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" Vi Christiani ita et Romani sitis."— " As yon are children of Christ, so be you children of Rome." (Ex Dictis S. Patricii, in Libra Armacano, fol. 9.) x-\
*-|-r f Y ^ ^W^C^ / u*
1 he Irish Ecclesiastical Record
& JHontijlg Journal, unfcet Episcopal Sanction.
JF0ttfet& fgcat 1 ANUARY IQO7 f faUttf) ^™*'
No. 469. J JAINUAKY, IQOJ. ^ Vol< XXI
The Catholic Church in 1906.
Rev. James MacCa/jrey, S.T.L., Maynooth College. The University of Oxford.
.Rev. G. E. Plind&D.S.B., Oxford. Dialogues on Scriptural Subjects : The Pentateuch.
H. D. L. The Roots of Liberal Theology.
Rev. T. Slater, S.J., St. Bueno's, North Wales. Evolution : Kant and the Loisy Theory of the Evolution of Christianity — II.
Rev. Daniel Coghlan, D.D., Maynooth College. General Notes.
The Editor, Maynooth College. The Biblical Question,
Notes and Queries.
THEOLOGY. Rev. ]. M. Harty, D.D., Maynooth College.
Baptism of an Immature Fetus. Ecclesiastical Impediments and Marriages between Catholics and. Non-Baptized Protestants. Catholic acting aa Sponsor of a Protestant Child. Protestant acting as Sponsor of a Catholic Cnild. Daily Communion of Boys.
CANON LAW. lit. Rev. mgr. Luzio, Maynooth College.
Are the Maynooth. Synod Decrees mere Penal Laws?
LITURGY. Rev. Patrick Morris roe, Maynooth College.
The Nuptial Blessing. Ce.ebrating Mass and giving Benediction with Small Host.
Documents.
Daily Communion of Boys in CoDegcs and of the Sick. The Right of Appeal from the Bishop of Hildesh«im to the Cardinal- Archbishop of Cologne. Privilege granted to Capuchin Minors of celebrating votive Mass of Immaculate Conception. The Place of Laymen in Processions. Absolution and Indulgence for certain Feasts of the Friars "Minors. Iiulult enabling certain Priests of the Congregation of the Mission to Invest in the Brown Scapular.
Notices of Books.
F
Nihil Obstat,
Free \Vill: and Four English Philosophers. The Church and Kindness to Animals. Lcctioncs ^K.sthetices. Niceta of Remisiana.
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THE IRISH
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VOLUME XXI JANUARY TO JUNE, 1907
Series
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1907 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Altar Wine. By Rev. P. Morrisroe .... 590 Archbishop of Dublin, Edict of His Grace the, on Canonization
of the Irish Martyrs . . . . . 175
Augustine Birr ell, The Essays of. By the Editor . . 267
Belgium, Economic Situation in. By T. A. Walsh . . 518
Bohemia and Ireland. By Richard J. Kelly, B.L. . . 355 Canon, The Structure of the Roman. By Very Rev. T. P.
Gilmartin, D.D. ..... 575
Canonization of the Irish Martyrs — Edict of His Grace the
Archbishop of Dublin . . . . t 175 Catholic Church Congress in 1906, The. By Rev. James
M'Caffrey, S.T.L. ..... i
Correepon&encc :—
The Total Abstinence Pledge . . . .116, 546
Culture, Evolution of. By Rev. R. Fullerton . . . 113,243
Decrees of the Maynooth Synod. By the Right Mgr. Luzio, D.D.,
D.PH., D.C.L. ...... 561
Dialogues on Scriptural Subjects : The Pentateuch. By H. D. L. 35, 344
Diocese and Abbey of Mayo, The. By W. H. Grattan Flood . 603 Divine Morality in the Old Testament. By Dom Benedict
Steuart, O.S.B. ...... 486
documents :—
Absolution and Indulgence for certain Feasts of the Friars
Minor ....... 106
Administration of Communion to the Sick who are not
fasting '. . \, . **.'• . 216
Altars, Consecration and Title of , . . . 641
Bishop's Permission for Mass in Oratories of Religious . 327 ' Cappa Magna,' Use of, granted to two Parish Priests
in Milan . . . . '* .i 419
Confessions of Travellers at Sea . ;. »,. . . 659
Daily Communion of Boys in Colleges and of the Sick . 103 Decision of Sacred Congregation of Rites regarding
Ceremonies of Mass and Benediction . . . 213 Declaration of the Standing Committee of the Irish Bishops
regarding University Settlement . . . 549
Dispensation from Irregularities .... 420
Eucharistic League. The Priests', erected into Arch- confraternity . . . . . . 417
Excardination and Ordination . . . . 207, 325
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DOCUMENTS— continued.
Excommunication incurred by persons acquiring Ecclesi-
astical Property confiscated by French Government . 636
Franciscan Privilege, A . . . .328
Index, Decree of the Sacred Congregation of , . 426
fff. Indulgence for carrying the Rosary . . . 328
Indult enabling certain Priests of the Congregation of the
Mission to invest in the Brown Scapular . . . 107 Irregularity, A Case of . . . .658
Matrimonial Dispensations . . , . 425
Modification of the Law of Fast and Abstinence in Italy . 210 Organ at Solemn Mass, Use of the . . * \ 660
Parochial Jurisdiction, Question of . . . 212 Privilege granted to Capuchin Minors regarding Votive Mass
of Immaculate Conception .... 105
Processions, Place of Laymen in . . . . 106
' Promoter Fiscalis,' The, in Summary Trial* . . 422
Sacred Vessels, Can tonsured Clerics touch ? . . 644
Slav Language in the Liturgy, Use of the , . . 650
Sodality of St. Jerome, Pope Pius X and the . . 657 Solution of Doubts regarding Requiem Mass, Votive Mass v of the {Immaculate Conception, the recitation of the
Creed, and Collects at Mass .... 642 The Right of Appeal from Bishop of Hildesheim to the
Archbishop of Cologne . . . .104
Third Order of St. Dominic (Secular), Privileges of . . 646
Economic Situation in Belgium. By T. A. Walsh . . 518 Episcopal Succession in the Diocese of Elphin during the Re-
formation Period. By Right Rev. Mgr. Kelly, D.D. . 459
Essays of Augustine Birrell, The. By the Editor . . 267 Evolution of Christianity, Kant and the Loisy Theory of the.
By Rev. D. Coghlan, D.D. .... 60 Evolution of Culture. By Rev. R. Fullerton . . . 113,245 Evolution and the Theory of Immanence : Lex Orandi. By
Rev. D. Coghlan, D.D. .... 361 Fr. Jerome Saccheri, S.J., Originator of the Non-Euclidean
System of Geometry. By Rev. H. Jimenez, s.j. . 337 First Friday and (the First Sunday, The. By Rev. David
Dinneen, D.D. ...... 125
General flotea—
The Biblical Commission. By the Editor . . 78
The German Elections. By the Editor . . . 300
Germany, Irish Monasteries in. By the Editor . . 507
Hohenlohe, Prince, Memoirs of. By the Editor . . 163
Ireland and Bohemia. By Richard J. Kelly, B.L. . . 355
Irish College in Paris, A Plea for. By Very Rev. P. Boyle, C.M. 285
Irish History, Sources of. By Tomae Ua Nuallain, M.A. . 379 Irish Martyrs, Edict of His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin on
the Canonization of the . . . . 175
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Irish Monasteries in Germany. By the Editor . * 507
Irish Poor Law System, The. By Charles Dawson . » 253 Kant and the Loisy Theory of the Evolution of Christianity.
By Rev. D. Coghlan, D.D. . » . 60
L'Irlande Contemporaine. By~the Editor . . « 610
Liberal Theology, The Roots of. By Rev. T. Slater, s.j. . 46 Maynooth Synod Decrees, The. By the Right Rev. Mgr.
Luzio, D.D., D.PH., D.C.L. . . . . 56l
Mayo, The Diocese and Abbey of. By W. H. Grattan Flood . 603
Memoirs of Prince Hohenlohe. By the Editor . . 163 Non-Euclidean System of Geometry, Fr. Jerome Saccheri, S.J.,
Originator of the. By Rev. H. Jimenez, s.j. . . 337
"Notes an& Queried :—
CANON LAW (By Right Rev. Mgr. Lurio) : —
Custom against the Bull ' Speculatores ' of Innocent XII 533 ^~ Excardination, Letters of, to Laymen . . .310, 398
>-• . Formulae of Exeat and Incorporation . . . 533-
Maynooth Synod Decrees : are they Penal Laws ? . 87 Maynooth Synod Decrees : Binding Force, Promulgation
and Dispensation of the .... 623
, Monsignore, Title of ' '•"_'» '' .... 193
Oaths, Administration of, by Private Persons , » 539
_jui Power of Vicars-General and Capitular regarding Formula VI. 195
Quality of Offence and Penalty in the English Law for the
Administration of Oaths by Private Persons . . 539
^g,*, Vicars-General and Capitular, Insignia of . . . 193
LITURGY (by Rev. P. Morrisroe) : —
Altar Decoration in Lent ..... 202
Benediction given by Chaplains to Nuns . « . 203 Blessing when Communion is given outside a Mass De
Requiem . . • . . . ?: 545
Candle used at Missal. Should it contain Wax ? . . 410
Celebrating Mass and giving Benediction with Small Ho»t 101
Confraternity of the Sacred Heart . . . . 412
Exequial Masses . . . TV. . •;-.**• 628
Feast of St. Brigid and Rubrics . « - • .; . 543
First Friday Indulgences and Necessity of Confession . 199
Materials of Chalices and Pyxes . . . . 410
' Memoriale Rituum,' Nature and Extent of its Obligation . 319
Music at Low Mass, Character of . . . . 201
Nuptial Blessing, The . . . »"*;-. . 99
Paschal Candle ...... 633
Prayers Prescribed by Leo XIII . . . . 201
Presence of Remains in Churches during certain religious
Functions ...... 203
>>- -,„ "Reveraihlp. Chasuble, Use of .... 200
Sacred Vessels, Handling of .... 542
Stations of the Crow, Crucifix Indulgencod for . . 634
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
NOTES AND QUERIES — continued. THEOLOGY (By Rev. J. M. Harty) : —
Baptism of an Immature Fetus . . . . 8 1
Black Fast . . . ^-;'-, • ;fcll . 305
Case of Domicile . . . *.<"'. . 530 Catholic as Sponsor of Protestant, and Protestant of
Catholic Child . , . . *•>• ;*!; ft . 84
Celebration of Mass without an Altar Stone . . 395
Communion of the Sick . . . . . 191
Daily Communion of Boys ..... 86
Duration of Delegation for Marriage . . . 393 Ecclesiastical Impediments and Marriages between Catholics
and Baptized Protestants .... 83
Gratuitous Application of Second Mass on Sunday . . 529
^.r. Jurisdiction of Priests Travelling by Sea . . . 308 Jurisdiction in case of Danger of Death and probability of
not meeting again an approved Confessor . . 306
Pia Legata . . . . -.531
Possessore Dubiae Fidei, Dt . . . .532
. _, Priests and Decree about Communion of Sick not fasting . 302
^ «* Quasi-Domicile, Retention of . . *.'.»" 397
Supplying Meat to Protestants on Friday . . . 303
notices of JBoofts:—
A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 335 ; A Privileged Soul, or Mary Mother of Good Counsel, 428 ; An Indexed Synopsis of ' The Grammar of Assent,' 446 ; ' Apologia pro Vita Sua/ 665 ; Beati Petri Canisii, S.J., Epistolae et Acta, 220 ; Biblioteca Ascetica Mystica, 560 ; Catechetical Instruction, Compendium of, 219^; Daniel O'Connell, His Early Life and Journal, 431 ; Das Alte Testament im Lichte des alten Orients, 334 ; Dictionnaire de Philosophic, 447 ; Die Psalmen riach dem Urtext, 441 ; Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum, 444 ; Doctrinal Hymns, 330 ; Einleitung in Das Alte Testament, 437 ; pAiofciti TlAorh pA'D^Aig, 331 |--Free Will and Four English Philosophers, 108 ; Glauben und Wissen, 336 ; Golden Sayings of the Blessed Brother Giles of Assisi, The, 665 ; Grammatik des Judisch-PcJastinaischen-Aramaisch, 432 ; Guide de Bleser Roger a Rome, 432 ; Have Anglicans full Catholic Privileges ? 66 1 ; History of Ireland, 556 ; Holy Communion — Preparation and Thanksgiving 671 ; Kyriale seu Ordinarium Missae, 443, 444 ; Lectiones ^Esthetices seu Philosophia Pulchri et Artium, no; Les Origines du Chant Remain, 558; Les Idees de M. Loisy sur le Quatrieme E vangile, 443 ; Luther und Lutherthum, 422 ; Niceta of Remisiana, 1 10 ; Off to Jerusalem, 667 ^Old Riddle and the Newest Answer, The, 668 ; Organum Comitans ad Kyriale seu Ordinarium Missae, 664 ; Pastoral Medicine, Essays on, 332 ; Poems of John Bannister Tabb, 429 ; Religious Worship and Some
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
NOTICES OF BOOKS — continued,
Defects in Modern Devotions, 222 ; Sermons of Most Rev. Dr. Moriarty, 221 ; Special Introduction to the Study of the Old Testament, 335 ; Stepping Stones to Heaven 664 ; Studies in Irish History, 223 ; The Christian Brothers' 'Reader' Series, 66 1 ; The Church and Kindness to Animals, 109 ; The Crucifix, 662 ; The God of Philosophy, 217 ; The Moores of Glynn, 333 ; The Other Miss Lisle, 666 ; The Principles of Christianity, 438 ; Valeur des Decisions Doc- trinales et Disciplinaries du Saint Si6ge, Syllabus, Index, Saint Office, Gallitee, 66f<,
Old Testament, Divine Morality in the. By Dom Benedict
Steuart, O.S.B. ...... 486
v Oxford, The University of. By Rev. G. E. Hind, O.S.B. . 20
Paris, A Plea for the Irish College in. By Very Rev. P. Boyle,
c.M. ....... 285
Pentateuch, The : Dialogues on Scriptural Subjects. ByH. D. L. 35,344 Pledge, Theological Aspect of a Total Abstinence. By Rev.
P. M'Kenna ...... 225
Poor Law System, The Irish. By Charles Dawson . . 253
Prussian School Law of 1906. By Rev. James MacCaffrey, S.T.L. 449 Reformation Period, Episcopal Succession in the Diocese of 594
Elphin during the. By Right Rev. Mgr. Kelly, D.D. . 459
Roman Canon, The Structure of the. By Very Rev. T. P.
Gilmartin, D.D. ..... 575
Roots of Liberal Theology, The. By Rev. T. Slater, s.j. . 46
Sources of Irish History. By Tomas Ua Nuallain, M.A. . 379
^ Theory of Immanence, Evolution and the : Lex Orandi. By
Rev. D. Coghlan, D.D. ..... 361
The Catholic Church Congress m 1906. By Rev. James
MacCaffrey, S.T.L. ..... i
The First Friday and the First Sunday. By Rev. David
Dinneen, D.D. . . . . . .125
Total Abstinence Pledge, Theological Aspect of. By Rev. P.
M'Kenna
225
University of Oxford, The. By Rev. G. E. Hind, O.S.B. . . 20
j, The. By Rev. M. J. O'Donnell, S.T.L. , . .141
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906
THE year 1906 has come and gone ; and despite all • speculations to the contrary, the political peace of Europe has been steadily maintained. True indeed at one time the relations between Germany and France were strained to the uttermost, but the conference of Algeciras averted a struggle ; again, the Sultan seemed anxious to put the fortunes of his nation to the test, but on the mobilization of the English fleet his warlike humour was not long in disappearing ; Austria and Hungary seemed daily awaiting the close of the protracted conferences and the issue of the ultimatum, when suddenly the scene changed, the Emperor Francis Joseph saved the situation, and the representatives of the two nations fell upon each others' necks in the Imperial presence ; while, finally, the wild revolutionary movement in Russia, ex- aggerated a hundred-fold as it was by interested political agents and correspondents, has suddenly collapsed, and the new Parliament may bring peace to the realms of the Czar.
But the political peace of Europe has not meant peace for the Church or for the Pope. Not for the last quarter of a century has the Holy See found itself confronted with so difficult or so complex problems as those which have engaged its attention during the year that has drawn to a close. The movements from within the Church itself have been almost as great a source of anxiety to the Holy Father as the attacks from without. The situation in
FOURTH SERIES, VOL. XXI., JANUARY, 1907. A
THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
France would have been enough to engross the attention of the ablest Pontiff ; but when are added to that the developments of Liberalism in Catholic ranks, the open disobedience of the extreme Christian Democrats in Italy, the threatened conflict with the new Ministry in Spain, the anxieties of the English Education struggle, the Prussian School law, the Polish Language question, not to speak of the uneasiness caused by the situation in Portugal, Mexico, and some of the South American Republics, the Catholic world can realize how difficult is the position of the successor of St. Peter, and how much he requires their sympathy and their prayers.
And first, this progressive movement within the Church itself. What is it, and how has it manifested its existence ? To the former of these questions, on account of the many and diverse views of those who are commonly grouped together under the flag of Liberalism, it is not easy to give a brief reply. Some of the party are not satisfied with the traditional apologetics of the Church, or with the current explanations of her definitive utterances ; others think that she is too political in her action for a spiritual society, and turn their eyes with longing towards the ages of Apostolic simplicity ; not a few are of the opinion that too much attention is being paid to externals and accidentals, and the real religion — the union of the soul with God — is being neglected ; while the authority and the centraliza- tion of the Church is, for others, a subject of endless complaint. These views have made themselves felt in France for years, and have gained many adherents. In Italy, too— even in Rome — to a slight extent in Germany, in England, and in other portions of the English-speaking world, supporters and sympathisers have not been wanting. The condemnations of the Index, the Papal letter to the Italian seminaries, the resignation of professors in different schools of the Continent, are evidences of the uneasiness caused by recent developments.
Now, what is to be said of such a movement ? Should we conclude that its leaders are the harbingers of the last days, when as it has been foretold even the faith of the just
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1905
will be put to the severest test ; and that nothing remains for us but to throw up our hands in despair and calmly await the threatened destruction ? Nothing of the kind. The leaders of the new intellectual movement are, in general — whatever may be said of individuals — as loyal sons of the Church, to say the least of it, as those who light-heartedly undertake to stone them. They realize that Catholic thought is being steadily banished from the universities and the intellectual life of Europe, and that if the Church is not to lose her influence on the learned world, she must abandon her merely defensive operations, and boldly take the field. Their action is only a visible sign of the great intellectual resurrection within the ranks of Catholicism, the consequences of which it is hard to forecast. In any such transformation stage, prudence, vigilance, and moderation are required, but not universal condemnation or despair. That in such times daring spirits may advance too quickly or too far, is only what might be expected ; but that the whole movement should be condemned for the excesses of individuals would be as unreasonable as it might be imprudent.
Nor, on the other hand, can it be reasonably maintained that the authorities of the Catholic Church are determined to stifle free discussion. We can here point to only a few recent events as a sufficient refutation of such a charge — to Dr. Kiinstle's book on the Priscillian origin of the famous text of the ' Three Witnesses,' published with the imprimatur of his Archbishop, to the works of Delahaye and Gunther on the legends of the saints, to the studies of M. Chevalier on the Holy House of Loretto, issued with the permission of the Master of the Sacred Palace, and, finally, to the letter of Pius X himself to the learned French bishop, Mgr. Le Camus, in which he re- proves those who have not the courage to abandon ' the exegesis of yesterday.' Face to face with new views the authorities of the Church require to be vigilant, but to-day, as often before, they have shown that they can be also appreciative and tolerant. The non-Catholic reviewers and newspaper correspondents in these countries, who have
THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
raised such a lamentation over the fate of Fogazzaro's // Santo, should have remembered that within the past year the Protestants, too, have had their // Santo in the Hilligenlei of Herr Frenssen, except that its author had not one-eighth the brains and none of the Christianity of Fogazzaro ; and that the attitude of the Roman Congregation towards the Italian author could not for a moment be compared with the howl of execration sent up by the German ecclesiastics against one of their own brethren.
