I CtaccW of churches ; I Afrpoqts' CHURCH or CHURCHES ? By Rev. Richard Felix, O.S.B. Price 10 Cents CHURCH or CHURCHES? by REV. RICHARD FELIX, O.S.B. Altar and Home Press Conception Abbey Conception, Mo. Imprimi Potest : Philippus Euggle, 0. S. B. Abhas Neo-Angelo Montanus. Nihil Obstat : Rev. Francis J. Ilolweck. Censor Librorum. Imprimatur : Thomas F. Lillis, D. D. Episeopus Kansan opolitanus. August 15, 1936, Copyright 1936 Rev. Richard Felix, O. S. B. CHURCH or Churches? HURCH or churches! Here we have on the one side the old Mother Church of the Ages ; and on the other some two hundred different denom- inations dating from the Religious Revolt of the six- teenth century, each of them professing to be the one Church of Christ yet one contradicting the other on nearly every point of doctrine. All of these claimants cannot be right. Which one of them really is the Church set up by our Savior for the salvation of men? The simplest way to settle this question is to go back to the days of our Blessed Lord, get a picture of the Church that He left on earth, and compare that infant institution with the various churches that claim the high honor of being His Church today. But do we have such a picture of the infant Church? Indeed we do, portrayed most beautifully in the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. Having assembled on the slopes of Mount Olivet and having witnessed our Lord ascend gloriously into Heaven, the Apostles and Disciples returned to Jeru- salem there to await the coming of the promised Para- clete on Pentecost day. “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room where abode Peter and John and James and Andrew . . . All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren. In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, CHURCH or Churches? said : Men, brethren, the Scriptures must needs be ful- filled which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas . . . Wherefore, of these men who have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us one must be made a witness with us of His Resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph and Matthias . . . And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles" (Acts 1, 1-26). Thus far Chapter One. Chapter Two de- scribes the descent of the Holy Ghost and the throngs that gathered around the Apostles amazed at hearing them speak every one in his own tongue. “But Peter standing up with the Eleven lifted up his voice and spoke to them." After Peter had preached to them about the Lord Jesus whom they had crucified and whom God had raised up from the dead, “they had compunction in their heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the Apostles : What shall we do ? But Peter said to them : Do penance and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ . . . They therefore that received his word were baptized, and there were added in that day about three thousand souls. And they were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles and in the Communication of the Breaking of Bread and in prayers" (Acts 2, 1-47). Behold here the Church of Christ in its infant form, the mustard seed set out in the soil of this world by the Savior of men containing in embryo all the elements of that mighty tree into which it was destined to grow! It was a Church of one mind, 4 CHURCH or Churches? united heart and soul in the doctrine of the Apostles; a Church of prayer, persevering in prayer with Mary the Mother of Jesus; a Church of Sacraments and Sacrifice, Baptism and the Communication of the Breaking of Bread indicative of the same ; a Church of order and organization, with Peter preeminent in power and authority. Each of these items would deserve separate consideration. Here we will pause to consider three of them. First, this Church set up in the world by the Savior of men was a Visible Society; secondly, by Christ’s own appointment this Society was to be undex the direction of St. Peter and his successors; and thirdly, this Society was to teach men until the end of time all the truths of salvation with the divine wisdom and infallible authority of Christ Himself. THE CHURCH, A VISIBLE SOCIETY jffl ISTORIC Christianity is without question a so- cial organism, plainly set forth as such in the Acts of the Apostles. From the beginning it appeared in corporate form, a perfect social organiza- tion exercising full executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The convert to Christianity not merely ac- cepted certain religious truths but also became a member of a definite religious body, a society visible to all men. Far from being ‘ ‘ the invisible society of all the elect” postulated by many of the denom- inations today, the Church of Christ is and has ever been “a city seated on a mountain” (Matt. 5, 14), so unmistakable that all men might see her and find their way to her portals. Those who hold that the Church is an invisible society seem to forget that the Incarnation* itself was nothing less than the visible manifestation of God to man. The fact that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed human form and became man is surely of some significance. No one will deny that Almighty God could have saved us in a purely spiritual manner. A simple act of His Will would have sufficed to blot out all the sins of mankind. Although God could have saved us in this invisible manner, as a matter of historical fact, He did not. Christ is God, God in human flesh. For further exposition of this fact of Catholic faith see “The Apostles’ Creed” advertised on the last page of this pampnier. 6 CHURCH or Churches? In His infinite wisdom He sent his only-begotten Son in the visible form of a man, the Word-made-flesh, to redeem us. “There is one Mediator of God and men, the Man Christ Jesus’ ’ (I Tim. 2, 5). Just why God chose to save us through the visible mediation of His Son made man is a mystery, some- thing that we are not able fully to fathom. This much however we know for certain : His infinite wisdom and love lay behind it all. On our part too we can see a reason for it, and that reason is the simple psycholog- ical fact that God would save man, and man is not a purely spiritual being. He is a composite creature made up of soul and body. In the body he cannot be reached save through the body. For this reason abstract religion must ever be a nonentity. When people at- tempt to worship in what they are pleased to term a purely spiritual manner, they end by not worship- ping at all. Man is a dual creature composed of body and soul, the one clamoring for Redemption as in- sistently as the other. However we explain it, the fact remains that Almighty God did send His own Divine Son to us on Christmas night in the visible form of a man; and He it is, the God-man, who saves and sanctifies us. Jesus, having come as a visible mediator, we natu- rally would expect that the means' wherewith He would perpetuate His mediation and apply the merits of the same to the souls of men down through the ages would likewise be of a visible nature. And what we would naturally have been led to expect, we find fulfilled when we see Christ our Savior making the 7 CHURCH or Churches? formation of a visible society one of the chief con- cerns of His earthly career. One of the first things Jesus did when He began His public ministry was to call about Him a body of men whom He might instruct in all knowledge and prepare with all care for the work that He had in store for them. These men, to whom He gave a distinctive name (Luke 6, 13), and a special mission (Mark 16, 15), and from among whom He chose one to be their chief and leader (Jno. 21, 15), were none other than the Apostles. Manifestly our Lord intended them to con- tinue Ilis own mission and to step into His own place when He returned to the Father. The brief span of time which Christ was to spend among men stood in no proportion to the great task for which He had come into the world. In the selection of this visible body of men Christ makes provision for the continu- ance of His work. They are to be His representatives and to act with His authority. The purpose of our Lord, indicated clearly enough by His actions, is made explicit by His definite and direct references to a Kingdom which He came to establish. Though spiritual, this Kingdom was to have an outward embodiment and a