I am not concerned, here, with the human causes and agencies which made this development possible. They are only secondary causes and agencies. The Reformation, which I have taken as the initial cause, was itself a consequence, - largely that of the corruption within the Church. But that corruption was also the consequence of something else, because, in history, everything that follows is a consequence of something else. We could go back very far into the past without finding the initial cause. So I have taken the Reformation as the beginning, it representing a coherent movement, an organised human endeavour, as opposed to a mere state of affairs. There is no doubt that, without attempting to put the blame on anyone in particular, for the responsibilities were evenly distributed on either side, the Reformation did break the oneness of Divine Revelation. Since the Bible was then interpreted in different ways, the Rationalists had their chance to show that Revelation was unreliable. As explained above, this could only lead to the eventual rejection of God. Having rejected the authority of God, society could only be subjected, sooner or later, to the authority of man. It was inevitable that all powers would be crystallised into one man, or a small group of men. And so came Democracy, Fascism, Socialism, and Communism. In all these regimes or systems, authority is supposed to come from man, not from God, whilst in the past it was publicly acknowledged that the king was exercising the authority of God, and the coronation ceremonies had a sacramental character that was far more than a mere symbol. It was the consecration of the King to his people by the hands of the Bishop. That is the way it should be, namely, that temporal power be bestowed upon one man by the spiritual power of the Church. (Note, however, that the so-called "divine right" of the Kings is an extreme view contrary to Catholic doctrine. Only Bishops have a divine right.)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are subject to deletion if they are not germane. I have no problem with a bit of colourful language, but blasphemy or depraved profanity will not be allowed. Attacks on the Catholic Faith will not be tolerated. Comments will be deleted that are republican (Yanks! Note the lower case 'r'!), attacks on the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ (I know he's a material heretic and a Protector of Perverts, and I definitely want him gone yesterday! However, he is Pope, and I pray for him every day.), the legitimacy of the House of Windsor or of the claims of the Elder Line of the House of France, or attacks on the legitimacy of any of the currently ruling Houses of Europe.