In Italy there are unmistakable signs of a great Catholic revival. The movement is not confined to any particular department, but is making itself felt in Scripture and Literature, as well as in social union and politics. The entrance of the Catholics into the public life of Italy cannot fail to have a beneficial effect both on themselves and upon the Government ; though it must be confessed that the efforts for the organization of the Catholic forces have not been so successful as might reasonably have been antici- pated. According to the instructions of Pius X the diocese was to be the unit, and each diocesan organization was to be placed under the supervision of the bishop. This arrange- ment did not meet with the approval of the younger party among the Christian Democrats ; and as a result the ugly quarrel which the Papal letter was meant to allay has, if anything, been embittered, nor is there any sign at the present time that a peaceful solution will soon be found.
Last December the Separation Law was passed in France, but a year of grace was to intervene before the main clauses should take effect. The Radical Bloc having won an easy victory in Paris, imagined they would have little difficulty in crushing the opposition of Rome. They did not condescend to even notify the Pope that the Concordat was overthrown and the Separation Law decreed. The French Government boasted that it meant to rule France without any interference or dictation from outsiders.
But Pius X was not so easily put aside. After two months of careful consideration he made his first solemn pronouncement in a Pastoral to the French Bishops, in
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906
which in strong yet dignified language he pointed out the history and injustice of the Separation Law, and declared that as Pastor of the Church he must repudiate it and condemn it. This should have been a warning to the Government that the Pope was determined to resist further aggressions, but they refused to interpret his action in that light. They believed that the Encyclical was but an empty threat, and that the Pope never meant to bid them defiance.
Meanwhile both parties looked forward to the general election in May — the Radicals with the confidence that their party would be returned with an increased majority, the others in the hope that even at the last moment the conscience of Catholic France would be awakened, and a re-adjustment of parties secured. It was a vain expecta- tion as the event showed. The Moderates, instead of strengthening their hold upon the country, actually lost ground, and their opponents returned flushed with victory, vowing in their public meetings and private assemblies that now at last Catholicity and Christianity must soon disappear.
It was in such circumstances that the Bishops of France met in solemn conclave to discuss the momentous question ; Should they, or should they not, accept the Associations of Worship ? Their position was an extremely difficult one ; and to make it more difficult still, they were confronted with the circular of a number of distinguished laymen, most of them Members of the French Academy, and all of them good Catholics, urging them to make the most of the Law, and to tolerate the Associations. Were they to yield, the divine organization of the Church was im- perilled and the possibilities of a disastrous schism were only too apparent ; were they to refuse, the ecclesiastical property, the cathedrals, churches, seminaries, and pres- byteries would pass into the hands of the State, the pensions of the clergy would be suppressed, even Catholic worship might be declared illegal, and they themselves and their priests reduced to starvation. It was a trying situation, but the French Bishops rose to the occasion, and showed a
6 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
resolution and a courage worthy of the best traditions of their Church. Almost unanimously they condemned the Associations of Worship contemplated by the Law, as opposed to the constitution of the Church, though the majority were of the opinion that to prevent the confiscation of ecclesiastical property an attempt should be made to form other associations in conformity with Canon Law and which the Government might be induced to accept. Their decisions were carried by a special messenger to Rome, and the matter submitted to the final judgment of the Holy See.
The Pope fully recognized the awful responsibility of his position, and the momentous consequences of his decision. Though convinced of the injustice of the Law, he resolved to give it every consideration. The opinions of the ablest canonists, as well as the views of those best acquainted with the situation in France were sought for and obtained ; the possibility of reconciling the Associations of Worship with the doctrines and discipline of the Catholic Church was fully discussed and negatived ; and it was only when it was evident that no other solution could be found, that the Pope addressed to the Archbishops and Bishops of France, the memorable Encyclical, Gravissimo officii munere. He condemned the Associations of Worship as contemplated by the Law of Separation, and with regard to the other kind of associations proposed by the French Bishops, he prohibited their formation, because while the Law remained what it was — and there was no hope of a change — they could not exist without prejudice to the divine organization of the Church.
Many people — from some of whom better things might have been expected — have ventured to criticise and to question the wisdom of the Papal decision. But what other course was open to the Pope ? What would have been the result if he had weakly yielded ? The Associations were to be composed, for the greater part, of laymen, many of whom might never have crossed the threshold of a church since the day of their baptism or First Communion — Freemasons, secret infidels or anti-clerics ; they would have
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906
had under their control not only the entire ecclesiastical property, but also the regulation of public worship and the course of studies and discipline of the ecclesiastical seminaries ; they were entirely independent of their priest or bishop, and responsible for their administration only to the secular authorities ; and, lastly, if disputes arose between rival associations, or between the associations and the bishops, the final decision rested not with the Pope, or with an ecclesiastical tribunal, but with the Council of State. By the formation of such societies, hedged in by so many petty restrictions and possible illegalities, the French Church would have been slowly strangled to death, that is, if it were not immediately plunged into schism. Unless the Pope, then, were false to his most solemn obligations, and prepared to barter the divine rights of the Hierarchy, he could adopt no other course. It is a pity, in such circumstances, that the English Protestant papers could not have for once thrown aside their anti-Papal prejudices, and recognized that the Pope in his dealings with the French Republic was fighting not alone the battle of Catholicity, but of our common Christianity.
The Papal Encyclical, though its tenor might have been expected, came as a shock upon the Ministers in France. They had convinced themselves, possibly on account of the past forbearance of the Papacy, that Pius X would shrink from a conflict with such a powerful party. They had boasted that, whatever might be the decision of Rome, the Law must be enforced, and the churches, if necessary, closed. Now they began to waver before the terrible consequences which might ensue if an attempt were made to interfere with the form of worship of the majority of the nation. The passing of the Law was easy enough, but its application was not a thing to bo lightly undertaken. They looked to the French Bishops and clergy and Catholic people to assist them in their difficulties ; and it is no secret that they counted upon some defections even in the ranks of the Hierarchy.
But their hopes were quickly disappointed. The Bishops met in September, and a pastoral letter signed by
8 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
every single member of the Hierarchy was issuedlto the Catholic people of France, announcing their thorough agreement with the instructions of the Pope, and forbidding the formation of the Associations of Worship. Even the Catholic laymen who had signed the circular to the Bishops were not unmindful of their duties towards the sovereign Pontiff, and their leader, the late distinguished writer M. Brunetiere, was amongst the first to declare that no other course except submission was open to a loyal Catholic.
M. des Houx, at present a member of the Matin staff, and a few associates of a similar character, did indeed attempt to raise the flag of revolt, and their action was immediately trumpeted through the Press of Europe as the first disastrous consequence of the Papal obstinacy. But in France few were inclined to regard their movement as aught else but an ill-timed joke. Here and there a few adherents were found, some dozen or two Associations, the members of which could barely tell where the nearest church stood, were formed ; and, of course, in such a large body of ecclesiastics it could hardly be expected that individuals would not be found who, having cast off the yoke of episcopal authority, would be willing to lend a hand in any undertaking likely to discredit religion. But, on the whole, the movement has had little success, and even M. Briand himself could refer to it only with contempt.
Disappointed in their hopes of a schism, and finding themselves face to face with the condemnation of Rome, the Government hesitates before giving the order to close the churches, or suspend public worship. In the latest circular the churches are not to be closed, provided the clergy notify the authorities that they intend to hold religious service. This is in accordance with the Law of 1881, regulating meetings and assemblies, but M. Briand has graciously modified it so that instead of the notice to be given for each individual meeting in accordance with the strict terms of the Bill, one general notification will suffice for the year. But if the churches are to kept open, the seminaries, presbyteries, and episcopal residences are to
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906
be seized. The houses of the bishops and priests may be bought or rented, but the seminaries are to remain the property of the Commune, and are to be closed against clerical students. In other words while the Government feared to plunge France into civil war by immediately closing the churches, they counted upon the indifference and indolence of the French Catholics to secure the same result indirectly by cutting off the supply of French clergy. Of what advantage is it that the churches should remain open if there are no clergymen to minister in them ?
But the Pope is determined that France must under- stand the issues at stake. In reply to the circular of M. Briand he has forbidden the bishops and clergy to furnish the notification about public worship as required by the Law of 1881. They are to continue to minister after the expiration of the period of grace as if nothing has occurred. The Government accepted this order of the^Pope as a declaration of war. The Nunciature in Paris was surrounded, the papers of the unofficial Secretary were seized, and he himself conveyed across the frontier. How courageous the French Government has shown itself towards the Vatican compared with its cowardly cringing before England or Germany in connexion with Fashoda and Morocco ! What the issues of the conflict may be no man can with certainty foretell. One thing alone is certain, and that is that the Pope has made a courageous stand in defence of the liberties of the Church. He has shown the French clergy and Catholics a noble example, and it is for them now to make it clear that they are not unworthy of such a leader.
But, as if the conflict with France were not enough, Spain now threatens to follow in the wake of the Third Republic. No doubt the reports about the difficulties between the Vatican and Spain have been grossly ex- aggerated by a hostile Press, but still it is useless to deny that there is danger ahead, which can only be averted by a little self-restraint and concession on both sides We shall endeavour to briefly sketch the facts without intro- ducing any comments of our own. Spain has a Catholic
10 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
population of over eighteen millions, while the non-Catholics* including Jews, Protestants, Rationalists, etc., scarcely number twenty-five thousand. Its relations with the Vatican are regulated by the Concordat of 1851, modified in 1859, and later during the Nunciature of Cardinal Rampolla. Besides this a conventio referring specially to the religious Orders was negotiated in 1902, with which we shall deal in a moment.
Difficulties have arisen during the last few years, but so long as the Conservative party, under Seiior Maura, were in office, or even the Liberal party, under the leader- ship of Senor Sagasta, there was no danger of a serious conflict. But in the recent elections the Conservatives suffered a bad defeat, and the Liberals returning to office — Sagasta being dead — were led by men like Moret, who were less respectful of the rights of the Church. It was not long till difficulties began to arise. They are chiefly in connexion with four subjects : civil marriage, cemeteries, the toleration of non-Catholic worship, and the religious Orders. According to the interpretation of the laws in force, civil marriage was recognized only for those who were prepared to make a declaration that they were not Catholics. Thus, practically speaking, civil marriage was allowable only to non-Catholics, for even the most lukewarm child of the Church was slow to declare before the registrar that he had ceased to be a Catholic. Count Romanones, Minister of Justice, recently announced that such a preliminary was unnecessary, and that for the future civil marriage, whether of Catholics or non-Catholics, would be regarded by the State as sufficient and valid. The Bishops protested vigorously against such an innovation, and more especially the Bishop of Tuy, the style of whose pastoral would hardly be defended even by his warmest admirers. Proceedings were instituted against him, but Rome quickly interfered, and requested the Bishop not indeed to withdraw the substance, but to explain the heated passages of his circular. There is not much fear but that a little moderation and prudence will bring about a modus vivendi between the Vatican and Spain on this question of civil marriage.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906 II
Nor is there any serious difficulties about the two questions, the toleration of non-Catholic worship or the ownership of cemeteries. Till the present time only Catholic worship was allowed ; the private celebration of all other forms of religious service being permitted. Now there is question of proclaiming a general toleration, and on this point, too, whatever about ideals, Rome will certainly not provoke a breach
But the last point, namely the religious Orders, is the most serious of all. According to Article 29 of the Concordat of 1851, only three religious Orders of men are recognized — the Lazarists, the Oratorians, and one other to be determined either by the Pope and Spain, or by the individual bishops for their diocese. Now, in spite of that article there are to-day in Spain about 529 religious communities, containing nearly 11,000 members, not to speak of the 2,500 convents with a membership of over 40,000. What is to be the attitude of the State with regard to the non-legalized religious Orders ?
In 1902, Senor Sagasta submitted a project to the Holy See, by which the Concordat of 1851 would be rigidly enforced, and the religious Orders not covered by it placed under a particular law of associations, which he undertook to prepare. Before anything final could be done Sagasta died, and the Conservatives, under the leadership of Maura, undertook the Government. Senor Maura continued the work of his predecessor, and a conventio was drawn up by which the non-authorized Orders should be tolerated under the clause of the Concordat, guaranteeing the free exercise of the Catholic religion, but they should be subject to the common law. The Senate ratified the con- ventio but when it was put before the Cortes it was rejected. The Liberals returning to power in 1905, are split up into different sections, under different leaders, with different programmes. But on one thing they seem to be united, namely, on the necessity of reducing the numbers and influence and wealth of the religious Orders. They have presented a Bill on Associations, which in many points resembles the Law of Associations by which the present
12 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
irreligious war was begun in France. We do not know what may be the result, but from the brief sketch just given it may be seen that this subject, too, is evidently one for compromise, and we believe that the Holy See would not assume a non possumus attitude towards moderate demands of the Spanish Government.
In Prussia, perhaps, the most important event of the year, from the religious point of view, was the new Prussian law on Primary Education. The main provisions of the law cannot fail to interest readers in these countries, at a time when such an interest is being displayed on the question of religion in education. For a long time past denominational schools have been the rule in Prussia, and the undenominational were the exception ; so much so, that putting aside Posen, Nassau, and West Prussia, out of 25,000 school districts and 31,000 schools only thirty school districts could boast of undenominational primary schools. In Posen there is only a small per-centage (169 in all) undenominational ; it is a little higher for West Prussia (403 in all), but in Nassau, out of 780 schools, 697 are classed as denominational.
Now, according to the new law, the denominational school is to be legally recognized as the rule, and no deno- minational school at present existing can be henceforth changed into an undenominational one; nor in places where a denominational school is now recognized can an undenominational one be established, except for special reasons which were of such an extraordinary character that no description or example of them could be found for insertion in the law.
Besides, special protection is guaranteed to the religious minorities. In places where such a religious minority exists, if the number of school-going children be sixty, or over, they can demand the foundation of a separate school, to be sup- ported at the public cost. The Centre Party fought hard for the reduction of the qualifying number, but even as it stands it is a great advance on past legislation. No doubt the Catholics have not got all they desired ; they have had to make certain concessions to the other side, for the law
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906 13
is essentially a law of compromise ; everything is not as definitely regulated as we could wish, but taking it all in all, it sets an example which might well be imitated, and it demonstrates the friendly attitude of the most progressive nation in Europe towards the principle of religious education. No wonder that the representative of the Centre Party, on presenting himself before the Catholic Congress at Essen to give an account of the efforts of his comrades, was greeted with the warmest applause.
In Belgium, despite all prognostications to the contrary, the Catholic party still holds the reins of government. Their opponents were loudly proclaiming that at the next turn of the ballot the ' clerical ' majority would finally disappear ; and to be honest, not a few Catholics were of the sam'e opinion. The proposals for the fortifications of Antwerp had aroused a good deal of dissatisfaction in the country, and had put the loyalty of some of their sup- porters to too severe a strain ; nor was this feeling improved when King Leopold personally interfered in a public speech against the opponents of the measure. His ill-timed and imprudent remarks only served to strengthen the opposition and to increase the difficulties of the Catholic party. Yet in spite of these causes for disagreement, when, according to the Constitution of Belgium, one half the Chamber of Deputies presented themselves for re-election before their constitutents in May, the Catholic party, though diminished in numbers, retained a substantial majority. The reduction of their numbers ought to be a lesson to them not to embark on important legislation without the approval of their supporters, however high the quarter from which pressure may be brought upon them.
The question of the Congo ' atrocities ' has been much discussed in connexion with Belgian affairs during the past few years. The ignorance of most of the newspaper correspondents and reviewers about the true situation in Congo is only equalled by their bigotry and national prejudice. By the decisions of the Congress of Berlin Congo was recognized as an independent state, and placed under the sovereignty of Leopold II, King of the Belgians.
14 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
The union with Belgium is, therefore, for the present, only a personal union, though the King, by a will of 1889, has bequeathed his rights in Congo to the Belgian nation. It has a population of thirty million people, exclusive of the foreigners, and is rich especially in its exportation of rubber. In the year 1902, for example, the value of the exports in this article alone amounted to nearly forty-two million francs. Immense sums have been spent by the King and the Government of Belgium during the last twenty years in developing the resources of Congo, in constructing railways, and in organizing a regular transport service. But, unfortunately for Belgium, Congo lies on the borders of the newly-acquired English states in South Afrcia ; and its commercial value as a colony has excited the greed of the English traders, now that they have grabbed the South African gold mines. Besides, it would come in convenient for the construction of a railway between England's territories in South Africa and in Egypt.
In addition to this the English missionaries were jealous of certain concessions made by the Belgian Government to the Catholic religious Orders. Belgium naturally favours her own children, who are more likely to develop Belgian influence, and strengthen Belgium's hold on the country, than the subjects of a competing power. Keeping these two facts, then, well in mind — the commercial greed of England and the dissatisfaction of the Protestant mis- sionaries— it is not difficult to understand the well-organized campaign in the Press and on the platform that has been going on for the past two or three years against the ' atrocities ' of the Congo Free State. We do not, however, mean to contend that everything was perfect in the administration of the Congo, or that things did not happen there which must be condemned by every honest man. The Report of the Commission of Inquiry would give the lie to any such assertion. But we do say that things were never one-eighth so bad as they were painted in the English Press, and that in recent years, more especially since the publication of the Commission report, sufficient steps have been taken to prevent the repetition of such abuses.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1006 15
Besides, those who are themselves responsible for such a state of affairs in Africa as the Chinese Labour Report would seem to indicate, should at least set their own house in order before undertaking to assist their neighbour. The German African scandals are well known, but then Germany does not set herself before the world as the upholder of truth and the defender of the oppressed.
In Switzerland, though at some of the elections the Catholic union with other parties was not so successful as it might have been, yet on the whole the Catholic position continues to be most encouraging. In imitation of their German brethren they established last year a Swiss Catholic Congress, which held its first meeting in Lucerne. This year Fribourg was selected for the assembly, and despite the inconveniences of its situation, over twenty thousand people assembled from all the Cantons of Switzer- land. Questions of interest to Catholics, education, public morality, social organization and literature, were discussed ; and it is significant of the liberal spirit of the Congress that some of the Protestant papers declared that Protestants might have taken part in the deliberations, not only without danger of offence, but with feelings of joy and enthusiasm.
The scheme drawn up by M. Henri Fazy for the separa- tion of Church and State in the Canton of Geneva will be of interest to our readers in view of the war going on in France. Geneva was the home of Calvinism, and yet, according to the statistics of 1905, the Calvinist population of the Canton is only 64,237, while the number of Catholics reaches the total of 75,491. The ' National Church,' or Old Catholic Party, can boast of only 200 members. Since 1870 the Catholics, though supporting the budget for Public Worship, were allowed no help from the State, so that besides supporting their own religion they had to contribute to the upkeep of the Protestant and Old Catholic Churches. But, according to this scheme of separation, all religions will be placed upon an equality, and will receive no assistance from the State. They are allowed full freedom, and may organize themselves as they please. The Catholics are naturally delighted with such a solution, since it relieves
16 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
them from taxation for the upkeep of the religious worship of the sects, and secures to them the magnificent church of Ste. Marie, which has been in the hands of the Old Catholics for the past thirty years.
In Austria the difficulties with the other member of the Dual Monarchy, which threatened to lead to civil war, have been settled for the present. The new law on the electoral reform seems to completely engage public atten- tion during the last few months. Whether it will seriously affect Church interests or not we cannot forecast, but at any rate, the Catholic party are confident that it will improve their position. During the last few years the Austrian Catholics have imitated the example of their brethren in Germany, and with unexpected results. For example, during the year an agitation was being organized in favour of divorce, and petitions were being hawked around in favour of some such legislation. The Central Catholic Committee, founded only in November, 1905, began an opposition campaign, and in two months counter petitions with over four and a half million signatures were lodged against any change in favour of divorce. Judging by the pastoral of the Austrian Bishops at their last synod, the question is not entirely disposed of, for their lordships took that opportunity of protesting vigorously against divorce and the laicisation of the schools, v In Prussian Poland the language question has been creating trouble for the past few years, but the crisis came when the Prussian school authorities insisted that the religious instruction should be given in German. Needless to say the order was bitterly resented by the parents of the children, and they encouraged the children to refuse to answer when questioned in German by the teacher. The children were not slow to follow that advice, and neither threat nor punishment could induce them to change their views. As a result an agitation against German authority has been aroused, such as has rarely before been witnessed, and feeling on both sides could hardly be more bitter. The Polish clergy are naturally on the side of their people, and the aged Archbishop of Posen, Mgr. Stablewski,
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906 17
though counselling moderation took care to make it clear that he, too, condemned the new move in the game of Germanization. He and his Chapter addressed a vigorous petition to the Emperor to request his interference in favour of the introduction of the Polish tongue for religious instruction. Many rumours have been set on foot about the attitude of the Vatican, and about the mission of Cardinal Kopp to Rome ; but these are for the most part the inventions of newspaper correspondents. One thing only is for so far certain, and that is, that the Pope has not disavowed the action of the Archbishop and his Chapter, nor has he instructed the clergy to take up a different attitude- from what they have done. It is not likely that he will act differently in the future.
