A CATHOLIC PAPER ON THE SUNDAY LAW.
By Editor
OUR friends of the National Reformers, the W. C. T. U., and the American Sabbath Union are wont to claim nearly all sects, denominations, and organizations of labor as indorsing the Blair, or some other Sunday-rest bill. Cardinal Gibbons wrote a letter expressing his own sentiments as favoring some such a law and forthwith that name was multiplied into 7,200,000, including all the Roman Catholic Church of America—men, women, and children and characters of all kinds, as indorsing the bill. This 7,200,000 Catholics did not sign the petition; in fact many of them have signed the counter-petition. It is always better to look upon both sides of the question, so we present below a Catholic view from an editorial in the New York Catholic News of August 11, 1889. We hope our Sunday friends will note what has so often been stated by Catholics, that the only authority for Sunday is the Roman Catholic Church and traditions. The article says:— “There are Sabbath associations and an American Sabbath Union, aiming to procure new statutes to enforce the observance of Sunday. At the instance of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Senator Blair has introduced a bill into Congress. It thus appears that not only special Protestant organizations are endeavoring to prevent Sunday labor and noisy Sunday amusements, but also other Protestant associations devoted to temperance and the like. “The whole movement gives rise to some reflection. For the transfer of the Jewish law or Sabbath rest on the last day of the week there is not the slightest warrant in the New Testament. The observance of Sunday has no warrant except the authority of the Catholic Church, and it is utterly inconsistent in men who deny the authority of the Catholic Church, to attempt to force their fellow Protestants to observance of what has nothing but Catholic authority in its favor. Another curious point is the evidence the movement gives of the waning power of Protestant organizations over those who still loosely are denominated Protestants.” The editor then quotes the following from Mr. Crafts' speech before the committee in the hearing of the Sunday-rest bill (p. 10):— “Protestants represented in the official membership of the American Sabbath Union, namely: The combined membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Churches (North and South), and the Reformed (Dutch) Church, all of which have officially appointed members of the American Sabbath Union; by whom the law is asked for (practically 6,000,000), 5,977,666.” Upon this statement of members which has been swelled to ten millions, according to the field secretary of the Union, the News continues:— “Thus, even taking the whole membership of several denominations, the advocates of the law can make out on their side only six millions out of the population of sixty millions; and they count Cardinal Gibbons' expressed wish for the Catholic sanctification of the Lord's day as the voice of 7,200,000 in favor of the law. In other words they admit that for the sanctification of the Lord's day, Catholic advocates in its favor outnumber Protestant by more than one million! We believe that no more than six million Protestants can be found in the country who believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, in the dogma of the Holy Trinity, in the incarnation and redemption through Christ, and that actually Catholic believers in these fundamental doctrines of Christianity far outnumber Protestants.” Can the above statement that “no more than six million Protestants can be found in the country who believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, in the dogma of the Holy Trinity, in the incarnation and redemption through Christ,” be gainsaid? In our opinion it cannot. Take the inspiration of the Scriptures and the incarnation of Christ and redemption through him, the only Biblical doctrines537named, and how many Protestants really believe them? How many question the Bible! We leave the matter as it is for Protestants to consider. The editor then refers to the religious combinations as follows:— “Another curious point is that this combination of Protestant sects, to influence legislation, not being inspired by hostility to the Catholic Church, which would make it all right in the eyes of the masses, begins to excite alarm, and we are reminded of words uttered by Richard M. Johnson in 1828-9 when the Sabbatarians wished the Federal Government to suspend carrying the mails on Sunday. In the report of a committee which recommended the rejection of the petition, he said:— “‘Extensive religious combinations to effect a political object are, in the opinion of the committee, always dangerous. This first effort of this kind calls for the establishment of a principle which, in the opinion of the committee, would lay the foundation for dangerous innovations upon the spirit of the Constitution, and upon the religious rights of the citizens. If admitted, it may be justly apprehended that the future measures of the government will be strongly marked, if not eventually controlled, by the same influence. All religious despotisms commence by combination and influence, and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country, the civil power soon bends under it; and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequences.’ “All this is true, and is as fully and completely true of combinations against Catholic parochial schools, or combinations which have made it necessary for Catholics to establish and maintain parochial schools, as in regard to the Sunday question.” The Sunday is a Roman Catholic institution and its observance as the Sabbath by Protestants is homage paid to the Catholic Church, and when this observance is enforced by law those who enforced it are doubly guilty of walking in the footsteps of the Papacy. But as regard this Sunday law movement, it certainly is not true that “no loyal Catholic priest, or paper, or person will oppose what has thus been indorsed.” The News is loyal. Mr. Crafts is mistaken. M. C. W.