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About The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1891)
THE AMERICAN TU SOW QUlSttOM, Tht prrt Ml lltat on Tuetday, Aug. 25, ittw )un( women wre ewptd novice at th Content of tht Third Order f St, KranHa, and that torty-thrw others look the blaca tell and entered li revocably upon their Uvea a nun. Of emic It wm an occasion of much triumph and hot a Utile complacency on tho port of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, under whose auplces this consecration took plaee. To us tho annoueemeiil c&ue Inex prei'ible nd licit. The action seems to u entirely removed from the, spirit of Scriptures. We find nothing In the examples of our Lord or his apontles, or their teachings, to ootuiuond any iiuoh course, Tho prayer of our Lord was, "I prny not that thou shoulder tako thorn out of tho world, but that th'ttt shouldest keep them from tho evil." It U not by shutting ourselves out perpetually' from men that we are able to tnlliicnco them for good. Tho great moral power in the world Is the power of Christian example, which is largely lost when Christians shut thorn selves out from tho world. Thn vows which are token aro baHod on a minooncoption of the will of God and tho path of usefulness, By tho vow of chastity, women shut them selves out forever from tho most hon orable o Hi co to which God nails women, the high, hallowed, divine priesthood of m iternity. There Is nothing in which woman comes moro Into sympa thy with tho divine, than In becoming the parent of a human being, and taking upon hersdlf the 'cure add sacrifices which elevate, soften, rellne, and purify her own nature, all of whloh are expressed in tho single word "mother." This use of tho word 'chastity", is an abuse of that h .norod name, and an affront to every pure wife and mat ron, Is It only the nuns who are chaste? Is not a woman chasto who jas led a life of married purity, whom God has blessed with children, whom she has trained for earth and for heaven? Has not all history honored as a miracle of ch,tHteness, Lucretia, a wife and mother, who could not endure even involuntary bodily contamination, and died in an honorable and divine agony of grief and shame? In the vow of obedionoo, those mis guided women put themselves abso lutely under the control of their official religious superiors, of men having all the human characteristics of Imperfec tion, Ignorance, prldo, lovo of suprem acy and control, and earthly passion. The vow has no limitation; it is abso lute; there is nothing whloh the priest can demand of tho nun that her vow does not obllgo her to render. The natural result of this jnlimlted author ity on the one hand, and thU absolute obedience on th other, are what might bo expected of human nature. Hut what they are Is largely, from the very naturo of tho case, unknown; no sight, no soun J, passes outside the convent walls. It Is only now and then, as in the case of the nun of II irbara of Krakow, that a revelation is made of cruelty and despotism such as startles the civilized world. The nuns who take these vows are young, ignorant, enthusiastic. Tboir rnlhuani kat ! itkitt4 ty ttrtj form of appal, bf rmy addrrta to the Imagination, hf tdctur of tht tattiit, the rnlt J, and twlnrta of a conventual life. Not wldotn, It may m auptoMd, t nun wakes up to Bad that ah ha bwn profoundly In error, that she na bourn niWled. that the life la one to which aha it not railed; that within the convent there Is the tame human nature, there I tho lame heart hunger, as without. lleraoul craves once moro the voices of her parent, aha long for her home; an innocent love, which she thought to pleae God by suppressing, rles within her soul. Add to thU the revelations which come to her of the jealousies, of tho heart burning, of the narrow am bitions, of tho lovo for supremacy, of the petty religious gossip, which ruaket up the atmosphere of the nunnery. Add ytt darker and more horrible pos sibilities to which we will only In the faintest way allude. Thb nun realises that In taking her vow, she has made a hideous mistake, has ruined her whole lifo, has violated the human nature and tho woman nature with which God endowed her. Sho would give tho whole world if tho vows might be retracted and If tho convent doors might be opened. But it Is impossible; the doors opon but to admit. Can anything bo conceived more wretched than a lifo thus spent? AH tho experience of tho Middle Ages attests that there Is not on earth a nearer approach to holl than a rellgiour life out of which tho loy and hope and I.. .1 - .1... -I inspiration uavo ueyiuiuu. Thn whole avsteni , of a oenventnaWr and monastic life U foreign to tho gonitis of a free oountry. There ought not to be any Institution that U not open to public Inspection; there ought to be the opportunity for it to be asoer ininaii nnaltlvnlv that no sano person Is detained in any Institution contrary to hi or lior own will, or after his own desire to bo an Inmate has ceased. There would bo much loss objection to tho convent and the nunnery If they were as opon to the Inspection of tho publlo authorities as aro all Protestant charitable Institutions. Of course, the secular Journals have nothing of criticism to offer upon tho ceromony of which we have spoken. Into tho reasons of thoir silence-we do not Inquire. But It soems time that some one uttered what must be in evory heart In reading tho narrative of this saoriflce, begotten of superstition and mistaken religious lmpuIse.Tho Na tional Baptist. Are vou an Amorican? Then lot u do your Job work. After vou have read this paper give It to a friend. Lot tho Interest spread. FORM YOUR OWN OPINION flirmllhitl in iruard tho rleliti of per sonal security, personal liberty, private property ami of religious profession and worship." Kent's Commentaries, Vol. 1, Pago 407. COMMITTEEMEN You can save both time and money by getting your Invitations and Programs printed at this office. All our Job type direct from tho type foundry and of tha very latest stylos. Telephone No. 911. YOU ARE A WHITE CAP According to the atatidanl of the Hoinan If You Are a Protestant and if you iw a Proliant vou havo been vlUlned and ahiwod by Uu organ of THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH and tho organs In sympathy with THE DISREPUTABLE religlo-polltieo monstrosity to a degrco beyond anything ever before known. You have boon, through thoso pajiers, slandei-ed in tho M03T UNSCRUPULOUS manner. Tho orogeny of an Illustrious ancestry which for centuries hud but ! tied for liberty of conscience, for equal rights, for civil liberty and religious toleration, has been covered with base, foul and mutilating charges; HAD HURL-ED AGAINST It the most libidinous names, tho most disgusting appelatlons, and for what pur nose, to what end? That tho Roman church might dominate political . . ., i . - 1 ...i I t. A ...111- l!t ... ... . anairs; inai ine itoman priests ougut sumo noony n (miinuwiiuu, , that the blaek-eoated and black-hearted Jesuits might real ize to tho fullest extent, that "tho end justifies tho means." But tho great effort wasa failure. RROTESTANTS became indignant at tho treatment they had received and, almost to a man, turned and buried nonoath AN AVALANCHE OR otes. not only in Omaha, but in Chicago, St. Louis and jUor great cities of tho. country every jvonuui ninmimwu m o iv,i ,. ... ... vjf coaso with this victory, ltoman intolerance. Roman disloyalty, t Roman Interference in tho management of our publlo schools and Roman Catholic RIL-TH In print will bo frowned upon by Americans. Roman Catholics as Roman Cath olics will bo allowed no part in the government of this country until they ' strike from their belief tho disloyal sentiment, "Catholics first and Citizens Afterward." IN ORDER THAT YOU and your friends MAY AID IN PUSHING this work we havo concluded to mako this offer; Wo will send THE AMERICAN IN until January 1, 1 MD.'I, to any address THE UNITED STATES or Canada for $2, payable in advance. Wo hope to increase tho circulation 0 Tub Amkkican to 10,rxx) by January 1, 1811.1. To do this, each of OUR subscribers will havo to prevail upon his friends who aro not now SUBSCRIBERS to add their names to our subscript ion list. Tn order to mako Thk AMKKICAN tho puper it SHOULD be, It will bo necessary for all our friends to interest themselves and EXTEND OUR CIRCULATION. 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