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Show May Make a Mistake. SEVERAL Catholic contemporaries are protesting, against the proposed pro-posed purchase of the friars' lands in the Philippines. They assert, and w Ith some show of reason for their belief, be-lief, that- the purpose of government is to buy the property of the religious orders and cause the former owners to be sent elsewhere, thus leaving the field open to Protestant missionary effort. Under present conditions the departure depar-ture of the friars from the islands would not leave a sufficient number of priests properly to minister to the inhabitants. in-habitants. Again, several practically deny that the friars are hated by the people of the islands. They cite the civilization they have.; builded, and assert that the people ought to love those who have raised them from barbarism. Instances, that, here and there, a religious is loved. Because this one is, or that, we are asked to believe all are. In this a grave mistake might be made. . The Union and Times is able to throw some light on this Philippine question right here. For several years it has had a friend in the islands, whose judgment usually Is very accurate, and whose Catholicity cannot be questioned. ques-tioned. He was not born in this country, coun-try, but in Germany. Being a German and a conservative of conservatives, he ought to be granted impartial hearing. His position, . moreover, is one that gives . him familiarity with conditions in most of the provinces. He is, furthermore, fur-thermore, a close observer. Does he say that the people desire the Spanish friars to remain? He does not. What he does say, in a letter just received, is: There can scarcely be a doubt but the great majority of the Spanish Dominicans Do-minicans are disliked by a majority of the Filipino people. The men especially especial-ly dislike them. hTe cause of their ill-will must be attributed to the fact that the Spanish government for years made policemen and taxgatherers of these poor priests. In my own mind I am convinced that those clergymen performed their double, or triple, duties honorably and fairly to all; but because they were, in a sense, officers of a detested de-tested government, they are themselves them-selves disliked. As a class, all reports to the contrary, they are as upright as the priests in the states or . In Germany, Ger-many, just as pure, Just as learned; but, because they were what they were, I am convinced that their usefulness use-fulness here is gone. This Is their mis- fcrtune, without being exactly their fault: but if the people dislike them, would it ont be beUer to ' take them away and fill their' places with others who never had any connection with the Spanish government? The Filipino people, peo-ple, taking them as a whole, are as good Catholics as can be found anywhere any-where on earth, their "hatred" of the Spanish priests excepted; Indeed, they could give pointers to a multitude in the states, in the matter of living the faith; but if they don't want the Spanish Span-ish priests (and they certainly 4ont), will it help their religion to place over them priests they . dislike? If they i don't -want the Spanish friars, I am just enough of a "Cahensleyite" to assert as-sert that putting Spanish friars over them won't be good for the spread of Catholic faith. It is probably true that many would fall away from the church ; altogether, rather than attend churches j presided over by priests they dislike. The Union and Times offers the fore-' fore-' going as a contribution to the mass of literature on the friars' question. We do not assert that the writer's analysis of. conditions is absolutely accurate, and for a very obvious reason we are not familiar with conditions in the Philippines. Yet, if we grant the writer is even partially accurate, there is much in his statement to make us pause. Those American Catholic journals jour-nals that are so anxious to ram the ; Spanish priests already on the ground j down the throats of the Filipino peo-I peo-I pie, ought reflect, perhaps, that pos-j pos-j sibly they may be doing- more harm than good. We don't believe those clergymen ought to be forced to sell their lands, the all-suggesting Taft commission to the contrary, but it is probably true that, instead of Spanish Dominicans, . Recolets. etc., American - religious of those orders ought take charge, or priests from Ireland or Germany Ger-many or France. In any case, in striving striv-ing to preserve the faith of the Filipino people we certainly cannot afford to produce such conditions that they will ltpse into Nothingarianism. If it be true that they do not want priests of Spanish blood, is it politic to force priests of that race u:on them? We have evidence enough here in America that such action does not always conduce con-duce to religion or Christian unity. |