Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/178

 the tribute,  He  said  to  the  Pharisees :  "  Render 10  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesars,  and  to God  the  things  that  are  God's" (Matt.  xxii.  21).

4. In  the  same  manner  the  apostles  submitted to the  laws  of  the  State  as  long  as  it  was  possible to do  this  without  breaking  the  laws  of  God, and they  impressed  this  duty  upon  others. St. Paul did  the  same  in  these  words :  "  There  is  no power  but  from  God.  Therefore  he  that  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  .ordinance  of God."

Accordingly, the  Catholic  Church  has  always, and in  the  most  positive  manner,  inculcated obedience to  secular  authority  as  a  duty  and  a matter  of  conscience,  and  has  opposed  and  condemned  those  who  taught  the  contrary. Only if the  secular  authority  commands  anything which is  actually  sinful,  one  must  obey  God and the  Church  rather  than  men. He who asserts that  Catholicism  teaches  the  opposite,  is a  calumniator.

5. An  old  soldier  was  reproached  with  not having been  sufficiently  zealous  in  defending  his native land. His reply  was  an  eloquent  silence; he showed  the  scars  of  the  wounds  which  he  had received while  fighting  his  country's  battles.

In like  manner,  we  can  point  to  the  faithful services which  Catholics  have  rendered  to  secular authority,  even  when  the  latter  persecuted and oppressed  them  unjustly. Need I  remind you with  what  patience,  some  thirty  years  ago, the Catholics  of  Germany  and  Switzerland  bore the sad  consequences  of  the  so-called  Kulturkampf.

6. Were  such  obedience  practised  everywhere, how soon  would  our  deplorable  conditions  assume a  different  form! The spirit  of  the  age  is