DR. MORAN’S PASTORAL.
We reprint those portions of Dr. Moran’s pastoral letter, which bear upon matters not exclusively connected with hisown Church:— . “ It is necessary to remind you that the Society of Freemasons is condemned by the Church, and that all its members are ipso facia excdmtoupicsted. Shouldany Catholics, then, unfortunately ’ belong ‘ jo tftjs Society, on which has fallen so heavily the anathema of the Church, we earnestly exhort them, as they value their salvation, to abandon it at once and for ever ; for should they continue members of it, she will refuse them her aid while deprive them of Christian burial IWMNmad.” “ Your generous and aealous co-operation in the efforts we are now mak ng to establish Catholic schools in this diocese is most edifying and consoling, and calls for our thanks, and the thanks of all good Catholics. But it would be a grevious error to suppose that enough has been done. In truth the work has only commenced and we must prepare ourselves for long continued, arduous, and self-sacrificing efforts in the cause of Christian and Catholic education. Never was a genuine Christian education more necessary than at the present time. Science and literature have, to a great extent, fallen into the hands of the enemies of religion and Christian civilisation, who are endeavoring to monopolise education, in order to turn it into an instrument for the destruction of that Church, in which alone men can find salvation. The effort, indeed, is vain, for the Church is “ the pillar and ground of truth” (1 Tim, c. iii. v. 15), and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it -(Malt. c. zvi. v. 18). But there is no security for us or for our country if we neglect ®ur duty, for the promise has been made to the Church —not to any particular peppje. Tip highest and holiest interests, then, ■ qf yourjjrel'ves qfid children are bound up in the question pf education. For you the battle of the Faith and of morality is to be fought in the School-room. After the Church—wherein is offered up the adorable sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood, the sacraments administered, and the Word of God expounded—the holiest and most important place on earth is the Catholic ScJwod-rpojff, where the toiud of youth is
trained and knowledge impartej in «xjordance with the Religion impaijed by our Divine Redeemer. Science and literature and art, in a' word, all departments of learning—must he made so many hand-maids oi true religion ; or, in the age in which we live, they will be turned, in the hands oi wicked and unbelieving men, into instruments for its destruction. There is there can be— no real opposition between reason and religion, for both have a common origin —both came from God ; but as, in the words of the Apostle Peter, the unlearned and unwary wrest even sacred Scripure to their own destruction, so the ignorant and uneducated easily become a prey to the fallacies of false science and the sophisms of unprincipled men of genius and learning. The only remedy and safeguard, after grace, for individuals is to be found in a solid Catholic education, which is itself a great internal grace. Be convinced, then, that for you the battle of the Church, or social order, and of material progress such as will be no obstacle to your salvation, is to be fought in the School-room. It is absolutely necessary for you to be on your guard against the Government Schools in this Diocese. They are anti-Catholic, reprobated by the Church, and many of the class books used in them contain atrocious calumnies on our Holy Religion and its ministers. On these accounts, Catholics in mo-vt places find themselves unfortunately and distressingly circumstanced—as, generally speaking, there are no other schools to which they can send their children, and the probability of having Catholic schools within their reach is remote. For the Government of the Province not only perseveres in maintaining at the public expense this most objectionable and anti-Catholic system, bnt refuses us all aid towards the erection and support of Catholic schools. This is unjust and impolitic. We must protest and struggle against it in every le itimate way within our reach. Meantime let us bear in mind these words of our Divine Redeemer—- “ What will it avail a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul ?” And again, these words of the Apostle Paul (Heb c, xi. v. 6) “Without faith it is impossible to please God. ” Whatever you do, you cannot, without making shipwreck of your salvation, endanger the faith of your children—faith, their most precious and most important inheritance. On no account and under no circumstances whatever, can yon allow them to be instructed in prayers or any other matters pertaining to religion by non-Catholic teachers : nor can yon permit them to use the books to which we have just now directed your attention. And wherever Catholic schools are within your reach, you are strictly bound to withdraw your children from the Government schools and send them to the Catholic. Efforts are now being made to substitute a purely secular system for the Presbyterian system of education at present existing throughout this diocese; and the Catholics are invited to aid these efforts. You must be on your guard against secularism in education. Both systems are antagonistic to Catholicity, for while the Presbyterian system would weaken and ultimately destroy your Catholic faith, the secular system is calculated, and intended by its chief patrons tq uproot qll Christian and divine faith, and erect on its ruins stark infidelity! Of the two, therefore, the latter is the more objectionable, and should, therefore, meet from us the most severe condemnation, and the most determined opposition.” “We also exhort those to meet on Sundays for the purpose of public prayer, and under all circumstances to be careful to have at least family prayers, and to avoid the scandal and injury to God, involved in going to Protestant fjlaqcs qf worship. Christ established hut one Church, and outside that Church there is no salvation. To joinj therefore, in any form of worship reprobated by his Church is to commit a most grevious sin, and to do an act derogatory at once to the sanctity and veracity of God. ”
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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2793, 30 January 1872, Page 2
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1,052DR. MORAN’S PASTORAL. Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2793, 30 January 1872, Page 2
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