The evident consequence is that, all through the history of the Church, there have been and there will be to the end, scandals and abuses. The history of the Church is the history of the struggle, with its successes and its failures, be tween the Divine Spirit and the frail, carnal, yet free spirit of man, who is impeded at every step from yielding to the better in?uence by the direct enemies of God, the allied powers of the world, the Devil, and the ?esh.