In America the past year has produced no wonderful developments in ecclesiastical affairs. The Federation of the Catholic Societies undertaken by Bishop M'Faul, of Trenton, of which he gave the Pope such a glowing account a short time ago, seems to have taken root. According to the Bishop's statement, the Society can boast of a member- ship of well over a million, and has already secured the approval of most of the American Hierarchy. The new missionary movement, too, has developed rapidly in the United States during the past ten years. We refer to the missions to non-Catholics in America, and not to the American assistance to such societies as the Propagation of the Faith, though it deserves to be recorded that America has already given substantial proof that she is prepared, if need be, to take up the place so long held by France. The founder of the Paulist Fathers was the first to seriously advocate the idea of missions to non-Catholics. His spiritual children have naturally thrown themselves heart and soul into the work, while other religious Orders have volunteered assistance. But besides these many of the bishops have set aside a few of their more promising priests to undertake a similar work. For the special instruction of those who are to be associated in such a campaign, a House of Missions has been established on the grounds~of the Catholic University in Washington. During its second
VOL. XXI. B
1 8 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
year of existence thirty-five priests availed themselves of this opportunity, amongst whom were representatives of nearly all the religious Orders. In New York alone, it appears that during the past year over 1,500 converts have been received into the Church ; in Alabama, where the Catholics are only a handful in the midst of a Protestant population, 537 have made their submission, while through out the United States, according to the reports of the Society, the total number of converts is estimated at about 28,000. The establishment, too, of Catholic Halls in connexion with many of the great American Universities is also a noteworthy sign of the trend of events beyond the Atlantic. The Catholic students were frequenting these institutions in large numbers, and it was time that some- thing should be done to safeguard the spiritual welfare of such men at a very dangerous crisis in their lives.
In Mexico, though the Church is hampered by many restrictions, there are some signs of improvement ; whilst in the South American States the Church is, if anything, gaining ground. The Pope graciously offered his services as mediator between Columbia and Peru, and his arbitra- tion was accepted by both parties. In the Transvaal a great Catholic conference of laymen and ecclesiastics was held to discuss the position of affairs under the new regime ; and in Australia, the Third Plenary Council of the Aus- tralian Bishops was held at Sydney in December, on the occasion of which Cardinal Moran had the pleasure of witnessing the solemn consecration of St. Mary's Cathedral. In England the important question of Primary Education has largely occupied the public attention during the past year. The Bill as presented to the House of Commons was distinctly unfavourable to the Catholic schools ; and if it had passed into law in the shape in which it was proposed, the Catholic schools must either have lost their religious character, or, withdrawing themselves from public control, depended solely upon the private contributions of their supporters. Owing mainly to the strenuous exertions of the Irish Party, some few concessions were obtained during the debates in the Commons, but when the third reading
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1906
had been voted by a large majority the Catholic demand for Catholic teachers in Catholic schools, with the right of imparting religious education, remained completely un- satisfied. The House of Lords however, had still to be dealt with, and though it must be confessed that their Lordships bestowed most of their sympathy on the Anglican demands, yet their action had this beneficial result, that the Bill did not immediately pass into law, and the Government once more had an opportunity of reconsidering the Catholic position. If, as would appear probable from the recent debates in the Commons, the Ministers are willing to make Clause 4 mandatory, and extend it also to non-urban districts with a population less than five thousand, and if besides, they accept a Parents' Advisory Committee, with at leas't a right of veto on the appointment of a teacher, it might not be unadvisable for the Catholics to accept the concession. Their position would not be the ideal one, but it might be at least as good a settlement as anything that the future is likely to bring.
In Ireland, too, the Education question, but mainly under a different aspect, has been the subject of constant discussion. Indeed if discussions could remove our Uni- versity disabilities, the work achieved in that direction during the past year should have been in itself amply sufficient. But, unfortunately, our bitter experience during the last fifty years clearly demonstrates that no amount of speeches or letters will secure the fulfilment of our legitimate demands. Yet there have been some noteworthy develop- ments during the past year. A commission to investigate the affairs of Trinity College, and to see in what way its sphere of usefulness could be extended by bringing it more in touch with Irish feeling, has been appointed, and has held its sittings. Its conclusions will be interesting, even though ineffectual. The movement, too, in favour of a University for Munster, supported and strengthened as it is from so many and so different quarters, introduces a new element that must be seriously reckoned with. For the results of both we must await the coming year.
JAMES MACCAFFREY.
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
THE distinguishing characteristic of the University of Oxford, as well as of Cambridge, undoubtedly is the existence of a number of separate corporations or Colleges, absolutely distinct from and working side^by side with the University. The relations between the University and the Colleges are very puzzling to foreigners and even to Englishmen, who have not had experience of them. The Colleges are distinct corporations, and the University has no legal jurisdiction over them. A member of a College is, as an individual, a member also of the University, and the University requires that all its members shall be members of a College or Hall, or be registered as non-collegiate students, in which case, though they reside in licensed lodgings, they come under the jurisdiction of the Censor of the non-collegiate body, who, assisted by delegates appointed by the University, provides for them the same kind of education which it is the function of a College (Head and Fellows) to provide in the case of collegiate students.
The University cannot directly control the corporate acts of any College, or its officers. As Cardinal Newman wrote : —
The University had no means of acting upon the Colleges ; it was but a name or a privilege ; it was not a body or a power. This seems to me the critical evil in the present state of the English Universities, not that the Colleges are strong, but that the University has no practical or real jurisdiction over them. Over the members of Colleges it has jurisdiction, but even then, not as such, but because they are its own members also ; over the Head of the College, over the Fellows, over the corporate body, over its property, over its officers, over its acts and regulations within its own precincts, the University has no practical jurisdiction at all.
Since, however, the object for which the members of the Colleges reside in Oxford is to obtain the degree which
THE. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 21
is given by the University, they are obliged to conform to its regulations, and the University could indeed exercise any authority which it pleased over the Colleges, by re- fusing to recognize members of any College who refused to keep its rules. With the exception of requiring an officer of the College to certify that a candidate has kept the required residence, and several other minor regu- lations, the University rarely interferes. Still, it does insist on a certain amount of discipline being observed by the students outside the walls of their Colleges. It is not, as in the Scotch and French Universities, where, outside the lecture-room, the student is free to come and go as he pleases. When treating later on of the office of the Proctors, the precise nature of this discipline will be further explained.
The Professors are University officials ; Tutors and Lecturers are College officials ; these two bodies form two wholly distinct systems. The harmony that exists between them is preserved by the Boards of Faculties which draw up lists of lectures, both by University Professors and College teachers, most of whom now open their Honour lectures to all members of the University, whilst giving private instruction to pupils of their own College. The majority of students receive by far the greater part of their education from College Tutors and Lecturers — not from Professors. Commenting on this, Andrew Lang has written : —
The hardest worked of men is a conscientious College Tutor ; and almost all College Tutors are conscientious. The Pro- fessors being an ornamental, but (with few exceptions) merely ornamental order of beings, the Tutors have to do the work of a University, which, for a moment, is a teaching machine.
The relationship between the University and the Colleges has been used by Mr. Bryce as an illustration of the relations between the Federal Government and the separate States of the American Union. Though the parallel is close enough for all pracical purposes, Mr. Rashdall has pointed out this difference : —
That, in place of the strict limitation of spheres established
22 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
by the American Constitution, the jurisdiction of both Uni- versity and College, if either chose to exercise them, is legally unlimited. Expulsion from a College would not involve ex- pulsion from the University, unless the University chose so to enact ; nor could expulsion from the University prevent a man continuing to be a member or even Fellow of a College. The University's monoply of the power of granting degrees is the only connecting link which ensures their harmonious co- operation.1
The University is a body of about 13,000 men, whose names are on the books of the University as well as on those of some one of the Colleges or Halls. They are either graduates or undergraduates, but only a small proportion of the former are in residence, whilst only a small proportion of the latter are not in residence. Graduates not in resi- dence continue to be members of the University, so long as they pay certain dues to the University chest. Those members of the University who have not taken the degrees of Master of Arts, or of Doctor of Civil Law, Medicine, or Divinity, have no share in its government. This is in the hands of four distinct bodies.
1. House of Convocation. — This is composed of all the members of the University who have taken the degree of Master of Arts, or of Doctor of Civil Law, Medicine, or Divinity, whether they are residing at the University or not. It is the superior governing body, makes permanent statutes or temporary decrees, and controls the expenditure of the University revenues. It is very rare for non- residents to attend. Its members have also the privilege of voting for the University representatives in Parliament, and it is chiefly on account of this that very many continue to keep their names on the books of the University.
2. The Congregation of the University of Oxford. — This consists of certain officials who have seats independent of residence, and of all members of Convocation who reside in Oxford within one mile and a half of Carfax for 140 days in the year. This body has the sole right to amend
1 Rashdall's Universities of Europe, vol. ii., p. 793.
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 23
statutes, and before a statute can be introduced to Con- vocation it must be passed by Congregation.
3. The Ancient House of Congregation. — Its members are all Doctors and Masters of Arts for the space of two years after their admission to their respective degrees, all Professors, University Examiners, resident Doctors, and all Heads and Deans of Colleges and Principals of Halls. Its duties are to confer all ordinary degrees and appoint Examiners, who are subsequently approved by Convo- cation. The functions of this House are now merely formal, for it never refuses degrees to candidates, who have passed their examinations and complied with the ordinary statutory conditions, and in practice the nine Regents necessary for the conferment of a degree are made up of the Deans who attend to present candidates for their respective Colleges.
4. The Hebdomadal Council. — This is composed of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the ex- Vice-Chancellor for a certain period after the expiration of his term of office, the two Proctors, and eighteen other members elected by Congregation. Six of these must be chosen from the Heads of Colleges and Halls, six from the Professors, and six from members of Convocation of five years' standing. It is the exclusive right of this Council to initiate proposals of all kinds to be laid before Convocation.
Such is the machinery for the government of the University, and the practical working of it is as follows. The proposed statute is initiated by the Hebdomadal Council and voted on. It is then laid before Congregation. If the voice of Congregation is favourable to the proposed statute then the principle of the measure is considered to be affirmed. The members of Congregation are next allowed to propose amendments, which, after due notice, are dis- cussed and voted on. The measure thus amended is laid before Convocation, which is bound to accept it or reject it absolutely without amendment. This is the method of procedure for statutes only ; for decrees and money grants proposed by the Hebdomadal Council are voted directly by Convocation on a proposal introduced by the Hebdomadal Council.
24 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
Passing now to the officials, the principal ones are the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the High Steward, the Proctors, and the Professors. The Chancellor of the University, elected for life by Convocation, is a non-resident officer, so that the executive power is chiefly in the hands of his deputy, the Vice-Chancellor, who is nominated annually by the Chancellor. Usually, the Vice-Chancellor holds office for four years, and is chosen from the Heads of Colleges in turn ; he appoints as his deputies four pro- Vice-Chancellors. His duties are very numerous, for he has to superintend the entire working of the University. He is required to reside in the University, to see that all statutory meetings take place in due order, and that only worthy men be promoted to degrees. He has to punish wrong-doers, and to inquire into the causes of evil. Along with the Proctors he has to guard the liberties of the University and all its records and registers, and preside over the Court of the University, known as the Vice- Chancellor's Court, where he exercises an inferior criminal jurisdiction over the members of the University.
The High Steward is appointed for life by the Chan- cellor, and approved by Convocation. Theoretically, offences of the gravest class should come under the cog- nizance of this officer, but practically his jurisdiction is obsolete.
After the Vice-Chancellor the two Proctors are the most important officers. They are required to be graduates of at least four and not more than fifteen years' standing in the degree of Master of Arts, and are elected annually by the Colleges in rotation. Each Proctor nominates two pro-Proctors (M.A.'s of at least three years' standing) to act as their deputies. These officers are responsible for the discipline of all members of the University who are in statu pupillari, i.e., who have not taken one of the superior degrees. They have to manage all University businessg act as assessors to the Chancellor and scrutators of votes, be present at the conferring of degrees, attend the Heb- domadal Council, and see that the Statutes are observed in examinations. The nature of the discipline, which is
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 25
exercised by the University over its junior members, and which the Proctors have to guard, will be understood from the following list of rules lately issued by the Vice- Chancellor : —
A. Undergraduates are forbidden :
(1) to visit the bar of any hotel, public-house, or restaurant ;
(2) to give dinners in hotels, or other licensed premises,
without leave, which may be obtained from the Proctor on presentation of a written permission from the College, and a list of the guests ;
(3) to give dances during Term, or to take part in public
subscription dances given during Term ;
(4) to play billiards before I p.m., or after 10 p.m.
(5) to visit any place of entertainment which has not
received the Vice-Chancellor's licence. A notice that this licence has been granted is printed at the head of the programme of each entertainment (e.g. at the Theatre) : except in the case of enter- tainments given by Colleges or by such University Clubs or Societies as have standing leave for their performances (e.g. certain Musical Societies) ;
(6) to attend any public race-meeting in the neighbourhood
of Oxford ;
(7) to take part in pigeon-shooting, or similar sports ;
(8) to take part in any game or amusement which is
scandalous or offensive ;
(9) to keep any form of motor-car or motor-cycle without
leave, which may be obtained from the Junior
Proctor on presentation of a written permission
from the College ; (10) to obstruct or annoy any University officer in the
discharge of his duty ; (n) to smoke in public in Academical Dress.
B. ' Academical Dress ' consists of the cap and gown (see Statt. Tit. XIV. § 3, pp. 303, 4, ed. 1905). Both must be worn whenever an Undergraduate has occasion
(a) to appear before the Vice-Chancellor or Proctors or
any other University official ; (6) to visit the Examination Schools or Bodleian Library ;
(c) to attend any University ceremony ;
(d) to be out of College after 9 p.m. in the Summer Term,
or after 8 p.m. in the Winter Terms. When an Undergraduate presents himself for a Univer-
26 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
sity Examination in the Schools, or for receiving a Degree, he must wear, with the Academical Dress, either a black coat and dark trousers, or a dark blue or dark grey suit. A white tie must be worn, and coloured waistcoats, shirts, or collars are not admissible.
Breaches of these rules are punished by pecuniary fines, gating (confinement within the walls of the offender's College, Hall, or lodgings after a certain hour), rustication (banishment from the University for a definite period) or expulsion from the University.
The Professors, appointed by Boards of Electors, are sixty-two in number. There are seven in the Faculty of Theology, six in the Faculty of Law, six in the Faculty of Medicine, twelve in the Faculty of Natural Science, and thirty-one in the Faculty of Arts. The Statutes declare that their duties are, ' in their different departments to give instruction to students, assist the pursuit of know- ledge and contribute to the advancement of it, and aid generally the work of the University.' Their lectures must be open to all without the payment of any fee. Under the present arrangement, many College Tutors and Lecturers give lectures which differ from professorial lectures only in name, while many of the Professors are, to some extent, occupied with tuition undertaken either as a necessary part of their teaching as Professors, or a duty entrusted to them by a College in which they may hold the position of Tutor or Lecturer. In this way professorial teaching and the teaching of the different Colleges is mingled together and the whole system both of teaching and examining is organized by the Boards of Faculties and the Boards of Studies. These bodies administer the statutes under which examinations are held, and exercise a strict supervision over the majority of lectures publicly delivered by Professors, College Tutors, and Lecturers. To aid these Boards in their work of organization each Professor must give to the Secretary of the Board timely notice of the lectures he proposes to give. Heads of Colleges are also required to present to the Secretary lists of lectures (open to all students) which are to be given under the authority
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 27
of the different Colleges. Each Board then prepares and sends to the Vice-Chancellor for publication before the end of each Term a list of lectures for the following Term in the subjects of the Faculty. These lists are published by the Vice-Chancellor, and copies are sent to the Heads of Colleges and Halls to be affixed to their several notice boards.
Some account of these Boards of Faculties is necessary. The word ' Faculty ' originally denoted one of the branches of study in which the University granted degrees. At Oxford the full privileges of a degree can be obtained only in the four Faculties of Theology, Law, Medicine, and Arts. Now, owing to the recent institution of a number of Final Honour Schools, it has become possible to take a degree in Arts after a course of studies which properly belongs to the province of some one of the other Faculties.1 This resulted in a complexity of studies which could not be satisfactorily supervised by the one Faculty of Arts. The Act of 1877 simplified matters : it retained the word ' Faculty/ but denned it to be ' any branch or aggregate of branches of the studies pursued in the University which for the time being shall be represented by a separate Board.' So now the Faculties are Theology, Law, Medicine, Natural Science (which includes Mathematics) and Arts (repre- sented by the three Faculty Boards of Literae Humaniores, Oriental Languages, and Modern History). This arrange- ment has made better provision for the supervision of the work, but there still remains the peculiarity that the University is granting fully privileged degrees in four Faculties, whilst controlling the lectures and examinations by seven distinct Boards of Faculties.
Each of the seven Boards of Faculties consists of the Pro- fessors and Readers of the Faculty, and an equal number of other members elected by College Tutors and Lecturers, together with a small number of co-opted members. Each Board elects its own chairman, but all have a permanent secretary in common.
1 For instance the B.A. degree is conferred on one whose studies may have been mainly theological ; also a science student does not receive a B.Sc., but a B.A. degree. At Oxford the B.Sc. is a ' research ' degree and the recipient of it has no voice in the government of the University.
28 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
These bodies, together with six Boards of Studies (which in the main are mixed committees drawn from two or more Boards of Faculties), are invested with the control of all examinations in which a candidate must show proficiency, before he can supplicate for a degree in Arts or in any of the superior Facul- ties. They are required to exercise a general supervision over the subjects of examination in the several ' schools ' placed under their charge, to issue lists of books and subjects from time to time, and to fix, if they think fit, the minimum amount of work to be offered by candidates for Honours. All ' public ' lectures are placed under their superintendence, that is to say, all lectures to which all members of the University are admitted either by right, as in the case of those delivered by Professors and Readers, or by arrangement, as in the case of those delivered by Tutors and Lecturers. The power of the Boards in this department is limited to the recommendation of any alteration that they may think necessary in the day, the hour, or the subject of a lecture. If their recommendations are disregarded by any Lecturer other than a Professor or Reader, the lecture in question may be excluded from the official list. In the case of a Professor or Reader the Boards cannot exclude such a lecture, but may report the matter to the Vice-Chancellor. This places a very considerable authority in the hands of the Boards, since the ' Honour ' lectures advertised in the official list are open to those Colleges only which them- selves contribute a lecture to the list. Consequently, a Lecturer whose name was excluded from the list of his Faculty might find his pupils debarred from attending any lectures but his own.1
The Boards of Studies mentioned above as being com- mittees drawn from the Boards of Faculties are concerned with the supervision of Responsions, the examination in}Holy Scripture, the First Public Examination of candi- dates not seeking Honours (commonly called ' Pass Modera- tions '), the examinations in certain groups of the Pass School in the Second Public Examination, the Examination in the Final Honour School of the English Language and Literature, and the Examination in the Final Honour School of Modern Languages. Various titles are given to the different examiners : those for Responsions are ' Masters of the Schools ; ' those for the First Public are termed
1 Student's Handbook, p. 1 10.
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 29
' Moderators ; ' those for the Second Public are named ' Public Examiners.' Each examiner is nominated by a committee of no fewer than six, three of whom are the Vice-Chancellor and the two, Proctors, while the other three are chosen by one or more of the Boards of Faculties. The Masters of the Schools must be members of the Uni- versity, but this is not the case with Moderators and Public Examiners, except in the Honour School of Theology, which requires the examiners to be members of Convoca- tion in Priest's orders. Before entering upon the work of examining, the examiner takes an oath in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor to perform his duties, ' Sedulo et fideliter, sepositis omni odia et amicitia.'
As before stated, the Colleges are corporate bodies distinct from the University : they manage their own pro- perty, and elect their own officers, and the Proctors have no powers within their walls. Strictly speaking, the members of a College are only those who are members of the corporation or foundation of that College.
The origin of the Colleges was due to benevolent persons, who desired to relieve a certain number of poor scholars from some of the hardships of their life at the medieval universities, and in order to do this, provided a building in which such scholars could live a common life. The early college consisted of a head and scholars, endowed with board and lodging by means of buildings and revenues provided by the founder. The senior scholars were engaged in teaching, and the juniors in learning ; the seniors were each others ' fellows,' and gradually the term ' Fellow ' became appropriated to the senior or governing members of the college, while the term ' Scholar ' was restricted to the junior members.
