Icw/sncJl . TrtfUAcis cr. T^fâofoa^iziwow --- • u f l f l B B ! THE ORGANIZATION AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH Rev. Dr. Francis J. Connell, C.. SS. R., Professor at the Redemptorist House of Studies, Esopus, N. Y. Pour addresses delivered in the Catholic Hour, sponsored by the National Council of Catholic Men with the co-operation of the National Broadcasting Company and its Associated Stations. I. Membership in the Church. II. The Constitution of the Church. in. i ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ W p ^ ^ ^ B w p ^ of the Church. IV. The Functioning of the Church. National-Council of Catholic Men, Sponsor of the Catholic Hour, 1314 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D. 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Pr inted and distr ibuted by Our S u n d a y V i s i t o r Hunt ington, Indiana Imprimatur: * JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, D. D. Bishop of Fort Wayne Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1931 Imprimi Potest: ANDREW KUHN, C. SS. R., Provincial Superior DEDICATION TO SAINT ALPHONSUS DE' LIGUORI who bequeathed as a most precious heritage to his sons an ardent love for Holy Mother Church. AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION From the frequent allusions of Jesus Christto His Church related in the Gospels, we can obtain a very adequate con- cept of the essential features of this divinely established religious organization. Moreover, we have His assurance that the constitution He gave to His Church will endure until the end of time, for He solemnly promised that all adverse in- fluences—which He expressively designately as "the gates of hell"—will never prevail against the Church as He founded it (Matt, xvi, 18)". Relying on the words of the Son of God and on the testi- mony of history, Catholics believe that their Church is the true Church of Christ, and that it has preserved in its form of government and in its functioning the constitutional prin- ciples laid down by Our Saviour. The explanation of these Catholic tenets and the arguments adduced in their support constitute the theme of the four papers contained in this pamphlet. These papers were originally delivered over a nation-wide radio broadcast on the Sundays from March 29 to April 19, 1931, during the "Catholic Hour," sponsored by the National Council of Catholic Men. A controversial vein must necessarily appear in these lectures, for tRey center about the principal points of differ- ence between the Catholic Church and all other Christian communions. Nevertheless, while presenting Catholic teach- ings without compromise or equivocation, I have striven to manifest the respect that I feel for the many sincerely re- ligious persons who are not of the Catholic Church. The numerous kindly comments I received from non-Catholic listeners after the delivery of the lectures have assured me that my desire not to cause bitterness or pain has been realized. And so, I present these discourses in the printed form which permits of a more careful examination of their content than the hearing of them allowed, hoping that all who read them will be led thereby to admire the power and the wisdom of God as they are manifested in the constitution of Christ's imperishable Church. MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH (Address delivered by Rev. Dr. Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., in the Catholic Hour, March 29, 1931) The lectures delivered during the National Cath- olic Hour periods of the past few weeks were di- rected to show that Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, in the course of His earthly life founded a religious society called the Church, the purpose of which is to sanctify human beings and to bring them to the everlasting- happiness of heaven. The speaker of the last four Sundays demonstrated that this religious society is a visible, unified organiza- tion, endowed with certain well-defined, distinctive marks or notes, by which it can be identified as the true Church of Christ. The question that naturally presents itself next is this: What is necessary that a person may be- come a member of the Church of Christ? It is evi- dent that to acquire membership in any organiza- tion of human beings certain conditions must be fulfilled. A foreigner wishing to become a citizen of the United States must pledge allegiance to the Constitution and must promise obedience to thè lawfully constituted authorities of our nation. To become a member of a club one must subscribe to its by-laws. Similarly, to obtain membership in the Church of Christ a person must fulfill three condi- tions—conditions which, as the New Testament in- forms us, have been definitely determined by Christ Himself. These conditions are, first, belief in the Christian revelation as proposed by the official teachers of the Church; second, participation in the sacred rites of the Church; third, obedience to the divinely constituted authority of the Church. 6 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE Jesus Christ devoted the last three years of His mortal life to thè preaching of an harmonious and sublime system of religious doctrines which He called His Gospel. He made it very clear at the same time that those who wished to be His followers and to become members of His Church must believe these doctrines. "The kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel" (MARK i, 15) was His proclamation to the people of Galilee at the be- ginning of His public ministry. Again, He de- clared : "I am come a light into the world ; that who- soever believeth in Me, may not remain in darkness" (JOHN xii, 46). The right to preach His doctrines He committed to the twelve chosen disciples, saying to them shortly before His ascension into heaven: "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature" (MARK xvi, 15). He also clearly stated that those who would enroll under the stand- ard of Christianity are not free to accept certain portions only of His teaching and to reject the rest, but must believe the Gospel in its entirety, for He bade the Apostles teach men "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (MATT, xxviii, 20). After their Master's ascension into heaven, the Apostles began to preach the doctrines He had committed to their custody. First in Jeru- salem and in Palestine, then throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, Italy and the Isles of the Aegean Sea they proclaimed the sublime message of divine truth they had heard from the lips of the Son of God. Moreover, they constantly emphasized that all who desired to be affiliated with the religious society established by Jesus Christ must give cre- dence to His teachings as they, His authorized preachers, proclaimed them. To the royal treasurer GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 7 of Queen Candace, when he begged to be admitted among the followers of Christ, the deacon Philip answered: "If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest" (ACTS viii, 37). The members of the early Church were frequently designated "the be- lievers" or "the multitude of believers" (ACTS iv, 32; I COR. xiv, 22)—an unmistakable indication that to believe Christ's doctrines as they were an- nounced by the divinely constituted teachers was regarded as one of the essential conditions of mem- bership in the Christian Church. The second necessary condition is participation in the sacred rites of the Church, especially by the re- ception of the Sacrament of Baptism. This require- ment was clearly expressed in Christ's command to His Apostles: "Going, teach ye all nations; baptizing them" (MATT, xxviii, 19); likewise, "He that be- lieveth and is baptized, shall be saved" (MARK xvi, 16). Frequently, in sermon and in writing, the Apostles stressed the importance of Baptism, as the principal rite of initiation into the Church. "Do penance, and be baptized" was the exhortation of St. Peter to the first converts to Christianity (ACTS ii, 38) and St. Paul wrote, "In one spirit were we all baptized into one body" (I COR. xii, 13). The latter Apostle thus tersely summarizes the predom- inant features of Christ's Church, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (EPHES. iv, 5). Other rites also, besides Baptism, were established by Our Redeemer to promote the spiritual welfare of the faithful and to strengthen their spiritual union with one another. Thus, on the night before His death, He instituted the sacrament and sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist, His own Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine, and at the same 8 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE time empowered and commanded the Apostles and their successors in the sacred ministry of the Church to continue to celebrate this sublime rite (LUKE xxii, 19). That participation in the Holy Eucharist was in general use among the members of the primitive Church is evident from frequent allu- sions to this sacrament in the writings of St. Paul. Thus, he says in his Epistle to the Corinthians: "The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?" (I