Catholic Problems in Western Canada
G >> George Thomas Daly >> Catholic Problems in Western CanadaThe history of Protestantism is but the history of its changes of
religious belief. For "between authority and impressionism in matters of
Revelation, there is no alternative." As Christianity is not the product
of the human mind, but a Revelation from God, authority,--a divinely
constituted infallible and living authority--is a necessity, and the only
possible bond of unity.
This disintegrating principle of "private judgment" in matters of Divine
Revelation has been at work since the inception of Protestantism. By the
very force of its dissolving power the primary elements of a supernatural
religion have fast disappeared from the various creeds. One by one the
different Churches have drifted away from their Christian moorings and
taken to the high seas of Rationalism. Assailed by the storms of
unbelief they are breaking on the rocks of religious indifference. Empty
churches are the natural outcome of empty creeds. "The dominant
tendencies are indeed increasingly identified with those currents of
thought which are making way from the definiteness of the ancient Faith,
toward Unitarian vagueness." If Bishop Kinsman, Anglican Bishop of
Delaware, a recent convert to the Catholic Faith, gave this statement as
one of the reasons for leaving the Anglican Creed, with how much more
truth could it not be made of the kaleidoscopic tenets of other
denominations?
This process of dissolution of doctrinal grounds is bound to continue.
The fluid condition of the various churches testifies to the uncertainty
of their actual position and forces them to seek the lowest doctrinal
level. "Their standard is determined by the minimum, rather than by the
maximum view tolerated, since their official position must be gauged, not
by the most they allow, but by the least they insist on." (F. Kinsman.)
The remnants of Christianity that were still to be found in their
teachings are now looked upon as "obsolete dogmas" and, as such,
obstacles to unity. The very fundamental mysteries of the Incarnation
and the Redemption are fast growing dim in the minds and hearts of men.[3]
The Protestant Churches will never come back to their former position.
In this Church-union movement they are burning their bridges behind them.
The gospel of pure "humanitarianism," which is the absolute negation of a
supernatural religion, will eventually be the last result of this present
unity.
Destructive criticism, to be profitable, should be followed by
constructive suggestions.
"_That they may be all one!_" This ideal of the Master, this supreme
wish of His last hours, remains the ideal, the wish of His Church. But
its realization cannot be at the expense of truth. Cardinal Gasparri
outlined to the promoters of the "World Congress on Faith and Order" the
view and position of the Catholic Church in this most important issue.
"The Holy See has decided not to participate in the Pan-Christian
Congress which it is proposed to hold shortly, _as the Catholic Church
considering her dogmatic character, cannot join on an equal footing with
the other Churches_. The feeling at the Vatican is that all other
Christian denominations have seceded from the Church of Rome, which
descends directly from Christ. Rome cannot go to them; _it is for them
to return to her bosom_.[4] The Pope is ready to receive the
representatives of the dissenting churches with open arms, since the
Roman Church has always longed for the _unification of all Religious
Christians_. Pope Leo XIII. was deeply interested in this question and
wrote two famous encyclicals on the subject of the _unification of the
Christian Churches_."
The divine Founder of Christendom did not leave to several Churches the
conservation and propagation of His doctrine. He founded only one Church
and gave "unity" itself, as the supreme test of its divinity. Therefore
the Church, that has remained "one" through time and space, and has
conquered those two great enemies of unity, bears the birth-mark of its
divine origin. The Catholic Church alone makes that specific claim.
History is there to substantiate it. Matthew Arnold himself could not
help acknowledging this universal fact. "Catholicism is that form of
Christianity which is the oldest, the largest, and most popular. It has
been the great popular religion of Christendom. Who has seen the poor in
other churches as they are seen in Catholic Churches? Catholicism
envelopes human life, and Catholics in general feel themselves to have
drawn not only their religion from their Church, but they feel themselves
to have drawn from her, too, their art, poetry and culture. _And if
there is a thing specially alien to religion, it is division. If there
is a thing specially native to religion it is peace and union. Hence the
original attraction towards unity in Rome, and hence the great charm when
that unity is once attained_." The sharp contrast between the actual
restlessness and uncertainty of the dissident Churches, and the calm
assurance and self-possession of the Catholic Church, is not that an
abiding proof of the security of the Catholic position?
