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Show IS CATHOLIC EDUCATION A MEto TO AMERICA j - . Answer to CriticismlThat Catholic Schools Arc IB-American and Opposed to Human Progress. - (Literary Digest.) -The" lie v.-John F. Mull any, L.L.D.. writing in The jSTorth -American IViview (October), examines from a Konian-Catholif point of view the criticism, criti-cism, frequently advanced, that the Roman-Catholic schools are un-American in some of 'their tendencies, ten-dencies, and therefore inot .calculated to produce the most desirable type-? of citizen. "Is there any-, thing in Catholic doctrines intrinsically opposed to the spirit and the Constitution of our country ?" he asks. .And in answer .he calls attention to jthe fact that St. .Thoman '.-Ajuinas "and who more representative that the? angel of the schools V' not only laid down the principles of representative government, but asserted that "all men are in their nature and essence equal." The writer continues: "Thus it is that the political; philosophy; of Aquinas is the' basis of i our .Declaration of Independence. Inde-pendence. The principles taught by.vthis Catholic doctor are tlie principled upon which "our Constitution Consti-tution is constructed. His are the principles upon which the fathers of the. Revolution acted when they fought for liberty and justice.' Xow, ; the Catholic doctrine here glanced at is held ' and taught in our Catholic schools. Is. there, in it anything any-thing subversive of our American " institutions ?" Turning to' the charge that "'''Roman-Catholic teaching is opposed to-human progress, Mr. Mul-lany Mul-lany writes: - '. .t "Catholics possess, in: a measure, as by reflection, reflec-tion, some of that. "wary, conservative spirit of; the Church, who has her--'course - ever mapped out, ' knowing whence she -came and whither he is: going, go-ing, and who is hot easily- "moved by 'every, shifting . wind of doctrine nor .likely to adopt' every newfangled new-fangled notion. Were 1) sere a body of men who today might be . Mi Rentes, tomorrow Mormons, next day Christian-Scienrists or Doweites, then indeed in-deed might their leitL --iu become a menace. to I the community, '-lut;-in every great issue, that i arises, lhe Otitholic-boiv .found on the side of Ci hr and tn" progie. - VVIk sx my": of tiie c-.v.v1' rtl i 1,''oin"erbec5-o;1,dllilI'',r.'& .council' or m an v. papal est strecti' erVou find one iotainot compatible Mairfutt- progress along i the lines of a w Specialti1;llfm y ., -Vell, it is in ;this, same spirit FOI;ied Vtliat'the'Cliurch- fosters Christian ? ' doctrinates her children. Why, therjtfr the teaehihgs of those schools ?j"- But LEADINGings arc granted, says the ffruL. jX-ics 'who hold that "in keeping ouif aloof, 'and educating them upon """hVfn those made use of in the public schools, we are placing them at a 'disadvantage." 'dis-advantage." " '"'...' They lack, it is said, the true American spirit, inasmuch as they do not pass through the same mold as other American children. ' Mr. Mullany answers this with the coujntercharge that the public pub-lic school as it now exisHjis not an ideal American institution. "This Republic of ours has been signally sig-nally Christian in its forjnation and in its development," devel-opment," he states, and ip points to the fact that ! religious instruction is eijduded from our schools. The ideal of our civilization, "which is the Christian Chris-tian ideal," will not be ejequired "by excluding Christian prayer, Christifi u dogma, and Christian practises from the life of a child during a certain number of hours daily." t'o quote, further : " "Not in secularized scliools is the Christian ideal impressed, for the image that is not seen can not affect the eye. And fv hen all other ideals are brought forward pagan ideals, -literary ideals, scientific ideals, football ideals, ideals of the prize-ring, prize-ring, ideals of the race-ctlt rse, ideals of the stock-market stock-market where "afterward.: nay room be found for that all-important, all-absc rbing ideal, which is the great jjxeniplar of hunufuife?" It falls iuto' the background: it may easil.f Jbe forgotten or ignored, or brought into contempt', Xor can that ideal.be impressed through the teftejhing of aii emasculate'd Christianity, for such in fenlity is the paring down of a creed to that which m commoi to all denominations. denom-inations. The vague, the -'fWiniifc, can not pre-!- Iden, :t Continued c iff. j-5, . ashiei- IS CATHOLIC EDUCATION AJ1ENACE TO AMERICA Continued from Page 1. sent a motive of action. The history, of all religions relig-ions reveals the fact that the more clear cut is the dog'ma, the 'more accurately defined is the creed, the stronger' and more efficient has been its influence influ-ence upon men and nations. Then, and then only, is it a life-giving force." Wherein, then, asks the writer, is the Roman-Catholic Roman-Catholic educational system incompatible with our j American spirit t He continues : "Is it that we do not teach patriotism; Patriotism Pa-triotism is not a commodity to be confined within the covers of a book. It is not a lesson to be conned by rote.- It is in the very air. Jt can no more be kept out of a school, when it is the inspiration inspir-ation of a whole people, than can the atmosphere one breathes. ... "Once we Ave re accused of falsifying history when treating of the great religious upheavals of the past; but there is not a statement in our Catholic Cath-olic books that can not be confirmed by a non-Catholic non-Catholic authoritv of weight as a scholar. ', . . We can not always accept either the statement of fact or the conclusions of our non-Catholic historians. histor-ians. We hold that our Catholic historians ought to be- the best judges of all matters pertaining to the Catholic Chureh, just as the members of a family fam-ily should be best acquainted with the inner workings work-ings and purposes of the family in all its actions. For this reason, we positively decline to -accept most versions of history that are prepared for our public-school children. "Finally, it is objected that this. excJusiveuess of our Catholic schools prevents our Catholic children from being molded after the typical pattern pat-tern of the American child. Then that is equally true of every private school in the land containing the children of the elite. Every objection applying apply-ing to us would with equal force apply to them. There is a difference in the type of boy or girl turned out by a Catholic school and a public school. The public-school child is more self -reliant; he has more assurance; he never doubts his ability to do anything: he undertakes; the Catholic-school Catholic-school child is diffident of ..his powers, underestimates underesti-mates ,hiinself, anu'Jiires encouragement . to put forth his whole strength. This is especially true of the child of Irish 'descent'. Is this, modesty and diffidence a great defect ?" |