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Show - y . THE CLERGYMEN OF TODAY. , Under the above title, the New York Evening Post discourses at length on what it is pleased to call the "readjustment" "read-justment" of social opinion jn the popular popu-lar feeling towards tihe ministry. It says: - Taking American society as a whole, there can be no question but that popular pop-ular regard for the ministry has much declined. Among educated people, none of the so-called learned professions is held in so slight esteem, or made the target for so hot a fire of criticism. It has not always been so. Within the memory cf men now living, the position posi-tion of the minister was-one of peculiar social distinction, while the respect and reverence in which he was held were practically universal. Of sound learning learn-ing and scrupulous morality, and with a profound sense of duty and obligation, obliga-tion, he led, by sheer intellectual and spiritual force, the thought of the community, com-munity, and largely directed its activities. activ-ities. In public affairs no one's word carried more weight, no one's opinion was more eagerly awaited or more deferentially received. None thought of questioning his right, to be heard in any matter of public concern; on the contrary,, con-trary,, he was expected to speak, and to bring to the solution of political or economic problems his wealth of knowledge, judgment and experience. In the deference accorded him there was, no doubt, a large element of tradition, tra-dition, and. at timet), even a spectacular spectacu-lar unreality; but the fact remained that he stood, in the public estimation, for the best thought and aspiration of his people, and lived largely to serve the state. This view of the Post, when applied to the Protestant ministry, is undoubtedly undoubt-edly very nearly correct. It cannot, however, be made, in any sense, applicable applic-able to the Catholic clergy, and it is highly probable that the writer in the Post had solely in view the sensational preachers of the Protestant pulpit, who alone are responsible for the "readjustment" "readjust-ment" cf opinion towards the Protestant Protest-ant ministry in general. |