Father Palmieri, O.S.A., Ph.D., D.D., who has made the problem of
Christian Unity a life-study, made, in a recent article, these pertinent
remarks: "The reunion of Christianity in the Catholic sense is not a
Babel-like confusion of different sects which oppose creed to creed,
which proclaim their absolute indifference in the doctrinal field, which
take the individual reason as a judge of Christian revelation or
Christian discipline. It would be an absurdity to suppose for a moment
that Catholicism or Catholic Theology would propose this hybrid confusion
of concepts and human caprices under the name of unity. For Catholicism
and Catholic Theology, the reunion of Christianity is the return of
dissident Churches and of the non-Catholic sects to Christian unity, to
the one Church of Jesus Christ, which not only teaches this unity
theoretically but also puts it into practice, in its doctrine, in its
government, in its dogmatic and moral teaching, in its principles of
authority. By logical sequence the Church of Jesus is one. This unity
is not broken by political barriers, by ethnic divisions, by opposing
national aspirations. To tend therefore toward Christian unity signifies
to tend toward the only Church of Jesus Christ, and to effect this unity
is the same as to adhere to it."
Father Palmieri concludes his study with these words: "An impartial study
of many years' duration has fully convinced us that the union of the
dissident churches can be brought about only under the leadership of the
Catholic Church. Outside of Rome there is a principle of dissolution
which breaks up and disintegrates the most solid organisms and which will
cause the breaking up even of the Orthodox Churches. It is therefore in
the supreme interest of Christianity that the Catholic Church addresses
its appeals for union to the dissident Churches, and it will never cease
to exercise this, its noble mission. Its efforts have been crowned with
success several times, and I am convinced that that day will come in
which by means of prayer and action the aspiration of Christ's Vicar for
union will be realized."
Our non-Catholic reader may say that the position we take tends to
strengthen that exclusiveness, that narrowness, that aloofness with which
he has always charged the Church of Rome. But we would ask our
dissenting brethren, can it be otherwise? Truth is indivisible and
unchangeable. Were the unity of the Church Universal to exist only in
the Church of the future we would have to conclude that there was a time
when the Church of Christ did not exist on earth. This would be absurd
and would destroy Christianity in its very foundation. The true Church
of Christ has a right to claim the monopoly of Christianity. The Church
which, through a so-called spirit of broad-mindedness, accepts the
conflicting claims of the various dissident bodies, and is ready to merge
its entity with other denominations, immediately, _de facto_, invalidates
its claim to be "The Church of Christ." For, its position involves a
contradiction and is in itself a self-condemnation.
Yet, the Catholic Church cannot feel indifferent toward this general and
supreme effort of the various fragments of Christendom towards unity.
Confidently she waits for the hour when all will return to her as to the
only centre and source of permanent unity. Yet, we would say with the
Bishop of Northampton, "If we may not compromise the very object of this
remarkable movement towards unity by accepting the pressing invitations
of our separated brethren to make common cause with them, neither can we
rest content to be mere spectators of their perplexities like those who
watch from the shore the efforts of distressed seamen to make their
port." Let us hope that Divine Providence, always gentle and strong in
its dealings with human liberty, will hasten the day when there will be
but "One Fold and One Pastor." In the meantime the efforts made to
constitute unity of Christianity outside of its true centre will prove as
futile as _ploughing the sands of the desert_.
[1] The withdrawal of the Northern Presbyterian and Northern Baptists and
the failure of the financial drive have imperilled the existence of this
ambitious project. Is it not a case of repeating with the Psalmist:
"Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build
it?"--Ps. 126.
[2] In the last Lambeth Conference--1920--the Church of England has again
reduced this minimum by implicitly recognizing the Nonconformist ministry
and abandoning its claim to reunion through the absorption of all sects
in the Anglican communion. It has so shifted from its former position
that it has openly expressed in the Bishops' manifesto the desire to
place itself on some "no man's land" where all the dissident Churches may
safely meet and unite.
[3] Canon E. W. Barnes, of Westminster Abbey, in a sermon to the members
of the British Association, at their meeting at Cardiff, Aug. 29, 1920,
declared that, to harmonize Christian Doctrine with modern science,
particularly with the theory of evolution, he found it necessary to
abandon the doctrine of the Fall of Man and arguments deduced from it by
theologians, from St. Paul onward.