real unity, for “if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand’ ’ (Mark 3, 24). Christ provided His Kingdom with power and authority. His Kingdom was to be a Kingdom of Truth; therefore, He estab- lished a teaching authority. It was to be a Kingdom of Grace ; therefore, He established a sacred ministry. It was to be a Kingdom of Holiness; therefore, He 8 CHURCH or Churches? established a rule of discipline. This triple authority is expressed in no uncertain terms in the final words of Christ to His Apostles: “ Going, therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teach- ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28, 20). This authority is Christ’s own authority. He alone has received it from His heavenly Father; He alone can confer it on others. “And Jesus, coming, spoke to them saying: All power is given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all nations” (Matt. 28, 18) ; “As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you” (Jno. 20, 21) ; “He that heareth you, heareth Me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me, and he that despiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me” (Luke 10, 16). Truly then, Peter and the Apostles teach and rule with the authority of the Master and to disobey them or their legitimate suc- cessors is to disobey Christ and the Father who sent Him. It is evident then that Christ had in mind a real society, visible and perfect even to details, possessing full authority and empowered to exercise jurisdiction in all matters of religion. No other construction could possibly be put on words such as these: “Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every crea- ture. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be condemned” (Mark 16, 16). Unless the Church be His own institution, visible as He was and accessible at all times, He could 9 CHURCH or Churches? not refer us to that Church, saying: “If thy brother shall offend against thee, and if he will not hear thee, tell the Church; and if he will not hear the Church,, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in Heaven’ ’ (Matt. 18, 15). No amount of twisting can rob these plain words of their plain meaning. At other times Christ speaks of His flock and of the one sheepfold that shall embrace it. To Peter is given the office of feeding both the sheep and the lambs. To him also are entrusted the keys of the Church. The Church on earth therefore is and must ever be an organized ' visible society. None other will fit the pattern of Christ. Who were the first to call into question the visible character of the Church? Some of the reformers of the sixteenth century, notably Calvin and Martin Luther, were the first to attack the visible character of the Church. The idea of the Church as an invisible society was unmentioned by Christ, unknown to the Apostles, and unheard of during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era. This alone ought to be sufficient to make any serious mind hesitate about giving its allegiance to a church that rests on so unwarranted a claim. If the Bible teaches anything plainly, if centuries of Christian history can point to any fact beyond controversy, that fact is the Visibility of the Church 10 CHURCH or Churches? of Christ. It is composed of rulers and subjects (Acts 20, 28) ; its members are admitted by a visible external rite (Mark 16, 16); they must hear (Matt. 18, 17); they must obey (Hebr. 13, 17). Christ compares His Church only to things visible : a flock, a house, a body, a city seated on a mountain. He calls it My Church, The Church. The Mosaic religion was a type of the Christian, and it was a visible organization. If the Church is not a visible organization, what can St. Luke mean by saying, “ There were added (to the Church) three thousand souls” (Acts 2, 41)? What does St. Paul mean when he speaks of Bishops appointed by the Holy Ghost “to rule the Church of God” (Acts 20, 28) ? This doctrine of an invisible church is truly a “strange doctrine” (Hebr. 13, 9), a doctrine invented in the first instance by proud spirits who were un- willing to submit to the authority of the Church and accepted today by thousands of sincere souls as an inherited impression which it has never occurred to them to question. How account for the fact that this idea of an invisible church seems so acceptable to so many people in our day? Society is synonymous with authority. It de- mands submission and obedience ; it puts certain limi- tations on liberty. All this is irksome to the heart of man. If there is no religious society, there is no religious authority and man is free in the domain of religion. The intellect may follow its own bent 11 CHURCH or Churches? and reject whatever does not appeal to it. The will acknowledges only those laws of conduct that it makes for itself. In the matter of worship, man may select those forms that suit his taste. Ministers have no authority except that conferred upon them by those whom they serve. Without real religious authority there is no binding rule of faith, no dogma, no creed. Make authority subject to the individual and man at once becomes a law unto himself; he may set up his own standards, he may create his own gods. Herein lies the secret of all opposition to a divinely instituted religious society. Men reject the Church because they will have no authority in matters of faith and morals. This is the point of view of the typical rationalist. Those who hesitate to go all the way with the rationalist and yet wish to be spared the inconven- ience of real authority in matters of religion set up the claim that the Church of Christ is invisible. This is a mere subterfuge; it gives man a semblance of religious order without the consequences that flow necessarily from real authority. It is rationalism in disguise, rationalism decked out in the garments of religion. An invisible Church can exercise no real authority. Self-will and individualism will meet with no restraint. An invisible government is no govern- ment; an invisible church is no church. What chaos and confusion would result did men seek to apply these same principles in the realm of secular matters! Would we, could we, have a United States of America without real authority functioning through a visible form of government? 12 CHURCH or Churches? It is precisely this denial of a visible Church that has brought about the sad spectacle of a divided Christendom today. Unity cannot be maintained without visible authority. Wearied of the religious anarchy of our time, men are striving on all hands to effect a reunion of the forces of Christendom. Praiseworthy as all efforts at the restoration of a united Christianity may be, there is only one way in which this desirable result may be accomplished and that is by the wholehearted acceptance of a di- vinely instituted religious authority functioning in a visible Church. That Christian unity is a chimera if it be not a unity centering around Peter and his successors and embodied in the historical Church of the Ages is plain and patent to every one who has observed the futile efforts at unity put forth by those outside the Church during the past few years. Nor could we expect otherwise. In the words of St. Cyprian, written in the year 250, “God is one, and Christ one ; one the Church, and one the Chair found- ed by our Lord upon Peter. Whosoever gathers else- where, scattereth” (Epis. 40, ad Pleb.). In what ways may one lose his membership in the Church? Since the Church is a true society, she possesses a life and activity distinctively her own. This may be viewed as a corporate society—the Church has an exterior life of organization and government mani- festing itself outwardly—and as an interior life of Faith and Grace working inwardly in her members. 