Fellowships now are competed for by examination ; they are held for a definite period only, and such things as ' Life-Fellowships ' are things of the past. The length of tenure varies from two years to fifteen ; but the holder may always be re-appointed for successive periods, varying from fifteen years to five. The candidate usually chosen is the one who has been most successful in the examination,
30 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
but it must be understood that the ' College ' is not so bound. No matter how clever and brilliant a candidate may be, there might be many reasons, personal or otherwise, which would render him undesirable to the College, and therefore, such a one might be rejected by the electors who are the already existing Fellows. In the case of one College it has been playfully said that for a candidate to be suc- cessful he must be bene natus, bene vestitus et mediocriter doctus. It is also the privilege of the Fellows to elect the Head of the College.
There are two kinds of Fellowships, Ordinary or non- Official and Official. The first kind are simply rewards for proficiency in the various subjects studied in the University, and the holders of them are not bound to reside in Oxford, or to serve their Colleges in any way. The Official Fellow- ships are chiefly intended to be held by members of the teaching staff of the Colleges in some cases they may be held by those who serve the College in other capacities than that of teaching, e.g., the Bursar. If an Official Fellow marries within seven years of the date of his election, he must vacate his Fellowship ; he may, however, be re-elected provided there are a certain number of unmarried Fellows resident in the College.
A long time elapsed in the history of the Colleges before it became the custom to admit paying boarders termed ' Commoners.' So now in most of the Oxford Colleges there are the Head, the Fellows, the Scholars, and Com- moners ; but the Head, together with the Fellows form the governing body, while the Head, the Fellows, and the Scholars form the corporate body. As exceptions to this rule it ought to be mentioned here, that there are no Scholars at All Souls' ; no Fellows at Keble ; and that Christ Church, being a Chapter as well as a College, includes as members of the foundation the Dean and Canons, as well as the ' Students ' (who correspond in most respects to the Fellows of other Colleges), and the Scholars. At the present time there are twenty-one Colleges in Oxford, one Academical Hall, St. Edmund's, and three Private Halls. These Private Halls exist under a statute of the University
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 31
passed in 1882, according to which the Vice-Chancellor and Hebdomadal Council are allowed to license a member of Convocation, above the age of twenty-eight, to open a house as a Private Hall for the reception of undergraduates. One of these Private Halls belongs to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, another to the Benedictines of Ampleforth Abbey, and the third to a private individual. When a student wishes to enter the University he must first have his name entered on the books of some College or Hall, or as a non-Collegiate student ; and within fifteen days of admission he must be presented tor Matriculation to the Vice-Chancellor, by the proper officer of the society which he has joined.
The University cannot matriculate anyone who is not a member of some College or Hall, but never refuses to matriculate any duly presented Collegian. The newly- admitted student is taken to the Vice-Chancellor, and after his name has been entered on the University register, he is ceremonially received and presented with a copy of the Statutes. For all practical purposes he then comes almost entirely under the jurisdiction of his College, which places him under the guidance of a Tutor, who is responsible for his teaching and direction. The Tutor marks out for him a course of lectures, and appoints certain times for private interviews.
The College discipline to which he is subjected is supple- mentary to that of the University. Each College has its own special code, but certain general regulations are common to all. These require the student to begin residence in each term on a certain specified day, to reside during the pre- scribed time, and not to leave Oxford for the day or for the night without permission. He is usually expected to attend the chapel of his College, but he is not compelled to do so, and may attend roll-call instead. In the case of our Catholic undergraduates, attendance at morning Mass in the oratory provided for them, is accepted by most Colleges in place of ' Chapel ' or ' Roll-Call.' The gates of all Colleges and Halls are closed a little after nine o'clock at night : after that no one is allowed to pass out without
32 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
special permission ; and a small fine is often imposed upon those who come in. Anyone who passes the night out^of his College without special permission is liable to be punished very severely. The rules referring to work are stricter in some Colleges than in others. Many Colleges will not admit candidates who do not intend to read for Honours, and most of the Colleges require their under- graduates to pass certain examinations within a specified time ; failure to do so is often punished by ' rustication.'
The B.A. degree is the one usually aimed at, and the examinations for it are (i) two rigidly defined compulsory examinations, viz., (a) Responsions, (b) Holy Scripture, which is not compulsory for those who object to it on religious grounds — these may substitute some Greek author ; (2) two so-called Public Examinations, where the subjects offered depend upon the choice of candidates made from a wide scheme of alternatives. Responsions is not unusually passed before Matriculation, and it is important to note that the very least qualification which any Oxford College requires of those to be enrolled on its books is ability to pass Responsions. Many Colleges require for their membership qualifications far in advance of those needed to pass Responsions ; in fact, each College is its own judge, quite apart from any regulation of the University, of the proper requirements for admission through its membership to Matriculation in the University.
The First and Second Public Examinations embrace many alternative courses. If the candidate merely wishes to prepare for the Pass School, he takes Pass Moderations for his First (a continuation mainly of the elementary Greek and Latin studies tested in Responsions), and his Second Public Examination will consist in satisfying the examiners in three of seventeen subjects which together form four ' Groups,' the three subjects being chosen from three different Groups. Classical subjects form one group, modern subjects a second, mathematical and scientific subjects a third, and a religious subject a fourth.
Another way of proceeding would be to take Pass Moderations for the First and one of the numerous Honour
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 33
Schools for the Second Public Examination. Again, Honour Moderations might be taken for the First, and the Groups of the Final Pass School for the Second. Still another way presents itself, and that is to take Honours in both the First and Second Public Examinations. jj^l There is no space here to enter any further on the various ways which the University offers for approaching a degree. Reference should be made to the Examination Statutes, which are regularly published by the Clarendon Press ; but it should be mentioned here, that once the degree of B.A. has been received, there is no further exami- nation for the degree of M.A. ; it is only required that the candidate's name be kept on the books of a College and of the University for a number of terms, until the twenty- seventh term from the date of Matriculation has been completed. Then, on payment of the necessary fees, the higher degree of M.A. can be received.
Besides the passing of examinations something more is required from candidates for degrees, viz., a certain period of residence within the statutory boundaries of the University. Excepting in music, no Oxford degree can be granted without residence, and for the B.A. degree a residence of two years and eight months (twelve terms in all) is required. This period of two years and eight months is of course broken up by the Vacations. There are four terms in each year : Michaelmas Term, from the middle of October to the middle of December ; Hilary Term, from the middle of January to the middle of March; Easter Term, from the first or second Sunday after Easter, for a period of four weeks, followed immediately without any break by Trinity Term, which finishes about the third week in June. A year's residence is thus composed of four terms, two of which are eight weeks in length, and the remaining two only four weeks each, making a total of twenty-four weeks. The ' residence ' necessary for undergraduates requires that they take their meals and pass their nights under certain restrictions ; their place of abode must be either one of the Colleges or Halls, or lodgings licensed by the University Delegacy of Lodging Houses. These VOL. xxi. c
34 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
licensed lodgings may be used either by members of a College or Hall where no rooms have been assigned to them, or by non-Collegiate students.
It is impossible here to enter into the question of the cost of an Oxford education. Very much depends upon the individual concerned, for though University fees, examination fees, and tutors' fees are always the same, and can be definitely stated, this cannot be done with regard to board, lodging, and personal expenses. Much depends upon the College which is chosen, but much more depends upon the tastes and habits of those whom an undergraduate makes his friends. In the different Colleges, and indeed oftentimes in the same College, there are many varieties of undergraduates who have very various ways of occupying and amusing themselves, which, on the one hand, lead to much expense, and. on the other, to very little.
A steady man, that reads his five or six hours a-day, and takes his pastime chiefly on the river, finds that his path scarcely ever crosses that of him who belongs to the Bullingdon Club, hunts thrice a-week, and rarely dines in hall. Then the ' pale student ' who is hard at work in his rooms or in the Bodleian all day, and who has only two friends, out-college men, with whom he takes walks and tea — he sees existence in a very different aspect.
An attempt has been made in this ' article ' to explain the somewhat peculiar constitution of the University, to point out how the University and the different Colleges work together for the education of their members, and to indicate the system of teaching and discipline which is now pursued at Oxford. In a paper of this length it is impossible to be anything more than superficial, for the Statuta Universitatis Oxoniensis is a bulky volume, and one which cannot be satisfactorily condensed into a few pages.
G. E. HIND, O.S.B.
[ 35 ]
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS: THE PENTATEUCH
DIALOGUE III.
PO'F. — From our last interview, I am satisfied that there has been from the time of Moses himself up to the present a constant, unbroken and firm tradi- tion amongst the Jews that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. Since then, however, I have read that there is no mention of Moses or his achievements in the ancient histories of Egypt. This seems strange. A wonder-worker such as he, if we are to believe all that is written about him in the Pentateuch, should have figured largely in the contemporary history of Egypt at least.
FR. O'B. — The question you propose is a very natural one. I know, too, who gave rise to the statement that there is no mention of Moses by any of the Egyptian his- torians. It was Voltaire, with his usual cynical levity. However, my answer is this : Even if I were to grant that all the Egyptian historians were silent about Moses, this silence could not destroy the force of the positive, clear, and constant tradition amongst the Jewish people them- selves. The latter is a positive argument, the former at best a mere negative one, which in case of conflict must yield to the former. Then you are to bear in mind that the sacred records of the Jews are far anterior to any existing profane history. Furthermore, very few of the writings of the Egyptians were preserved, and those that are, are of a comparatively recent period. But as a matter of fact it is not true to say, that Egyptian historians were alto- gether silent about Moses, or regarded him as a mere figment. Josephus Flavius, the historian of the Jews, in his first book against Appian, quotes Manethon, one of the most ancient of the Egyptian historians, and his reference to Moses and his exploits. Chaeremon, another Egyptian historian, also speaks of Moses and his exodus from Egypt.
36 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
Then Strabo, one of the most renowned historians of the Greeks, in the sixteenth book of his History, alludes to the departure of Moses with his people out of Egypt ; their taking possession of Palestine, and setting up of the worship of the true God, having abjured the worship of the idols. And Strabo, you are to bear in mind, lived in the century before Christ, was well educated, and travelled much in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were visited by him, as a result of which he com- posed his geographical history, in which he makes above reference to Moses.
We have, furthermore, Diodorus the Sicilian, who visited Egypt in the year 60 before Christ. Treating in his work, The Historical Library, of the most celebrated legislators of different nations, when he comes to the Jews, he writes thus : ' Amongst the Jews there was a certain Moses, who left them laws, which he said he got from the God lao.' Here he manifestly alludes to the books of Moses in which the law is contained, and to the God Jehovah, of which lao was a natural and excusable corruption in the circumstances. Elsewhere he speaks of Moses as the leader of a colony of Jews emigrating from Egypt, whom he divided into twelve divisions ; he forbade them the worship of idols, and gave them a law of life different from that of other nations. Anaxagoras, one of the most ancient of the Greek philosophers, according to Theodoretus, read the books of Moses. Many think that they were well known to^Aristotle and Plato, so much so, that a Jewish philo- sopher, named Aristobulus, undertook to prove that the writings of Moses were the basis of the peripatetic philo- sophy. To pass over others I may mention Longinus, the rhetorician, who in the third century taught philosophy, history, and criticism at Athens. In his treatise, written in Greek, entitled ' On the Sublime/ chapter vii., he quotes the book of Moses thus : ' The legislator of the Jews, by no means a common man, having formed to himself a high idea of the majesty and power of God, beautifully ex- pressed it in the beginning of his book, in the following words : " God said, Let there be light, and there was light."
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS 37
Allusion is made to him also in the History of Tacitus, and the Satires of Juvenal.
Many others may be quoted for you, but these will suffice to show you not only that Moses was known to ancient writers, both Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman, but he was known as the leader and law-giver of the Jews — and to some as the author of a book which can be no other than that of the Pentateuch, with which alone his name has been associated in the history and tradition of his own race. From this, too, you can see the want of knowledge or want of good faith of Voltaire, when he asserted that Moses was unknown to ancient pagan historians.
You are not, of course, to think that the quotations I have given you from these pagan authors would of them- selves individually establish the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, but they go to show, at least, that ancient profane history is not silent about Moses and his exploits. Then, of those that are extant, so far as they allude to him at all, when occasion offered, their collective testimonies confirm in a marked way the tradition of the Jewish people themselves regarding the personality and history of Moses. P. O'F. — There seems to be no reason to doubt it. And then, I suppose, of those who were silent about him many of them perhaps had no occasion to allude to him, so that what between those who have written about him and those who were silent, because they were not called on to speak, and those whose works have perished, of which we know nothing — one may say that Voltaire's objection rather strengthens than weakens your contention.
FR. O'B. — I think so. Remember, too, as I have already hinted, we have in most cases only fragments of the works of the ancient writers which have been handed down to us by Josephus, Justus, Eusebius, Theodoretus and others.
I have another argument, too, an external one, and of a much stronger kind than that deduced from the pagan authors just alluded to — and that is one derived from the testimony of the Samaritans.
P. O'F. — Pray, who are they ? and what is the argument ?
38 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
FR. O'B. — In order that you may understand the full force of it, it is necessary that you should know something of the history of this people, which is briefly as follows, as taken from the third and fourth books of Kings. After the death of Solomon, and in punishment of his crimes, ten of the twelve tribes revolted against his son and successor Roboam, elected one Jeroboam as their king, and formed themselves into a separate kingdom, called thenceforward the kingdom of Israel. The tribes of Juda and Benjamin, which remained faithful, were called the kingdom of Juda. Jeroboam and his successors, fearing lest if their subjects went up to Jersualem every year to offer sacrifices in the Temple, according to the prescription of the law of Moses, they may, from contact with the Jews there, be induced to return to their allegiance to the direct and legitimate successor of the house of David, erected temples for them in the high places at home, placed before them two golden calves for adoration — * one in Bethel, and the other in Dan, . . . and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the tribe of Levi.'1 The true priests of the tribe of Levi were nearly all expelled from the kingdom of Israel, so that after some time, not only politically but in religious matters also, the kingdom of Israel was completely cut off from the sister kingdom of Juda.
Not all, however, fell away from the worship of the true God. There still remained some of the priests of the tribe of Levi, who, together with the warnings of the prophets whom God sent during this period, kept alive to some extent the observances of the Mosaic law, and saved a remnant of the people from the curse of idolatry. After three centuries, Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel, was besieged and captured by Salmanasar, King of the Assyrians. Its king, Osee was taken prisoner, and he and his people were carried into captivity, and placed in ' Hala and Habor by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.'2 This was in the year 724 before Christ. The
i 3 Kings xii. 29, 31. 2 4 Kings xvii. 6.
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS 39
kingdom of Israel was never after restored. The King of Assyria colonized the kingdom and cities of Israel with people from Babylon, and Cutha, and Avah. ' And when they began to dwell there, they feared not the Lord; and theJLord sent lions among them, which devoured them.'1 When the reigning monarch, Assarhardon, heard this, he commanded, saying : ' Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence captive, and let him go, and dwell amongst them ; and let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land.' 2 This was done, ' and one of the priests who had been carried away captive from Samaria, came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should worship the Lord.1 3 Remember this fact, please. This new people dwelling in the former kingdom of Israel, composed principally of Assyrians and some of the Israelites, who had not been taken into captivity, were thenceforward called Samaritans by the Jews. They had a mixed worship — that of the true God taught them by the priest sent by Assarhardon, and that of their own idols.
When the Jews of the kingdom of Juda, after the seventy years captivity in Babylon, were sent back to build up their city and temple, the Samaritans asked as a favour to be allowed to help them in the work of restoration. Their request was indignantly refused by the Jews. The Samaritans, incensed at the refusal of their request, now directed their energies to impede, as far as possible, the work of rebuilding by the Jews. This caused a complete estrangement between both peoples for all time. Their mutual jealousies and hatreds were still further intensified by the following event. In the time of Alexander the Great in the fourth century before Christ, and about four centuries after Assarhardon asked the Israelite priest to be sent amongst the colonists of the former kingdom of Israel, to teach the worship of the true God according to the prescription of Moses, a Jewish priest, named Manasses, who lived in Judea, was expelled thence, because of his
i 4 Kings xvii. 25. 2 Ibid. 27. * Ibid. 28.
4° THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
refusal to separate from his wife, who was a Samaritan. He fled to the Samaritans, and was received by them. He asked and obtained permission from Alexander the Great, to whom the country was then subjected, to build a temple on Mount Garizim, where he began to offer sacrifice, according to the rites of the Mosaic law. This led to the conversion of many of the Samaritans to the worship of the true God; so much so, that thenceforward Garizim became a rival of Jersualem as a place of worship. So steadfastly did the Samaritans cling to it, that even after the destruction of the city and Temple by John Hircanus two centuries later, they erected an altar on the site, and continued to go there at stated times to offer sacrifice.
The rivalry and discord between the Jews and Samaritans continued until the time of our Blessed Lord. We have proof of this in his interview with the Samaritan woman beside Jacob's well, as recorded in John v. 9-20. She expressed her surprise that He, a Jew, should have asked her, a Samaritan, for water to drink. ' How dost thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman, for the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans.' And when she discovered that she was speaking to a prophet, He having told her the history of her life, she alludes to the old controversy in an inter- rogative way, saying : ' Our fathers adored on this mountain (Garizim) and you say that at Jerusalem is the proper place where men must adore.' The Samaritan race still lives, reduced to be sure to a small colony ; and strange, whilst the Jews are scattered all the world over, the Samaritans live in Palestine, and principally at Naplouse, not far from Mount Garizim. They glory in being followers of the law of Moses, they observe the rite of Circumcision, the Pasch, Sabbath, and other legal festivals according to the Mosaic prescriptions, and intermarry, so as not to become mixed with the Jews and Islamites.
P. O'F. — This is a very interesting history ; but I would wish to know, what argument can be derived from it for the Mosaic authority of the Pentateuch ?
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS 4*
FR. O'B. — The argument is this. This people have had for centuries, and still have, the Pentateuch, and that in two forms. They have the Hebrew text, written in the old Hebrew characters, such as they were before the time of the Babylonian Captivity, and a version of the same written in the Samaritan dialect, which is a mixture of Syriac and Arabic. Now, the question, is ' When did they get it ? ' Bear in mind what I have told you, that though the Samaritans have had, and still have many things in common with the Jews, especially the veneration of the Pentateuch, and the observance of the Mosaic law, still they have been from the time of the revolt under Roboam, a different kingdom — and from the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, substantially a different race and people. You are to remember also, that from the days of Roboam and Jeroboam down to the present time, the relations between these two peoples have been bitterly hostile. When and from whence, then, did they get the Pentateuch ? When did they become followers of the Mosaic dispensation ? Some say that it was from the priest Manasses, who fled from his own co-religionists, as I have told you, and with the permission of Alexander the Great built the temple on Mount Garizim. That would be about the year 332 before Christ. Some reasons are assigned for this opinion, which are not, to my mind, convincing. It is not at all probable that at that period, when the Jews and Samaritans were so hateful to each other, that the latter would accept from the former the Pentateuch, a work containing a code of laws both religious and political, binding under most severe penalties, and, as a nation, submit themselves to it. Again, if they accepted from him the Pentateuch, why not have accepted the other books of the canon, which was formed at that time, and contained the list of the books recognized then by the Jews as inspired? Why discriminate between the Pentateuch and the others, for as a matter of fact, the Pentateuch is the only book of the Old Testament received by the Samaritans ? Then, from the history of the Samaritans, such as it is gleaned from the books of Kings, there can be no doubt that before the
42 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
advent of the priest Manasses, and the time of Alexander the Great, many of the Samaritans were followers of the Mosaic law, and worshipped the true God according to its ordinances. From this it follows, that they had in their midst the written work containing this law. For it is hard, if not impossible, to conceive how they could observe such a complicated law, containing so many, so minute, and such difficult regulations, if they had not this written code in their midst.