[4] Father Leslie Walker, S.J., in a recent work on "The Problem of
Reunion," suggests we should enquire rather how we came to differ than
what we differ about.
CHAPTER VI.
"THEM ALSO I MUST BRING"
(Jo. X, 16)
_The Apostolate to Non-Catholics--Its Obligation.
What have we done? What can we do?_
The spiritual influence of a Christian is commensurate with his
appreciation of responsibility. The breadth and depth of vision give
to this moral feeling its field of action. The circle of our influence
ceases with the limits of our spiritual outlook. The boundless and
clear visions of all the Great Apostles in the Church of God give us
the key to the generosity and artfulness of their zeal. Just as the
narrowness of our views explains the restrictiveness of our charity and
the limitations of its activities. This is particularly noticeable in
our dealings with the spiritual needs of those outside the Fold. The
claims of our non-Catholic brethren to our charity do not seem to
affect us, because our spiritual outlook has not the proportions of
that of the Master. With Him we do not stand on those heights from
which we could see beyond our own green pastures, "Other sheep that are
not of His Fold and which we must also bring." This explains how the
claim--"_Oportet_" . . . "_We must bring_"--awakens in us no sense of
responsibility and meets with no answer in the ordinary activities of
our life. Every one seems more or less contented with the lines of
denominational demarcation as he finds them around him in the
community. Not to discuss religion, not to busy oneself with the other
man's belief, to be very frequently rather reticent about our own, is a
policy generally accepted in the West. This habit of evasiveness is
not Christian and often leads to the sacrifice of Catholic principles.
Far from us be the idea of advocating rash obtrusiveness, of untimely
aggressive and inconsiderate zeal. But between this excess and that of
a "_laissez faire_" policy there is a golden mean. What is then wrong,
our method or our zeal?
A right understanding and a deep conviction of our duties in the matter
under consideration are of the greatest value for the Church in Western
Canada. May we preface our chapter by asking the reader to keep before
his mind the illuminating distinction of St. Augustine between the Body
and Soul of the Church. Many souls outside of the visible Body of the
Church are nevertheless within the beneficial influence of her
invisible pale. This is a commonplace of theology, we all know, but
evidently, very often forgotten.
Are we in conscience bound to spread the true faith among our
non-Catholic brethren? Most undoubtedly we are. The examples and
precepts of the Master, the canons of the Church, the love of God and
our neighbour, are among the pressing motives which should appeal to a
true Catholic and make him zealous within the sphere of his influence.
"Thy Kingdom Come!" That prayer of the Lord, which has become our
morning and evening prayer, is vain, if in the ordinary course of life
we do not try to extend the boundaries of that spiritual kingdom in the
very souls of those with whom we come in daily contact. Is not the
light of our life to shine out so that it may serve as a beacon to
those outside the Fold? But nothing is more striking than the words of
the Good Shepherd: "And other sheep I have that are not of this Fold;
them also I must bring and they shall hear My voice" (Jo. X., 16). Who
could explain the profound yearnings of the Divine Master's heart and
the deep feeling of obligation that are summed up in these words: "Them
also I must bring." The Divine Shepherd finds Himself responsible for
the sheep that are not of His own Fold and His only ambition is to
bring them in.
This recommendation of Our Lord, His Church understood when in her
Canon-law She makes it a duty for all bishops and priests to look upon
the non-Catholics residing within the boundaries of their jurisdiction
as recommended to them by the Lord and placed in their charge. (Canon
1350, No. 1.)
The Plenary Council of Quebec, the authoritative voice of the Church in
Canada, is most emphatic in its recommendation of our separated
brethren to the zeal of all Catholics. (No. 331)
The obligation of conscience to come to the help of our non-Catholic
neighbour is moreover founded on the precepts of Christian charity. If
Christ will condemn to Hell those who did not give Him to eat and to
drink in the person of the needy, what will He not say to those who
neglect the spiritual works of mercy. The activities of Christian
zeal, to one who rightly understands the spirit of the gospel and the
economy of the redemption, have the same binding force as alms-giving,
and fulfill in the spiritual world the part charity has to play in the
scheme of Christian economics.
