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Show Indian and Negro Missions. IN MAKING the annual appeal for the Indian and negro missions, at the very outset the fact must be emphasized, em-phasized, that both enterprises, so dear to Holy Church, have been of late a source of much anxiety, even at times causing serious alarm to the hierarchy of the United States'. The past year has been a critical one in the history of these two missionary enterprises en-terprises in the United States. At one stage, a crisis which at no period of t the Church's history- in this country ever seemed possible, even as a remote I contingency, almost became a humiliating humiliat-ing fact. It involved not the mere impairment, im-pairment, but actually threatened abandonment, in educational lines, of the apostolic work inaugurated four centuries ago among the Indians. The scant and inadequate means at the disposal of the archbishops, to keep these Christianizing agencies on a basis of assured security and on a standard of unhampered efficiency-, at one time menaced the very existence of some of our missionary schools. The timely and providential intervention ot a most devoted woman averted what would have been a dire calamity, a disloyalty dis-loyalty to our noblest traditions, ruinous ruin-ous to souls, discreditable to Catholics, and a stigma on the Church. The unaccountable apathy on the part of our Catholic brethren, in maintaining main-taining the two works of benevolence, sanctified by So many holy- lives, planted plant-ed and nurtured by "men of mercy, whose godly rdeeds have not failed," reaping such a bountiful' harvest of souls, so pleasing to the Divine Heart seems all the more inexplicable, in view of the unflagging activity, vast expenditure of treasure and-effort, and increasing resourcefulness of the Protestant Pro-testant propaganda. If we are confronted by such startling start-ling figures that one sectarian denomination de-nomination in 1901 devoted $1,477,306 to home and foreign missions; that, in addition, it appropriated $178,486 specifically spec-ifically for the perversion of those who are virtually' our co-religionists The Methodist Year Book, 1902;' that another an-other denomination contributed $1,220,-603 $1,220,-603 for home and foreign missions The American Baptist Year Book, 1901; that still another denomination collected collect-ed for the same end $2,304,593 Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Presby-terian church, 1901; hat could not, and should not, the mighty membership of the Catholic Church do in the same direction? By realizing the desperate situation, by one potent, well directed and properly concentrated effort, it would solve the problem in a way that would dispel all further uneasiness and difficulty. And yet, e jia.e uns mignty nost, with its strong faith and pervasive charity, j contribute annually $79,853.42 to home missions! It allows missionary endeavor en-deavor to languish on account of insufficient in-sufficient financial support; the education educa-tion and conversion of the Indian and negro to be retarded, by doling out a most meagre maintenance. Nay, and there is no secret divulged in proclaiming proclaim-ing the melancholy fact, but confessed in shame and confusion, that many of "our most sainted laborers for the conversion of these unfortunate races are compelled to eke out a most precarious pre-carious existence reduced, at times, to the barest necessities of life! Harrowing Harrow-ing tales of privation, verging at times on starvation, are on record during me year just elapsed. This in the midst of the most prosperous government on earth and the most generous Catholics in the world! Shall ten million of the faithful shine the sacred responsibility of saving to the faith two thousand downtrodden, despoiled, soul-endangered Indians, whose loyalty- to the Church is as pathetic pa-thetic as it is edifying? Shall we allow the seven millions of the colored race to grope in darkness without showing them the light, to stagger under sin ; and degradation Without extending the hand of Christian helpfulness? I There exists no doubt that, when the faithful rise to a sense of the gravity of the situation which confronts the Church; that when hearts that never beat unresponsive to the appeals' of charity become aware of the sacrifice, suffering, privation endured by our missionaries; that when the precarious and imperiled condition of our Indian schools and colored missions is brought to their charitable consideration a magnanimous display of faith, a generous gener-ous response in charity, an outpouring outpour-ing of soul in prayer, a rich harvest of souls God's honor and glory, and His infinite, reciprocal blessings will j change the present moment of appre- I hension to a triumphant victory of ! grace and mercy. We trust, and feel no misgiving In indulging the pleasing hope, that all will be done to make the collection for the Indian and negro missions for 1902 a success that will preclude ail future embarrassment. . A minimum contribution of 25 cents should be inculcated as an imperative duty of every Catholic: and if those In comfortable circumstances give in proportion pro-portion to their means, the Catholic missionary problem finds its solution the mission school will be saved and the souls ' of1 '7the Indian children preserved. pre-served. i |