P. O'F. — From whom, then, did they get it ?
FR. O'B. — The answer seems to me quite simple. They got it from the priest whom Assarhardon, as you will remember, sent back out of captivity for the very purpose of teaching the new colonists ' the ordinances of the God of the land/ and how they ' should worship the Lord.' 1 He must have brought with him from Assyria a copy or copies of the Pentateuch, otherwise how could he have taught these pagan people this new law, so complex, so varied, so replete with minute directions regarding rites and ceremonines ? It would have been, humanly speaking, impossible. From this it follows that amongst the Israelites then in captivity in Assyria, there were some who worshipped the true God according to the Mosiac law, and had with them copies of the Pentateuch. It further follows that, during the previous three hundred years of the separate existence of the kingdom of Israel, when, owing to the policy of their kings for political reasons, and of false priests for religious and personal reasons, the nation had to a great extent fallen into idolatry, there still remained some, a minority to be sure, who abstained from the service of idols, and worshipped the true God according to the law of Moses. From this, too, we may con- clude that during these three hundred years, these followers of the Mosaic law in the kingdom of Israel had their own codices of the Pentateuch, for it would be absurd to suppose — considering the hostile relations between the two nations, — that they borrowed or copied them from the Jews. Then
1 Kings'xvii. 27.
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS 43
the"*' substantial agreement between both Pentateuchs, the ; Jewish and Samaritan, is a proof of the reverence of both for the sacred book, and the religious care and tenacity with which they guarded it, — whilst the dis- crepancies which exist, such as regards the ages of the patriarchs, from which arise the different chronologies, show that the Samaritan cannot be a mere transcription of the Jewish. We have thus established another stream of tradition through the history of^the Samaritan people back to the time of Roboam and Jeroboam, and the days of Solomon and David when both were one people, testi- fying to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. I have already pointed out to you the proofs of the tradition from that period back through the time of the Judges to the days of Josue and Moses himself.
Considering, then, the whole history of this people from the days of Roboam down to our own, and their testimony to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, well did Bossuet say, that it has been preserved by a special providence of God, in order to bear witness to the anti- quity and authenticity of the Pentateuch.
P. O'F. — Before closing this dialogue, I wish to ask you a few more questions. The Pentateuch, it is alleged, was written originally in the Hebrew language. How could Moses have a knowledge of that language, reared as he was in the court of Pharaoh ? Is it not probable, too, that the Hebrew people lost a knowledge of their own language during the centuries of their slavery in Egypt ?
FR. O'B. — As regards Moses, there can be no doubt but he knew the Hebrew language. He was reared whilst young, as you know, by his own Hebrew mother, who knew her own language. Then, it is most likely that amongst the educated classes, and in the court of Pharaoh, there prevailed a knowledge of the Hebrew language, What more natural then than that some of the Egyptians at least learned the language of this people, with whom they held social and commercial realtions for such a length of time. Furthermore, as you know, when Moses was a young man he had to fly from Egypt, and came into his own country,
44 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
where his own language was spoken. Thence he passed into the land of Madian, where he spent some years and in which a language closely akin to the Hebrew was spoken. Then, as regards the Hebrews losing their language during their sojourn in Egypt, there is nothing less probable, considering the tenacity with which the race in every period of its existence has clung to its customs and traditions. Furthermore, though living in Egypt, they formed a sepa- rate people dwelling in the land of Gessen, in the eastern extremity of that country. In these, our own days, we have illustrations of this tenacity in preserving their racial dialects in the Basque province of Spain, in the island of Malta, in Brittany, and even now amongst ourselves, notwithstanding the history of the last century.
P. O'F. — May I ask, was the art of letter writing in existence in the time of Moses ?
FR. O'B. — There can be no doubt about it. Amongst the Egyptians there was a cursive popular style of writing, even before the time of Moses, specimens of which are be seen in several libraries in Europe to-day. You are aware, of course, that the Egyptian hieroglyphics, which consist in figures of animals and other objects, were used only as inscriptions on public monuments.
P. O'F. — But do you mean to convey that the Penta- teuch was written originally by Moses in Egyptian characters ?
FR. O'B. — No ; but I mention the fact merely to show you that even if I were to admit that the Israelites had not at that time, a written language of their own, there would be nothing to hinder me from saying that Moses could have written the Pentateuch in Egyptian characters. But this is not necessary, for it is perfectly certain that at that time the art of writing was well known to the Jews, and that the Pentateuch was written in their own language. According to the almost unanimous testimony of profane historians this art was introduced into Greece from Phoenicia, by Cadmus, in the year of the world 2480 — that would be about thirty years before the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. At that time the Phoenicians
DIALOGUES ON SCRIPTURAL SUBJECTS 45
were a most civilized and cultured people, amongst whom the art of letter writing had existed for a long time. Phoenicia was, you know, quite adjacent to Chanaan, where Abraham and his successors lived for a long time, not as obscure people, but as men of influence and power. Hence there can be no doubt that, as they spoke the same language as the Phoenicians, and held social and com- mercial relations with them, so they, too, were skilled in the art of letter writing. Hence St. Augustine says in his book of which you have heard, De civitate Dei, lib. xix. c. 39, that ' it is not to be believed that the Hebrew letters began with the law given by Moses, but that the language and its letters were preserved and handed down through the succession of the patriarchs.' It may be of interest to remark in this connexion, that when the Israelites, after their journeying in the desert, took possession of the land of Chanaan, one of the cities that was destroyed by them was called in their language the ' City of Books,' probably the one in which the national library was preserved ; showing that at that time the Chanaanites were a civilized people, not unacquainted with the art of letter writing.
H. D. L.
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY
ONE who has been brought up in the old system of theology, and whose reading has for the most part been confined to its accredited exponents, is puzzled and distressed when he opens a volume of the new liberal theology. He had been taught that theology is a deductive science, and that in the drawing out of theological con- clusions from the divinely revealed premises, great weight must be given to the authority of the Church, to whose safe keeping the deposit of religious truth was entrusted by God. The new liberal theology shows scant courtesy to tradition, it criticises the teaching Church, and it appeals for its warrant in so doing to scientific convictions, to religious consciousness, and religious experience. It proclaims aloud that the human mind is necessarily progressive, that to live is to move, while the theologians stagnate in the ever recurring round of barren logical deductions from the same worn out formulas. Those formulas did well enough for the time when they were framed, they satisfied a want of the human mind, but a new age like ours must re-interpret for itself in language that it can understand the ever-living truths of religion. The old apologetic, with its elaborate proofs from miracles and prophecies, was framed on wrong lines, more calculated to produce a religious sceptic than a believing Christian. Religion is not so much a matter of the intellect, nor is it susceptible of demonstration, it belongs rather to the affective part of our nature, to the feelings and to the will. Hence the new interest in mysticism which we see manifested on all sides.
These are some of the characteristics of the new liberal theology, whose main object is to re-interpret Christian truth in the light and for the needs of the present day. In the books and magazine articles where liberal Catholics give expression to these views there is no attempt made to establish them, or even to indicate clearly the grounds on
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 47
which they rest. The effect produced on the reader is one of uneasiness and bewilderment. The truth is, that the hidden principles on which those views rest are antagonistic to Catholic truth. They are drawn directly or indirectly from a new science which in its principles and in their application is subversive of Catholic doctrine. This new science has received various names, but in England it is commonly called the Science of Religion or Religions. I propose in this paper to sketch in outline the main features of this new science, and then we shall be better able to form a correct estimate of Catholic liberal theology. We shall be able to view it in its native surroundings, in its environment, and thus we shall be able to form a better judgment concerning its nature and tendencies.
According to its votaries, then, the Science of Religion is an exact science, just like the physical sciences whose method it employs. The physical sciences owe the mar- vellous progress which they have made to the employment of the inductive method of reasoning. They begin by laboriously collecting facts bearing on the subject-matter of the science, these facts are studied and compared with one another, then hypotheses are formed and verified, and finally, we arrive at a body of laws containing the truths which the science has discovered. This scientific method is adopted by the new science of Religion. It glories in the fact that it is empirical, and by empirical methods it hopes in time to be able to show results comparable to those achieved by the physical sciences. Indeed, it boasts that within the few years of its existence it can already show a large body of notable results obtained. The new science has already a very large literature devoted to it, chairs to teach it have been founded in many of the Universities, and its influence, direct and indirect, is already very considerable.
The subject-matter of the new science is Religion, and by Religion it does not understand God. God and His dealings with men constitute the subject-matter of the traditional theology, but these high matters are not the objects of our observation, experiment, and verification ;
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they cannot be the subject-matter of an empirical science. By Religion is here understood ' the conception of a superior authority, whose potency man feels himself con- strained to acknowledge and invoke.' l Or, according to Professor James, Religion is ' the feelings, acts, and experiences, of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to what- soever they consider the divine.' 2 So that Religion is something subjective, ' the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men,' and it has its seat rather in the affective part of man's nature than in his intellect.
When we survey the whole field of Religion [writes Professor James] we find a great variety in the thoughts that have pre- vailed there ; but the feelings on the one hand and the conduct on the other are almost always the same, for Stoic, Christian, and Buddhist saints are practically indistinguishable in their lives. The theories which Religion generates, being thus variable, are secondary ; and if you wish to grasp her essence, you must look to the feelings and the conduct as being the more constant elements. s
Again, the religious sentiment is
a sthenic affection, an excitement of the cheerful, expansive, dynamogenic order which like any tonic freshens our vital powers. In almost every lecture, but especially in the lectures on conversion and on saintliness, we have seen how this emotion overcomes temperamental melancholy and imparts endurance to the subject, or a zest, or a meaning, or an enchantment and glory to the common objects of life. The name of ' faith- state,' by which Professor Leuba designates it, is a good one. It is a biological as well as a physiological condition, and Tolstoy is absolutely accurate in classing faith among the forces by which men live. The total absence of it, anhedonia, means collapse. We saw examples of this in those sudden raptures of the divine presence, or in such mystical seizures as Dr. Bucke described. It may be a mere Vague enthusiasm, half spiritual, half vital, a courage, and a feeling that great and wondrous things are in the air. When, however, a positive intellectual content is associated with a faith-state, it gets invincibly
1 L. H. Jordan, Comparative Religion, p. 217, 1905.
2 The Varieties of Religious Experience, p. 31, 1902.
3 Ibid, p. 504.
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 49
stamped in upon belief, and this explains the passionate loyalty of religious persons everywhere to the minutest details of their so widely differing creeds. Taking creeds and faith- state together, as forming ' religions,' and treating these as purely subjective phenomena, without regard to the question of their truth, we are obliged, on account of their extraordinary influence upon action and endurance, to class them amongst the most important biological functions of mankind .1
Mr. Jordan writes : —
As the result of prolonged and varied studies [the Science of Religion] has reached certain definite conclusions, which it now offers to all who are willing to examine them. It teaches that the earliest and fundamental revelation which God makes of Himself to man is an inner revelation — a revelation in con- science, a revelation that has its seat in the very being of man. Accordingly, Religion does not reveal itself merely in the chance ejaculation of the lips ; it is the natural and necessary outcome of the very life which throbs within a man's breast. Religion is not a matter of mere heredity ; it is rather a personal exercise by the soul of those abilities which belong to its separate and responsible self. Religion is not a speculation — a mental abstraction in which the secluded mystic may find recompense for his withdrawal from the world, it is in all cases a life, varying in its intensity, but invariably real and practical, and ever willing to expend itself in the service of others. Religion is not an abnormal or accidental experience, but one that is funda- mentally characteristic of the human race. The various faiths of the world are but the evolution of an original constituent principle of humanity. Religions are diverse ; but Religion itself, like the air which man inhales, and which everywhere enswathes him, is one. It is just because of the existence in man of this basal and all-pervasive sentiment that, every- where and always, he has striven to satisfy the cravings of his distinctly religious emotions. No objective supernatural revela- tion is required in order that man should exhibit the propensities of a profoundly religious being ; for, wholly independent ot such a revelation, he cannot live without making at least some response to that unmistakably religious instinct which has been begotten within him. A man can no more help being religious than he can help eating or breathing. Principal Fairbairn puts the case very strongly when he writes : ' Religion is so essential to man, that he cannot escape from it. It besets
1 Professor James, op. cit. pp. 505, 506. VOL. XXI. D
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him, penetrates, holds him even against his will.' Religion is for man — and hence for all men — a psychological necessity : it is universal. Religion is not a perishable commodity. The religious sentiment is an inextinguishable sentiment — an element of human nature as universal, as ineradicable, as the fact of sex. The Science of Comparative Religion has helped to diffuse a clearer understanding of what religion really is. It is the central, essential, and eternal thing in human life. It is the deepest, strongest, and most universal interest of man. It accompanies him from the cradle to the grave. J
It is not necessary to point out how widely and essen- tially different in this theory of the nature of Religion from that of Catholic theology which teaches that it is a moral virtue by which we pay due worship to God, our Creator and Lord. Not that the Science of Religion leaves out of consideration the divine element in Religion. Some conceptual idea of the divine is necessarily present in the mind when religious sentiments are evoked. But that concept*may be of the vaguest and most indefinite. Often it is no more than an uneasy feeling of something being wanting, a dreamy longing for the infinite. A perception of the grandeur and power of nature in the starry sky, or in a storm at sea, or in an earthquake is quite sufficient. Religious experiences are indeed, as Professor James tells us,
only psychological phenomena. They possess, it is true, enormous biological worth. Spiritual strength really increases in the subject when he has them, a new life opens for him, and they seem to him a place of conflux where the forces of two universes meet ; and yet this may be nothing but his subjective way of feeling things, a mood of his own fancy, in spite of the effects produced.*
If the philosophic student of the Science of Religion is asked whether any objective reality different from the subject who feels them is the cause of religious experiences, so that from them we can logically conclude to the existence of a God : —
Dogmatically to decide this question [says Professor James] is an impossible task. The cultivator of this science has to
1 Comparative Religion, pp. 335, 339, abridged.
2 Op. cit. p. 509.
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 51
become acquainted with so many grovelling and horrible super- stitions that a presumption easily arises in his mind that any belief that is religious probably is false. The consequence is that the conclusions of the Science of Religions are as likely to be adverse as they are to be favourable to the claim that the essence of religion is true.
| In another place, the same author adds : —
It is in answering these questions [concerning the reality and the nature of the objectively divine element of religious experiences] that the various theologies perform their theoretic work, and that their divergences most come to light. They all agree that the ' more ' really exists ; though some of them hold it to exist in the shape of a personal god or gods, while others are satisfied to conceive it as a stream of ideal tendency embedded in the eternal structure of the world. They all agree moreover that it acts as well as exists, and that something really is effected for the better when you throw your life into its hands. It is when they treat of the experience of ' union ' with it that their speculative differences appear most clearly. Over this point pantheism and theism, nature and second birth, works and grace and karma, immortality and reincar- nation, rationalism and mysticism, carry on inveterate disputes. *
The utmost that the scientific student of religions can do is to make hypotheses, more or less satisfactory, which will largely represent his own personal overbelief, while partially accounting for the phenomena ; but however helpful they may be to himself, he cannot impose these hypotheses on others. According to Mr. Jordan, the Science of Religions ' does not regard as ultimate and absolute, the results which it is able to announce : its con- clusions are admittedly relative. The goal of this science, as of all sciences, lies ever in the future.' 3
The discovery [[he says in another place] that the non- Christian religions have aims and resources and excellences which were hitherto undreamed of, suggests that a deliberate comparison of Christianity with the various members of this group is by no means a fruitless task. Some Religions, all are agreed, are better than others ; some one of them, it is most probable, is superior to all its contemporaries ; but which Religion is actually the best ? Such a question, soberly and
1 Op, cif. p. 490, abridged. 2 Ibid, p. 510. 3 Op. cit. p. 64.
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truthfully answered, will mean an invaluable gain to a man. upon whomsoever the query may be pressed ; for such a one will thereafter ground his beliefs upon firmer and more en- during convictions. In many a case, as one cannot but believe such enquirers will be led deliberately to purify a Religion which, while they felt themselves incapable of surrendering it, they now discern to be unquestionably outdistanced in various particulars by several other Religions — Religions of which they have known all too little, and which accordingly they have all too lightly esteemed. As a consequence a progressive type of faith will take the place of empty formalism, whether Christian or non-Christian.1
There is no necessity on the principles of the Science of Religion for this progressive type of Religion to be the same for all men. Rather the contrary. Professor James puts and answers the question : —
Ought it to be assumed that in all men the mixture of religion with other elements should be identical ? Ought it indeed to be assumed that the lives of all men should show identical religious elements ? In other words, is the existence of so many religious types and sects and creeds regrettable ? To these questions I answer ' No,' emphatically. And my reason is that I do not see how it is possible that creatures in such different positions and with such different powers as human individuals are, should have exactly the same functions and the same duties. No two of us have identical difficulties, nor should we be expected to work out identical solutions. The divine can mean no single quality, it must mean a group of qualities, by being champions of which in alternation, different men may all find worthy missions. Each attitude being a syllable in human nature's total message, it takes the whole of us to spell the meaning out completely. So a god of battles must be allowed to be the god for one kind of person, a god of peace and heaven and home, the god for another.2
Indeed, on the principles of the Science of Religion, polytheism may, after all, be true. Professor James says on this point : —
The ideal power with which we feel ourselves in connection, the ' God ' of ordinary men, is both by ordinary men and by philosophers endowed with certain of those metaphysical attributes which in the lecture on Philosophy I treated with
i Op. cit. p. 408. 2 Op. cit. p. 486.
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 53
such disrespect. He is assumed as a matter of course to be ' one and only ' and to be ' infinite ; ' and the notion of many finite gods is one which hardly anyone thinks it worth while to consider, and still less to uphold. Nevertheless, in the interests of intellectual clearness, I feel bound to say that re- ligious experience, as we have studied it, cannot be cited as unequivocally supporting the infinitist belief. The only thing that it unequivocally testifies to is that we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union, find our greatest peace.1
Evidently we must not expect that the new Science of Religion will solve for us the deeper problems of theology. Still, Mr.. Jordan puts to its credit some notable achieve- ments. Religion has at last, he says, been made a subject of exact study, a clearer understanding has been reached as to what Religion really is, the legitimate place of mysteries in Religion has been recognized and conceded, a more adequate interpretation has been put upon the various forms, alike Christian and non-Christian, which Religion has been found to assume, an improved conception of the Supreme Being and of His essential relation to man has been gained, a conspicuous enlargement of charity and toleration for those who profess forms of Religion different from our own is a most beneficial result, together with a new Apologetic and a sounder Dogmatic.2 Whether, in fact, these results have been obtained, and what should be our estimate of their value, will of course depend on the point of view which is adopted.
The foregoing analysis of the nature, method, aim scope, and results, actual and prospective, of the new Science of Religion is chiefly set forth in the very words of two of its most representative and accredited exponents Professor James and his Gifford Lectures need no intro- duction to the reader. Mr. Jordan has for many years been a student of the Science of Religion. He has a thorough acquaintance with the voluminous literature of the subject, and he has travelled over the world in order to obtain a first-hand knowledge of the principal religious systems.
1 Op, cil. p. 524. 2 Op. cit., chaps, x., xi.
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His book is furnished with an appreciative introduction by Principal Fairbairn. The exposition of the subject which I have given in the words of two such representative writers will serve the chief purpose of this paper. That purpose was to lay bare the roots of liberal theology, especially of the liberal theology of that small school of Catholic writers who have been so much in evidence of late years. They are indebted for their terminology, for their ideas, and for many of their principles to the new Science of Religion. Where the ordinary Catholic speaks of ' feelings of devotion,' the liberal Catholic writer will speak of ' religious experi- ences,' or of ' mystical raptures,' making use of that profane novelty of words which has always been suspect in the Catholic Church. But when we see writers not content with a new and heterodox phraseology, boldly proclaiming the necessity of re-interpreting religious truth in the terms of modern thought in order to make the Christian religion acceptable to the modern religious consciousness, accepting the principle of evolution of doctrine, girding at approved theologians for their obstinate and blind adhesion to traditional dogmas, ridiculing the received Apologetic of the Catholic Church, explaining revelation as an inner experience of religious geniuses, we know that they are writing not as Catholics should write, but according to the empirical and naturalistic principles of the Science of Religion. Such language and such ideas are out of harmony with the Catholic system ; they form part of a consistent theory in the Science of Religion. It is not necessary to point out in detail how false those ideas and principles are, the above exposition will be sufficient for the Catholic reader. I may, however, be permitted to make one or two observations before concluding.
