Before the art of printing was discovered, the Church had less difficulty in keeping the people in ignorance, but after the invention of that boon to mankind she found herself ominously confronted with the tree of life from which the people would soon learn to pluck the fruit of knowledge. Hence the establishment, by Pope Paul IV., about the middle of the sixteenth century, of the Index Expurgatorius, whose functions, we are told, was "to examine books and manuscripts intended for publication, and to decide whether the people may be permitted to read them." This is what his Grace of St. Michael's Palace, in Toronto, proposes to do for the good Catholics of that city—decide what they shall read and what they shall not read, as though they were ninnies and not able to decide that matter for themselves! The fact is, however, that, in this priestly arrogance and assumption, the Archbishop is consistent enough; for, although such mediæval tyranny is altogether inconsistent with the spirit of this age, and ludicrously out of place in 1880, in the City of Toronto, it, nevertheless, perfectly accords with the tenets and spirit as well as the antecedents of his Church; which, while it accuses Freethinkers of "barbarism," allows not an inch of latitude of private judgment in matters of religion, and tolerates no freedom of conscience: And what is this but barbarism? All freedom of conscience was fiercely denounced by Gregory XVI. as insane folly, and the Archbishop of Toronto reiterates this unsavory stigma on civilization. And why shouldn't he? Theology never learns. The Church changes not. How can she when she is infallible? Yet an infallible Pope of an infallible Church, not long since, found himself, while encompassed with many difficulties, spiritual and temporal, to be about like other weak mortals in flesh and blood; and, though infallible, remember, and with the power of miracles and all that, he succumbs and whiningly complains to a vulgar world that he is "a prisoner in his own palace in Rome!" And the heretical and sceptical world—the "outside barbarians"—with a contemptuous leer, gape at the queer spectacle of the "Vicegerent on Earth" of an all-powerful God being obliged so easily to succumb to heresy—to a little temporal power. Such, however, is life—or rather the "mysterious ways of providence," which "ways" always seem though, as Cromwell observed, to be on the side of the heaviest artillery,—not the artillery of heaven, but the base artillery of earth. Indeed, this worldly artillery—the artillery of science and civilization—has, in this nineteenth century, been making such havoc with creeds, confessions, and dogmas, that the crowning dogma of all—this fundamental pillar of the Vatican, the dogma of infallibility—was, it would seem, fast becoming a dead dog; when the Holy Catholic Church finds it imperatively incumbent upon her to attempt a resuscitation. This happened in Rome in "anno domini" 1870, at that great Ecumenical Council—that unique anachronism of the nineteenth century. I know not whether that mediæval assembly of Holy "Fathers in God" was honored by the presence of his Grace of St. Michael's Palace, in Toronto, or not; but, be that as it may, his reverence's entire loyalty to the notorious Encyclical and Syllabus of that Council is not to be questioned or doubted. The miniature Toronto bull of May 9th, 1880, has the true Vatican ring of the big bull of the Council in Rome in 1870. It, too, denounced, with its usual, though harmless, anathema, Atheism, Pantheism, Naturalism, Rationalism and every other ism that failed to square with Papal dogma. By the fulmination of that Syllabus the world learned among many other things, that "No one may interpret the Sacred Scriptures contrary to the sense in which they are interpreted by Holy Mother Church, to whom such interpretation belongs." It was further decreed that "All the Christian faithful are not only forbidden to defend, as legitimate conclusions of science, those opinions which are known to be contrary to the doctrine of faith, especially when condemned by the Church, but are rather absolutely bound to hold them for errors wearing the deceitful appearance of truth."
As examples of the holy canons which were actually fulminated and promulgated by that Ecumenical Council in the latter part of this 19th century, here are a few:—
"Who shall refuse to receive, for sacred and canonical, the books of Holy Scripture in their integrity, with all their parts, according as they were enumerated by the Holy Council of Trent, or shall deny that they are inspired by God, Let him be anathema."
"Who shall say that human sciences ought to be pursued in such a spirit of freedom that one may be allowed to hold as true their assertions, even when opposed to revealed doctrine, Let him be anathema."
"Who shall say that it may at any time come to pass, in the progress of science, that the doctrines set forth by the Church must be taken in another sense than that in which the Church has ever received and yet receives them, Let him be anathema."
These are the modest assumptions of the Church of Rome in this age; and a prelate of that Church breathes the same noxious vapors forth into the intellectual atmosphere of the City of Toronto! It remains to be seen whether in Toronto there are such slaves or fools as will submit to this worse than Egyptian bondage. Will intelligent Catholics put their necks in a yoke so galling? None but slaves or barbarians would do it. The Archbishop would thus fain make barbarians of his own people, and then he would have the pagans at home without hunting among Freethinkers for them. In his lecture in Napanee, in April last, Col. Ingersoll gave it as his opinion that any man—no matter what Church he belonged to, or what country he lived in—who claimed rights for himself which he denied to others, is a barbarian! Now, according to this definition, who are the barbarians? The Freethinkers, or the Archbishop himself and those he ignominiously holds in mental bondage?
In conclusion, we thank Archbishop Lynch for his timely "bull." As a propagandist document for the spread of Freethought, and really in the interests of those "foolish" and "brutalized" Freethinkers against whom it was directed, it must prove a great success. It is another illustration of the essentially bigoted and intolerant spirit of Christianity in general.*
* I am well aware that the Protestant sects of Christianity
repudiate this charge of the intolerant and persecuting
spirit of Christianity in general, and vainly attempt to
shift the whole onus and odium upon the Church of Rome. They
tell us that Christianity itself is not persecuting—that it
is not responsible for having reddened the earth with blood
—but that this was all done contrary to the spirit and
teachings of Christianity by men who were not really
Christians. We deny it. We take the position that
Christianity itself is essentially intolerant and
persecuting in spirit; and, we take the New Testament itself
to prove it. We take Christ's alleged words as reported
there, and Paul's alleged words as reported there, and can
thereby abundantly sustain our charge. "He that believeth
not shall be damned." "A man that is a heretic after the
first and second admonition, reject." What is that but the
quintessence of bigotry and intolerance? "I would they were
even cut off which trouble you." How kind! "Think not that I
come to send peace on earth, etc., etc" Scores of passages
could be quoted from the New Testament of similar import,
and the Old Testament is worse yet, for it recommends
putting even your wives or brothers to death should they try
to persuade you to worship their God.—See Deut. 13, 6, 7
and 8.