Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. · May 30, 1912

Present-Day Claims of Romanists

THAT Romanists claim for the Pope to-day the same as they have claimed for him in the past is shown from time to time by the utterances of many of their present-day representatives. One of the most recent of these is that put forward by Jeremiah Prendergast, S. J., of the Church of St. John the Baptist, Syracuse, N. Y., according to the Syracuse Post-Standard of March 14, 1912. He says:—

The Pope is the vicar of Christ, or the visible head of the church on earth. The claims of the Pope are the same as the claims of Christ. Christ wanted all souls saved. So does the Pope. Christ can forgive all sin. So can the Pope. The Pope is the only man who claims the vicarage of Christ. His claim is not seriously opposed, and this establishes his authority. The powers given the Pope by Christ were given him not as a mere man, but as the representative of Christ. The Pope is more than the representative of Christ, for he is the fruit of his divinity and of the divine institution of the church. Spiritual authority is one thing, and temporal authority another. A man can be a good Catholic and a good American citizen. The church has seldom, if ever, infringed upon the authority of the state, but the state has often infringed upon the authority of the church. The Pope interprets the teachings of Christ without error. In his private life the Pope is fallible and may commit sin. For this reason he goes to confession every week, as all good Catholics should.