The first stage in the formation of an empirical science is the collection and arrangement of specimens or facts. For more than thirty years innumerable workers in all the countries of Europe and of America have been engaged in collecting and sorting the religious experiences of man- kind. The monuments of the early history of the East, the Greek and Roman classics, the Corpus Inscriptionwn,
THE ROOTS [OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 55
travellers' records of the beliefs and customs of barbarous tribes, modern folk-lore, and other sources of information, have been laid under contribution to furnish the material for the new science. One of the results of this process has been to bring into prominence a certain superficial resem- blance between the religious experiences of mankind in very different stages of civilization, living widely apart under different religious systems, and in wholly different conditions. Many of the writers on this branch of knowledge, take a pleasure in using the religious termin- ology of the Catholic Church in their descriptions of the similar sacred rites and ceremonies of barbarous and heathen nations. The implication is that the Catholic religion is a mere synthesis of pagan superstitions and practices. Sometimes these writers are not content with hinting at this conclusion, they boldly express it. I. will take an example of what I mean from Dr. Frazer's recent book entitled, Adonis, Attis, Osiris. The learned author therein describes a very widespread custom among barbarous and primitive peoples of holding a festival towards the end of every year, at which the souls of departed kindred were supposed to be present and regale themselves. He suggests that this custom is the origin of the Catholic feast of All Souls, and among other survivals of primitive custom in connexion with the feast, he mentions the following : —
A very common custom in Belgium is to eat ' soul-cakes ' or ' soul-bread ' on the eve or on the day of All Souls. The eating of them is believed to benefit the dead in some way. At Dixmude and elsewhere they say that you deliver a soul from Purgatory for every cake you eat. At Antwerp they give a local colour to the soul-cakes by baking them with plenty of saffron, the deep yellow tinge being suggestive of the flames of Purgatory. People in Antwerp at the same season are careful not to slam doors or windows for fear of hurting the ghosts.1
Dr. Frazer's authority for these details are certain German books which he cites in a foot-note. There is, of
1 Op. cit. p. 249.
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course, no a priori impossibility in such superstitions. Primitive customs die hard, and all sorts of curious survivals are met with all over the world. The Church, of course, cannot be held responsible for superstitions which endure in spite of her condemnation. It is merely a question of fact. When I showed the above passage to a friend, a native of Antwerp, who has lived almost all his life in Belgium, he burst out laughing, and said : ' Stuff and non- sense ; I never saw or heard of anything of the sort.' This suggests the necessity of using the critical faculty in the testing of material for the Science of Religion furnished by travellers and folklorists. By the cultivators of that science the unsupported tales of such witnesses are received without question, while the Gospel narrative is subjected to the most searching criticism.
Of course the existence of a certain superficial similarity
between Catholic doctrine, rites, and ceremonies, and those
of other religions, is no new discovery. It was a difficulty
urged against the first apologists of the Christian faith as
it is urged against the Church to-day. A satisfactory
answer is not far to seek. Catholics willingly allow that
there is some truth in all religious systems ; religious feelings
and certain ways of giving vent to them are natural to
man, and the Church never hesitated to use a rite or a
ceremony in the worship of the true God if it suited her
purpose, even if it was also used by idolaters. The Fathers
called this process ' spoiling the Egyptians.' The Church,
without doubt, instituted certain Christian feasts, and
celebrated them on the days which were sacred to pagan
deities, in order to wean the people from the worship of
idols. The essence of Catholicism does not lie in such
matters, but in the great body of true doctrine which it
teaches, and which is partly attainable by natural reason,
partly the gift of divine revelation.
Besides a want of criticism in the selection of material for the Science of Religion in some cultivators of that science, I may point out a certain inability to interpret Catholic religious facts correctly. My first example of this shall be taken from the same work of Dr. Frazer. He
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 57
there draws a parallel between the lofty primitive ideals of Christianity and Buddhism, and the subsequent decline in both cases. On this subject he writes : —
But the austere ideals of sanctity which they inculcate were too deeply opposed not only to the frailties, but to the natural instincts of humanity, ever to be carried out in practice by more than a small number of disciples, who consistently renounced the ties of the family and the state in order to work out their own salvation in the still seclusion of the cloister. If such faiths were to be nominally accepted by whole nations or even by the world, it was essential that they should first be modified or transformed so as to accord in some measure with the prejudices, the passions, the superstitions of the vulgar. This process of accommodation was carried out in after-ages by followers who, made of less ethereal stuff than their masters, were for that reason the better fitted to mediate between them and the common herd. Thus as time went on, the two religions, in exact proportion to their growing popularity, absorbed more and more of those baser elements which they had been instituted for the very purpose of suppressing. Such spiritual decadencies are inevitable. The world cannot live at the level of its great men. Yet it would be unfair to the generality of our kind to ascribe wholly to their intellectual and moral weakness the gradual divergence of Buddhism and Christianity from their primitive patterns. For it should never be forgotten that by their glorification of poverty and celibacy both these religions struck straight at the root not merely of civil society but of human existence. The blow was parried by the wisdom or the folly of the vast majority of mankind, who refused to purchase a chance of saving their souls with the certainty of extinguishing the species. 1
It is obvious that, with regard to the Christian doctrine, Dr. Frazer fails to make the important distinction which is clearly contained in the Gospels between the Commandments which were imposed by Christ on all, and the Counsels of Perfection which He well knew would be followed only by the select few, and without any danger of extinguishing the species.
I cannot refrain from taking another example of inability to explain Catholic religious facts from Professor James. In his Varieties of Religious Experience, this writer gives
1 Op. cit. pp. 202, 203.
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what he conceives to be the explanation of the saintly character. He finds the gist of the explanation in emotional excitement, which has the effect of inhibiting the lower and baser propensities of human nature. One of the characteristics of the saintly character is the total self- surrender of the saint into the arms of the higher power. This leads him to self-renunciation, self-sacrifice, and the practice of asceticism. Under this head Professor James treats of the vows of religious life, and tries to explain how it is that some people do such very unnatural things as bind themselves to obey another, and renounce the right of ownership of property. I have only space for what he says about obedience : —
I confess [he writes] that to myself it seems something of a mystery. Yet it evidently corresponds to a profound interior need of many persons, and we must do our best to understand it. On the lowest possible plane, one sees how the expediency of obedience in a firm ecclesiastical organization must have led to its being viewed as meritorious. Next, experience shows that there are times in everyone's life when one can be better counselled by others than by one's self. But leaving these lower prudential regions, we find, in the nature of some of the spiritual excitements which we have been studying, good reasons for idealizing obedience. Obedience may spring from the general religious phenomenon of inner softening and self- surrender and throwing one's self on higher powers. So saving are these attitudes felt to be that in .themselves, apart from utility, they become ideally consecrated ; and in obeying a man whose fallibility we see through thoroughly, we, nevertheless, may feel much as we do when we resign our will to that of infinite wisdom. Add self-despair and the passion of belf- cracifixion to this, and obedience becomes an ascetic sacrifice, agreeable quite irrespective of whatever prudential uses it might have.1
It is not difficult to see that here Mr. James has missed the whole gist of the matter. The merely subjective reasons for religious obedience which he lays down probably never decided a single religious vocation. The true ex- planation of religious obedience is the teaching and example
1 op. dt. p. 311.
THE ROOTS OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY 59
of Jesus Christ. He proposed His own example of obedience, even unto^death, as the model which airChristians were to follow in matters which are of precept for all, and a model which those who were called to the practice of the counsels would follow in the pursuit of perfection. The true explanation of the very difficult practice of religious obedience lies in the example, love, and desire to imitate Jesus Christ.
The foregoing examples of "gross credulity and failure in the obvious interpretation of religious phenomena, taken from the very elite of the cultivators of the Science of Religion, — and they could easily be multiplied, — suggest the following observation. Here we are concerned with the very foundations of the new science. The worth of any conclusions which may subsequently be drawn, depends entirely on the accuracy of the facts recorded, and on the correct interpretation of those facts. And yet we find these eminent pioneers of 'the science blundering in questions of fact, which are capable of easy verification, and which belong to a religious system which is flourishing under their very eyes. What probability is there that the ex- planations which they give us of the religious beliefs and practices of primitive peoples represent anything more solid than the dreams and fancies of learned pedants ?
T. SLATER, s.j.
C 60
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF CHRISTIANITY 1— II
HOW often does it not happen that after a wave of infidelity or after the promulgation of some new philosophical or scientific hypothesis, which creates fresh difficulties in the way of faith, a number of Catholic apologists, keenly sensitive to the charge that the faith which they profess is irreconcilably opposed to science and cannot be accepted by scientific or educated men, seek to establish revealed religion on a new basis, or to revolutionize the traditional sense in which the truths of faith have been understood, and to read into the old ecclesiastical formulas the spirit of the new scientific hypothesis ; only to find that the new theory, in great part, is soon rejected by the scientific world and that whatever is sound and abiding in it can, with some patience and some changes in non- essential scholastic or historical views, be harmonized with or assimilated by traditional Catholic Christianity. Tra- ditionalism proposed a new method for re-establishing Christianity on the ruins of eighteenth-century infidelity. Ontologism suggested a different cure for the philosophic ills of its day. Hermes and Gunther sought to infuse the spirit of German philosophy into the venerable formularies of Catholic antiquity. I suppose I am safe in saying that at various troubled epochs in the Church's chequered history, there were not wanting Catholic apologists who thought that revealed religion was receiving, just in their time, a shock such as it had never sustained before ; that
1 'The Rights and Limits -of Theology,' Quarterly Review, October, 1905.
Lex Orandi, or Prayer and Creed. By George Tyrrell, S.J. Long- mans, Green & Co.
Lex Credendi. A Sequel to Lex Orandi. By George Tyrrell. Longmans, Green & Co.
A Much-Abused Letter. By George Tyrrell. Longmans, Green & Co.
L'Evangile et I'Eglise. Par Alfred Loisy. Chez 1'Auteur.
Autour D'Un Petit Livre. Alfred Loisy. Paris: Alphone, Picard et Fils, Editeurs.
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 6l
the bark of Peter had never before ploughed such stormy seas; that theologians had wantonly and to an impassable degree widened the chasm which seemed to separate science and faith ; that a reconciliation was possible between faith and science, theologians and scientists, only by a drastic change in the interpretation of our creeds and by assigning to these old formularies a revolutionary scientific signi- fication unknown to antiquity. Protestants acclaimed them as the most intellectual men in the Catholic Church, the most educated, the holiest, the greatest theologians ; or if it suited their purpose, they pointed to these contro- versies as proofs that Catholics were no less divided in faith than Protestants. But these crises have passed away : the old Creeds remain : all that was sound and abiding in the new learning remained and lives in peace and good citizenship with the truths of faith, but much that was highly valued in the times of controversy has since been declared unacceptable after more mature philosophical and scientific examination : while the Church occasionally has had to mourn, not indeed, unless very rarely, the departure from out her fold of some of the zealous if mistaken apologists, but their absence from the position of honour and trust and usefulness which they should occupy in the ranks of her defenders.
It was inevitable that history should repeat itself before the evolution and biblical controversies had run their course ; that we should have to listen again to the old story from non-Catholics and certain Catholic apologists, that the Catholic Church has been, at every period of scientific awakening, the irreconcilable foe of science ; that she is put by her theologians into a position of an- tagonism to scientific thought ; that educated Catholics can no longer reconcile their scientific convictions with the truths of faith as interpreted by the theologians, and that if they remain in the Church they calm their consciences and reconcile their faith and science only by inventing private, non-natural interpretations of the Church's for- mularies ; that theologians by their definitions have placed an insuperable barrier to the acceptance of Catholic
62 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
Christianity by non-Catholic scientists and educated non- Catholics generally.
Supplementing the Darwinian theory of the origin of species and descent of man by natural selection, some of our Catholic apologists have been essaying, without ex- plicitly avowing it, a genesis of Catholic Christianity by natural selection. I have already, in this journal,1 insti- tuted a comparison between Darwin's theory of the origin of new species by natural selection and the theological system of the Abbe" Loisy. Any description however of the theological system of the school of the Abbe" Loisy would be incomplete, which failed to take account of its indebted- ness to the philosophy of Kant. I will therefore supplement in the present, my former article, and will endeavour to show how, starting from a Kantian beginning, the new theory of apologetics, /' ' apologetique d 'immanence, proposes to explain the origin of the present form ot Catholic Christianity and Catholic dogmas, not by supernatural revelation addressed to the intellect, not by direct divine establishment, not by the evolution of explicit truth from the implicit by the intellectual activity of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, but by the variation of spiritual life and by the survival of the fittest variety of spiritual life in the struggle for existence. My article, so far as it deals with the evolutionary side of the new theory, will of necessity cover a good deal of the ground already gone over in my former article.
i.
Reviewing the work of Dr. White on the history of the warfare of science with theology in Christendom, the writer in the Quarterly Review maintains that there is not and never has been any conflict between science and ' revealed religion ; ' nor between science and ' theology/ except such conflicts as exist from time to time between one science and another ; that the conflict is solely between science and the so-called pseudo-science, ' dogmatic
1 I. E. RECORD, June, 1906.
EVOLUTIONt KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 63
theology.' The reviewer is severe on ' dogmatic theology ' ; he proposes to us a new conception of Christianity which shall not offend against natural science ; and I will ask my readers, in the words of Hamlet, ' to look here on this picture and on this,' to compare the traditional conception of Catholic Christianity, which is already familiar to them, with this new scientific and evolutionary conception of revelation, revealed religion and faith, of inspiration and inspired writers, of mysteries and the defined doctrines generally of the Church, of her sacrifice and sacraments. But I will first present briefly the Reviewer's estimate of ' theology ' and ' dogmatic theology.'
THEOLOGY AND DOGMATIC THEOLOGY
' Theology ' is understood by the Reviewer, in the sense of the theologia naturalis of our text-books, to be ' the philosophical construction of the other world which has been built up from the data of general experience by the reflec- tion and labour of the understanding and which belongs to the unity of the whole system of our organized knowledge.'1 With natural theology he has no quarrel, if it be not that, for reasons to be stated farther on, he objects to its being called ' natural.' Natural theology must have existed in some rude, primitive, imperfect form, at all times. Its chief recommendation, in the opinion of the Reviewer, seems to be that it confines itself to appealing to the intellect and to seeking to establish its conclusions on a scientific basis ; that it issues no oracles or binding doc- trinal decisions, that it delivers no condemnatory judgments and pronounces no sentences of heresy. A student of natural theology is free to refute Kant or Comte or Hegel, if he is able and if he wishes ; or if he be a disciple of one of these masters he may dispute the natural theological con- clusions of Thomas Aquinas ; but the conflict between ' theology ' and science, or between rival schools of ' theology,' will be only such a conflict as may exist from time to time between different sciences, or between different schools in relation to the same science.
1 Quarterly Review, p. 481.
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' Dogmatic theology ' the Reviewer calls a pseudo- science ; and I may observe that there is a difference of opinion among theologians as to whether dogmatic theo- logy can be regarded a science in the strict Aristotelian sense. Even the specific province of dogmatic theology is not defined in the same way by all. Some seem to suppose that the principal doctrines of the Creed are pre- supposed by dogmatic theology as premisses, and that its function is to evolve their concealed implications ; but guided by the practice of Catholic schools we may say that dogmatic theology proves some of the truths of faith from explicit texts of Scripture, others by comparing and com- bining various less clear texts of Scriptures and different defined doctrines, and others by combining revealed and natural premisses ; but theological assent, as distinct from the assent of faith, is founded not on divine authority alone, but on the validity of the process by which the conclusions are proved to be contained in divine revelation. This however does not affect the present question ; as the apo- logists of the school of immanence scarcely differentiate between dogmatic theology and faith as traditionally understood, and regard all the doctrines of the Creed, as defined by the Church and proposed for our intellectual assent, as the work of the dogmatic theologians. They cannot endure that God should be said to have revealed truths which represent the divine mind and the divine knowledge as a philosophy or science represents the knowledge of the human mind, or that He be said to have supplemented the efforts of the human mind and informed the human intellect supernatural^ as a master might sup- plement the efforts of his pupils ; or that these revealed doctrines should be said to have a definite and absolute meaning for the human mind ; or, what is worse, that these truths and the conclusions deduced from them should be imposed on the mind under pain of heresy.
When theologians [writes the reviewer1] take the dogmas or articles of the creed and use them as principles or premisses of argumentation, when they combine them with one another,
1 Quarterly Review, p. 463.
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 65
or with truths outside the domain of faith, so as to deduce further conclusions to be imposed on the mind under pain of at least ' constructive ' heresy, the resulting doctrinal system is what is here meant by dogmatic theology. ... To take revelation as representing the divine mind in the same way as a philosophy or science represents the human mind ; to view it as a miraculously communicated science, superseding and correcting the natural results of ' theological ' speculation (i.e., of natural theology), is the fundamental mistake of ' dogmatic theology.' * . . . Yet it is all but impossible to imagine the Christ of the synoptics, the advocate of the poor and simple against the intellectual tyranny of lawyers, scribes and theologians, attaching the slightest religious value to the theologically correct formulation of the inscrutable mysteries prophetically symbolised by the Heavenly Father, the Son of Man, the Kingdom of God, etc., or making salvation to depend on any point of mere intellectual exactitude.
RELIGIOUS LIFE, REVELATION, AND FAITH
But if God has communicated no knowledge super- naturally to the human mind, if we possess nothing higher than the results of natural theological speculation, what is revelation and what is divine faith ? Here we approach the consideration of the Kantian origin of religion accord- ing to the new immanent theory and of its subsequent variations and transformations by natural selection. Life, it is observed, manifests itself in the physical world by immanent movement. It has ascended, evolutionists inform us, by natural selection from the lowest vegetable organism, through various species of plants and animals, until it has found, thus far, the highest term of its development in man. This evolution, observes the immanent school, is not a development or increase of life merely quoad nos, as theologians teach of the development and increase of the deposit of faith ; nor is it effected by any intellectual process, by syllogisms, by explaining and proving and making explicit the hidden implications of the original fund ; but by the internal growth and expansion and differentiation, by variation and transformation, of the original deposit of life. At various periods, no doubt,
1 Ibid. p. 467. * Ibid. p. 468.
VOL. XXI. E
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men have studied hard to formulate a scientific theory of the development of life ; but it is not the theories that have effected the evolution of life ; rather is it organic evolution, we are told, that determines the permanence and acts as a selector of theories, rejecting the weak and preserving the strong and the fittest to survive and co- exist with the corresponding expansion and evolution ot scientific theory and terminology in the general field of natural science. It is further supposed by the immanent school that man might have lived for a considerable period a non-moral, non-religious life. But in the final specific stage of evolution ' religious life ' entered on the scene and commenced its career of variation, transformation and natural selection, analogous to the evolution of species in physical life ; and in due time the religious sense applied itself to formulate a theory of the new ' life,' and so we come to the religious ' life,' revelation and faith.
The writer in the Quarterly approaches the exposition of his theory of revelation and religion by observing that
It may here be assumed that the divine which is immanent in man's spirit does naturally and inevitably at a certain stage of his mental and moral progress, reveal itself to him,^ how- ever dimly, as a vita nuova, a new sort of life, the life of religion, with its needs and its cravings for self-adjustment to realities lying beyond the bourne of time and place. . . . It is chiefly and more immediately as a determinant of conduct, as consciousness of right and wrong, that this manifestation of the divine will is experienced.1
But we seem to be far off yet from any intelligible explanation of divine revelation and faith, or of the life of religion. How can we discern among the implications of a consciousness of right and wrong, of a spiritual impulse, of a sympathetic response to good and antipathy to evil, supernatural revelation, supernatural religion, and the germ of Christianity ? What is divine revelation according to the teaching of the immanent school ? what the life of religion and divine faith ? how does the immanent school's
1 Quarterly Review, p. 463.
EVOLUTION i KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 67
conception of revelation and theology differ from the tradi- tional conception of revelation and revealed theology ?
To understand the Reviewer's conception of divine revelation we must observe that in expounding his theory of the religious * life,' he distinguishes throughout between (i), the spiritual impulse, the sympathetic response to good, the preference of one course of action to another; (2), the effort to formulate a theory of this progressive spiritual impulse in order to satisfy the needs of the religious sense ; and (3) , the scientific exposition of religion to satisfy the needs of the understanding, which forms the work of natural theology.
The consciousness of right and wrong, the spiritual impulse and sympathetic response to good, he calls active revelation, and the theory invented to explain these phenomena he calls objective revelation.
