Catholic loyalty


Catholic Loyalty

By

CARDINAL GIBBONS

1 --•

THE PAULIST PRESS
120-122 West 60th Street

New York
1917



Copyright by " The Missionary Society of
St. Paul the Apostle in the State

OF New York"

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AEP^306

Catholic Loyalty.

WHEN our Saviour said: " Render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's, and to God the

things that are God's," (St. Matt, xxii, 21) He
established the mutual relations which should

subsist between Church and State, and He vir-
tually declared that the State is supreme in the

temporal order, just as the Church is supreme

in the spiritual domain.

St. Paul, following the steps of his Master,

says: "Let every soul b^ subject to the higher

powers, for there is no authority but from God,

and those that are, are ordained by God. There-

fore he who resisteth the power resisteth the
ordinance of God, and they who resist, purchase
to themselves condemnation."

Mark these words of the Apostle: "There is
no authority but from God." We are all equal
before the law, as the Declaration of Independ-

ence declares, and no man has any inborn au-
thority over another. But as soon as a man is



4 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

chosen to a public "office, whether as President,

or Governor, or Mayor, or magistrate, then he

is clothed with power by the Almighty. He rep-
resents the Supreme Ruler Himself, and is cov-
ered with the mantle of His authority, and in

obeying the civil ruler you are obeying God
Himself. Hence you see at once that there is

nothing degrading or slavish in your submission

for obedience is not an act of servility we pay
to man, but an act of homage w^e pay to God.
And now, my friends, I invite your attention

to the following reflection: If the primitive

Christians were commanded by Christ and His
Apostles to honor Caesar, though Caesar was

a persecuting tyrant; vf they were exhorted to

observe the laws of the empire, though these

laws were usually harsh and despotic and dis-

criminating against Christianity, what reverence

should you and your fellow-citizens have for

your rulers in whose election you had a part,

and with what alacrity you should observe the

laws of the Commonwealth which were framed
for the welfare of the nation, and for the peace

and security of its citizens?
^ Great and tremendous are the responsibilities



CATHOLIC LOYALTY 5

of those that rule, in guiding the ship of state.

Yours is the lighter task of standing faithfully

at the helm.

The paramount duty of American citizens in
the present crisis is a hearty and loyal obedience

to the constituted authorities. Be slow to crit-
icize. Remember that you view the situation
from one angle, your rulers contemplate it from

various angles. They have lights and sources
of information that are closed to you.

Your judgment of the Administration and
your criticism of their official acts should be al-

ways subordinated to a generous and whole-
souled submission to their rulings. It is theirs

to command; it is yours to obey.
From many of you that loyalty and obedience

have demanded the supreme sacrifice of giving
your lives to the service of your country. It

was not easy for you to say good-bye to father

and mother, sisters and brothers, to home and
all that home holds dear. It required a sacrifice,
the memory of which must linger. Tears were
shed when good-byes were said, and hearts
throbbed with grief as your mothers sent you

away at the call of duty.



6 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

And yet you knew that dear as those mothers
were to you, there was another mother calling,
and her voice rang with appeal, and that ap-
peal had to be hearkened to before all other ap-
peals. Mother Columbia was calling you. She is
the mother of all of us. When, she calls there
is no race, no creed, no class. You answered her
and you marched away from home and dear ones
to fight for homes and dear ones. Her call will
ever ring out in the hours of stress and strife.

You will hear her and you will be quickened by
her appeal, and you will give your heart and

your soul and your mind to the cause, all of you,

whether in the army or the navy, no matter
where you may be. You will be glad to serve
her. You will make every sacrifice cheerfully
and willingly, recking not the cost. In manifest-

ing your loyalty to your country whether in civil

or military life, you will be pursuing a sacred

and honorable course, and you will be following

the invariable traditions of your fathers from

the foundation of the republic.

I thank God that we live in a country where
liberty is granted without license and authority

is exercised without despotism, where the Gov-



CATHOLIC LOYALTY 7

ernment holds over us the aegis of its protec-

tion without interfering with the God-given

rights of conscience.

The United States has succeeded in solving

the delicate and difficult problem of reconciTing

legitimate authority with individual freedom. We
have no union between Church and State. But

this does not imply any antagonism between the

two pow°,rs. Church and State amicably move
in parallel lines, helping one another in their

respective field of labor. The State aids and pro-
tects the Church in the exercise of her divine

mission, and the Church helps the State in en-
forcing the law by religious and moral sanctions.

For my part, I much prefer the arrangement
obtaining among us, where the Church is sup-
ported by the voluntary contributions of the

faithful, to the system which has existed in

many countries of the Old World, where the
Church was maintained by the civil government.
For, if the Government were to build our
churches and subsidize our clergy it would soon

dictate to us what doctrines we ought to preach.
It would debar us from the privilege of just
criticism of those in authority and of rebuking



8 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

their shortcomings. And no greater harm could
be done to both Church and State alike than

the muzzling of the Gospel.

In traveling many years ago with the venerable
Archbishop Spaulding, my predecessor, we were
the guests of the Bishop of Annecy in Savoy. I
admired the splendid palace of the Bishop, and

observed a sentinel pacing up and down in front
of his residence, placed there as a guard of

honor. I congratulated his lordship on his fa-

vored situation. But with a faint smile he re-

plied to me: " Monsignor, all that glitters is not
gold. I cannot build as much as a sacristy
without the previous sanction of the Govern-

ment.
"

I fervently hope that the happy conditions now
existing among us will always continue, that
Bishops and clergy will bestow on the faithful

their time and talents and apostolic labors, and
pour out their life's blood, if necessary, and

that they will receive in return the love and

gratitude and the free-will offerings of a filial

and devoted people.

