The War Upon Religion Part 31

Truth must be vigorously championed, and the more so in proportion as the enemies of religion claim for themselves unrestrained license of language and calumny. They cannot indeed be fought with their own weapons, which honor and Christian charity forbid us to use, but at least they must be encountered with unflinching courage and resolute independence.

A revolutionary journal lately published a letter of mine in which I asked a correspondent to interest himself in obtaining support for those responsible for the "Portugal." I say nothing of the surrept.i.tious publication of a private letter, nor of the insidious comments by which it was accompanied. I would only observe that the interest which I exhibited in this undertaking shows no more than that its general drift was in accord with my own views. Is there any offense in this?--even were it a fact that the articles written during the last stage of this newspaper were in reality ours.

Finally, as regards the last election, I must absolutely deny the fables circulated concerning my brethren by an unscrupulous press. I say nothing of the silly tales of Jesuits, crucifix in hand, threatening all who voted for the government with everlasting d.a.m.nation. Such nonsense proves only how little those who spread these stories know about us.

More than this, not one of my brethren took part in any electoral propaganda. Some Catholics even will be surprised to learn that very few of us recorded our votes, this abstention being justified in most cases for serious reasons, by which alone can it be justified in such circ.u.mstances.

As to advice given by us when privately consulted, and in matters of conscience, I should not say anything, but for the fact.i.tious indignation exhibited by the hostile press, and its misrepresentation of facts divorced from their circ.u.mstances.

The last government of the monarchy from its commencement not only showed itself distinctly anti-clerical, but after variously infringing the rights of the Church, began a persecution of religious orders, affording clear evidence to all who did not choose to shut their eyes that their purpose in regard of these was no other than that exhibited in the last decrees issued in the king's name the day previous to his deposition, and exaltingly proclaimed in the public press immediately after the revolution. Now, I would ask, what Catholic priest wishing to do his duty in face of such a state of things would not uplift his voice against so manifest a danger and with the Baptist denounce what he holds to be unlawful?

On this particular question of politics, as on many others, I was honored with gratuitous slander by the enemies of the society, who attributed to my government of the province a new direction given to the society in Portugal. The truth is that neither as superior nor as counsellor had I ever to interfere, as these insidious writers pretended, with the conduct of ours.

The policy of the Society of Jesus at the present day, as it has ever been, is that expressed in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The enemies of G.o.d and His Church cannot forgive our combat for this ideal and our constant endeavor for its realization.

Hence the implacable hostility wherewith we have ever been a.s.sailed, with charges the most diverse which in various times and circ.u.mstances have been found serviceable against us. In every case our adversaries have proved to be those of G.o.d and the Catholic Church.

What is now in progress proves the truth of what I say. It is alleged that we Jesuits are the worst enemies of the republic, and must accordingly be treated with exceptional severity. This is a mere pretence. The society has nothing to do with Republican inst.i.tutions as such. When absolute monarchies were the rule throughout the civilized world, the foremost Jesuit writers already taught, on grounds of philosophy and divinity, the fundamental principles of democracy, and at the present day none of our provinces are more prosperous or enjoy greater liberty than those established under republics; it will be sufficient to name that of the United States.

There is, therefore, no such opposition as is pretended between Jesuits and republics.

It will, however, be objected that in Portugal at least we are anti-republicans.

But, in the first place, wherever it is situated, the society, like the Catholic Church, inculcates loyalty to whatever form of government is duly established. And Portugal was a monarchy.

A still more powerful reason precluded our sympathy with the Republican movement in Portugal, namely, that the republic as exhibited in our national history was not the republic imagined by speculative sociologists. It is Republicans who make a republic, and who were these in Portugal? With few very rare exceptions they were the declared enemies of religion, either avowed unbelievers, or at best wholly indifferent to all beyond politics. Could we, without being false to our most cherished principles, affect sympathy with such a party?

They themselves undertook to show by their actions that we were not wrong; just as the last government under the monarchy clearly showed by its action that we were not mistaken in its regard.

I must, however, acknowledge that for all my dread of the revolutionary intolerance of these advocates of liberty, my simplicity was at fault, since I never dreamed of what we are witnessing today.

_6. REACTIONARY INFLUENCE._

As it seems to me, I have replied to all the pretexts alleged to justify all the arbitrary tyranny, the spoliations and outrages against liberty of which my religious brethren and myself have been the victims. It remains only to speak of what is proclaimed as the final motive of the laws enacted against us, that our influence is reactionary.

Well! our enemies are right! If this reactionary spirit signifies fidelity and love for the Catholic Church, self-renunciation for Christ's sake, earnest endeavor that no jot or t.i.ttle of His law be neglected; if it means that we have striven to produce in Portugal a body of active and fearless Catholics, who will not confine themselves to prayers, but will labor by word and deed to renew all things in Christ; that to this end we employ every means within our reach, the pulpit, the confessional, lectureships, the press, in order thus to promote the glory of G.o.d and salvation of souls--then in truth we are reactionaries, and guilty of the offense laid to our charge.

Strange offense indeed, in a country where on every hand we hear our enemies proclaiming liberty of conscience, of speech, of the press!

Strange offense of which to be accused by men who denounced the monarchy for suppressing freedom, while in the columns of their newspapers and the rhetoric of their meetings they were violently attacking authority and its representatives; an offense to be punished by those who were never weary of declaring that every man must be allowed to propagate and fight for his own ideas. Yet what else did we do? Were we ever known to enforce the agreement of others or to avenge ourselves for their disagreement by inflicting upon them what we have ourselves endured--arrest, imprisonment, confiscation, banishment? No, it cannot be said that such conduct was ever ours; it is peculiar to those false prophets of liberty who, instead of responding with reason and argument, seek to reduce us forcibly to silence, or to crush us with insult and declamation.

Transcriber's Notes:

Punctuation and spelling errors repaired.

P. xvi, "transcendental and the empiric" original reads "empyric."

P. 6, "Abbe St. Cyran" original reads "Abbie."

P. 85-86, original shows block quote as one continuing paragraph, not breaking for each article; retained.

P. 116, "Pius VII. embarked" original reads "Pius VI. embarked."

P. 148, "J. ARCHEVEQUE de CORINTHE," original reads "d CORINTHE."

P. 269-270, No "Art. 4" in the original.

P. 363 "three months relay" changed to "three months delay."

Five cases of Buonaparte (p. vi, 106, 114[2], 120) changed to more frequent Bonaparte (50).

P. 415, "Shipman, in his expose" original reads "expose."

P. 438, "obsolete legislation of Pombal" original reads "Pomal."

The following variant spellings were standardized: Abbe, abbe and abbie to abbe; Emigre, emigre, and emigre to emigre; Floreal and Floreal to Floreal; Jaures to Jaures; protege to protege; Anti-christian(ism) to anti-Christian(ism); Anticlerical/ to anti-clerical/, Leipsic and Leipsig to Leipzig, licence to license, offence to offense, Salzbourg to Salzburg, saviour to savior, Texeira to Teixeira, Souza to Sousa, Tolentino to Tollentino, tranquillity to tranquility, ultra-montainism to ultramontainism, defense to defence (except where "Defense" occurred in the t.i.tle of a referenced doc.u.ment), roues to roues, despatch to dispatch.

Both advisers and advisors, monarchial and monarchical, Monsignor and Monseigneurs, Savoy and Savoie (an area within Savoy), Braunsberg and Brauensberg, czar and tzar were used in this text.