13 CHURCH or Churches? The former is spoken of as the Body, the latter as the Soul of the Church. We are incorporated into the Church by the Sacrament of Baptism. With Holy Baptism comes Sanctifying Grace and the infused virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. If a baptized person commits grevious sin he continues to be a member of the Body of the Church but belongs to her Soul only in an im- perfect way, namely, by Faith alone. Such a one is a withered twig on the living Vine. Membership in the Church is forfeited by excom- munication and by voluntary separation. Excommuni- cation is an official act of the Church by means of which a baptized person is expelled from the Church. This right is exercised but rarely and only for very grave reasons. The right to excommunicate springs from the fact that the Church is a perfect society. That the Church has always exercised this right is evident from the fact that St. Paul excluded a certain Corinthian from the Church because of a notorious moral offense (I Cor. 5, 13). Membership in the Church may be lost also by voluntary separation. We are bound but not compelled to belong to the Church. Hence it is always possible for one to sever the bond formed at Baptism and forsake the fold. What about those who are separated from the Church through no will or wish of their own? In answer to this question we would say that it is quite possible for one to be separated from the Body of the Church and yet belong to the Soul of 14 CHURCH or Churches? the Church without knowing it. A person who through no fault of his own does not belong to the Body of the Church is regarded not as a miscreant but as merely mistaken, and since his errors are not culpable they are not imputed to him as sins. If such a one has been baptized and has never lost the Grace of Baptism by grevious sin or if, having lost the Grace of Justification, he has recovered it through an act of perfect contrition, he may belong truly to the Soul of the Church and be saved. Such, we trust, is the condition of many who are out of the Church through no fault of their own. Regarding Baptism it is the belief of Catholics that this Sacrament may be administered by any one and that in certain in- stances the mere desire for Baptism will suffice for salvation. All this however presupposes that the one outside the Church is in good faith, lives a good life, and through no fault of his own fails to recognize the necessity of membership in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church then does not teach that only those who belong to her communion will be saved? It is the teaching of the Church that no one will be lost except through his own fault. “God will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2, 4). He who comes to know that the Catholic Church is the one society instituted by our Lord for the salvation of men is bound under pain of eternal damnation to affiliate with her. He 15 CHURCH or Churches? who comes to entertain a serious suspicion that the Catholic Church may be the one society instituted by our Lord for the salvation of men is bound in conscience to investigate the claims of the Church; should he fail to do so, such a one has no excuse before God. But he who is outside the Catholic Church and has no idea that he must be affiliated with her to be saved may be saved through his very lack of information on this subject. No one is held responsible in the sight of God for a duty which he does not know to exist. A person then who through no fault of his own fails to recognize the Church as the one society instituted by our Lord for the sal- vation of men but who would affiliate with the Church at once did he realize this to be the will and wish of God in his behalf is held to belong to the Soul of the Church by implicit desire. This inferen- tial intention may suffice for salvation. Pope Pius the Ninth states the Catholic doctrine in these words : “Far be it from us to dare set bounds to the bound- less mercy of God. We must hold as of faith that out of the Apostolic Roman Catholic Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; but, on the other hand, we must also recognize with cer- tainty that those who are in invincible ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who will presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds, and the rest” (Allocution, Dec. 9, 1865). 16 CHURCH or Churches? Intelligent non-Catholics have often recognized the boundless charity of the Catholic Church which condemns only those wdio deliberately sin against the light. Thus Mallock writes: 4 1 Never was there a re- ligious body, except the Roman, that laid the intense stress she does on all her dogmatic teachings, and yet had the justice that comes of sympathy for those who cannot receive them. The holy and humble of heart who do not know her, or who in good faith reject her, she commits with confidence to God's un- covenated mercies; and these she knows to be infinite. Her anathemas are on none but those who reject hex with eyes open" (Is Life Worth Living? p. 283). 17 THE CHURCH HAS A HEAD T il HE CHURCH is a Visible Society. Every society ^ has a head. That Christ set up His Church with a Supreme Head is amply evident from the pages of Sacred Scripture. In the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles we see Peter, whom St. Matthew calls the first Apostle (Matt. 10, 2), mentioned before all the rest in the roll call of the Apostolic College. There we see Peter presiding at the election of a new Apostle to fill the place of the fallen Judas, acting as spokes- man, preaching the first sermon about the crucified Christ, prescribing prayer and penance and Baptism for those who would join their little band, officially receiving three thousand persons into the membership of that first Church on that first Pentecost day. This is the man to whom Christ had promised: I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and what- soever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven (cf. Matt. 16, 19). This is the man to whom Christ had given the command: Feed My lambs, feed My sheep, confirm thy brethren (cf. Jno. 21, 15). This is the man to whom Christ had said: Thou art Peter and upon this rock (the word Peter means Rock) I will build My Church (not churches) and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (cf. Matt. 16, 18). Any church then that claims to be the Church 18 CHURCH or Churches? of Christ today must be able to trace its lineage back to Christ and to him upon whom Christ built His Church. And Christ built His Church upon no one except Peter, saying to him, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church” (Matt. 16, 18). That Church alone therefore whose genealogy goes back in unbroken line to Peter and His Divine Master is truly the one and only Church of Christ. So much would seem conclusive. Now what Church does go back in unbroken line to Peter and His Divine Master? Here we are con- cerned with a simple fact of history. Study the his- tory of the different denominations, and what do you find ? When were they founded ? By whom were they founded? They were founded, not by Christ but by men, by weak, fallible men*. They were founded not at the time of Christ and His Apostles but quite recently—some of them within the past century, all of them within the past four hundred years. None of them come within a thousand five hundred years of Christ. Compared to the Catholic Church, they are as of yesterday. The Catholic Church alone was founded not by man but by God. She alone goes back historically to Christ. Just as history vindicates to the Chief Ex- ecutive of our nation the sole right to sit in the Presi- dential Chair by tracing his ancestry in that office back through the legitimate incumbents who have suc- Consult “Religious Bodies.” Bureau of the Census. Government printing Office, Washington, D. C. 1926. Vol. I, or any standard ency- clopedia under the headings of the various denominations. 19 CHURCH or Churches ? ceeded immortal Washington, so in like manner does history bear witness to the claim of Catholics that the Pope of Rome is the legitimate head of Christ’s Church on earth by tracing his prerogative to that office back through the two hundred and sixty Popes** who have preceded him in the Chair of St. Peter. History therefore tells us of but one Church that has come down through the centuries direct from the hands of Christ. History tells us of but one Church that goes back in unbroken line to Christ in proof of her divine mission and authority. No fact of history stands out quite so unmistakable as that. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the Catholic Church is the one outstanding fact of history. From the day of her foundation she has been the central faet around which all the facts of history have re- volved and without which most of them would be inexplicable and without meaning. She is a continu- ous, ever-present fact; men and nations come and go, the Church endures; amid all the changes of suc- ceeding generations, she alone stands intact, one in prayer, one in doctrine, one in the same Sacraments and Sacrifice, one in continuity and identical in dele- gated power with the Church of the Apostles, as truly the depository of Revelation and the living dispenser of the gifts of the Gospel today as were the Apostles themselves. •A chronology of the successors of St. Peter down to the present day will be found listed at the conclusion of this pamphlet. 20 CHURCH or Churches? Was St. Peter ever in Rome? St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, who received from our Lord Jesus Christ the supreme Pontifical Power to be transmitted to his successors, resided first at Antioch and then at Rome where he was put to death as a martyr for the Faith in the year 67 A. D. The proofs from history that St. Peter set up the seat of the Christian Church in the City of Rome are so overwhelming that no scholar today even attempts to question it. Thus the Protestant historian Whiston writes: “That St. Peter was at Rome is so clear in Christian antiquity that it is a shame for any Protes- tant to confess that any Protestant ever denied it” (Memoirs). The documentary proofs from Christian antiquity would fill a book. We will quote but two of them. With St. Irenaeus, writing in the year 177, “We confound all those who assemble otherwise than it behooveth them to assemble by pointing to the greatest, most ancient, and universally known Church of Rome. This Church was founded by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul. The faith and tradition which this Church has derived from the Apostles comes down to us through the succession of her Bishops. With this Church, every other Church must be united on account of her preeminent authori- ty” (Adv. Ilaereses 3, 3). St. Cyprian, writing in the year 250, calls Rome “the Chair of Peter and the ruling Church, whence the unity of the priesthood has its source” (Ad. Cornel, n. 55). What should we think of those who speak of the 21 CHURCH or Churches? Pope as anti-Christ? The enemies of our Lord called Christ Beelzebub, the prince of devils. We need not wonder then that the enemies of Christ’s vicar on earth should follow suit and invent a title for the Holy Father such as this. Some of the sixteenth century reformers, both in England and on the continent, sponsored this ab- surd lie, hoping thereby to win the people away from their allegiance to the Pope. Students of history today would not dream of saying anything so ri- diculous; whether they agree with the Pope or not, they all realize and recognize that in him we have the one successor of St. Peter who can justify his claim historically, one who stands head and shoulders over all the world in promoting and protecting the sacred cause of Christ. Does history not tell us of some bad Popes? With few exceptions the Popes have ever been men of exalted virtue. Of the two hundred and sixty successors of St. Peter who have held supreme authori- ty in the Church up to the present time, eighty-two have been canonized Saints, men preeminent for their sanctity of life. Of the first thirty Popes, twenty- nine died a martyr’s death. Who in the past century or at the present moment holds a higher place in the estimate of all men for culture, character, honor, vir- tue, and everything that goes with the Christlike life than the sovereign pontiffs of Rome? What nation in all the history of the world could point to a line of leaders so conspicuous for virtue as the Papacy? 22 CHURCH or Churches? The question of bad Popes is something that does not touch the claims of the Church at all. Catholics are not disturbed by the facts of history in this matter. We do grant that there may have been a few bad Popes, that is, men who did not measure up to the high moral standards expected of them. But this is no argument against the Church. A state official may be a very bad man morally, and still a very good official, as far as his duties toward the state are con- cerned. The same is true with respect to the rulers of the Church. A few of them may have been bad men morally, but as far as their official duties were concerned history has no charge against them. Christ never promised His Church security from sin and scandal. But Christ did promise to safeguard the Head of His Church from all error when he pro- nounces officially upon matters of religious doctrine, and that is all we have ever claimed for the Pope in this matter. Infallibility is not a personal but an official prerogative of the Pope and is in no way concerned with his private life. Is it correct to speak of the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic? The proper title of the Catholic Church is “The Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church, ” or simply “The Catholic Church. ” The fiction to which some would. hold that they are “Catholics” but not “Roman Catholics” finds no justification in history. There is but one Catholic Church, and that is the Church founded by Christ 23 CHURCH or Churches? Our Lord and governed by His Vicar on earth, the Pope’ of Rome. Over a thousand five hundred years ago the great St. Augustine, setting forth some of the reasons why he is a Catholic, declares that “the very name of Catholic holds him within the bosom of the Church, a name which in the midst of so many heresies, this Church alone has rightly so held pos- session of that, though all heretics would fain be called Catholics, still to the inquiry of any stranger, Where are the services of the Catholic Church held, not one of these heretics would dare to point to his own conventicle ’ ’ (Contra Epis. Fund. Manich. c. 5). Would not the same question be answered in the same way today? We seldom meet with the name “Roman Catho- lic ’ ’ before the time of the Reformation in England. As used by the Reformers, it was applied to the Catho- lic Church in only an offensive sense. Something of the same idea clings to the term today, and for that reason men of courtesy and culture refrain from using it in connection with the Catholic Church. Catholics here in the United States, as well as Catho- lics anywhere else in the world, are simply Catholics, not “Romanists” or “Roman Catholics.” “Are you a Romanist ? ’ ’ said one to the inimitable Mister Dooley. “A what?” said Mister Dooley. “I mean, are you a Roman Catholic?” “No, thank God, I’m a Chicago Catholic.” What simple rule might one follow to find out 24 CHURCH or Churches? which church is truly the Church of Christ? If you wish to purchase a piece of property, the first thing you make certain of is the title. If they cannot give you a Clear Title, you invest no money. You must have a Clear Title. Just follow the same procedure in Religion, and you cannot go wrong. That the principle of historical truth underlying the simple rule just given is beginning to assert itself more and more in the field of religious controversy is evidenced on all sides. Thus the eminent Protes- tant historian, Dr. Chas. A. Briggs of Union Theo- logical Seminary, N. Y., candidly admits that “the Papacy is one of the greatest institutions that has ever existed in the world, and it looks forward with calm assurance to a still greater future. Its dominion extends throughout the world over the only ecumeni- cal Church. All other churches are national or pro- vincial in their organization. It reaches back in un- broken succession through more than eighteen cen- turies to St. Peter, appointed by the Savior of the world to be the Primate of the Apostles. It com- mands the greatest body of Christianity which has ever remained the same organism since Apostolic times. “The Papacy has a much firmer basis in a num- ber of texts of the New Testament than most Protes- tants have been willing to recognize. All attempts to explain the Rock in any other sense than as referring to Peter have ignominiously failed. It is evident that Jesus, in speaking of St. Peter, had the whole history 25 CHURCH or Churches? of His Kingdom in view. We must admit that there must be a sense in which the successors of St. Peter are the rock of the Church, and have the authority of the keys in ecclesiastical government, discipline, and the determination of faith and morals. If the flock continues, the chief shepherd must be the suc- cessor of St. Peter, to carry on his work as shepherd. . The Christian Church from the earliest times recog- nized the primacy of the Roman Bishop, and all other great sees at times recognized the supreme jurisdiction of Rome in matters of doctrine, government, and dis- cipline. When Protestants went so far as to deny all the historic rights of the Papacy, Protestantism set itself in a false position which must ultimately be abandoned” (North American Review, Feb. 15, 1907). 