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Show j BISHOP SCANLAN'S WARNING. I The Intermountain Catholic publishes f a letter from Right Reverend Bishop I Scanlan, of the Diocese of Salt Lake S City, which should be heeded by the i Catholics of the diocese, and will be I of interest both to priests- and people outside of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Bishop Scanlan calls attention to r what is undoubtedly an abuse, viz., the collection of money for alleged religious f purpose! without the consent of the Bishop of the diocese. Not only should i thoss who ask the faithful for contri-' contri-' I butionts obtain the permission, in writ-' writ-' ing, from the Bishop of the diocese, but . courtesy requires that the same ex pressed permission be obtained from the pastor of the parish in which collections arc mr.de. If Catholic people are careful to s?e that the conditions laid down in Bishop Scan Inn's letter are fulfilled, the religious re-ligious tramps and frauds that are : Hooding the country will soon find that f the ir occupation is profitless. That r there are such tramps and frauds is, J unfortunately, too true, and there is not a parish in the intermountain coun- ! try which these impostor? have failed j to visit. As we have pointed out be- lorn any cloak will do to serve the ! devil in. The religious one is soft and i sleek. No one cares to raise its folds j Iio bee wnai ii covers, mere is, in ere -fore, none more successful. Now it is a Brother out on an er- rand of mercy. His bowels of compassion com-passion are moved for the poor orphans; or-phans; or he sells a penny picture for a dollar; or he gathers money for pic- I ture frames to be supplied by his accomplice, ac-complice, who fails to come for the pictures He moves quickly from place to place. Then it is a sham priest who trades on the credulity of his dupes. Their piety pi-ety is excited by his troubles and miseries. mis-eries. His tale of personal distress is heartrending. They do not know that ' ' - deserving priests are not sent adrift to beg the cold charity of strangers. Sometimes Some-times he is a real priest, but is collecting col-lecting without the' permission of the Bishop of the cBocese, and has failed to give courtesy to the local pastor, whom he ignores. It matters not how-worthy how-worthy the object may be, a priest who collects funds for religious purposes, without first having obtained the requi-, requi-, site permission, stands ex quo with the fraud of the imposter. Now it is a wanderer from the fat-east, fat-east, in strange garb, unable to speak the language of the country, but whose Ijumij'.ici lids a, ucutiui siory to re- - late of persecutions and poverty. This last character is well supplied with documents and recommendations, indeed, in-deed, so richly is he furnished with these that their very abundance startles and deters the doubting examiner. exam-iner. Means of verifying the papers or detecting the forgeries are not within the reach of all. As bad as the worst is the imposter who robs the. living and the dead. He requests intentions for Masses which he cannot offer up, and thus, taking the money of the living, ho holds back from the dead the suffrages suf-frages of their friends. Thse agents of the devil iind nothing too sacred. They trade on the simple faith of the people and abuse a confidence begotten of piety and love of religion. Next comes the scheming female beggar, robed in the modest dress of the nun. All suspicion is cast aside as the gentle mendicant, in pious phrase appeals to your purse through the tender ten-der love you bear these angels of mercy, whose lives are devoted o the care of the helpless and the afflicted. "Who can refuse the good Sister? You fed you would be a brute to. turn her away; and so, much or little, you give lu r something for sweet c harity's sak?. You even ask her prayers, feeling that the prayers of sweet angels must reach to Heaven. Alas, your patience ' gives away when it comes to your knowledge that your sympathy, along with your j money, is wasted. Js there no protection against thesa tramps who rove around in the livery of Heaven? Yes, to be sure there is, t and Bishop Scanlan has pointed it out through the columns of The Intermountain Inter-mountain Catholic. It is a general rule, holding good in most dioceses in the United States, .'"that" the solicitor for the alms of the faithful shall obtain the approval in writing of the Bishop of the diocese. This Episcopal sanction protects the true and deserving, and drives off importers. The pastor of the parish is the judge of the Bishop's seal and' signature. He also decides whether or not a collection among his parishioners may be allowed in justice to the peculiar needs of his own parish. A Bishop's approval of an appear for charitable work out of his own diocese is ordinarily granted, subject to the consent of the pastors. Were the charitable, char-itable, therefore, to exact these two conditions before giving their money, that is, the Bishop's approval and the pastor's consent, they would be effectually effec-tually shielded from imposition. Bishop Scanlan' s letter is very timely. : ; . |