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The Catholic Church And Slavery

The Catholic Church And Slavery image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
April
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The " Dublin Nation " of Kob. G. 1817. con lains a Ictior from 11. it. Müddeo, au Insli gen ilcmnn of sonie diatinction, and nuilior or tbc " Live of United Iribhmen." The lener ia aldressed tü James ilaughton, Ksq. Among oilier ihings t contains a vindicaiion of tliê Catholic Ciiurcli from the jcbt.rgc oí being yroslavcry. We havo not roüin for the wholo of it. bm we extract a few acta which are noi probahly known "enerally n this country cilhcr to Calholics or Protestants. c It is an absurdity to talk of the Roman Cathoüc Church not haviug defined slavery as a crime. The Catholic church lays claim to the peculiarity of propoitnding no new doctrine, of prescribing no new formsof a'iciont turpitudü as special and novel actsoi guilt. lhe doctrines and commandnents of that church are older than the first ravages of the Spanish and Porluguese Conquestadors and Englïsh buccaneers on the coast of África, and the resulte of tliose ravages, in the form of! slavery, n the West indies and the coninent of America. But with respect to the non-existence of any special deiinition of slaverv as a crime, it may bo truly said, wilh Tertulian, ■-■ One cannot arguc from Scripture hat it condemr.s such practices, but will t be arguod, from ïls silence that it does." The mosl eminent pontills uf the church of Konie,, the most eminent fathers anduuciurs oí umi ciuircn smco the establishment of modern j-luvery, the catechism of the Council of T rent- the fuuntaiu-hcad of Catholic doctrine - all condemn, in unequivocal tenns, tlie system of rapiñe and murder vvhicli modern slavcry was known to the higliest nutliorilies of the church to Lo. J 11 a leticr addre.s.-ed to the Irish pelates n IS 10, on the subject ofslavery, I had occasion to rèjer to no less than oigli! Papal deinmciatioiis of sJavery, Pope Pitis II., in K)t-2, wlien Porluguese dominion extended into Guinea,wroic etters to the Portuguese bishop procecding thither, gravely reprehending those who carried men into slavery. Pope Zachary, when cerlain Vcnetian merchante purchased slav'es in Rome lor the pui-pose of making n córnmerce of thèm, prumnlly forbade the iniquitous tradic, aml restorod t'e slaves to libertv fRutlei-'s Life of Pope Zacharyj. W"héa the sonc-tion of Leo X. was sought for tbc newly-establisiied syslern ofsiaverjf, svc ure uLl fay Roscoe, and also by Bancroft (ííisfory of the United States, vol. 1, p. 172), the Pope declared '- llial not the Christian woild only, but nature herself, cries out against the state of slavery.'.' Pope Paul III., in two separate briefs n.r)37) imprécatela curse on the Europeans who should ènslave Indian?, or any otlier cla.s of men. (Rcnuisat. Ilist. de Cliiappn, Ii v. 3, cap. 1(3. )Pope Urban VIH., issuod a bilí cont'emnatory-of all slave trading, East or West, dated 1G39, mldressed to the Apostolic Chamber in Portugal. Pope üenedict XiV. confirmcdall lormer briefs on th1s subjecl by a new bull, in 1741, addressedto theauihorities in the Brazils. Popo Pius VII., moved by tho same spirit os his predecessors, concerled with tlie otlier European powers the nioans of suppri'ssing t!ie trnde in slaveá. And lastly, Pope Gregury XVI , in 1839, issued a bull prohibiting slaverv and the slave trade in the most expresa terms. The Protestant liisloriun of the United States, Bancroft, in his wprk, wrillen in no favorable spirit to the Catholic religión, nekiiowlodges that " the slavc trode between África and America was never sanctioned by ihe See of Rome ; thé spirit of the Roman cluirch was ngainst it. " I trust I have sajd sunicienl to convince you tliat blavery, wi'h all Ls muiderons guilt, luis no sanclion in thetrines ol the Roman Calholic ehurcli, ñot oven ín its siliínee 011 ílic suhjrct oí' the last mode of ils iniijuity. In c )iic!iii,ion, let me adil, that it was with feelings very diilerent trom thoseof [ain that I hVnVd the late Judge Jay, in addressing u nurnbérof liia i,wn counirytnen in New Vork, jfutjaoogsl wliom no Roman Calholic was likely to be suppoted .picsenl,) declaro Ihat ihu advoc;itos ot' the bolition of slavery liad mot n-itli oj.position fróm all liio chuiches in Americo, vyith one exceptiun - that of the Roman Catholics throughoiu the Union. "'

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News