COR. x, 16). Clearly, therefore, participation in the Christian rites has been recog- nized from the beginning as an essential condition of membership in the Church of Christ. The third condition is obedience to the divinely constituted authority of the Church. The precise nature and the extent of the authority invested by Our Lord in the official rulers of the Church, the Apostles and their successors, will be considered in detail in subsequent discourses; but for the present it suffices to note that our Saviour manifestly be- stowed on His Apostles some manner of authority to which He willed the faithful to render obedience. This must be admitted in view of the extensive commission He gave to the Apostles: "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you" (JOHN xx, 21) and on another occasion: "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven: and what- soever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (MATT, xviii, 18). Again, the Master asserted that refusal to obey the lawful authority of the Church deprives one of membership in that organization: "If [thy brother] will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 9 publican (MATT, xviii, 17). That the early Christians looked on obedience to ecclesiastical au- thority as something demanded of the members of the Church is apparent from the prompt submission the faithful manifested to the laws and to the de- cisions of the Apostles and of the other bishops, who were regarded, St. Paul tells us, as deputed by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church of God (ACTS xx, 28). They, therefore, are members of the Church of Christ who believe the doctrines propounded by that Church, take part in its sacred rites and obey its lawful rulers. However, it must not be supposed that the merely external fulfillment of these condi- tions constitutes complete and perfect membership in the Church. For, besides being a visible associa- tion of human beings, the Church is also a spiritual organization, animated by a supernatural, divine life which flows from its head, Jesus Christ. Now, for membership in the Church in the fullest sense, participation in this divine life of grace is necessary —and to obtain this, a person must fulfill the three before mentioned conditions in the proper spirit of mind and of heart. He must unite to the externa] profession of the Christian faith, the unhesitating homage of intellect and of will to the authority of God's revelation; he must participate in the sacred rites of the Church with sincere sorrow for his sins and with true love for God and for his fellowmen; he must obey the authority of the Church with the purpose of thereby obeying God Himself. There can be, and according to the prophecy of Our Di- vine Redeemer there ever will be, in the Church chaff amidst the wheat—men and women who out- wardly discharge the obligations of membership, 10 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE but inwardly are separated from God by serious sin. These may be said to belong to the body of the Church, but by their rejection of the divine life of grace they have severed themselves from its soul: and if the summons of death overtakes them in this deplorable state, it will avail them nothing be- fore the throne of God to have complied outwardly with the conditions of membership in the Church of Christ. Our Lord proposed membership in His Church not as a matter of choice but as a grave obligation incumbent on air mankind. This is proved by His oft-repeated and explicit declarations that those who do not fulfill the three conditions of which we have spoken cannot attain to eternal salvation. Of the necessity of believing His doctrines, Christ said: "He that believeth not shall be condemned" (MARK xvi, 16). Equally forceful was His assertion that all are obliged to participate in the sacred rites of His Church, when He stated with reference to Bap- tism: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven" (JOHN iii, 5), and with reference to the Holy Eucharist: "Amen, amen, I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you" (JOHN vi, 54). The necessity of obeying the rulers of His Chur.ch He indicated by declaring to the Apostles that disobedience to them was equivalent to disobedience to God: "He that despiseth you de- spiseth Me; and He that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me" (LUKE x, 16). It is very plain, therefore, that the Son of God made it a matter of grave obligation for all human beings without ex- ception to become members of His Church. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 11 Since Catholics believe that their Church is the true Church of Jesus Christ, they logically apply to it the principle of obligatory membership promul- gated by Our Divine Saviour. They believe that all human beings are obliged to acquire or to retain, as the case may be, affiliation with the Catholic Church, by fulfilling the three necessary conditions: faith in the doctrines of Christianity as the Church proposes them; participafion in the Church's sacred rites, and obedience to the Church's lawful authori- ty. Unfortunately, however, the complete Catholic attitude on this matter is oftentimes not properly understood, and consequently many persons are un- der the impression that Catholics believe that no one who is outside the body of the Catholic Church can be pleasing to God or can attain eternal salva- tion. Now, the true Catholic position is as follows: First, we believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Jesus Christ, and that conse- quently there is a divinely imposed obligation in- cumbent on all persons to enter it. Accordingly, any one who would arrive at the conviction that the Catholic Church alone is Christ's Church and yet would neglect or refuse to affiliate himself with it, would commit a serious sin, and if he died in that state could not be saved. For such a person would be acting against the will of God as made known to him by his conscience. Moreover, we believe that one who even suspects that the Catholic Church may be the true Church should make a thorough and honest investigation of the claims of this Church because the issue involved is of vital and eternal importance. Second, because we believe so firmly that ours is the one true Church, possessing an abundance of spiritual treasures, we are desirous 12 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE of inducing those who are not of our faith to be- come Catholics. But to the attainment of this end, we countenance no coercion, no misrepresentation of facts, no unjust or insulting attacks on any other religious denomination. The only methods we ad- vocate are the straightforward explanation of. Cath- olic teachings and the honest presentation of the arguments for the divine institution of our Church, together with a prayer thSt the Almighty may bless and enlighten those to whom we are addressing our- selves. Third, we do not hold that all those outside the Catholic Church are for that reason guilty of sin and unworthy of the eternal happiness of heav- en. For we know that God rewards and punishes according to the way each individual conforms to the dictates of his or her own conscience. There- fore, one who is sincerely convinced that the form of religion he is practising is truly pleasing to God will not be punished by the Almighty for his adher- ence to that religion, no matter how false it may be in itself. On the contrary, a person who through no fault on his part is outside the true Church, but avoids sins and observes the Commandments of God as his conscience dictates, partakes of the life of grace with its accompanying right to everlasting happiness that is bestowed by Our Heavenly Father on all who love and serve Him. Moreover, such a person, by the very fact that he wishes to know and to do God's will, is united in desire to the true Church of Christ, and in such a case the Almighty will accept the desire for the reality. A Catholic, therefore, far from despising or condemning those who are of other religious denominations, should leave it to God to judge their consciences, and should humbly acknowledge that they may be far holier GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 13 and far more worthy of eternal reward then he is, despite his membership in thé Catholic Church. With such sentiments of Christian love and of forbearance, dear friends, let us enter on the sol- emn season beginning today—Holy Week, which -commemorates the sufferings and the death of Jesus Christ. To every one of the many thousands who are now listening to my voice may it be a truly holy week. On the heart of every one of us—Jew or Gentile, Protestant or Catholic—may the lesson of self-sacrifice and of charity toward all be deeply impressed by the example of Him who for love of all mankind bore the burden of the world's sins even to the Cross of Calvary. And in the lives of us all may the prayer that He uttered on the last night of His mortal life be in some 'measure realized— that we may all be one, and may have love one for another (JOHN xvii, 22-26). 