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Show WHAT A PRIEST WOULD Ulil 10 DO Methods of Advancing the Interests of the Church Some Pertinent Suggestions. The Rev. J". Phelan of Marcus, la., being asked what, things he would like to ?rc done to advance ! the interests of the Church, writes the following j to the Monitor: 1. I would like at, least otic Catholic paper in every Catholic home. A Catholic paper is to th home what a window is to a room. 2. A united, earnest, intelligent effort on th party of the laity to advance the interests of tb? Church by seeking the conversion of non-Catholic.-. . -X The clergy are regarded with prejudice by outsiders, while the laity can favorably dispose, those towards our religion. . A million of earnest workers could . be mustered and a million of enrnest, intelligent workers would do a world of good. The press should work up this great Apostolate of the laity. '. As the Church has more to fear from whisky than heresy, a Catholic ought to be opposed to excessive ex-cessive drink, for drunkenness is opposed to the law of Goel, the law of man, the law of one's own boely, the welfare of one's home, one's eternal interests in-terests and the interests of the Church. 4. I would lik to see a Truth Society, a Catholic Truth Society, established in every Catholic center, big and little, throughout the country. The duties of the members to be light and easy, such as each one supplying a non-Catholic with a Catechism or other Catholic book, such as "What the Church Teaches," "Catholic Belief." or the "Question Box." occasionally lending- him a Catholic paper, and praying for his conversion and edifying him or her. 5. I would like to see the' German Central Yerein establish a Bureau to watch over German non-Catholics non-Catholics publications poisoning their readers with untruths about the Church, and to procure author- j ized translations of 'Reformation literature. Then it may be seen how the world went crazy over Luther, Lu-ther, a man who, were he living in our day, would probably be an inmate of a lunatic asylum, according accord-ing to the opinion of a well-known non-Catholic writer. Abo, that the Yerein wotdd have organized missions to non-Catholic Germans. Each Catholic to show some non-Catholic the injucstice of double taxation in order to get a suitable suit-able education for their children. This is an effective ef-fective way to educate the masses, and in a couple of years the country will admit the justness of our edaims. Catholic schools doing work fox the State ought to be reeompenseel by the State. Just as a volunteer regiment is as acceptable to fight for the Nation as the one levied by the State, and is just as much entitled to regular wages. The same.. principle holds good in the battle against vice and ignorance. Moreover, these volunteer school- do what the Stats schools cannot do -under- existing circumstances. These schools are a help to the State, do the work ; of the State in educating the children, and they ; save the State money. We want this help so rn-elered, rn-elered, and this money so saved to be recognized. The State wishes to pay for the education of the child, that is, for its secular education. The State school, however, does not give a. complete edu-I edu-I cation to the child. It gives a secular, but not :i religious education, and this it says it cannot give. I But. both arc necessary; hence Catholics hive to es-, es-, tablish schools were both are given. But let the State pay for the secular instruction therein imparted im-parted and overlook the religious training. et -the State designate the branches to be taught, determine a standard to be reached, examine the .pupils annually, and when the standard is reached, pay for it. This is what is called the Results System. Sys-tem. It should make no difference what religion i-taught- there, or if none at. all. Such a school ''should be denoted not by denomination, but by a number. 7. To promote the interests of the Church mixed marriages must be stopped, the Catholic party marrying mar-rying only one who is-already a member of the Church, or becoming one. 8. The Catholic societies in the parish should bo obedient to the pastor. !. Each person to lay aside 2 cents a week, or $l,a year, for the Propagation of the Faith, and for its preservation.' too. 'Tis easier to conserve than to convert. And here let me say that there are probably more lost every year by wantof conserving conserv-ing than are gained by conversion. Thi-, the society so-ciety with its numerous officers throughout the world ought to attend to. Take for example immi-graion immi-graion to this country from European ports. Great care and needful help ought to be given. eLaflets containing instructions to prevent drifting away from Church should be distributed on departure as well as on arrival. An effort to affiliate schismatic Russians, Greeks, Armenians, etc.. to the Church J ere they join the sects, ought cer tea inly to be made. I A large additional instruction and encouragement I .and they should attach themselves to the nearest Catholic-Church. Southern Central and Northern I Dakota contains large Russian settlements attended i to -by zealous missionaries. Cue of the fairest fields for missionary work is the docks the ports. I The Mission of Our Lfdy of the Rosery, New York, the Leo House and tJ St. Joseph's Home ought tr be more and more encouraged and valued. The society, by looking after religion in our iminigra- tion p5rts. will get more results for their time than would surprise them. Of course, the interests of r the Church demand that the services of such men . : ; as the Scandinavian priest in. the Archdiocese of , St. aul be called in for occasional lectures where, there are Scandinavian settlements. . ;. 