Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/475

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To refute calumnies against the Church when they come under one's notice.

To be firm always in one's adherence to the teachings of the Church, even at the risk of giving offense to others outside her pale.

To remember that "a liberal Catholic," in the sense in which the term is usually understood, is often no Catholic at all.

To remember that example is more powerful than precept.

To understand that whilst it would be wrong for a Catholic to go to a Protestant church, it is not wrong for a Protestant to go to a Catholic church, simply because it is one of the fundamental doctrines of all Protestant denominations that religion and religious opinions are very much a matter of private interpretation of the Bible; that two persons may belong to one church and yet not both believe exactly the same thing, and that all churches are alike pleasing to God in proportion to the sincerity of their members. In brief, that the Catholic Church forbids her children to participate in religious services outside of her pale, and the Protestant churches leave their members to do as they please in the matter.

It is Not the Correct Thing: To be careless about what one says, and the use of expressions calculated to give offense.

To weakly agree to slanders on the reputation and integrity of the Church or her ministers.