasing to obey laws which they deemed repug- nant to the Law of God, offered an insult to the Deity, who, according to your reasoning, wills that all civil laws, no matter whether in a;ccordance with or opposed to the Divine Law, shall be implicitly obeyed. This discussion, so far as the writer is concerned, closes with this letter. I have endeavored, in the course of it, to point out to you the injustice of the policy pursued by your party towards the Catholic Church and the Catholic people of this country. Though a more able controversialist, doubt- less, might have presented the subjects I have discussed in a clearer light, and with more cogent reasoning ; and though 1 may have failed to effect any change in your views, I can ye( minae, ana m convincing ouiuih, iiiai, iub xxoiriaii vjiiuioiius of t&e United States have interests identical with thqir Pro- testant fellow-citizens in the perpetaity of om- republican institutions. i. Hoping the day will soon come when you, sir, will loak with regret, if not with repentance, on the part which you have thought proper to take in disseminating the seeds of a reckless fanaticism broadcast over the land and trusting in Providence to render these seeds unproductive of the bitter fruits inseparable from their nature, where they are allowed to take^'oot, I bid you farewell. * Yom-s, (fee, A Kentucky Catholic. Jjouisville, December 'Ust, 1855. APPENDIX. The following editorial notice appeared in tLe columns of the Louisville Journal, in its issue of January 1st, 1856 : Wo see from a notice in the St. Louis Republican tliat tiio letters, ad- dressed to us in one of the Louisville papers under the name of " A Ken- tucky Catholic," have been published in book form. No doubt we might have learned the fact here if wo had inquired. We remember that Mr. McGill, the former priest here, after having a written controversy with a distinguished Protestant clergyman, was silly enough to issue in book form the whole controversy. The Kentucky Catholic is smarter than that — ha is very careful not to issue the articles of the Louisville Journal side by side with his own. He will not let our alkiilics go w^th his acids. There are a hundred matters in the publications wo have made that he would no more dare to put into the hands of his people than ho would dare to grant them permission to read the Word of God. In fact, if his Church had one of their inquisitions here, and lie were to republish our expositions of Popery even for the va,in purpose of refuting them, he would soon find himself upon a wheel revolving faster than ever the wheel of fortune did. Now, Mr. Prentice is certainly a very talented gentleman, and more witty even than he is talented ; but when he takes so mnch credit to himself as to suppose that the Boman Catholic Church would be at all liable to damage, or that the faith of her members would be exposed to even the smallest danger, from the free cu-culation among them of his responses to the Letters of a Kentucky Catholic, he deceives himself most egregiously. It is precisely such men as he that have been butting their brains out against the rock upon which the Church is built, for more than three hundred years past. The editor of the Journal deserves credit for the energy he has displayed in a bad cause, and for having in imitation of the conduct of the unjust steward, spoken of in the scriptures, made " friends of the mammon of iniquity ; " but he deserves the reprobation of every American citizen for having chosen 118 APPEXDIS. a Lad cause wherein to exbiliit hits great talents aud Ws untiring energy. "A Keutneky CalhQlic" cannot pretend to cope with Mr. PRENncE either in wit, in learning, or in felicity of expression ; but he can cope with all the Know- Nothing editors in Christendom, in a love for truth, and in a hatred xii fanaticisna, bigotry, and lying. If it were true that Catholics, are afiaid of the publication of discussions wherein both sides are fairly iondered,« how does Mr. Pkbntice account' for the fact, that il\fi oral and written discussions of Messrs. Hughes arul Breckenridge, Pope and McGuire, Campbell and Purcell, (fee, are seldom to be found in any other than Catholic bookstores, and that most of them are published by Catholic booksellers ? Now as to the proportionate circulation of such bqoks, — for every copy of any published discussion, between a Catholic and a Protestant, which Mr. Prentice will find, throughout the State of Kentucky, in the possession of a Protestant, I wiU agree to show him three copies of the same work owned by Roman Catholics. Does this look like being afraid of the influence likely to be created by such Works ? There is no charge uttered against the members of the Catholic Church more utterly false, thati that which exhibits them as living in constant trepidation lest evangelical liyht — Grod save^ the mark ! — should dawn upon them. Oaliiolics, as a class, are generally well read in those thiiigs which make up the dis- tinctive diiferences between Protestantism and Catholicity — much more so than are most Protestants ; and the assumption that they are stupidly ignorantj is only the result of the fake ideas propagated through early -education, and that inherent spirit of indifferentism, which disinclines so many of our sepa- rated brethren to any examinatiom of the points of difference 'between the two i-eligions. Mii McGriLL, "the former priest here," did issue, in pamphlet form, the controversy which took place between himself and the Rev. Mr.ORAiK, of this city ; and there is one circum- stance connected with that publication, which, if it proves anything, will prove the very reverse of the conclusion sought API'ENDIX. 119 to be drawn from it by the editor. 1 happen to know, that five-sixths of all the copies that ever were sold of the discus- sion named, were sold to Gatholics by Catholic booksellers ! Again, Mr. Prentice characterizes the conduct of Mr. MoGiLL, in having issued the book, as " silly," and implies that, according to Catholic usage, he was liable to severe punishment for having shown perfect fairness towards his opponent. How, then, does Mr. Prentice account for the fact, that instead of being made to revolve on the inquisitorial wheel which he speaks of, Mr. McG-Ill was actually, within a sh