14 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH (Address delivered by Rev. Dr. Francis J. Connell, C. SS. R., S.T.D., in the Catholic Hour, April 5, 1931). Every human society must have a constitution —a code of fundamental and organic laws that lay down the purpose of the society, the means to be employed for the attainment of that purpose, and especially the form of government by which the members of the society are to be ruled. Thus the Constitution of the United States determines all the essential factors of our national polity; the same is done for each State by its particular constitution. Accordingly, in establishing the Church as a visible human society, Jesus Christ obligated Himself to provide it with some form of constitution. From the Gospel narrative of our Lord's sayings and doings it is evident that the primary purpose assigned by Him to the Church —the first element of its constitution—-is to bring man to the everlasting happiness of heav- en. "My kingdom is not of this world," He de- clared (JOHN xviii, 36). Temporal happiness and material prosperity fall within the scope of the mission of Christ and of His Church only in so fa r as they may conduce toward man's spiritual and eternal benefit; for one of His basic ethical principles was: "Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth . . But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven" (MATT, vi, 19-20). It is likewise apparent from the New Testament that the Son of God provided the members of His Church for all time with abundant means of at- GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 15 taining to their eternal destiny—an extensive and harmonious system of revealed doctrines, a sublime code of morality, the example of His own virtues, the sacraments and the eucharistic .sacrifice—all of which He endowed with supernatural efficacy through the infinite value of the graces He merited during the course of His mortal life, especially by His death on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ also determined the form of govern- ment that was to prevail in His Church. At the beginning of His public ministry He chose twelve men to be His intimate companions; and He made it clear that these men—whom He called apostles (LUKE vi, 13)—were to be the first rulers of His Church. To them He communicated a three-fold power—to administer sacred rites, to teach the doctrines of the Christian revelation, and to rule the faithful. The first of these powers—that of admin- istering sacred rites—was given by Our Saviour to the Apostles when He sent them forth to "baptize all nations (MATT, xxviii, 19) and when He bade them repeat for a commemoration of Him the Sac- rament and Sacrifice of His Body and Blood (LUKE xxii, 19), and when He empowered them to be min- isters of the Sacrament of Penance by which the members of the Church can. receive the pardon of their sins (JOHN xx, 23). The power officially to teach His doctrines Our Redeemer consigned to these chosen disciples by the words: "Going, therefore, teach ye all nations . . . Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (MATT, xxviii, 19; MARK xvi, 15). The third power deputed by Jesus Christ to the Apostles— the right to rule the members of His Church in spiritual matters—was clearly implied when He 16 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE made them partakers of the same divine delegation that He Himself had received from His heavenly Father: "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you" (JOHN xx, 21). An even more emphatic avowal of this power was Our Lord's assertion that the obligations imposed by the Apostles on the faith- ful would be ratified by God Himself; "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in Heaven" (MATT, xviii, 18). Since, according to our Savior's own promise, the Church as He founded it was to triumph over all destructive influences and to endure until the end of time (MATT, xvi, 18; xxviii, 20), the form of government with which He endowed it was to be a permanent element of its constitution. Hence, it was the will of Christ that until the end of time the Church should be governed by legitimate successors of the Apostles, empowered like them to administer sacred rites, to teach the doctrines of Christianity, and to rule the faithful. This is confirmed by the manner of acting of the Apostles after the ascen- sion of their Master. Conscious that their own span of l i fe was limited and that the Church was rapidly spreading, the Apostles appointed other men to be officials of the Church, and declared that these en- joyed the same threefold spiritual power as they themselves. Thus, St. Paul placed Timothy at the head of the Church in Ephesus, and constituted Titus the chief pastor, or Bishop, of the Christian com- munity in Crete. That these new officials possessed their authority from God no less than the Apostles themselves was emphatically affirmed By St. Paul in an exhortation addressed to a group of ecclesiastical superiors assembled in Miletus: "Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 17 Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God" (ACTS xx, 28). Similarly down through the centuries to the present day the three-fold power that the Son of God communicated to the Apostles has been per- petuated in an uninterrupted series of their succes- sors, the lawful superiors of the Church. However, not all ecclesiastical superiors possess al^ three pow- ers ; nor is there equal participation by all even within the sphere of the same species of power. The power to administer sacred rites, especially* the sacraments and the eucharistic sacrifice, is called the power of Orders. This is communicated by the sacramental ceremony of Ordination, and is pos- sessed in its fullness by bishops, and in various lesser degrees by priests, deacons, subdeacons and four classes of subordinate ministers. The authority to teach and to rule the faithful is known as the power of jurisdiction. This is possessed in the first place by every bishop charged with the spiritual headship of a portion of the Church—called a diocese—and through participation from the bishops by pastors with respect to their parishioners. Even among bishops, however, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, there is not perfect equality of jurisdiction. We believe that there is one bishop who is the superior of all the others in the sphere of teaching and of ruling—and that one is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Moreover, we believe that his supremacy of jurisdiction has not been delegated to him by the Church, but is a divinely granted pre- rogative, belonging to him as the successor of St. Peter, whom Christ chose to be the head of the entire Church. Being one of the fundamental doc- 18 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE trines of the Catholic faith, this matter calls for a detailed demonstration. When Jesus Christ summoned the Galilean fisher- man Simon to be one of His disciples, He said to him: "Thou art Simon, the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas" (JOHN i, 42). Now, the word Cephas in the Aramaic language which Christ used signifies Rock, and has as its English equivalent (coming through the Greek and the Latin) the name Peter. The full significance of Simon's new name appeared only about two years later, on the occasion when this disciple uttered a magnificent profession of faith in his Master's Divinity: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God." Our Redeemer's reply was this solemn promise: "Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (MATT, xvi, 16- 18). These majestic phrases can be properly un- derstood only when one remembers that in the lan- guage in which they were spoken the same word— Cephas — is employed both for the proper name of the Disciple concerned and for the noun rock, so that a literal rendition of Christ's promise would be: "Thou Simon, art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my Church." Evidently, by this express will of Christ, Peter was the rock on which the Christian church was to be built, that is, the entire Church was to have Peter as its foundation; and accordingly, Peter was to give to the Church those qualities that the foundation of a material edifice gives to the whole structure—stability, strength, unity. Now, that which gives stability, strength, unity to any human society is the authority by which the society is governed. Therefore, in prom- ising to make Peter the foundation of the entire GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 19 Church, Christ must have meant that Peter was to be invested with supreme spiritual authority over all the members of the Church. This interpretation is confirmed by the continua- tion of our Lord's promise to Peter: "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven" (MATT, xvi, 19). Among the people of the Orient the keys of a city was a common expression signify- ing authority over the inhabitants of that city; and the kingdom of heaven was a phrase frequently "used by our Saviour to designate His Church. Ac- cordingly, His