What revelation (considered actively as the self -manifestation of the divine in our inward life) first defines for us is a certain way or mode of life, action and conduct. It is only later, and in the second place, that our intelligence begins to reflect on this process and tries to picture it and understand it, to invent a philosophy or a history to explain it, and still more for the practical purpose of registering or fixing our experiences, of communicating them and comparing them with those of others, l ... So far, then, revelation (considered objectively) is a knowledge derived from, as well as concerning, the ' other world,' the supernatural. But its derivation is decidedly indirect. What alone is directly given from above, or from beyond, is the spiritual craving or impulse with its specific determination, with its sympathetic and antipathetic responses to the suggestions, practical or explanatory, that are presented to it, whether casua ly or by the industry of the reflective religious intelligence.2
And if it be asked how far are these revelations divinely authorized, or what sort of truth is guaranteed by the ' seal of the spirit,' the Reviewer answers : —
In accordance with what has been already said we must answer — a truth which is directly practical, preferential, approxi- mative, and only indirectly speculative. What is immediately
1 Ibid. p. 464. 2 Ibid. p. 465.
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approved, as it were experimentally, is a way of living, feeling, and acting with reference to the other world. The explanatory and justificatory conceptions sought out by, or even forced spontaneously from, the mind, as postulated by the ' way of life,' have no direct divine approval ; they are at best a purely natural reaction of man's mind to a super- natural stimulation of his heart. Again, the divine approval of the way and the life (and therefore indirectly of the explana- tory truth) is mostly preferential, it is a favouring of one alternative, not as ideal and finally perfect, but as an approxi- mation to the ideal, as ' a move in the right direction.' *•
We may fairly then describe this theory as follows. At a particular point in the course of human evolution man became conscious of a new ' life,' the life of religion, which was revealed to him by consciousness of ' right and wrong,' ' a certain way or mode of life,' ' a spiritual craving or impulse,' ' sympathetic and antipathetic responses to suggestions,' ' a supernatural stimulation of the heart.' We are not told whether this ' consciousness of right and wrong ' is an intellectual act or not ; whether ' a spiritual craving or impulse ' presupposes an intellectual cognizance of the object craved or to which we are impelled ; whether ' sympathetic responses to suggestions ' mean responses to reason and conscience or to some blind impulse ; nor are we told what is meant by a ' supernatural stimulation of the heart.' However, the theory is that at some period of human evolution man became sensible of this new ' life,' manifested by a consciousness of right and wrong, by a spiritual impulse, by a supernatural stimulation of the heart. There was a preference of one line of conduct to another, the favouring of one alternative ; perhaps pre- ferring the social life to an individualistic or egotistic life, preferring love to hatred, justice to injustice, truth to falsehood, etc. At no stage of human evolution was the ideal attained ; each advance was but ' a move in the right direction.' The beginning of religious 'life,' revealed by the first consciousness of right and wrong, by the first spiritual impulse, the first preference of one line of action
1 Quarterly Riview, p. 467.
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 69
to another, was the real original depositum fidei, which has been developing continuously, not in the dust of the schools by intellectual activity, by the syllogisms of theo- logians trying to unfold and make explicit the secret im- plications of a revelation supposed to have been made to the mind, but by the natural movement of ' life/ and by its variations and transformations ; for with the growth of physical life and culture and civilization in the several countries the religious ' life,' the religious sense and the relation to the ideal have grown and expanded and varied and become transformed. This life is supernatural reve- lation actively considered ; which alone has divine approval. But it is necessary to formulate a theory of this life ; and religious theories have varied and become transformed pari passu with the variations and transformations of the religious ' life ' itself, which acts as selector of these theories. At one time the theory of polytheism was accepted. This was succeeded by monotheism. This in turn varied into monotheism plus distinction of persons. Then there suc- ceeded belief in the Incarnation, in the Church, in the Sacraments, etc. But these truths, as truths of faith, are not referred to the intellect, as we shall see presently : they are not affirmed to be true or false in relation to the intellect : they are referred solely to the religious sense, whatever that may be, to register for the benefit of pos- terity present experiences, the degree of evolution of the religious life at a particular time, and to~foster the religious life itself. These theories are divine revelation objectively considered. They are said to be the natural reaction of man's mind to the supernatural stimulation of the heart ; and they are also said to be indirectly sanctioned from on high, I suppose because they are conceived to express faithfully for the religious sense the spiritual ' life ' of the past and present.
2. It should be easy, from the preceding exposition, to anticipate the answer which the immanent school would give to the questions, what is faith ? and what is the life of religion ? Supernatural divine faith and the religious life, they would say, consist in the adhesion of the whole
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man to the divine spirit within, called also an inspiration of grace, manifested to us by the spiritual impulse forward, by the sympathetic response to good, by the aiming always at the ideal, at the finally perfect.
Concurrently with this transformation of revelation into a revealed theology [writes the Reviewer1] there arises a parallel and dependent perversion of the notion of faith into that of theological orthodoxy. Faith is now an intellectual assent to this revealed theology as deriving directly from the divine intellect ; it is no longer the adhesion of the whole man, heart, mind and soul, to the divine spirit within — primarily a spirit of life and love, and only thereby a guide or beacon leading the mind gradually to a fuller instinctive apprehension of the reli- gious truth implicit in the inspirations of grace.
3. To sum up what has been said and to compare the new and the traditional teachings about theology and revelation : the immanent school of apologetics understand by ' theology ' what is usually called ' natural theology.' It is an important part of universal systematized knowledge. It answers a necessity of the intellect and treats of God, the world, and ethics in a scientific manner. It must take cognizance scientifically of the phenomena of the religious ' life ' as well as of the physical ' life.' But this natural science, they say,
will be always liable to revolutions according as the accumu- lation of its own proper sort of experience calls for restatements of its theories and conceptions and also owing to the progress of the whole complexus of knowledge whereof it is a part or member. Nor will mere patchings and lettings-out suffice ; there must be transformations, the dying of form into form, the new containing the old virtually and effectively, explaining as much and far more, but altogether differently, and not merely by an extension of the same principle of explanation.2
To pass from natural theology to revelation : Revelation considered actively is interpreted by the immanent school to mean the subjective manifestation in man of a new ' life ' distinct from the physical life, viz., the ' life ' of religion, consciousness of right and wrong, a spiritual
1 Quarterly Review, p. 469. * Ibid. p. 488.
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 7 1
impulse, sympathetic response to good and antipathetic response to evil ; and objectively considered, it is the theory or theories formulated to explain for the religious sense the phenomena of the religious life. This latter — revelation objectively considered — requires a little further explanation. What is the ' religious sense ' to which these explanations are referred ? What determines the selection of words, such as God, Creator, Persons, Incarnation, and the articles of the Creed ? What is the value of the theories formulated to explain the phenomena of the higher life ?
The immanent apologists do not explain what they mean by the religious sense. It is not the intellect nor the will. They seem to suppose a religious sense such as was conceived by the sentimentalist school of Jacobi in Germany ; a sort of instinct to accept religious truths, even though they be proved or thought to be proved absolutely false and philosophically impossible by our speculative reason.
How are the terms and the articles of the religious creed selected ? As everyone has the power of shaping some rudimentary language for himself, so, we are told by the Reviewer, revelation in the above sense is accorded to most men. But we are not obliged to shape for ourselves a rudimentary language, as we find languages already existing ; and similarly few are called on to exercise the gift of objective revelation to any considerable degree, as ' religious tradition and education are usually beforehand to wake up the religious need and to overwhelm it with the treasures of the collective spiritual experience and reflection of the past.' l Revelation, it is said, is largely expressed in the language of real history, philosophy, and natural theology ; but the religious sense has also invented for itself and has clothed itself in ideal and unreal historical narratives and in unsound philosophical and theological theories, in symbols, parables, and fictions. What, according to the Reviewer, is the value, in relation to the intellect, of this 'objective revelation'? How are we to represent in relation to real, fact-truth, the articles
i Ibid. p. 468.
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of the creed ? Theology, that is, natural theology, we are told, is intended to satisfy an intellectual want, and may generate intellectual certainty. But what is the intel- lectual value of the articles of the creed, say, of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the descent of Christ into hell, His resur- rection and ascension into heaven ? Religion, we are told, without some sort of dogmas, some sort of beliefs and symbols of the other world, is as impracticable as ordinary life would be without some rude practical knowledge of ourselves and our surroundings ; but what is the nature and value of these dogmas ? As we have seen, ' objective revelation ' is borrowed in part from natural theology, real history, and philosophy, and in part invents a history or a philosophy to express itself. The articles of the creed may claim to be true, and some may be true, in relation to the intellect, in the departments of natural theology, science, philosophy and history, and some may be philosophically or historically false ; but, as truths of faith, they are not referred to the intellect at all, they are neither true nor false in respect to it, they are referred solely to the religious sense by which they are accepted as expressions or registers of the forward movements of the religious life. They are said to be altogether apocalyptic, visionary in character. Their gradual origin by evolution and their value in relation to the intellect are expressed, among others, in the following passages : —
Given a long-continued working of the religious spirit under favourable conditions in some people or society, the result will necessarily be the growth and development of a certain system of conduct and observances by which man's life in reference to the world beyond is found experimentally to be fostered and extended. Explanatory of such observances, there will arise a publicly-accepted body of beliefs and dogmas represen- tative, at least figuratively, of the nature of that world beyond, whose growth and modification will, if disturbing influences are left out of account, be determined pari passu by that practical religion.1 ... In its first form the Christian revelation was altogether apocalyptic, prophetic, visionary in character.2 . . . Considered as true with the truth of prophecy . . . the dogmas
1 Quarterly Review, p. 482. z Ibid. p. 468.
EVOLUTION: KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 73
of revelation would rarely, if ever, come into dialectical conflict with one another or with science and history . . . their exponents would rightly refuse to be tied to exact statements of their specu- lative value, insisting rather on their pragmatical, provisional and approximative truth, so far as the fact-world is concerned, and on the necessarily undefinable nature of the ' ought-world ' and its eternal realities1 . . . what is true in this view [the traditional conception of revelation] is the perception of the utter inadequacy of human philosophy to the practical ends of religion ; what is false is the idea of fetching a ready-made philosophy from heaven as a substitute, or in other words, the implied ' intellectualism,' the notion of revelation as a direct instruction of man's intellect by God.'2
I need not point out in detail, my readers themselves will have perceived it, how different is this theory of theology, revelation and faith, from the traditional concep- tion of supernatural theology, revelation and divine faith. I would only direct attention to the fact, that the attack, though formally and expressly directed against dogmatic theology, is no less in reality directed against denned faith, as it has been traditionally understood to be, assent to revealed truths on the authority of divine revelation made to the human mind.
INSPIRATION AND INSPIRED WRITERS
What then is meant by ' inspiration ' to write ' objective revelation '? Who are inspired writers ? As revelation is said to be accorded to most men by the immanent apologists, so we may naturally expect them to teach that everyone is inspired to formulate an expression of the movements of his religious ' life.' Most people however prefer to express the phenomena of their religious life in the language of previous inspired writers or speakers which has been con- secrated by tradition and the approval of mankind. The rudest religions are inspired so far as they originate purely in a spontaneous effort to interpret the workings of grace in the heart.3 They are few, we are told, who ever master tradition in its entirety ; fewer still who rise above^it
1 Ibid. p. 485. 3 Ibid. p. 481. 3 Ibid. p. 466.
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and revolutionize it; and these are said to be specially inspired.
It is these last, however — the great founders and reformers — who alone are credited with being the recipients of revelation from on high . . . There is, however, little doubt that an intense feeling, passion, or emotion will in some instances incorporate itself in congenial imaginations and conceptions : that from the storehouse of the memory it will, as it rushes onwards, snatch to itself by a sort of magnetism such garments as may best set it forth on the stage of thought . . . these presentments of the supernatural world would seem to be quite specially inspired.' *
A complaint2 is made that one inevitable result of the intellectualizing and stereotyping of revelation was the sterilizing of the sources of prophetic inspiration ; that the prophets who could not prophecy to order and rule were discarded as charlatans and impostors, and that gradually the whole caste fell into discredit. But I venture to think that they are few indeed who regret the extinction of the so-called ' prophets,' or who nourish it as a grief against the ' intellectualizing ' and ' stereotyping ' of revelation by authoritative infallible definitions that the ' prophetical ' caste has fallen into discredit on account of it.
THE MYSTERIES ,OF RELIGION AND DEFINED DOCTRINES
There is a style or mode of treatment of the mysteries of religion peculiar to and characteristic of the school of the Abb£ Loisy. An author is quoted who teaches that dogmas like the Trinity, the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the resurrection, are only finer developments of older and cruder pagan beliefs ; the statement then is neither conceded nor denied ; but it is observed that the articles of the creed, as truths of faith, minister not to the speculative intellect but to the religious sense, that the value of a belief is not determined by its origin, that the articles of faith are not to be weighed in the balance of intellectual truth or false- hood, that they are not affirmed to be true or false in relation to the intellect, that they cannot come into conflict with history and science which treat their subjects from
1 Quarterly Rev'uw, p. 466. 2 Ibid. p. 470.
EVOLUTION t KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 7
the point of view of intellectual truth, that their mystical ' ought-world ' truth is proved to have the seal of the spirit by the fact of their survival and spiritual fruit- fulness.1 And assuming the starting-point of the immanent school, that God has made no revelation to the human mind, we should necessarily deny or take up an agnostic position in reference to the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Christian Church, and the other articles of the creed.
II.
I must defer to a future occasion a detailed exposition of Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi and A Much-abused Letter, together with a criticism of the immanent theory. But enough has been said to describe this new theory of Catholic Christianity. Religion, according to this theory, is Kantian in origin, Darwinian in development and Christian only in its terminology, It is Kantian in origin ; it manifests itself as a consciousness of right and wrong. It is Darwinian in development. It is a new ' life,' distinct from the physical life. The movements of this ' life ' do not come within the direct province of the speculative reason, they are no more elicited by the speculative reason than physical hearing, or seeing, or tasting, or digestion is elicited by it ; but speculative reason can take cognizance of and formulate a philosophical, but not a religious, theory of the spiritual life, just as it can take cognizance of and formulate a theory about the functions of the eye, the ear, the palate, the stomach, etc. The
1 Cf. ibid. p. 477.
According to this theory the existence of God, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, etc., ' claim ' to be true with the truth of the intellect : they may moreover be proved to be true, or be disproved, by the sciences which deal with intellectual truth, philosophy (natural theology), history and natural science : the very existence of God may belong to intellectual truth, to fact-truth, as Aquinas holds, or be only a postulate of practical religion, having at best only a doubtful claim to objective reality, as Kant would hold : a Catholic may accept, or reject, or take up an agnostic position in relation to all these doctrines considered in relation to intellectual truth, to fact-truth, and hence he need not come into conflict with science : but he accepts them as truths of faith, selected to foster and to register and express, in a figurative and undefinable sense, the nature and the growth and expansion of the religious ' life.'
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religious ' life ' varies and expands and transforms itself as physical life has transformed itself in successive genera- tions of organisms ; and this, and not the work of the schools of theologians, is what is meant by the development or evolution of active revelation. And finally religion, as described by the new school, is Christian in its terminology and, I might add, in its terminology alone. But there is a formal difference between traditional Catholic terminology and the terminology of the immanent school. The tradi- tional articles of the creed are understood to be valuable because they express truth, fact-truth, truth in relation to the human mind ; but they are employed in the immanent school not to express truth in relation to the mind, but to express, in some figurative, indeterminable sense, the present orientation of the religious life in relation to the finally perfect, to the ideal. Finally, let me observe that the theory is called ' immanent,' because it teaches that active revelation originates from an immanent principle as consciousness of right and wrong, and that the criterion of objective revelation is not miracles and prophecy, but the immanent life itself, or the usefulness of the revelation to express and foster the growth and expansion of the religious * life.'
I think this new species of ' life ' might have been left to pine away and die on its native gallic soil where, notwith- standing a free-thinking environment, it has never enjoyed a very healthy or thriving existence. Why try to trans- plant into the minds and souls of English-speaking Catholics this rather crude, unphilosophic, naturalistic French theory, which speaks of ' consciousness of right and wrong ' without an act of the cognitive faculty, of a ' spiritual impulse ' without a previous mental apprehension of the term towards which the impulse is directed, of a ' preferential ' and ' sympathetic response to good ' and ' antipathetic response to evil ' without any mental cognizance of what the ' evil ' is or what the ' good ' is, for which a post-factum theory must then be invented ; which tells us, in opposition to the defined teaching of the Church, that God has made no revelation which is an instruction to the human
EVOLUTION : KANT AND THE LOISY THEORY 77
intellect ; that faith is not assent to truths supernaturally revealed by God to the human mind ; that the articles of the creed, considered religiously, are the continuous work, of the human spirit from the beginning, synthesized in the Church, by which the ever-growing spiritual life tried to clothe itself in suitable attire ; that these articles claim to be true — how could the mysteries of faith be cognizable as true if there had been no revelation to the mind ? — but that their mental truth is but the flesh that profiteth nothing, that it is the figurative, indeterminate expression of relation to the Ideal which is the ' spirit that quickeneth ' ?
We are told that dogmatic theology cannot afford to quarrel with the saints, and the authority of the saints is claimed for the immanent theory to prove the barrenness and inutility of speculative intellectual truths. But were the martyrs who died for Christ indifferent to the intel- lectual fact-truth of the divinity of Christ ? Have the confessors and missionaries of the Church been indifferent to the real speculative truth of the mysteries of salvation ? To the saints who have received Holy Communion and perhaps spent hours every day before the Blessed Sacrament has the intellectual truth of the Real Presence been only 'the flesh that profiteth nothing ' ? And to the dying Catholic doth it profit nothing to believe as a truth of the intellect that the last sacraments confer grace, that death is followed by judgment, and judgment by eternal reward or punish- ment ? How does it happen that participation in the spiritual life of the Church diminishes or ceases altogether, when intellectual belief in the mysteries of religion grows weak or is altogether lost ?
DANIEL COGHLAN.
{To bt continued.]
[ 78 ] GENERAL NOTES
THE BIBLICAL QUESTION
IN almost all questions of theology, philosophy, biblical criticism and history that are discussed at the present day, we clearly distinguish two schools — the liberal and the conservative. We have always maintained in the I. E. RECORD that in the life of the Church, the existence of these two schools is a practical necessity, and that it is essential to the healthy influence of both that neither should be denied its right of comment, of criticism, of freedom in its own home. We speak of liberalism, of course, in the true and orthodox sense ; for, with the liberalism that degenerates into licence we have no sympathy. Understood in its restricted, Catholic sense, we consider that the liberal school fulfils a great purpose. Without its stimulating ardour the con- servative body, speaking for the most part a dead language, would soon be nothing more than an embalmed corpse, without life in its own members, and incapable of imparting life to others. Liberals, on the other hand, are restrained from rush- ing headlong, from plunging into rapid streams, from catching at everything that is new, from risking all they possess on chance, from the uneasy spirit and the restless desire of hurrying onward by the sober, steady, measured, wise, and experienced counsel of those who profess conservative and traditional opinions. That being our general view of the situation we have never allowed the I. E. RECORD to become the exclusive organ of one side or the other, and we have no intention of doing so in the future. All opinions that are free in the Catholic Church have a right to find expression in our pages. We have our own inclinations and preferences ; but we have no idea of forcing them on others, if such a thing were possible. We take occasion now and then to express them like everyone else ; but no one need be deterred from expressing a different view on that account in our pages.
It is well, then, that our readers should know why it is that we accept articles that sometimes show a tendency in opposite directions, and allow our pages to become what the French call a tribune libre for matters of Catholic opinion. The fact, for instance, that we have accepted a series of articles none the less able and well-reasoned for being written in a popular style, and in defence of traditional views on the work of the Biblical Commission, does not blind us in the least to the diffi- culties that have been raised by scholars in many countries, and from different points of view, to the conclusions they have reached. Nowhere have these difficulties been so lucidly, so logically, and so ably pressed home in our experience, as in
GENERAL NOTES 79
the correspondence which has just been published between the Rev. Charles A. Briggs, of New York, and the well-known Biblical scholar, Baron von Hiigel.1 Even though we cannot at all accept as clearly established many of the assertions of Dr. Briggs in the work referred to, we think that Catholics are greatly indebted to him for putting in so clear, concise, and respectful a form the objections of critical scholarship, even to the very qualified form of the traditional view regarding the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch that has been adopted by the Biblical Commission. Nor will anyone question the sincerity of Baron von Hiigel, or deny the force of the parity he seeks to establish between the cases of the Areopagite and the Comma Johanneum, on the one side, and the conclusions of the critics regarding the Pentateuch on the other, provided he can show that the evidence is as clear in favour of his present thesis as it was in the case of the two controversies on which he relies. It seems to us that in this matter writers on both sides abound entirely too much in their own sense. They present everything that is favourable to their cause ; but in answering the difficulties raised by their opponents they are much more reticent and less convincing. We do not refer to the question here for the purpose of entering into a discussion of the merits of the case : but we see where the difficulties lie, and we would ask those who deal with such questions to address themselves to the difficulties. The mere repetition of the arguments in favour either of tradition or of novelty does not carry us very far. It is well that it should be done, no doubt, provided the crux of the question is seriously faced. That, we admit, can be satisfactorily done in the case of some of the difficulties raised by Dr. Briggs only by experts in Oriental languages. So far, it is not too much to say that Catholic experts show no very definite and unanimous inclinations to accept as established beyond all doubt the contention of Drs. Driver, Brown, and Briggs, based on the vocabulary and style of the various parts of the Pentateuch. It was regarded as equally well established by a certain school of critics not long ago, that St. Luke had nothing to do with the authorship of the Acts of the Apostles ; and yet here comes Dr. Harnack, of Berlin,2 who reasserts and confirms the traditional opinion. Who, then, is to decide whether the work of the critics is so convincing, so certain, so infallible, and so secure, that the tradition of the Church for nineteen hundred years, a tradition that has survived the attacks of heretics and unbelievers again
1 The Papal Commission and the Pentateuch. By the Rev. Charles A. Briggs and Baron F. von Hiigel. London : Longmans, Green & Co. 1906.