The obligation of alms-giving is complementary to the right of
property. For, as St. Thomas says, "It is one thing to have a right to
possess money and another to have a right to use money as one pleases."
(II. _a_, II. _ae_, Q. XXXII., art. 5, ad 2.) This duty when
conscientiously performed re-establishes that economic and social
equilibrium which strict justice alone is not able to create. For, the
inequitable distribution of wealth greatly depends on the inequality of
power of production. This inequality of natural gifts in man remains
an unchangeable fact which faith alone in a Divine Providence can
explain, an ever renascent problem which Christian charity only can
solve.
This mystery of Christian solidarity reveals itself also in the
spiritual world. We may say of each Catholic what St. Ambrose said of
the priesthood: "_Nemo Catholicus sibi_,"--no one is a Catholic for
himself alone. By a mysterious law of Divine Providence the
conservation and propagation of the faith are, after Divine Grace,
largely dependent on the influence of man on man. We are all verily
"Our brothers' keepers." We are commissioned by Christ not only to
keep the faith but also to hand it down to others, not only to keep its
fire burning in our hearts but to spread it, and to fan it into a
conflagration. The gift of faith implies the charitable obligation of
weaving our belief into our every day life and, through that life and
its influence, into the lives of others. The plenitude of some make up
for the penury of others. If St. John, to urge the precept of
alms-giving, said: "He that hath the substance of this world and shall
see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him: how
doth the charity of God abide in him?" (I. Jo. III, 17), with how much
more truth cannot the condemnation of the Beloved Apostle be applied to
one who, rich in Faith--"that substance of things unseen," makes no
effort to help his brother who is deprived of it? Therefore charity,
through its spiritual works of mercy, re-establishes the equilibrium in
the spiritual realm and stands out as a vital factor in the economy of
our religion. To understand rightly this principle and to reduce it to
action, is to be a true and ardent apostle. Then, and then only, are
we able to say in truth, with the martyr, St. Pacien, "Christian is my
name, but Catholic is my surname."
How pressing is this obligation to be an apostle, to be truly Catholic,
among our non-Catholic brethren? Why should we particularly turn the
energies of our zeal to the conversion of non-Catholics? What special
claim have they to our prayers?
The supernatural element of Faith, often the fruit of a valid baptism,
which still lingers in the souls of many non-Catholics; the fact that
numbers of them, because they are in good faith, belong thereby to the
"Soul of the Church;" the rising tide of indifference and unbelief
which is now burying under its water the last remnants of Christianity
to be found among the conflicting creeds: these are the predominant
motives which, according to the principles of St. Thomas Aquinas,
should attract the preference of our zeal. For the order of the
charity, says the Holy Doctor,[1] depends on the _relations_ of those
we love, to God and to ourselves, and on the _urgency_ of their
spiritual needs. By this doctrine, among those outside of the Church,
those professing Christianity have the first claim to our apostleship.
Therefore missions to non-Catholics, _caeteris paribus_, take
precedence over foreign missions.
We all recognize the reality of this obligation and understand, vaguely
perhaps, the burden of its responsibility. We all indeed, at times,
say with the Divine Master: "There are other sheep that are not of this
Fold; them also I must bring."--But, what have we done to bring them?
Outside of a few casual cases of conversion prompted often by marriage,
and of some spasmodic efforts during a mission, are we not bound to
admit that our policy in our relation with non-Catholics has been one
of aloofness and waiting. This attitude of aloofness may be traced to
many causes. The certainty of his faith gives to the Catholic an
assurance which he carries with him into his every day life. A sense
of superiority is its natural result. It gives him that
self-confidence in religious matters which our separated brethren are
so prone to call "Roman Pride."
There exists in the Catholic soul that feeling we might name "The
timidity of faith." This sensitiveness is but the instinct of
preservation. We have been impressed from our youth that faith is the
greatest heirloom of our Christian heritage. To protect it against any
influence that would endanger it, is always considered a sacred duty.
This is particularly remarked among the masses, whose chances of
education finished with the grammar schools, and in countries or
localities where Catholics are the minority.