26 THE CHURCH SPEAKS WITH THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST urTrl WISH that I could have some real convictions in my religious life. I do believe in God, and I do believe that Christ is truly His Divine Son, but beyond that everything in a religious way is uncertain and unsettled. How can I know for cer- tain that what the churches tell me is really what Christ said? One church tells me this and another church tells me that. How in God's name is a man really to know what Christ wants of him?" This, in substance, represents the religious state of mind of many a man today. How can I know for certain what Christ said, what Christ meant, what I must believe, and what I must do in order to be saved? These are soul-searching questions, questions which every man has a right to ask, questions to which any church that claims to be the Church of Christ must have a definite and convincing answer. What is the answer of the Catholic Church to questions like these? To begin with, let us bear in mind that Christ came down from Heaven to teach us the truth. “For this," said He, “was I born, and for this came I into the world that I should give testimony to the truth" (Jno. 18, 37). The truths that Christ came to teach us were set forth by our Blessed Lord not as just so many theories but as absolute realities, not as poetic 27 CHURCH or Churches? productions spun from the human mind but as the actual revelations of an all-Avise, all-truthful God, and as such impose on men the obligation of accept- ing and believing them. “He that believeth not,” said our Lord, “shall be condemned” (Mark 16, 16; Comp. Jno. 3, 18). Christ was uncompromising in His doctrinal teachings; He tolerated no hesitant or half-hearted assent; on one occasion He let a goodly number of His disciples depart from Him because they found His words hard to bear and would not consent to them (Jno. 6, 61). Not only would Christ countenance no halfway measures regarding the truth of His doctrine on the part of those who would be His disciples, but more than this, Christ certainly looked forward to the fu- ture and visualized His religious teachings as a per- manent fact and factor in the life of the human race. “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” said He, “but My words shall not pass” (Matt. 24, 35). It was incumbent on Christ therefore to provide a means whereby His teachings should be transmitted in their integrity to all men until time should merge into eternity. This our Blessed Lord did in a very definite manner when just before His Ascension into Heaven He set up His Church and gave to that Church a Standing Commission, bidding her go forth into the whole world to teach in His name and with His in- fallible authority, saying: “All power is given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, teaching them to observe all things what- 28 CHURCH or Churches? soever I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28, 18). All power, all nations, all things, all days! Again, “You shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be wit- nesses unto Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth’ ’ (Acts 1, 8). “I will ask the Father and He shall give you another Paraclete that He may abide in you forever, even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive” (Jno. 14, 16). The true Church then is and must ever be, in the phrase of St. Paul, “the pillar and ground of Truth” (I Tim. 3, 15). A church that cannot give me re- ligious certainty is certainly no church for me. No church that is fallible can be the church of the in- fallible Christ. To contend that the Spirit of Truth is with every conflicting church and that God is teach- ing contrary doctrines and irreconcilable creeds is nothing short of blasphemy. By the very terms of its institution, the Church of Christ must be an In- fallible Church. “He that heareth you, heareth Me” (Luke 10, 16). Now, what Church is infallible? To ask the ques- tion is to answer it. Only one Church even so much as claims to be infallible; only one Church even so much as maintains that she teaches men the truth of Christ in its entirety and without any possibility of error. Only one Church is infallible, and that Church is the lineal descendant and the historical continuation of the Church pictured on the pages of 29 CHURCH or Churches? the New Testament and like the first Church set up by our Savior Himself is presided over by Peter and is of one mind, "persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles’ ’ (Acts 2, 42). Today, and every day for the past one thousand nine hundred years, that one infallible Church has made articulate the teachings of the one infallible Christ and has sounded forth to the sons of men the soul-saving truth of the Son of God; and men in un- counted millions have hearkened to that Voice and in humble submission have come forward and gathered around the feet of their common Father in Christ, one in faith, one in worship, one in loving obedience to the Vicar of that Christ who thus speaks to them. Such is that Church of Christian unity that counts and has ever counted her children by the million in every clime and in every nation under the sun; such is that Church of Christian unity that reaches from pole to pole and belts the globe. What a spectacle in the ages gone by ; what a spectacle today ! At this moment three hundred million human souls united and in unison professing the same faith, sharing in the same Sacraments, offering up the same holy Sacrifice of the Mass, submissive to the same supreme authority, showing forth to the world that Unity which Christ meant to be a sign of His one true Church! "Holy Father,” prayed Jesus on the night before He died, "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as We also are. And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me; that they 30 CHURCH or Churches? all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee ; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (Jno. 17, 11). In what way does Infallibility differ from In- spiration and Impeccability? Infallibility means that the Pope, as the legiti- mate successor of St. Peter and by the special Provi- dence of God, is protected from all possibility of error when in his official capacity as Head of the Church he pronounces judgment upon any matter of religious doctrine. The Bishops, being the rightful successors of the rest of the Apostles, enjoy this same privilege as a body but only in conjunction with the Pope ; namely, when at the behest of the Holy Father, they come together in a general council to discuss and decide weighty matters of faith and morals concerning the common welfare of the universal Church. Infallibility therefore is not the same thing as Inspiration. The writers of the Sacred Scriptures were inspired. The Pope is not. His is the business not of writing Scripture but of guarding and explain- ing it. Secondly, infallibility does not imply that the Pope is immune from sin. Like other people, the Pope may fall into sin. Sin is a thing that concerns man’s individual will, and God never interferes with that. Should the Pope be so unfortunate as to fall into sin, he can free himself from that state only by making use of the Sacrament of Penance just like any other Catholic. In other words infallibility does not protect the Pope in his private life. Thirdly, 31 CHURCH or Churches? infallibility is an official prerogative, something that the Pope possesses only in his official capacity as Head of the Church, and then only when, as the su- preme authority in the Church, he passes judgment on matters of faith and morals. This prerogative therefore does not belong to the Pope as a private teacher. If a Pope, like Benedict the Fourteenth, were to write a treatise on Canon Law, his book would be as much open