2 Lukas der Arzt, der Verfasser des Dritten Evangeliums und der Apostel~ gtschichte. Leipzig: Heinrichs.
THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
and again renewed, may be safely set aside in its favour ? The Church unquestionably : and Dr. Briggs may take it for granted that the Church will never abdicate that right into the hands of critics, no matter how learned or how confident of certitude they may be. The Church is the divinely-constituted guardian of the faith. To her the Bible and all that relates to it has been committed to be securely interpreted and safely preserved. She and she alone can say with authority when the faithful may safely depart from traditional belief, even in matters that do not properly belong to the faith. She depends, no doubt, on critics and experts in the natural order of things ; but it is for her to decide when the critics and experts have made things so clear that there is no further need for anxiety as to the matter in dispute. We are sure a man of such evident honesty and good-will as Dr. Briggs will admit that in such things it is at least a good thing to be circumspect and not too ready to accept the conclusions of any group of men who are entitled to call themselves critics, when these conclusions are rejected by men who are also entitled to call themselves critics, even though there may be a dispute as to the right of either side to the genuine title. People often ride a hobby and will hear nothing against it, even though it may appear absurd to all but themselves. The Baconians in the Shakespeare question are as positive that they are right as Dr. Briggs and Baron von Hiigel ; and yet people of common sense only shrug their shoulders and smile at them. To go back thousands of years and say that this bit of literature is much more ancient than that, even though written in the same language, may be quite easy : but if it is so, we may be sure that Catholic critics will say so in due course. In the meantime, why should we risk our salvation on such a question ? Is it not possible to take a broad and reasonable view of all these things ? After all, the greater or less haste of the Church to acknowledge the results of scientific investi- gation is not the be-all and the end-all of religion. Let the Catholic critics set themselves honestly and dispassionately to examine the question. Let them take the words of Pope Pius X as their guiding star — ' The truth before everything ' — and should they come forward with something like a unanimous verdict in favour of the contention of the new school, we may be sure that the Church will take such steps as the occasion will require, and that the decision of the Biblical Commission will not stand in the way of truth scientifically established. Only let us be sure that the methods are scientific in the truest sense, and let us not prejudge the issues. The last word has not been said on them by Dr. Briggs and Baron von Hiigel.
J. F. HOGAN, D.D.
Botes anb (Queries
THEOLOGY
BAPTISM OF AN IMMATURE FETUS
REV. DEAR SIR, — According to O'Kane, a fetus is not to be baptized unless it presents ' the first lineaments of a human body ' (page 86), and he founds his opinion on the action of the S. Congregation of the Index, which ordered Jerome Florentinus to limit his teaching in this way. How can this action of the Index be reconciled with the view that the fetus is animated by a human soul from the moment of conception ?
C.C.
Modern theologians and embryologists for the most part hold that the human soul is present in the fertilized ovum from the moment of conception. The old view, held by St. Thomas and many of the schoolmen, that the human soul does not exist till the organism of a human body is formed, has lost its predominating influence. For our purpose, it matters not which view is objectively true ; what does matter is the fact that a large and growing body of theologians, following in the wake of embryologists, hold that the human soul is present from the moment of conception. It follows that baptism ought to be con- ferred at least conditionally on a fetus, no matter how soon after conception it is born, provided that there are reasons for saying that it is in reality a human fetus, and that life is not yet extinct — such reasons as will prevent it from being clearly certain that there is no human life.
This is the teaching of modern anthorities ; 1 it is the teaching of the Maynooth Synod (1875) : ' Omnis foetus quocunque tempore gestationis editus baptizetur, vel absolute, si constet de vita ; vel sub conditione nisi evidenter pateat eum vita carere ; ' it is also in harmony with the decree of the Holy Office, 5th April, 1715 : —
In casibus propositis (nempe de baptismo foetus abortivi)
1 Lehmkuhl, vol. ii., n. 74 ; Genicot, vol. ii., n. 141 ; Noldin, vol. n. 69 ; Antonelli, Medicina Pastoralis, vol. ii., n. 28.
VOL.IXI. F
82 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
si suppetat rationatile fundamentum dubitandi, an foetus ille sit animatus anima rationali, tune potest et debet baptizari sub conditione : si vero non suppetat rationabile fundamentum, nullatenus potest baptizari. Ad videndum autem an sit rationa- bile fundamentum talis dubii, consulendi sunt Medici et Theologi in facti contingentia, sive in casibus particularibus.
It is worthy of note that O'Kane1 says that, shortly before he wrote, this same decision was sent to a priest who consulted the Holy See on the subject. It is worthy of mention, too, that the Holy Office evidently looks on men versed in medical science as of at least equal authority with theologians in a matter of this kind. If, then, there is reason — such as the statement of a doctor certainly supplies — for saying that a living human fetus has been born, baptism ought to be conferred, at least conditionally, even though the human organism of the embryo is not visible to the naked eye.
Can this teaching be reconciled with the action of the S. Congregation of the Index, to which my correspondent refers ? It really does not matter much whether it can or not, since the Holy See nowadays allows us to hold the view which I have so far defended. To some extent, however, it can be reconciled with the action of the Index, because in the first place nobody would hold that baptism should be conferred even conditionally, unless there is reason for saying that the subject to be baptized is a human fetus ; and in the second place the fertilized ovulum has an incipient human organism from the beginning — an organism which can be detected in its incipient stages by means of the microscope, even a few days after conception.
In his admirable book on Pastoral Medicine, Antonelli makes the following statement on this point : ' Falsum est asserere ovulum fecundatum velut quoddam amor- phum esse ; nam, si microscopico examini subjiciatur, primis diebus a fecundatione, facile videntur vere miribilia indicia organ orum compositionis.' a
* Page 85, note. « Vol. i., p. 102.
NOTES AND QUERIES 83
ECCLESIASTICAL IMPEDIMENTS AND MARRIAGKES BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND NON-BAPTIZED PROTESTANTS
REV. DEAR SIR, — In this country it often happens that, against the advice of the clergy, a Catholic marries a non- baptized Protestant. It is necessary, of course, to get a dis- pensation from the impediment of disparitas cultus, but is it necessary to obtain a dispensation from other impediments, such as consanguinity, which exist in the case ?
TRANSMARINUS.
There is a general question as to how far freedom of one from an ecclesiastical matrimonial impediment com- municates freedom to the other contracting party. In the case of clandestinity, it is certain that freedom of one per se confers freedom on the other, though per accidens the form of clandestinity may be necessary for the validity of the marriage, as a condition of obtaining a dispensation from some other ecclesiastical impediment. In the other ecclesiastical impediments, however, no such communication of exemption exists. Hence, in case of a marriage between baptized and unbaptized persons, a dispensation, which may be given explicitly or implicitly, is required from any impediments that directly affect the baptized party, clandestinity alone excepted.
Now, according to the unanimous opinion of theoloigns and canonists, when a dispensation is explicitly given from the diriment impediment of disparitas cultus a dis- pensation is implicitly granted from all other impediments of the ecclesiastical law, which mutually affect the con- tracting parties, and in which the Church is accustomed to dispense. This teaching is confirmed by a reply of the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Quebec, i6th September, 1824 : ' Ecclesia dispensando cum parte catholica super disparitate cultus, ut cum infideli contrahat, dispensare intelligitur ab iis etiam impedimentis, a quibus exempta est part infidelis, ut inde hujus exemptio propter con- tractus individuitatem communicata remaneat et alteri.' Though this statement was made argumentatively, and in reply to a particular question, it indicates the general principle which theelogians and canonists adopt.
84 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
In this connexion there can be question only of ecclesi- astical impediments, since the Church cannot dispense from impediments of the divine or natural law. There is question, moreover, only of mutual impediments, i.e., of impediments which arise from some mutual connexion, such as consanguinity or affinity, and which, as impediments, directly affect the baptized party and indirectly the un- baptized party. An impedmint, which is not mutual — which arises from something peculiar to one side, such as a solemn vow of chastity — is not implicitly dispensed from by the dispensation from disparitas cultus. Again, only those mutual impediments are implicitly dispensed from, in which the Church is accustomed to dispense, because if the Church does not grant an express dispensation in such cases she must not be understood to grant an implicit dispensation. Finally, although no dispensation is required in the circumstances from the impediment of clandestinity, still in practice this exemption is usually of no avail, because the form of clandestinity as a rule is required as a condition of obtaining the dispensation from disparitas cultus. When- ever a condition is imposed which is in harmony with a general regulation of canon law, the condition must be interpreted in the same sense as the general law. Hence, in places where the Tridentine law is promulgated the form of clandestinity imposed as a condition of obtaining the dispensation from disparitas cultus is required under pain of invalidity, and in places where the decree Tametsi is not promulgated the fulfilment of this condition is required merely under pain of sin.
CATHOLIC ACTING AS SPONSOR OF A PROTESTANT CHILD PROTESTANT ACTING AS SPONSOR OF A CATHOLIC CHILD
REV. DEAR SIR, — (i) May a Catholic act as sponsor for a Protestant child who is baptized according to the Protestant Ritual ? (2) May a Protestant be asked to act as sponsor for a Catholic child ? A reply to these questions will oblige,
SUBSCRIBER.
i. The opinion which is at present universal amongst
NOTES AND QUERIES 85
theologians holds that a Catholic may not act as sponsor for a child who is baptized according to the Protestant ritual. One of the duties of a sponsor is either per se or Per alium to ask, in the name of the child, the officiating clergyman to confer the sacrament. Now, the baptism which is demanded in the case is baptism according to the Protestant ritual, and consequently an heretical ceremony. Hence the sponsor asks for an unlawful thing, and formally co-operates with heretical rites. In confirmation of this view, the Ada Sanctae Sedis (vol. xxvii., p. 455), quote a decision of the Holy Office, dated loth May, 1770 : ' Sanc- tissimus decrevit, catholicis regulariter non licere haere- ticorum aut schismaticorum concionibus, baptismis, matrimoniis interesse. Absolute autem non licere nee per se nee per alios fungi officio patrini in baptismis, quae haereticorum filiis ab haereticis ministrantur.' And in 1870, the Holy Office declared in connection with the office of sponsor : ' Neque catholicis eodem munere fungi licet in iisdem sacramentis (baptismi et confirmationsis) acatholico ritu administratis : ita enim constanter tenuit haec Apostolica Sedes.'
Formerly, theologians were not unanimous on this point. Many, v.g., St. Alphonsus, Lacroix, Laymann, held that there is sometimes merely material co-operation, which is excused by the fact that a Catholic sponsor can easily use his influence towards the conversion of his god- child to the true faith. This opinion cannot now be looked on as probable owing to the constant teaching of the Holy See.
2. A Protestant may not be lawfully employed as sponsor of a Catholic child. Sponsors are appointed by the Church to be the spiritual guides of their god-children, and a Protestant, not being a safe spiritual guide, is excluded from such position of trust. This has been the invariable teaching of the Holy See. In 1870, the Holy Office said : ' In collatione sacramentorum baptismi et confirmationis haeretici vel schismatici neque per se, neque per catholicum procuratorem, neque soli, neque cum catholicis, patrini munere fungi licite possunt.'
86 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
On the 3rd May, 1893, the Holy Office replied to the following question : —
In aliqua paroecia Hungariae accidit ut mater a fide catholica apostatavisset, quia parochus in baptizanda ejusdem prole patrinum haereticum inhaerendo legibus Ecclesiae rejecerit. Cum vero ex declarations S. Poenitentiariae die 10 Dec. 1860 ad 19 notorie censuratus ad munus patrini admitti possit, si ex ejus rejectione gravia damna imminere videantur ; ac inde quaeritur : Utrum haec declaratio etiam ad patrinos haereticos extendi possit, an vero praestet, sicut nonnulli volunt, in hu jus- modi casibus difficilibus baptismum sine patrino administrare ?
R. Negative, et praestare ut baptismum conferatur sine patrino, si aliter fieri non possit.
On 27th June, 1900, another decision to the same effect was published by the Holy Office : ' Num possit permittere (episcopus) ut vir protestanticus agat patrinum in baptismo catholicae conferendo cuidam filiae conjugum mixti matri- monii, qui coram ministro haeretico contraxerunt ? R. Permitti non posse.' So many decisions of this kind have appeared, some of them referring to extreme cases, it seems to be certainly and absolutely unlawful to ask a Protestant to act as sponsor of a Catholic child.
A Protestant may, however, be allowed to be present as a mere witness and to sign the register as such, if refusal would entail serious loss or injury. This is permissible in the case of matrimony, and there seems no reason for making a different rule in the case of baptism.
DAILY COMMUNION OF BOYS
An important decision of the S. Congregation of the Council, concerning frequent Communion of boys who have just received their first Communion, has recently been published. For one reason or another some were under the impression that the decree Sacra Tridentina Synodus1 about daily Communion did not apply to them, but now all doubt has been removed by the "reply of , the S. Congregation, which states that daily Communion is
1 I. E. RECORD. April, p. 376 ; May. p. 451.
NOTES AND QUERIES
recommended to youths in the same way in which it is recommended to adults : —
Quotidiana Eucharistiae sumptio in catholicis ephebeis suaderi ne debet etiara pueris quibuscunque post susceptam primam communionem ?
R. Sacrae Communionis frequentiam commendari juxta articulum primum decreti etiam pueris, qui ad sacram mensam juxta normas in Catechismo Romano, cap. 4, n. 63, semel admissi ab ejus frequenti participatione prohiberi non debent, sed potius eos ad id hortari, reprobata praxi contraria alicubi vigente. 1
J. M. HARTY.
CANON LAW
ABE MAYNOOTH SYNOD DECREES MERE PENAL LAWS?
REV. DEAR SIR, — An interesting point on Canon Law has been raised by a friend of mine, regarding the binding force of the decrees of the Maynooth Synod. He maintains that such decrees as those enacted by Provincial and National Councils are mere penal laws, which only involve an obligation of carrying out the penalties attached to the violation of the decrees, but do not impose any obligation in conscience as to their observance under pain of sin, unless such an obligation be clearly and expressly stated by the legislators. He corroborates his state- ment by making a comparison between the decrees mentioned and the rules of religious Orders. Those rules are likewise laws for a particular body of men, and commonly held to be mere penal laws. Besides, he adduces the authority of Zitelli (App. Jur. Eccl., lib. i., cap. iv., art. ii. in fin.), who writes : ' Effectus ejusdem (Concilii pubblicationis) est ut statutis conciliaribus omnes Provinciae subditi obligentur, ita tamen ut eiusmodi obligatio sit ad poenam non ad culpam, nisi Concilium ipsum secus declaraverit.'
All that upset my notions of Canon Law on this point. I hold quite the opposite view which, so far as I remember, squares with the theory on that matter I acquired in the class of Canon Law a good many years ago. Will you kindly throw some light on such an important question by favouring us with an answer in the I. E. RECORD ?
ASSIDUUS.
Our correspondent's question is, indeed, full of interest
1 Analecta Ecclesiastica, Sept. -Oct., 1906, p. 383.
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and importance from the practical point of view. Its bearing on the exact observance of Church laws and main- tenance of ecclesiastical discipline is evident, as obvious are the detrimental effects which may result from a false notion and even a doubt on such a momentous matter.
In answering his question we tell ' Assiduus ' at once that we completely share his opinion, which is to our mind the correct one, and reject that of his friend which, not- withstanding the authority of the learned Zitelli, is wholly untenable and perfectly erroneous, as it is based on a misconception of the nature of penal laws, of the efficacy of ecclesiastical legislaton, and of the character of a National Synod's decrees ; hence a brief exposition of these doctrines will facilitate and naturally lead to the solution of the difficulties connected with this question.
It is a certain doctrine, which our correspondent's friend must admit, that a law of any kind involves the idea and always carries with it an obligation. This is suggested by the very word lex, derived from the Latin ligare, to bind. ' Dicitur enim lex/ says St. Thomas,1 ' a ligando quia obligat ad agendum.' Without such an obligation a law would lose its nature and become only a counsel, and the law-giver would sink to the level of a mere adviser. ' Decretum,' writes Gratian,2 ' necessitatem facit, exhortatio liberam voluntatem excitat.'
This obligation is of two kinds, as two-fold is the force of the law from which it emanates. The obligation ad culpam is the effect of the directive force, while the co- active force produces an obligation ad poenam. The first constitutes a law in the strict schse of the word, called simply lex, the latter makes what is termed a mere penal law. Any law, whether ecclesiastical or civil, may be and is, as a rule, possessed of the two mentioned forces and consequent obligations. There is some diversity of opinion amongst canonists as to the possibility and existence of ecclesiastical laws with only the co-active force, but they unanimously agree in holding that laws may exist
1 St. Thomas, i, 2. quest. 90, art. i.
* Gratian's Collection, Dist. 4 ad finem.
NOTES AND QUERIES
imposing only an obligation ad culpam. As it is therefore inoUspensable to find in any law some kind of obligation, if it be proved that a particular law or body of laws are not merely penal we must necessarily conclude that they bind also or solely ad culpam.
We only wish to add that the latter obligation is a natural and necessary consequence of a real and strictly called law, and there is no need for the superior to state it expressly, declaring his intention of binding in that manner ; for the directive regulation or direction inserted in the law, and authoritatively imposed on the subject by the com- petent superior, is a precept, ordering something to be done or avoided, and it is in the nature of such a precep- tive direction to bind to its observance. ' Lex,' says Schmalzgrueber,1 ' est rationale praeceptum, et non potest intelligi praeceptum impositum subditis nisi hi obligentur ad parendum praecepto.' It is true that the character of the binding force proceeds from and depends on the superior's intention, ' Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem,' but his will to bind ad culpam is always presumed, because it is certainly contained in the very nature of a preceptive regulation, and an explicit declaration in that respect would be deemed entirely superfluous. If any manifestation of the superior's mind be at all necessary it is to the contrary effect, namely, to deprive the directive precept of the law of the force of imposing an obligation in conscience to observe it in order to make it a mere penal law.2
St. Thomas proves the necessity of such an obligation in conscience in any legal law, as he terms it, from divine will and the eternal law on which it is based. Any power or authority, he states, is from God, who wishes us to obey it.3 If we dare resist the superior's authority, we resist God's command, and acquire for ourselves eternal repro- bation.4 We are obliged, therefore, St. Paul concludes,5 to
1 Schmalzgrueber, Jus. EccL Univ., t. i., p. i, tit. ii., par. v.
2 Suarez, De Leg., lib. iii., cap. 19, n. 7 sqq. 8 St. Thomas, i, 2, quest. 96, art. 4.
* i Peter ii.
5 Rom. xiii. i sqq.
90 THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
subject ourselves to the superior authority, not for fear of incurring a punishment — propter iram — but for conscience' sake — propter conscientiam — in order to avoid a sin which follows from the transgression of God's command. The obligation in conscience, therefore, to obey the superior's directive injunctions is a necessary and natural effect of the law. Cardinal Cavagnis1 arrives at the same conclusion by demonstrating that such an obligation is necessary for the welfare and good government of society, because then alone laws may be effective means to keep discipline, secure peace, and maintain social order. Without that obligation hypocrisy and simulation, argues Suarez,2 will be fostered and encouraged in the observance of laws to the immense detriment of public weal and discipline. This is, finally, the common teaching of