promise to give to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven was a manifestation of His intention to invest that disciple with authority over all the members of the Church. A year later, the-little band of Apostles was gath- ered together on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, with their beloved Master in their midst. He had passed through the crucible of suffering that ended with His death on the Cross; on the third day fol- lowing He had risen glorious and immortal from the tomb; and now He was giving the Apostles their final instructions concerning the administration of His earthly kingdom, preparatory to His ascension into Heaven. On this occasion, He singled out Peter from the others, and thrice put to him this question: "Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me?" And thrice the loyal Disciple answered: "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." Then in response to this profession of ardent affection, the Master gave to Peter the commission: "Feed My lambs . . . feed My sheep" (JOHN xxi, 15-17). Note well, 20 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE these words were spoken to Peter alone and not to the other Apostles. And in the light of our Saviour's previous utterances the meaning is clear. He was now conferring on Peter the supreme spiritual jur- isdiction that He had promised a year previously. Christ sometimes compared His Church to a sheep- fold (MATT, xxvi, 31; JOHN x), and so the lambs and the sheep referred to on this occasion were the members of the Church. In commanding Peter to feed them, the Master signified the right and duty of this Apostle to provide the faithful with the supernatural nourishment of divine truth and to lead them to the unfailing pastures of eternal life— in a word, to be their spiritual head. This is more' clearly expressed in the original Greek text of the Gospel, where one of the verbs translated into Eng- lish as feed has the more general significance of be thou the shepherd or—be thou the ruler. After Christ's ascension, Peter assumed his place as the head of the Church with the full consent of the other Apostles. It was Peter who first preached the Gospel in the streets of Jerusalem; it was Peter who decreed that another Apostle must be chosen to take the place of Judas; it was Peter whose word was decisive at the Council of Jerusalem (ACTS i, ii, xv); it is Peter who is always named first in the several lists of the Apostles given in the New Tes- tament, though the order of the others varies (MATT, x, 2; MARK iii, 16; LUKE vi, 13 and 14; ACTS i, 13). Certainly, the New Testament evi- dence for Peter's divinely granted spiritual suprem- acy is most convincing. Since Christ willed that the constitution of the Church as He established it should abide without substantial modification until the end of time, there GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 21 always has been, and there still is, and there ever shall be a successor of Peter in the supreme teach- ing and governing power over the universal Church. And that successor, history testifies, is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. From the earliest centuries Christians acknowledged that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome; and that whoever became his suc- cessor as Bishop of that city, by that very fact be- came his successor as the head of the entire Church. Meager as are the documents that survive from the first three centuries of the Christian era, yet they supply abundant proof that even in the Primitive Church the supremacy of the See of Rome and of its bishop was known and acknowledged. For example, around the year 98, Clement, Bishop of Rome, mani- fested his universal authority by writing a letter of reprimand to some recalcitrant members of the church of Corinth; in the second century, St. Irena- eus, Bishop of Lyons in France, wrote that the Ro- man Church enjoyed a preeminent authority; in the third century, the testimony of Tertullian and of Dionysius of Alexandria offers proofs of the same fact; and from that period on the manifestations of obedience and of loyalty to the Bishop of Rome from all parts of the Church became so frequent and ex- plicit that even scholars who are .not of the Catholic faith admit that at least from the third century, the primacy of the Pope was unquestionably acknowl- edged by the universal Church. Today the successor of Peter is Pius XI, the two hundred and sixty-first Bishop of Rome, the spirit- ual head of more than 300,000,000 Christians of every nation. Amid the numerous and vast changes in the social, educational and political 22 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE spheres that the world has witnessed during the past nineteen centuries, the Popes have never ceas- ed to claim and to exercise, with the unreserved as- sent of all Catholics, the supreme spiritual authority that was consigned by the Son of God to the humble fisherman of Galilee. And this perpetuity of the papacy is but one phase of the unchanging stability that is so characteristic of the entire structure of the Catholic Church. Any one who takes cognizance of the fluctuations and of the vicissitudes of human institutions, must admit that from a merely natural standpoint it is impossible to explain how the Church has existed for almost two thousand years and yet has remained the same—the same in its faith, the same in its moral code, the same in its supernatural aims, the same in its sacramental rites, the same in its form of government. Catholics explain this pheno- menon by saying that their Church is vitalized by the spirit of Jesus Christ and therefore partakes of His immortality. And in this age-long triumph of the Church over decadence and change, we behold a con- tinuous reenactment of the triumph of Christ Him- self which we celebrate today—His victory over death by the Resurrection from the tomb. Time and time again circumstances have arisen that seemed to have dealt a death-blow to the Church and to have buried her in the tomb of failure. Yet in the very hour when the end seemed inevitable, the darkness was dispelled and she appeared in the splendor of her divine strength and beauty, with the diadem of immortality on her brow, still preaching the words of Christ's truth, still lavishing H'is graces on human souls, still leading hearts to God with the gentle yet unfaltering voice of maternal authority. And in this oft-repeated miracle of the Resurrection, in this GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 23 constant triumph of the divine over the human, is fulfilled the promise of the Son of God to those who teach and sanctify and govern in His Name: "Be- hold, I am with you all days, even to the consumma- tion of the world" (MATT, xxviii, 20). 24 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE THE INFALLIBLE TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH (Address delivered by Rev. Dr. Francis J. Cornell, C. SS. R., in the Catholic Hour, April 12, 1931) During the three years of His public ministry Jesus Christ devoted much time and attention to the teaching of religious doctrines. Some of these doctrines, being tenets of the Jewish religion, were already familiar to His hearers, such as the omni- potence and the justice of God. (MATT, xxii,. 29, v, 26). Others of His teachings were truths previously unknown, or at most o.nly obscurely re- vealed ; such as the sublime doctrine that the one divine nature is possessed by three distinct Per- sons (MATT, xxvii'i, 19). On some occasions, Our Lord discoursed on the beneficent relations of His heavenly Father with His creatures, as when He described the watchful care of divine Provi- dence over even the tiny sparrow that falls to the ground (MATT, x, 29); at other times He in- culcated the obligations of man toward the Creator, as when He laid down the great com- mandment that we shall love God with our whole heart and with our whole soul (MATT, xii, 30). These doctrines were proclaimed by Christ, not as mere theories, but as absolute realities; not as products of the human mind, but as revela- tions of the-all-wise, all-truthful God, and as such imposing on all men the obligation of believing them. Our Savior was uncompromising in propos- GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 25 ing His doctrinal system; He tolerated no hesita- tion on the part of those who would be His dis- ciples regarding the truth of His teachings. In the words of the Evangelist "He was teaching as one having power" (MARK i, 22). Christ visualized His religious doctrines as a permanent factor in the life of the human race. "Heaven and earth shall pass away,"' He said, "but My words shall not pass" (MATT, xxiv, 35). It was incumbent on Him therefore to provide a means whereby His teachings should be trans- mitted in their integrity to mankind until the end of time. The means He chose for this purpose was the teaching authority of the Church; for, as was demonstrated in last week's lecture, one of the three powers communicated by Christ to the Apostles and to their succesors in the government of the Church was that of teaching the truths of the Christian revelation. This power Our Saviour defin- itely consigned to the Apostles when He was about to ascend into Heaven, and in assigning to them this mission He emphasized its universal scope: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations. . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- manded you" (MATT, xxviii, 19, 20), "Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (MARK xvi, 16). "You shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the uttermost part of the earth" (ACTS i, 8). In obedience to the bidding of their Master, the Apostles immediately set out to preach His doc- trines, and despite relentless persecutions and hardships of every description within two score years had announced the Gospel through all parts 26 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE of the civilized world. They made it clear that all who would join the Church must accept the Chris- tian revelation in its entirety as they proclaimed it. Writing to the newly converted Christians of Galatia, St. Paul made the vigorous assertion that even an angel from Heaven, were he to preach a different gospel from that which the Apostle him- self had announced, should be refused a hearing (GAL. i, 8). Evidently St. Paul was convinced that his position of authority in the Church endowed him with the right to command the faith- ful to accept his teachings. And down through the centuries, the Church, under the guidance of the successors of the Apostles, has continued to ex- ercise her teaching office in the same manner as she did in the first centuries. She has sent her missionaries to preach the Gospel through the en- tire world; at the same time she has resolutely insisted that only those can be numbered among her members who accept her doctrines in their in- tegrity, without modification and without diminu- tion. Friend and foe alike of the Catholic Church agree that she is imbued with a sovereign convic- tion of her exclusive right to preach, to interpret, to safeguard the truths of the Christian revelation. Like our Saviour, she teaches "as one having pow- er," and that power she claims by virtue of Christ's explicit commission to the Apostles, to go forth and to preach the Gospel to all nations. It is important to note in this connection that by the Gospel which the Church is empowered to teach, we understand not merely those doctrines that are contained in Sacred Scripture, the written word of God, but all the religious truths in general that were GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 27 divinely committed to the custody of the Apostles. When Christ bade these chosen disciples to preach the Gospel, there were no books of the New Testa- ment. These were not written until a number of years later; and in the meantime, Christ's revela- tions were preserved and transmitted by word of mouth. The Catholic Church therefore regards all communications made to the Apostles, either by our Saviour or by the Holy Ghost subsequént to the Ascension of Christ, as possessing the same divine value, whether they are found in the pages of the Bible or have come down from Apostolic times only by tradition. For, all these doctrines are the word of God; and over them all the Church asserts her teaching authority. On the other hand, the Church contends that during the lifetime of the Apostles all divine revelations for mankind in general came to an end. It is true, the Almighty may still enter in- to direct communications with individual souls by what are known as private revelations; but it is not within the scope of the Church's teaching authority to oblige the faithful at large to accept the content of such private revelations. She may of course de- cide whether doctrines which are claimed to have been privately revealed are in opposition to, or in conformity with the truths of public revelation. But the only doctrines that the Church can oblige the faithful to believe are: First, truths contained either explicitly or implicitly in the deposit of Christian Revelation which was closed with the death of the last Apostle; secondly truths so intimately connect- ed with the doctrines of the Christian revelation that the church's commission to teach revealed doctrines would be frustrated unless it implied the right to teach these allied doctrines also. Beyond these two 28 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE classes of doctrines the teaching authority of the Church does not extend. For example, scientific or historical matters that are entirely dissociated from Revelation cannot constitute the subject of any of- ficial pronouncement of the Church's teaching capac- ity. It may be asked, what assurance have we that the doctrines propounded by the Catholic Church today are the same truths that were taught by the Apostles nineteen centuries ago? Is it not possible that serious errors have defiled the purity of the Apostolic teachings in the course of time? To this the Catholic Church answers that her teaching au- thority is infallible. Now, we readily admit that at first sight it seems the height of arrogance to attri- bute infallibility to the pronouncements of any hu- man being. For infallibility means freedom from the possiblity of making a mistake; and since it is an undeniable fact that all men are liable to make mistakes, it seems like putting human beings on an equality with God Himself to say that the official teachers of the Church are infallible. However, it must be borne in mind that we ascribe infallibility to the teachers of the Church not because of their personal qualities—not because of any sanctity or wisdom they may possess—but solely because of a special assistance given them by God. Now, any one who believes in an all-powerful, all-wise God must admit that He can give to men such as- sistance if He wills to do so. Moreover, we claim infallibility only for the Church's teachings in mat- ters of faith or morals; and we attribute this prerog- ative to the official teachers of the Church only when they are exercising their teaching authority as the representatives of Jesus Christ. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 31 Our principal arguments for the infallibility of the Church's teaching authority we find in the words of Our Redeemer related in the New Testament. He made it very clear that He wished all men to come to the knowledge of His doctrines in their integrity, without any admixture of error. Now, such being the case, it would have been very strange if, after having devoted His labors and His very life to the promulgation of His message, He would have per- mitted it to come down to future generations tainted with error, when with His divine power He could provide special assistance to preserve it intact until the end of the world. Such assistance we believe was actually promised to the Church when our Saviour, after commanding the Apostles to teach all nations, added: "Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (MATT, xxviii, 20). Now, in biblical language, the promise of God to be with a person in the performance of some mission committed to his care, always signifies that a spe- cial divine assistance will assure the success of that mission (e. g., EX. iii, 12; JER. i, 19; JOHN iii, 2). Accordingly, the promise of the Son of God to be with the Apostles in their work of teaching the Gospel must be interpreted as an as- surance that a special divine assistance would be granted them in the performance of that work; and in such assistance must be included preservation from the possibility of inculcating erroneous doc- trines, since error cannot be fostered by the God of truth. Moreover, that special assistance was promised until the consummation of the world, and hence must have been given to the Apostles not as individuals—for as such their span of life was lim- 30 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE ited—but as members of the Church's hierarchy, which will endure until the end of time. It is most reasonable therefore to extend this wonderful prom- ise of Jesus Christ to all the lawful successors of the Apostles. Add to this the fact that our Lord declared that those who would reject His teachings as proposed by the Church would be condemned (MARK xvi, 16). Surely, God would not punish those who would refuse to accept the teachings of the Church, without at the same time providing that those teachings would be true. Add also the prom- ise of Christ to the Apostles at the Last Supper: "I will ask the Father, and He shall give you anoth- er Paraclete, that He may abide with you for* ever. . . . the Spirit of Truth . . . He will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you" (JOHN xiv, 16, 17, 26). With such explicit statements of her Di- vine Founder before her eyes, it is not surprising that the Church from the very beginning of her existence has believed herself authorized to teach all mankind in the name of God Himself, and has claimed to be protected by the Almighty from error in her official doctrinal pronouncements. The possessors of this infallible teaching power