proofs of the active presence of God's working in, and through all
things! Think of the Church's invincible and overpowering obstinacy
in the case of Galileo! He declared the existence of God to us by
the utterance of a Truth,--inasmuch as every truth is a new message
from God. Had he pronounced his theories before our divine Master,
that Master would have confirmed, not denied them! Have we one
single example of Christ putting to the torture any poor soul that
did not believe in Him? Nay--He Himself submitted to be tortured;
but for those who wronged Him, His prayer was only--'Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do.' THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!
The ministers of truth should rather suffer themselves than let
others suffer. The horrors of the Inquisition are a blot on
religious history; our Master never meant us to burn and torture men
into faith. He desired us to love and lead them into the way of life
as the shepherd leads a flock into the fold. I repeat again, there
would have been no room for atheism if we--we--the servants of
Christ, had been strictly true to our vocation."

By this time the Archbishop had recovered his equanimity. He sat
down and surveyed the up-standing figure of the Cardinal with
curiosity and a touch of pity.

"You think too much of these things," he said soothingly--"You are
evidently overwrought with study and excessive zeal. Much that you
say may be true; nevertheless the Church--OUR Church--stands firm
among overwhelming contradictions,--and we, its ministers, do what
we can. I myself am disposed to think that the multitude of the
saved is greater than the multitude of the lost."

"I envy you the consolation such a thought must give," responded the