to comment and criticism as that of any other teacher of the Church. Lastly, the preroga- tive of infallibility is restricted exclusively to matters of faith and morals. It does not extend to the natural sciences. The Pope is no more infallible in mathe- matics than you or I. Nor does it regard purely political questions, such as the form of government a nation ought to adopt, or for what candidate one ought to vote. It means simply that the Pope, as successor of St. Peter and Vicar on earth of Jesus Christ, is preserved from error when in his official capacity as Head of the Church he makes final de- cision on matters of religious doctrine. In all matters of faith and morals, the mind of Christ is made mani- fest to men by the voice of the Vicar of Christ. “He that heareth you, heareth Me” (Luke 10, 16). This is the divine guarantee that gives us absolute cer- tainty in Religion, the guarantee that the good things of the Gospel come to us without any possibility of error or falsification. What did Christ mean when He said to His 32 CHURCH or Churches? Apostles, “ Behold I am with you all days” (Matt. 28, 20) ? In biblical language, the promise of God to be with a person in the performance of any mission al- ways signifies that a special divine assistance will assure the success, of that mission (e.g. Exodus 3, 12; Jeremias 1, 19). The phrase, U I am with you always, or all days’ * is used in the Bible ninety times. Apart from the few instances in which it implies a mere salutation, it always signifies that God will insure the success of the person’s undertaking. Accord- ingly the promise of Christ to be with the Apostles in their teaching office must be interpreted as an assurance that a special divine assistance would be given them, protecting them at least from the possi- bility of teaching anything false, since error and falsehood are absolutely foreign to a 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 limited—but as members of the Church’s hierarchy which will endure to the end of time. Evidently then this promise of Christ extends 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 forever. “He that be- lieveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be condemned” (Mark 16, 16). Surely God would not punish those who refuse to accept the teachings of the Church without providing 33 CHURCH or Churches? that those teachings be true. Our own good sense would tell us that God could not command us to ac- cept the teachings of His Church under pain of eternal punishment unless He first secured that teaching au- thority from all risk of error and all possibility of heresy and spiritual corruption. Why does the Church put certain books on the Index? The Church puts certain books on the Index for the same reason that a good druggist puts a skull and cross bones on every bottle of poison. The Church labels poisonous literature Poison. The advocates of modern paganism are well aware that a daily diet of irreligious and immoral reading will soon destroy the moral and religious life of the most ardent Christian. The calumnies against the Church set afloat in the sixteenth century are still go- ing the rounds of gossip today. The unbelieving critics who in the past generation made use of every means to belittle the Bible have brought millions of one-time orthodox Christians to deny the faith that once was theirs. How many souls too, once noble and pure, have given themselves over to a life of lust and immorality through the constant reading of sexy and salacious novels ! If the State has a right and a duty to safeguard its citizens from contagious diseases, to restrict the sale and use of narcotics, and to exercise a vigilant censorship over the press, at least in times of war, the Church, as the representative of Christ, has just 34 CHURCH or Churches? as imperative a right and a duty to protect the faith and morals of her children. She is always at war with heresy, superstition, immorality, and irreligion. This and nothing more is the meaning of the Index of forbidden books. Does not the doctrine of infallibility destroy free- dom of thought ? A sort of strange superstition attaches to the phrase “freedom of thought. ” Truth is something that is objective, something outside of us, something that does not depend on us for its validity. Our declarations of independence do not extend to the realm of truth. There we are subjects, not sovereigns. One is not free to think that two and two make any- thing but four; he who claims freedom to think other- wise belongs in a home for the mentally defective. “We have the Mind of Christ , ” says St. Paul (I Cor. 2, 16). The doctrine of infallibility is opposed indeed to the false freedom of believing error; it is not opposed to the true freedom of believing the truth. Infallibility is nothing less than the Voice of God speaking to us through His Church and telling us what we must believe and what we must do to be saved. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free ’ ’ (Jno. 8, 32). The strange notion that converts are in perpetual warfare with their own reason is contradicted in most emphatic terms by every one who has made the step. Thus Ronald Knox, an eminent English convert, has this to say : “I had been encouraged to suppose that the immediate re- 35 CHURCH or Churches? suit of submission to Rome would be the sense of having one’s liberty cramped and restricted in a num- ber of ways, necessary no doubt to the welfare of the Church at large, but galling to the individual. The curious thing is that my experience has been exactly the opposite. I have been overwhelmed with the feeling of liberty, the glorious liberty of the sons of God” (Spiritual Aeneid, p. 247). Dr. Kinsman, former Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Delaware, writes in the same strain: “My attitude toward the Church is one of entire submission. Crucifixion of the intellect, some object. I should call it Resurrec- tion. My chief consciousness as a Catholic is a new freedom. Cardinal Gibbons, in a little address to me, said that in spite of exterior hardships, which he knew I must encounter, he hoped that I might enjoy interior sunshine. That, I think, expresses what has been given” (Salve Mater, p. 13). 3G Judge Rutherford Few people seem to realize the magnitude and maliciousness of the work of Judge Rutherford. The writer of these lines is a Benedictine priest who has camped on the trail of this gentle- man for a number of years. Here are a few facts concerning this modern maligner of the Church. Judge Rutherford was born and reared in Cooper County, Missouri. At one time he held a county judgeship there. Hence the title. He has never had any theological training. Cooper county lies on the edge of the old “Menace” country of Missouri. It is not difficult then to see where Rutherford learned his tactics. When that anti-Catholic paper went out of exist- ence, Rutherford was quick to adopt the methods of the “Menace” people and to make their racket his own. It is need- less to go into the past history of Rutherford’s anti-Christian activities but suffice it to say that at present he operates out of Brooklyn, N. Y., where he owns a large newspaper plant and a powerful radio station. Judge Rutherford publishes two papers, The Watehtower and The Golden Age. Each appears twice a month. Bias and bigotry and insulting cartoons fill every page. It is claimed that these two papers have a combined reading list of several million people. The Golden Age is published simultaneously in twelve different languages. Besides these two magazines Rutherford puts out a great variety of books and booklets, religious rubbish reeking with calumnies against the Church. He scruples at nothing if he thinks that it will count against the Church, which he always refers to as “the organized forces of Satan.” Out of stuff like this fires are made such as we have seen raging in Spain. Through his followers, whom he calls “Witnesses of Jehovah,” Rutherford scatters this vile literature wholesale across the land. To date he has disposed of one hundred and eighty million copies of these religious tracts. In quantity that represents more liter- ature than has come from our entire Catholic Press from the beginning of our country down to the present day. It took us twenty years to distribute two million copies of “The Faith of our