are the lawful successors of the Apostles, whom Catholics believe to be their bishops. Whenever, therefore, the Bishops, either in council or in their respective dioceses throughout the world, teach of- ficially and definitively that some doctrine is con- tained in Christian revelation or is connected with Christian revelation, Catholics accept this decision as infallibly and irrevocably true. A certain similarity can be perceived between the infallible teaching authority of the bishops of GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 31 the Church and the sovereign judical power of the judges who constitute the Supreme Court of the United States. The framers of our Constitution realized that it was not sufficient to lay down the general principles by which our national life is regu- lated. They knew that doubts and controversies con- cerning the extent and the import of the Constitu- tion and of the laws would be constantly arising, and hence they made provision for a body of officials— the Supreme Court—empowered to render authori- tative and final decisions on these matters, binding on all our citizens. Similarly, though Our Lord con- signed to His Church from the very beginning all the truths of His revelation, He foresaw that doubts and dissensions as to the true meaning of these doc- trines would be of frequent occurrence; and so He made the bishops of the Church the supreme court of interpretation and of pronouncement in matters of faith. Moreover, as God, He could and did assure these ecclesiastical officials of a special divine as- sistance whereby they should be preserved from error in their authoritative teachings. In attributing infallibility to the bishops of the Church, we mean that as a corporate body, and not as individuals, they enjoy this divinely granted as- sistance. However, we also believe that there is one bishop who is infallible even independently of the others,, and that is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. In last Sunday's lecture it was demonstrated that the Pope, as the successor of the chief of the Apostles, St. Peter,, possesses the fullness of the teaching and governing power over the entire Church. Now, if God has annexed infallibility to the teaching authority of the Church, surely the bishop who possesses that authority in its fullest 32 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE measure must be infallible. Therefore, we believe that when the Pope merely on his own authority officially teaches a doctrine, it must be accepted by the entire Church as infallibly true. Certainly, the infallibility of the Pope offers no greater diffi- culty than the infallibility of the bishops as a whole; for if God can preserve a body of men from teach- ing error, He can do the same for an individual. Most of the objection against the infallibility of the Pope can be dispelled by a brief statement of what the Catholic doctrine on this point really means—and especially, of what it does not mean. In the first place, papal infallibility does not signi- fy that the Pope cannot commit sin. Like every other human being, the head of the Catholic Church can transgress God's commandments; and like every other member of his Church, the Pope must hum- bly kneel and confess his sins to a priest. Secondly, the Pope is infallible only in matters of faith and morals. In subjects not connected with these—for example, mathematics-—he is as liable to make mis- takes as an other human being. Thirdly, the infalli- bility of the Pope does not imply that he receives any supernatural inspiration or any new revelation over and above the truths committed to the Church from Apostolic times. It implies simply a divine assist- ance preserving him from teaching erroneously matters contained 'in the deposit of revelation or con- nected with it. Fourthly, the Pope is assured of infallibility only when he teaches as head of the en- tire Church, and with the f ullnes.s of his authority;— not when he treats of doctrinal matters as a private individual or as bishop of the particular church of Rome, nor even when he speaks to the entire Church without the intention of using his full power. In GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 33 a word, we do not claim infallibility for the Pope except when he speaks ex cathedra—that is, when, as head of the universal Church, with the fullness of his authority, he teaches a doctrine of faith or morals with the manifest intention of giving a final and conclusive decision binding all the members of the Church. And I might add, that only on rare and 'exceptional occasions does the Pope exercise his teaching authority in this solemn manner. It is often objected that the Catholic Church en- slaves the intellects of her members by the auto- cratic use of her teaching power. It is rank tyran- ny, we are told, for bishop or Pope to say to a Cath- olic : "Believe this doctrine, or you will be guilty of serious sin and will be excluded from the Church." Now, as Catholics themselves view it, this uncom- promising dogmátism of their Church, far from en- slaving their intellectual powers, is a guarantee of truest liberty. For, just as the most degrading form of slavery is the adherence of the mind to error, so the highest type of freedom is the clear, unhesitating recognition of the truth. Our Lord Himself declared this to those who believed in Him . . . "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (JOHN viii, 32). And in accepting the teachings of their Church, Catholics believe sin- cerely that they are accepting the truth that was brought into the world nineteen centuries ago by the Son of God, Who taught as one having power, and by Whose assistance His doctrines are still pre- served and taught without any admixture of error by the lawful successors of those to whom He gave the commission: "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature" (MARK xvi, 15). 34 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE THE FUNCTIONING OF THE CHURCH (Address delivered in the Catholic Hour by Rev. Dr. Francis J. Connell, C. SS. R., April 19, 1931) In my previous lectures I endeavored to explain the doctrine concerning the divinely established con- stitution and organization of Christ's Church. Ac- cording to Catholic belief, Our Divine Saviour in- stituted the Church as a visible society of human beings, and appointed as its first superiors His chosen disciples, the Apostles. To them He gave a threefold official power: to administer sacred rites, to teach the truths of the Christian revelation, to rule the members of the Church. This threefold power, we believe, has continued uninterruptedly in the legitimate successors of the Apostles, the eccles- iastical superiors of the Catholic Church. The power of administering sacred rites is called the power of Orders, and is possessed by the ordained ministers of the Church, especially by bishops and by priests. The power of teaching and of ruling is known as the power of jurisdiction, and is exercised by every diocesan bishop over his diocese, and by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, over the entire Church. So far the essential elements of the Church's structure, as expressly determined by the Son of God. But in the actual functioning of the Church's government new factors appear. These are to be considered as divinely instituted if they are but particular applications of the constitutional prin- ciples laid down by Christ for His religious society. They are, however, of merely ecclesiastical origin if they have been called into existence by the Church GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 85 on her own authority as useful means toward the attainment of her supernatural destiny. A brief survey of the principal offices and officials that ap- pertain to the functioning of the Church at the pre- sent day will therefore serve as an apt conclusion to this series of lectures on the constitution of the Church. We shall consider: first, how the Pope's power 'is exercised over the universal Church; sec- ondly, how the powers of the bishops is exercised in their particular dioceses. According to Catholic teaching, the sovereignty of the Pope is not a mere honorary precedence, nor simply the right to act as spokesman and ad- monitor of the bishops, but is a supreme authority in spiritual matters over all the members of the Church, including the bishops. The Pope could not indeed abolish the office of bishops in general, for that is a divinely established element of the Church's constitution; but he can depose individual bishops from their position of authority, if he sees fit, or transfer them to other fields of labor. The Pope himself, however, cannot be deposed by the mem- bers of the Church, either individually or collective- ly, since his supremacy has been irrevocably confer- red on him by Christ Himself. The Pope therefore holds office until his death; although he may volun- tarily resign, as was done by Pope Celestine V in the year 1294. The sovereign ruling power of the Pope is three- fold—legislative, judiciary, and executive. In other words, the Pope is empowered: first, to make laws for the universal Church; secondly, to pass judg- ment on the observance or non-observance of these laws by the members of the Church; thirdly, to en- 36 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE force the observance of these laws and even to in- flict penalties on transgressors. These three powers, since they are absolutely necessary for the proper exercise of authority over a society of human beings, are included in the supreme authority granted by our Divine Redeemer to St. Peter and to his succes- sors. The legislative enactments of the Popes now binding the members of the Church, both clergy and laity, in the performance of their general and par- ticular duties are for the most part contained in the Code of Canon Law, promulgated some thirteen years ago by Pope Benedict XV. The Popes exercise their judiciary power usually through subordinate officials. The penalties which the Popes inflict by virtue of their executive power are principally of a spiritual nature, such as the exclusion from member- ship in the Church, which is called excommuniccir- tion—or in the case of a clergyman, the prohibition to exercise his ministerial functions, which is called suspension. , One of the prerogatives of the Pope is the auth- ority to summon a general assembly of all the bis- hops of the Church—an ecumenical council, as it is called. The purpose of such an assembly is to define in a most solemn manner doctrines of faith, and to discuss and to enact legislation for the good of the Universal Church. Since the beginning of Christ- ianity there have been twenty ecumenical councils, the most recent of which, the Vatican Council, was convened in 1869. The Pope is assisted in his onerous and manifold administrative tasks by a number of permanent committees, known as Sacred Congregations. At present there are eleven of these Congregations GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 37 functioning in Rome. There are, for example, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which is occupied with missionary activities in re- gions where the Catholic faith is as yet in an inci- pient stage, such as Africa; the Congregation for the Oriental Church which is concerned with the Catho- lics of the East, who are permitted to employ special ceremonies in their worship and to be governed by special ecclesiastical laws; the Congregation of the Holy Office, one of whose duties is to prohibit to Cath- olics literature that is dangerous to faith or to mor- als. There are also attached to the papal court sev- eral tribunals for the purpose of trying cases involv- ing the laws of the Church. The best known of these is the Tribunal of the Rota, one of whose duties is to serve as a court of appeal for marriage cases from all parts of the world. Occasionally the press reports that a marriage has been annvlled by the Rota, and some persons conceive the meaning to be that this Roman tribunal has granted a divorce to a couple who had been validly married. The truth of the matter is that a so-called annulment by the Rota is simply a declaration of nullity, that is, this tribunal, after a thorough investigation of the case, has dis- covered that some circumstance of the marital union in question rendered it null and void from the be- ginning, so that it was not a true marriage at all, and the Rota has simply given a declaration to this effect. Besides these Roman Congregations or commit- tees another very important group of ecclesiastical officials is the College of Cardinals. In dignity, the cardinals are superior to all other members of the Church's hierarchy except the Pope. The number 38 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE of cardinals is generally between sixty and seventy. They are appointed directly by the Pope. Some of them reside in Rome, and are members or heads of the various Congregations of which I just spoke. These cardinals, in power of Orders, are either bishops or priests. Other cardinals reside in various parts of the world, and are archbishops, like our four American cardinals. The cardinalitial dig- nity originated about the fifth century, when the parish priests of Rome began to be known as cardi- nals. On account of this historic association, when a clergyman is elevated to the rank of cardinal, one of the older churches of Rome is assigned to him so that he becomes, in a certain sense, its honorary pastor, even though he may reside in some other part of the world. Besides being the counselors and the immediate assistants of the Pope, the cardinals, according to the present ecclesiastical legislation, have the right and duty, after the death of a Pope, to designate his successor. We say, "according to the present eccles- iastical legislation," because the precise method of selecting the chief pastor of .the Church was not de- termined by Christ, and has been different in differ- ent ages of the Church. Nowadays, however, it is decreed that fifteen days after the death of a Pope, all the cardinals shall assemble in a place entirely shut off from the outside world, and shall remain thus in conclave, as we say, that is, behind locked doors, until they have selected the next Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. It is cus- tomary for the cardinals to choose one of their own number, as Pope, but this is not of obligation—any male member of the Catholic Church can be chosen GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 39 for this important office, even though he is neither cardinal, bishop or priest. As soon as the designated person signifies his acceptance of the office, he be- comes Pope, and is in possession of the supreme power of jurisdiction over the entire Church. How- ever, he is then obliged to receive the sacra- mental power of Orders, up to and including the bishopric, if he is not already a bishop. In connection with the prerogatives of the papacy, it is important to note that the supreme spiritual power of the Pope over all the members of the Church 'is utterly distinct from the" sovereign tem- poral power which he possesses over the Vatican City State. This latter civil power constitutes the Pope the temporal monarch of a small portion of ter- ritory in Italy, but it does not extend to those who reside outside this territory. Hence, citizens of other nations—for example, the Catholics of Ame- rica—owe absolutely no allegiance or obedience to the temporal authority of the Pope. The Church is divided into a large number of re- gional units known as dioceses, of which more than 100 are in the United States. At the head of every diocese is a bishop. Several dioceses grouped to- gether constitute a province; and the bishop who is first in dignity in this region is entitled an arch- bishop. To understand the status of the diocesan bishops of the Church, it must be remembered that they are the legitimate successors of the Apostles, possessing the power of Holy Orders in its fullness, and the divinely granted power of jurisdiction in their respective dioceses. It is true, the jurisdiction of the bishops is subordinate to the authority of the 40 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE Pope; no individual bishop is infallible as is the Pope; and in the exercise of their ruling power the bishops are subject to the general laws of the Church and to the decisions of the Roman Pontiff. But apart from these limitations, every bishop is the official and divinely constituted teacher and ruler of his dio- cese for both clergy and laity, since it was to the bishops of the Church represented by the little band of Apostles that Christ said: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations" (MATT, xxviii, 19); "He that hear- eth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, de- spiseth Me" (LUKE x, 16); "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (MATT, xviii, 18). In the administration of his diocese the bishop is aided by a staff of ecclesiastical officials. The first in order is the vicar-general, who is the immediate as- sistant of the bishop, and is 'invested with a certain measure of jurisdiction throughout the diocese. An- other collaborator is the chancellor, a priest who is the official secretary of the diocese. Every bishop has also an advisory board of consultors; and there are also in every diocese several priests whose duty it is to conduct judicial proceedings in cases involv- ing the marriage laws of the Church. The immediate spiritual care of the faithful is assigned to parish priests or pastors, each of whom presides over a particular section of the diocese, called a parish. The pastor's office gives him the right and duty to administer the sacraments to his par- ishioners, to celebrate Mass and to perform other sacred functions for them, to teach them the doc- trines of the Catholic faith, to announce to them the GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 41 laws of the Church and of the diocese, and to en- force the observance of these laws. Of course, in all these functions the pastor is subject to the ordin- ances of his bishop and to the general legislation of the Church. The