The natural result of this attitude and feeling is an estrangement from
those of another faith, a bashful reluctance to meet them and to
co-operate with them in social or civic matters, an unconscious
tendency to see motives that do not exist and, at times, to refrain
from the most elementary acts of charity and courtesy. "It often
happens that we manifest towards the heretic the feeling which should
be exclusively reserved for heresy." (Lord Morley.) That this is
precisely the frame of mind of the ordinary non-Catholic in his
dealings with us, is by no way an excuse for our own unkindness.
Retaliation is not Christ-like. Does not our aloofness confirm our
separated brethren in their false ideas, wrong impressions and bitter
prejudices. We must not forget that centuries of strife and untold
antagonism of misunderstandings and ignorance, stand as a granite wall
between their souls and ours. The teachings and influence of their
home, of their school, and of their church lie in their minds, strata
upon strata, as the silent and lasting mementoes of the great religious
upheaval of the Reformation. Only the influence of a genuine, frank,
Catholic life, seen and felt in daily intercourse will gradually wear
the barrier away. It is a long and slow process, we know, but one
worth trying. Like the ever returning tide it eats its way into the
most solid rock of prejudice and bigotry.
That this aloofness carries with it for the unguarded soul and
untrained mind a great protection, is made evident by the too many
examples of lukewarm Catholics, who by their continued association with
those outside of the Fold have lost the right appreciation of their
faith and are open to compromise. Principles in their lives often
yield to a policy of so called broadmindedness and alleged charity.
But those we have in mind, are the leaders, among the clergy and the
laity. They are grounded in their belief, know its principles and
should be prepared to throw off that aloofness which shades the light
of their faith and prevents it from being seen by those who are bound
to them, in the everyday life, by national, social, commercial, and
often by family ties.
This _quasi_ universal attitude of aloofness has developed among us
what we might call "The policy of waiting." The festive board of
Christ's faith is ready, but the guests from another fold are wanting.
Have we gone "by the highways and byways" and forced ourselves upon
their attention by our pressing invitations . . . "_compelle intrare_?"
No, we stand at the door of the Banquet Hall, receiving politely and
with joy, it is true, those who ask to come in; and there, for the most
part, ends our apostolate. This naturally leads us to say frankly what
we think could be done. For we believe that our methods of apostolate
call for revision, need readjustment. The way to become like St. Paul,
"All things to all men, that we may save them all," (I. Cor. I., 22)
changes with the times.
In the great drama of life the stage-settings are ever shifting and the
_dramatis personae_, changing. The success of the actor is to fit in
as the play goes on. This he does by adopting ways and methods most
appropriate to his surroundings. The problems we face are always the
same, but to be efficient our methods of handling them must evolve and
adjust themselves to the temper of the age. What should be then the
characteristic features of our apostleship among non-Catholics? The
neglect of readjustment of our methods in dealing with our separated
brethren is the avowed cause of the tremendous waste of energy and the
explanation of meagre results. "An enormous amount of energy," said
Father Benson,--and he had the experience,--"has been expended
uselessly in the past, assaulting positions that are no longer held,
and by lack of appreciation of present conditions." In this age of
loose thinking and of rapid dissemination of ideas, _aggressiveness_,
supported by active propaganda, characterizes every world-wide movement
in government, industry, science and religion. Every doctrine, every
theory comes into the open and makes a strong bid for our hearing, for
our following. Why should not the true doctrine of Christ assume this
new shining armour of sane aggressiveness, come more into the open, and
throw down the gauntlet to unbelief and indifference everywhere rampant
and openly defiant? For, if conviction is the father of devotion, if
our belief in the mastery of ideas is genuine, we cannot help but be
aggressive. Needless to say we are not asking for vulgar
aggressiveness, we are not asking for cheap sneers and attacks on the
ignorance and the illogical position of others. By aggressiveness, we
mean coming out in defence of truth which it is our privilege and
responsibility to possess. Never have times been more inviting for an
aggressive Catholicism. The great war has been for Protestantism the
acid test. The result is for the Anglican and Evangelical Churches a
complete failure,[2] and, as the soldiers said "a wash-out." They have
lost their grip on the masses who are rapidly slipping into a religious
chaos. The universal disintegration of creeds, strangely combined with
a secret thirst for truth and unity now sweeps the English-speaking
world. Are not these portentous events that manifest, as "The stirring
of the waters," the movement of the Holy Spirit.