Fathers.” Less than a year ago Rutherford published “Riches,” which is merely another of his blatant brochures against the Church, and already has disposed of more than a million and a half copies of it. All this may seem unbelievable but I have followed the work of this charlatan carefully for a number of years and am sure of these figures. But bad as are his books and booklets, Rutherford is even more baneful in his religious broadcasts. By means of electrical- ly transcribed records Rutherford is now ranting his tirades against the Church week after week over more than one hundred and forty radio stations. Most of the radio stations that broadcast the Rutherford programs are located in the rural sections of our country but some of them are in our larger cities. From time to time some of our Catholic organizations rise up and protest and succeed in getting Rutherford off a particular station. Then our Catholic papers so play up the incident as to leave the impression that he has been put off the air altogether, whereas he has been taken off one station only and remains on a hundred more. The radio programs of Judge Rutherford are commercial programs. Time on the air for these programs is paid for at the regular commercial rate by his followers. That is the reason why most stations are reluctant to cancel his broadcasts. Ft means bread and butter to them. The only expense that Rutherford incurs is that connected with the manufacture of his recordings. Since his programs are commercial programs Rutherford never loses a chance to advertise his publications and we may well believe finds this a lucrative source of income. Neither is this work confined to the United States. In the same way and by means of electrical transcriptions, Rutherford is on the air regularly in nearly every country of the world—Australia, South America, Canada, Mexico, England, Spain, etc. The Church is a world-wide institution; he would meet and malign her on a world-wide front. Catholic Action Here is one reason for Catholic Action, real Catholic Action before it is too late. Shall we bury our heads in the sand like the ostrich of old and make-believe that all is well? That is just what our enemies would like for us to do and, sad to say, that is just what many of us have been doing. As a Benedictine priest and a missionary of many years experience in that very “Menace” country that gave us Rutherford permit me to make a few suggestions. First of all it is futile to try to rule men like Rutherford off the air. That only leaves the impression that we do have something to hide. And try as we may we could never get him off more than a very few stations. Neither will a campaign of silence accomplish anything. Our Holy Father calls for Action, real Catholic Action. Here surely is an instance where Ave must fight fire Avith fire. If Rutherford and his kind defame us in print, let us at least rise to our defense in print. If Rutherford and his kind take to the air, let us do likewise. But by “defense” Ave would not be misunderstood. The best defense is a plain and positive presentation of our own position. In this defense we would not deign to honor this gentleman so much as even t,o mention his name but in a popular and con- structive Avay strive to build up our own case and in so doing, undo him and disprove his every accusation. Our fellow men are reasonable men. They are looking for information. We can and should give it to them. Little Talks About God With a good deal of experience in the radio field to guide him and the help of a few good Knights of Columbus friends to start the work, the writer of these lines has recently made such a series of Electrical Transcriptions for broadcast purposes. This series is based on the Apostles' Creed and is entitled “Little Talks About God.” The subject matter of these religious talks has been submitted to the proper religious authorities and the recordings made by the very best company engaged in that Avork —The World Broadcasting System. Time on the air for broadcasts like these can usually be secured gratis, especially if some local organization {e. g. Knights of Columbus) sponsors the project and applies for the time. Public mention of such sponsorship is made of course at the close of each program. It is in this way that “Little Talks about God” is noAv or shortly will be on the air over Fifteen Stations in different parts of our country. It is our ambition to put them on at least all the smaller stations of the country because it is in the rural sections that this Avork is needed most. It can be done. It should be done. But I do need help to do it. If you are interested in this Avork in any way, kindly com- municate with REV. RICHARD FELIX, O.S.B. Pilot Grove, Mo. Little Talks About God First Series A series of thirteen religious discussions based on the Apostles’ Creed. Plain and popular expositions of fundamental religious facts presented by Rev. Richard Felix, Benedictine missionary. No controversy, no polemics. No advertising or soliciting. Informational, instructive, entertaining. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. Episode No. 1. —Is there a God? 2. —Man and his place in the universe. 3. —What is Faith? 4. —Nature of God. 5. —What is Heaven and who lives there? 6. —How did the world come into existence? 7. —Was man always as we find him now? 8. —Who was Christ? 9. —No. 8 continued. 10. —Mary, the Mother of Christ. 11. —What is meant by Divine Grace? 12. —Bin and its remission. 13. —After death—What? Each episode is introduced by an instrumental theme Ave Maria, 45 seconds. Then five minutes of direct speech fol- lowed by eight minutes devoted to the answering of questions bearing on the subject under discussion. Ends with the instru- mental theme. Text of each episode contained in the author’s book, “The Apostles’ Creed.’’ Everything on the record except the final announcement. Total time of record 14 minutes and 50 seconds. Electrically transcribed by the World Broadcasting System and available in vertical or lateral cut. The Apostles' Creed The Fundamental Facts of Faith Presented in a Plain and Popular Way By Father Richard Felix, 0. S. B. 24 Chapters, 200 Pages Price, single copies, $1.00. Postage prepaid Liberal discount on quantity orders ‘ ‘ This book on the Apostles’ Creed is truly an arsenal of religious information. It covers the Creed completely and convincingly. No Catholic can read this book with- out a wider knowledge and a deeper appreciation of his holy Faith. We know of nothing better to place into the hands of inquiring friends outside the Church.” (From the Foreword to the book by Bishop Lillis of Kansas City). “The book is well worth the price.”—Our Sunday Visitor. Four Pamphlets by Father Richard Felix, O. S. B. Church or Churches? What is the Catholic Church? What about the Bible? After death—What? Each pamphlet about thirty pages in length. Price : Single copies 10 cents; 12 copies for $1.00; 50 copies for $4.00; 100 copies for $7.50. Assorted or in single titles. Postage prepaid. Order a dozen copies or more and dis- tribute them among your friends. Address all orders to FATHER RICHARD FELIX, O. S. B. Pilot Grove, Mo. CHURCH or Churches? Chronological List of the Supreme Pontiffs of the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ in the year 33 St. Peter 33- 67 St. Linus 67- 79 St. Anacletus I 79- 90 St. Clement I 90- 99 St. Evaristus 99- 107 St. Alexander I 107- 116 St. Sixtus I 116- 125 St. Telesphorus 125- 136 St. Hyginus 136- 140 St. Pius | 140- 154 St. Anicetus 154- 165 St. Soter 165- 174 St. Eleutherius 174- 189 St. Victor 189- 198 St. Zephyrinus 198- 217 St. Callistus I 217- 222 St. Urban I 222- 230 St. Pontian . 230- 235 St. Anterus 235- 236 St. Fabian 236- 250 St. Cornelius 251- 253 St. Lucius I 253- 254 St. Stephen I 254- 257 St. Sixtus II 257- 258 St. Dionysius 259- 268 St. Felix I 269- 274 St. Eutychian 275- 283 St. Caius 283- 296 St. Marcellinus 296- 304 St. Marcellus I 308- 309 St. Eusebius 309- 310 St. Melchiades 311- 314 St. Sylvester I 314- 335 St. Marcus 336- 336 St. Julius I 337- 352 St. Liberius 352- 366 Damasus I 366- 384 St. Siricius 384- 398 St. Anastasius I 398- 401 St. Innocent I 401- 417 St. Zosimus 417- 418 St. Boniface I 418- 422 St. Celestine I ........... 422- 432 St. Sixtus III 432- 440 St. Leo I .. 