pastors of large parishes are usual- ly a'ided in their ministerial labors by other priests who are known as assistants or curates. To one who is familiar with the organization and the functioning of the Catholic Church it must be apparent that Catholicism is a combination of many elements, some of them so divergent as to appear at first sight contradictory, but which blend with mar- velous harmony in actual practice. For example, there is a singular amalgam of severity and of gen- tleness in the Church's dealings with her members. On the one hand, she imposes on them a multi- tude of laws, some of which are very irksome to hu- man nature; she is by no means sparing in her punishments for the recalcitrant, and does not hesi- tate to proceed to the extreme penalty of excommu- nication when other means are of no avail. But on the other hand, no mother could show more love and solicitude than the Church bestows on even the low- liest of her children. She lavishes on them the abun- dance of her spiritual treasures to aid them in the trials of life. She would sacrifice all the material resources she possesses throughout the entire world if it were necessary to win one little child to the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; She is tireless in her efforts to reclaim the prodigal son that has wandered afar from her bosom; no word of reproach falls from her lips as she wipes away the tears of the repentant sinner, and washes him clean with the Blood that flowed on Calvary. 42 THE ORGANIZATION AND THE It is easy to see how a person who regards only the former aspect of the Church may be led to judge her very unfavorably—how he may conclude that she is arrogant, and overbearing, and ruthless—because he has viewed only one side of the Church. Only those who consider all the elements of the Church can acquire a correct and adequate notion of this vast religious organization. This is especially true with respect to the combination of the human and the divine that permeates Catholicism. As a society of human beings the Church in her government and functioning is affected by human inclinations and imperfections. Ambition, pride, avarice, have left their imprint on every century of her existence. I t was so during the Tife-time of Jesus Christ: His dis- ciples disputed as to which should have the first place in His kingdom, and one of them even betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. And so it will be in greater or less measure until the end of time—no Catholic denies that. So, if one looks only to the human side of the Church, he will see much that is imperfect. But there is another element of Catholi- cism that cannot be put aside: a strong vitality that has unremittingly neutralized her human defects r an irresistible spiritual force that has generated prodigies of sanctity in her bosom even in the dark- e s t hours of her history, and has kept the Church steadfast in her supernatural mission, unswerving in faith, dutiful in the administration of her divinely constituted means of grace, despite the imperfect- ions of clergy and laity. That spirit, Catholics claim, is the divine element of Catholicity—is the spirit of Jesus Christ Himself, constantly living and acting in their Church. Is this claim true or is i t GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 43 false? That is the question that should be seriously and prayerfully pondered over by every one who realizes that the span of human life is very brief, and that the chief purpose of our earthly existence is to prepare for the never-ending existence that awaits us beyond the grave. CARDINAL HATES STATES AIMS OF THE CATHOLIC RADIO HOUR (Extract from his address at the inaugural program in the Studio of the National Broadcasting Company, New York City, March 2, 1930). Our congratulations and our gratitude are extended to the National Council of Catholic Men and its officials, and to all who, by their financial support, have made it possible to use this offer of the National Broadcasting Company. The heavy expense of managing and financing a weekly program, its musical numbers, its speakers, the subsequent answering of inquiries, must be met. That responsibility rests upon the National Council of Catholic Men . . . . This radio hour is for all the people of the United States. To our fellow-citizens, in this word of dedication, we wish to express a cordial greeting and, indeed, congratulations. For this radio hour is one of service to America, which certainly will listen in interestedly, and even sympathetically, I am sure, to the voice of the ancient Church with its historic background of all the centuries of the Christian era, and with its own notable contribution to the discovery, explora- tion, foundation and growth of our glorious Country. . . . Thus to voice before a vast public the Catholic Church is no light task. Our prayers will be with those who have that task in hand. We feel certain that it will have both the good will and the good wishes of the great majority of our country-men. Surely, there is no true lover of our Country who does not eagerly hope for a less worldly, a less material, and a more spiritual standard among our people. With good will, with kindness and with Christ-like sympa- thy for all, this work is inaugurated. So may it continue. So may it be fulfilled. This word of dedication voices, there- fore, the hope that this radio hour may serve to make known, to explain with the charity of Christ, our faith, which we love even as we love Christ Himself. May it serve to make better understood that faith as it really is—a light revealing' the pathway to heaven: a strength, and a power divine through Christ: pardoning our sins, elevating, consecrating our common every-day duties and joys, bringing not only justice but gladness and peace to our searching and ques- tioning hearts. RADIO STATIONS BROADCASTING THE "CATHOLIC HOUR" Sponsored by the National Council of Catholic Men (The National Broadcasting Company, through the coopera- tion of its Associated Stations, furnishes, without charge, the facilities by which this nation-wide weekly broadcast is made possible). New York WEAP New Orleans WSMB Boston WEEI Jacksonville WJAX Providence WJAR Miami WIOD Worcester WTAG Richmond, Va. WRVA Portland, Me. WCSH Clearwater, Pia. WFLA Philadelphia* WFI St. Petersburg, Fla. WSUN Philadelphia* WLIT Jackson, Miss. WJDX Washington WRC Memphis WMC Schnectady WGY Nashville WSM Buffalo WBEN Fort Worth WBAP Pittsburgh WCAE Houston KPRC Detroit WWJ Oklahoma City WKY Akron WFJC Tulsa KVOO Cincinnati WSAI San Antonio WOAI St. Louis KSD Phoenix, Ariz. KTAR Chicago WENR Denver KOA Davenport* w o e Portland, Ore. KGW Des Moines* WHO San Francisco KPO Omaha WOW Oakland KGO Kansas City WDAP Los Angeles KECA Duluth- Superior WEBC Seattle KOMO Minneapolis-St. Paul KSTP Spokfene RHQ •These stations broadcast Catholic Hour alternate weeks OTHER RADIO TALKS PUBLISHED OUR SUNDAY VISITOR is the authorized publisher of all Catholic Hour Radio addresses in pamphlet form. The following is a list of these pamphlets published up to date: "The Divine Romance," the seven lectures delivered by the Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, Ph. D., D.D., LL. D., an 80-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 20c postpaid. In quantities, $9.00 per 100. "The Moral Order" and "Mary, the Mother of Jesus," the six addresses by the Rev. George Johnson, a 64-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 15c postpaid. In quantities, $6.00 per 100. "A Trilogy on Prayer," the three addresses by the Rev. Thomas F. Burke, a 32-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 10c postpaid. In quantities, $5.00 per 100. "The Story of the Bible," the five addresses by the Rev. Dr. Francis L. Keenan, a 64-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 15c postpaid. In quantities, $6.00 per 100. "Four Religious Founders," a collection of the five addresses by Rev. Dr. Francis J. Connell, C. SS. R., Rev. Benedict Bradley, O. S. B., Rev. Thomas M. Schwertner, O. P., Rev. Sigmund Cratz, O. M. Cap., and Rev. M. J. Ahern, S. J., a 56-page pamph- let. Single copy, price 15c postpaid. In quantities, $6.00 per 100. "The Philosophy of Catholic Education," the three addresses by the Rev. Dr. Charles L. O'Donnell, a 32-page pamphlet. Sin- gle copy, price 10 postpaid. In quantities, $5.00 per 100. "Christianity and the Modern Mind," the six addresses by the Rev. John A. McClorey, S. J., a 64-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 15c postpaid. In quantities, $6.00 per 100. "The Moral Law," the eight addresses by the Rev. James M. Gillis, C. S. P., editor of the Catholic World, an 88 page pamph- let. Single copy, price 25c postpaid. In quantities, $9.50 per 100. "Christ and His Church," the eight addresses by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph M. Corrigan, D.D., LL.D., an 88-page pamphlet. Single copy, price 25c postpaid.. In quantities, $9.50 per 100. ^ l l l l i i i ^ l I H i S * S I S t í i ÉgSM 1 • ¡¡¡Pli LÌ • I S , • ' 1 - : .- 1 P § t ® S ® P ¡ - m ; a B M g B É W H B a«» . . . - - - - ¿Hé ' - - , - 1 I