The question is often asked: Will the republic
endure? I have a firm and abiding faith in the



CATHOLIC LOYALTY 9

perpetuity of the nation. She has successfully

weathered many a tumultuous tempest in the
past, and with God's help she will triumphantly

ride over the storms that now assail her.
But if our country with her glorious institu-

tions is to survive, her survival must rest on a
stronger basis than on the genius of our states-

men, the wisdom of our laws, and the patriot-
ism of our people. She must be supported by

more formidable ramparts than our dread-
naughts and standing armies. " The race is not
to the swift, and the battle is not to the strong."

If she is to endure, she must stand on the
eternal principles of truth and justice and

righteousness. She must rest on a devout rec-
ognition of an overruling Providence Who has
created all things by His power, governs all

things by His wisdom. Whose guiding hand
directs the affairs of nations and of men, with-

out Whom not even a bird can fall to the ground.
Our hope for the future welfare of the country
must rest on downright honesty in our dealings

with other nations. " Righteousness exalteth a

nation, but sin maketh a people miserable."
In the convention which was held in Philadel-



10 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

phia in 1787 to form the Constitution of the
United States the proceedings were protracted
by hopeless discussions. Benjamin Franklin
then arose and thus addressed his colleagues in

the convention: "We have spent many days and
weeks in our deliberations, and have made no
progress. We have been groping in the dark be-
cause we have not sought light from the Father
of lights. I have lived many years, and the older
I grow, the more I am convinced that a Supreme
Power intervenes in the affairs of mankind. For
if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without

His aid, how can we hope to build an empire
without His co-operation? We know also from
the same sacred Volume that 'unless the Lord
build the house, they labor in vain who build it.
Unless the Lord keep the city he watcheth in

vain that keepeth it. '
"

Is it not true that this devout recognition of

the moral Governor of the world, is the spirit

that has guided every chief Magistrate of the

nation and his official family from the founda-

tion of the Republic? Have not all our Presi-
dents, from Washington to Wilson, recognized

and invoked the aid of Heaven in their inaug-



CATHOLIC LOYALTY 11

ural proclamations? Is it not also the custom

of every one of them to invite the citizens of

the United States to assemble in their respec-

tive houses of worship on Thanksgiving Day to
give thanks to " the Giver of every perfect gift

"

for the material and spiritual blessings vouch-

safed to the country and to invoke a continuance

of Divine favors? And is not the general ob-
servance of the Christian Sabbath throughout the

land a living evidence that this is a Christian

country relying on the protection of the Lord of

hosts?

Furthermore the President has just issued a

proclamation exhorting the people of the United

States to assemble in prayer to implore our

Heavenly Father to bring this terrible war to a
happy termination.

" Blessed is the nation whose God is the
Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His
own inheritance. "

You are in the habit of listening every day to
the praises of the great Americans who have dis-
tinguished themselves by their martial deeds,

or by their civic and Christian virtues. You are
all proud of being the countrymen of a Wash-



12 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

ington, Jefferson and Lincoln, of a Marshall and
Taney, of Clay and Webster, of a Carroll, an

England, a Kendrick and Hughes and a host of
-other men less known to fame.

But do not be satisfied with praising other

men who have honored Church or State by their
good deeds. Acomplish something yourselves in

your day. Each of you has also a mission from
God. Do not shine by reflected light. " Let your
own light so shine before men that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father Who is
in Heaven. "

You will know it is great and grand to serve
your country. Yes, and if the sacrifice is asked,

you will realize that it is a glorious thing to die

for this country. Remember, that to you belongs

an honor than which there is none greater on

this earth, the serving of the grandest land in

all the world. You will not boast, but you will

fight and do. You will not talk of the deeds of

the great men of the past and glory alone in
their achievements, but you will follow in their

footsteps, no matter where the path may lead.

Pray and put your trust in God ; be obedient, for

without obedience to lawful authority, to com-



CATHOLIC LOYALTY 13

mander and other officers, victory is impossible;

help your fellow-soldiers in times of fighting

and in times of respite from the battlefield;

lead clean lives as befit men found worthy to
serve such a noble cause. Be men of courage,
place your faith in God and then go out and
fight valiantly against the foe.

Do not be snatching faded laurels from the
brow 'of your fathers. Let your own heads be
crowned with fresh garlands won in the field of
honorable labor. Say not with the Jews of old:
" We have Abraham for our father. " Say not,
we are the political children of Washington and
the religious children of Carroll. It will profit

you nothing to possess their creed if you do not

practice their civic and religious virtues. Go

'

then and make a name for yourselves, so that
generations to come may record your good deeds.
And if your actions v/ill not be sounded by the
trumpet of earthly fame, what is far better, let
them be worthy of having the approval of God
and of your conscience and of being inscribed

with credit to you in the imperishable Book of
Life. Some of you may fight and die a hero's
death and never paean be chanted, but your Fa-



14 CATHOLIC LOYALTY

ther Who is in Heaven will know of it and your
dear ones at home will know of it and for all of
you, whether you come back home to us or make
the supremest sacrifice of all, there will be writ-

ten in records that will never perish the story

of your golden deeds.

And may the Lord of Hosts so guide the coun-
sels of our rulers in the present crisis that their

efforts may be crowned by an honorable, a
speedy and a permanent peace.