10. And this brings to me the most important part of this article. Bureaus' ought to to established estab-lished for he benefit of Catholic immigrants, as well as for Catholics moving from one part of the country to another. Catholics ouht to be warned . , against' moving from where they have priest and church and school to where thev have no church, nor the prospect of having one. " . ; r I would like to see two such bureaus established, . ' one in New York in connection with iramigTation f : rrt s and one in Chicago for the interior. Those I , ' would, soon branch out, as i'roiu Chicago one iu I Kansas City, Si, Paul and Winipeg would be advantageous; ad-vantageous; aLo in points of country to be settled. , . l or the past one hundred years neglet of innni- 5 grants has been the cause of the greatest leakage , in the Church. I have no heitatinn in paying that j if f-uch a bureau were in Xew York during the ' past centurj-under the guidance of wise and unsel- , j n'sh men, to day this country would bo largely Cath- i ! ' olic. It would be about one-four Catholic; ves, probably one-third instead of one-seventh. I It is stated on good authority that from tho I , immigration from Ireland during the past one 1 j hundred years, there ought to be twenty-five million I ' Irish Catholics in this country. "While the oih'cial I i directory of 1904 gives only about helf this number., I nearly twelve millions, (11,S7,317), and the twelve I t ; millions is largely made up of German, French, " Italian, Slav and other peoples. 1 There is as large an immigration today as ever, ( and mostly from Catholic countries, whila in tho interior there is a great migration, whether to the l ; oot-toij fields of the South or the farm lauds of tho I Xorlh and West. i I Last year there were 200,000 Italian immigrants, I .1 ' as per your figures. Why don't these come in bands I - i; to take up the cheap, free lands, and accompanied " by a priest? Even 30,000 of tliis 200,000, or one- 3 ( twentieth, should kdocated on lands. Ten thousand, I or 20 perishes of 500 each, would constitute a new 1 vioar&to every year. I know where there is free 1 -' 3ani and a tract adjoining at a low figure and easy I ' - annual payments, and I know where new railroads I - i are going to be built to afford labor, so as to equip I i i those free lands or buy an adjoining piece. But soon I ' 1 these chances may be gone. And what I say of 1 r f Italians I say of other peoples Poles, Germans i1 , anJ Irish. Ten thousand English-speaking people I cf.uld be got today in .New 'York, Boston or Chicago ; 'io would gladly avail themselves of such oppcr- I tuuiiics. Even as I write tlnre are. 1 am told, j 5H10 Gennans and Galieians on lha seas to be pro- 'i i i(! d with homes and spiritual ear.?, thanks to the I ' ! great efforts of a zealous prust. Some twenty o years ago these two great leaders in thought and l action Archbishop Ireland and Bishop Spaulding f took a hand in colonizing, a ad notwithstanding I ' : the sharp winds of adversity, the Ireland colonists I , are today amongst the most prosperous and happy I r i'e;iple in the laud. n Xew settlements are establishing iu the interior. Thousands of immigants are coming in quest of ' hornoa aud lands. Vacant lands here are and these - f should be occupied by our needy people. ; Thousands of French nans are seeking our sl:;ies. The scene causes us amazement, but we , ' (l ; may be assured such is permittyl by rovidence for a ; the ultimate prosperity of His Church. Distribut- I i : r.iTifinrrnt nnr ormrfnt Knrm ihpv will lif flu n 1 i flpd I I - to tezch. in this country. I f ; I would like, then, to sej a bureau or central i v . agency or some such organization established. It I : is the crying need of the hour. The Catholic peopb I '' w.'il then become more centralized. Scantily popul- i " atrd parishes will receive enough to have a priest, I and schools and churches w:!l flourisii. Even well . o established parishes can be benefitted. What can ? l ' :. be said of this diocese can be said of many, that it if j . can admit of more members advantageously. There ! I 'are lhrecr four vacancies for settlers in this par- II is'n, even. Ix-t there then 1)3 a bureau and in tho i I ft hands of practical business men. while the clergy I f,! m i co-operate consistentiv with duty and offiee. II T( Having said this much on the matter, let mo ii - ask. are there any philanthropists to take up this ,i: grand work of aiding persons to become happy and IJ,' independent? Any good men to work along these o' , lines for the benefit of humanity? Any men to co- 1 - operate with each other in extending the Kingdom of lod on a grand scale ? J 11. And this brings me to an important part rel- n ativo to the financial building of the church. I Is would like 1o see an Lvurancc Bureau established I so that the millions of dollars yearh' expended for I . j insurance on Catholic properties, to the enrichment i I i the old line companies, would be utilized for the I extension of the Church, aiding poor missions, giv- I tl ing cheap money for building churches and schools, w t.t0- Qlir Jfethodist friends in this case can teach i ii us a lps?on? each pastor being a gratuitous agent, J JM and the business placed in the h.ands of a bureau or I w board of directors of practical business man. f " R" Of course in this article I hare omitted what Klongs to pastors and their parish oblintions, such as the building of schools the nurseries of the I G ?hurch the occasional having of missions to get 31 back the stray ones, and the instructions which tj ' zealous iastors will give occasionally on Sunday 5 j, evenings, explaining Christian doctrine in the t: plainest language, for the article is inlmded for the l ! b laiiy, except where otherwise mentioned. I wish I . ' ' to we the daity interested 5 Mmobling work. I p Good, grateful for such efforts, would shower bles- v sings on the undertaking. Of course, heated or I i angry discussions might bo caret' ullv avoided. But j 'tis amczing how ignorant our neighbors are of j Catholic doctrine, and when explained to them they f scim pl as'd, and invariably sav ''Well, I never j knew that." Dear reader, is the extending of the Kingdom i 2 of God worthy of our .best effortsshrdlutaoinao 2 of God won hy of our liest and most earnest efforts? i J ; If so, tin n let us make it. And wonderful is the ad- , f j vance the Church will make here in the next few I i 3 years. Yes, wonderful is the word." j |
