OCR Text |
Show THE PASSING OF BIGOTRY. The imposition of a fine of $150 on a newsdealer in New York for selling copies of a French and Italian anti-Catholic publication is another illustration illus-tration of the marked change in public sentiment toward the Catholic body on the American side. Less than thirty years ago it was considered no offense of-fense to revile the Church, her clergy and members mem-bers now the people "won't stand for it," as the saying is. The day of the bigot and the defamer is passing a new era has dawned, and we should rejoice and be grateful. The change of attitude toward us is due first to a prudential desire to have the conservative force of the Church remain as a bulwark of society in times when other forces are making strongly against the rights of property and the rights of individuals; secondly, to a growing recognition of the fact that for all foreign-born, citizens of this countrv and their descendants the Catholic Church affords a home infinitely safer than either sectarianism or secularism. Ave Maria. |