440- 461 St. Hilarius 461- 468 St. Simplicius 468- 483 St. Felix II 483- 492 St. Gelasius I 492- 496 St. Anastasius II 496- 498 St. Symmachus 498- 514 St. Hormisdas 514- 523 St. John I 523- 526 St. Felix III 526- 530 Boniface II 530- 532 John II 533- 535 St. Agapetus I 535- 536 St. Silverius 536- 538 Vigilius 538- 555 Pelagius I ...... 556- 561 John III 561- 574 Benedict I 575- 579 Pelagius II 579- 590 St. Gregory I 590- 604 Sabinianus 604- 606 Boniface III 607- 607 St. Boniface IV 608- 615 St. Deusdedit ....... 615- 618 Boniface V 619- 625 Honorius I 625- 638 Severinus 638- 640 John IV 640- 642 Theodore I 642- 649 St. Martin I 649- 654 St. Eugene I 654- 657 St. Vitalian 657- 672 37 CHURCH or Churches? Adeodatus .. 672- Donus 676- St. Agatho 678- St. Leo II 682- St. Benedict II 684- John V 685- Conon 686- St. Sergius I 687- John VI 701- John VII 705- Sisinnius 707- Constantine 708- St. Gregory II 715- St. Gregory III 731- St. Zacharias 741- Stephen II 752- St. Paul I 757- Stephen III 768- Adrian I - 772- St. Leo III 795- Stephen IV 816- St. Paschal I 817- Eugene II 824- Valentine , 827- Gregory IV 827- Sergius II 844- St. Leo IV 847- Benedict III 855- St. Nicholas I 858- Adrian II 867- John VIII 872- Marinus 882- Adrian III 884- Stephen V 885- Formosus 891- Boniface VI 896- Stephen VI 896- Romanus 897- Theodore II 897- John IX 898- Benedict IV 900- Leo V 903- Christopher 903- Sergius III 904- Anastasius III ............ 911- Lando .: ... 913- 914 John X ... 914- 928 Leo VI ... 928- 928 Stephen VII ... 928- 931 John XI ... 931- 936 Leo VII .... 936- 939 Stephen VIII ... 939- 942 Marinus II .„ 942- 946 Agapetus II ... 946- 955 John XII .... 955- 964 Leo VIII .... 964- 964 Benedict V ... 964- 964 John XIII ... 965- 972 Benedict VI .... 973- 974 Benedict VII .... 974- 983 John XIV ... 983- 984 Boniface VII .... 984- 985 John XV .... 985- 996 Gregory V .... 996- 999 Sylvester II .... 999-1003 John XVII ....1003-1003 John XVIII ...1003-1009 Sergius IV ...1009-1012 Benedict VIII ...1012-1024 John XIX 1024-1032 Benedict IX ....1032-1045 Gregory VI ...1045-1046 Clement II ...1046-1047 Damasus II ...1047-1048 St. Leo IX ...1049-1054 Victor II ...1055-1057 Stephen IX ...1057-1058 Benedict X 1058-1059 Nicholas II ...1059-1061 Alexander II .-1061-1073 St. Gregory VII 1073-1085 Victor III ...1087-1087 Urban II ...1088-1099 Paschal II 1099-1118 Gelasius II 1118-1119 Callistus II — ....1119-1124 Honorius II ....1124-1130 Innocent II — ....1130-1143 Celestine II ....1143-1144 Lucius II - ...1144-1145 676 678 681 683 685 686 687 701 705 707 708 715 731 741 752 757 767 772 795 816 817 824 827 827 844 847 855 858 867 872 882 884 885 891 896 896 897 897 898 900 903 903 904 911 913 38 CHURCH or Churches? Eugene III ...1145-1153 Pius II 1458-1464 Anastasius IV ...1153-1154 Paul II 1464-1471 Adrian IV ...1154-1159 Sixtus IV 1471-1484 Alexander III 1159-1181 Innocent VIII 1484-1492 Lucius III ...1181-1185 Alexander VI 1492-1503 Urban III 1185-1187 Pius III 1503-1503 Gregory VIII 1187-1187 Julius II 1503-1513 Clement III 1187-1191 Leo X 1513-1521 Celestine III ...1191-1198 Adrian VI 1522-1523 Innocent III ...1198-1216 Clement VII 1523-1534 Honorius III ...1216-1227 Paul III 1534-1549 Gregory IX 1227-1241 Julius III 1550-1555 Celestine IV ...1241-1241 Marcellus II .. .1555-1555 Innocent IV ...1243-1254 Paul IV 1555-1559 Alexander IV ....1254-1261 Pius IV 1559-1565 Urban IV 1261-1264 St. Pius V . . .1566-1572 Clement IV ...1265-1268 Gregory XIII 1572-1585 St. Gregory X 1271-1276 Sixtus V 1585-1590 Innocent V 1276-1276 Urban VII 1590-1590 Adrian V ...1276-1276 Gregory XIV 1590-1591 John XXI ...1276-1277 Innocent IX 1591-1591 Nicholas III ...1277-1280 Clement VIII 1592-1605 Martin IV ._.1281-1285 Leo XI 1605-1605 Honorius IV ....1285-1287 Paul V 1605-1621 Nicolas IV ....1288-1292 Gregory XV 1621-1623 St. Celestine V 1294-1294 Urban VIII .. .1623-1644 Boniface VIII 1294-1303 Innocent X 1644-1655 Benedict XI ...1303-1304 Alexander VII 1655-1667 Clement V 1305-1314 Clement IX 1667-1669 John XXII ...1316-1334 Clement X 1670-1676 Benedict XII ...1334-1342 Innocent XI 1676-1689 Clement VI „ 1342-1352 Alexander VIII „ 1689-1691 Innocent VI 1352-1362 Innocent XII 1691-1700 Urban V 1362-1370 Clement XI 1700-1721 Gregory XI 1370-1378 Innocent XIII 1721-1724 Urban VI 1378-1389 Benedict XIII 1724-1730 Boniface IX 1389-1404 Clement XII 1730-1740 Innocent VII 1404-1406 Benedict XIV 1740-1758 Gregory XII 1406-1409 Clement XIII 1758-1769 Alexander V 1409-1410 Clement XIV 1769-1774 John XXIII 1410-1415 Pius VI 1775-1799 Martin V 1417-1431 Pius VII 1800-1823 Eugene IV 1431-1447 Leo XII 1823-1829 Nicholas V 1447-1455 Pius VIII 1829-1830 Callistus III 1455-1458 Gregory XVI 1831-1846 39 CHURCH or Churches? Pius IX 1846-1878 Pius X .....1903-1914 Leo XIII 1878-1903 Benedict XV 1914-1922 Pius XI 1922- The list given above of the sovereign Pontiffs of the Cath- olic Church has been transcribed from the Catholic Ency- clopedia, vol. xii, p. 272. The same information may be obtained from any encyclopedia or standard work of history. 40 Here is something for which you have been looking — ALTAR AND HOME A monthly magazine setting forth in a plain and popular way the chief events in the Liturgical Life of the Church. Published by the Benedictine Monks of Conception Abbey. You will be astounded at the price. Subscrip- tion, paid in advance, twenty-five cents a year. Four years for one dollar. In bulk, one cent a copy on orders of twenty-five or more copies. Excellent for school and parish distribution. Splendid for private study. If you are not a sub- scriber, become one now. Sample copy sent upon request. Address: Altar and Home Press Conception Abbey Conception, Mo. PAMPHLETS The following pamphlets will be found useful for pamphlet racks, study clubs and general distri- bution. Church or Churches? What is the Catholic Church? What about the Bible? After death—What? These pamphlets are about thirty pages in length and come from the pen of Father Richard Felix, O. S. B. They are the result of many years of missionary experience. Single copy 10 cents; 12 copies for $1.00; $4.00 for fifty copies; $7.00 per hundred. Carriage free. Address: Altar and Home Press Conception Abbey Conception, 3Io. THE APOSTLES’ CREED The Fundamental Facts of Faith Presented in a Plain and Popular Way By Father Richard Felix, O.S.B. 200 Pages. 24 Chapters Chapter Titles: God; Man; Faith, The Koly Trinity; Heaven; Creation of the World; Fall of Man; Christ, the Messias of the Old Law; Christ, the God-Man; Christ, the High Priest of the New Law; Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Devotion to Mary; Divine Grace; The Holy Bible; Church and Bible; Church of Christ; Church or Churches; The Church, a Visible Society; The Church of Religious Certainty; The Church of the Cross; The Communion of Saints; Purgatory, Forgiveness of Sins; After Death—What. “This book on the Apostles’ Creed Is truly an arsenal of religious information. It covers the Creed completely and convincingly. No Catholic can read this book without a wider knowledge and a deeper appreciation of his holy faith. Wo know of nothing better to place into the hands of inquiring friends outside the Church” (From the Foreword to the book by Bishop Lillis of Kansas City). “Here is a book which is a storehouse of information for Catholics and non-Catholics. It presents clear, solid informa- tion on each article of the Creed, and answers innumerable questions which bear directly on the matter explained. At no time is Father Felix argumentative. His idea is that Catholics need ready, handy explanation to help them follow the faith, and non-Catholics need enlightenment to dispel their misunder- standings and lack of knowledge of what the Church believes and teaches. So Father Felix’s! explanations are fatherly, winning and convincing. The book should do untold good” — The Ave Maria. “Serious-minded men and women are looking for just such a plain and positive presentation of the fundamental facts of faith”—The Franciscan Herald. “This is a book that we unreservedly recommend. Who- ever you are, you should get it, and read it”—The Savior’s Call. “Splendid for instruction of converts and for use in study clubs”—The Orate Fratres. “The book is well worth the price”—Our Sunday Visitor. Price $1.00 Postage prepaid. Liberal discount on quantity orders. Address : Altar and Home Press Conception Abbey Conception, Mo.