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Show K6nwr$atiofi$ of ' Our &uh ftSSSK"-; The cause of - Catholicity and its spread in the United States still form the subject matter for discussion at the meetings of "Our Club." ' Last week Father John designated the conditions existing under a democratic form of government, as very unfavorable to the , growth of Catholicity. The democrat "puts the people in the place of God, and," though haughty and over-bearing to his equal,, is a " timid slave before public opinion, and judges his tenets as right or wrong in proportion to their ; popularity or unpopularity, and rogu-lates rogu-lates ' them accordingly. Such a condition con-dition is diametrically opposed to' Cath- j olicity which holds the "law of God" to be the sole measure of right and wrong. Father John further attributes the success of Catholicity in this country to the freedom granted all religious creeds by the constitution, thus at once proving that Catholicity contains the element of self-subsistence and disproving, dis-proving, the statement of Voltaire and his disciples, that no religion can long stand, or exert any influence, unless supported by the state, as a state establishment. es-tablishment. This may be true of Protestantism, Prot-estantism, but not of Catholicity as history his-tory verifies. Having again referred to the impetus given the church by foreign for-eign influx, Father John continues: CONVERSATION IV. (Continued.) "That this foreign immigration has been faultless, that it has had solely religious interests at heart, or that it has been a fair representation of the intelligence, respectability aud worth of the Catholic populations of EuroDe. no man pretends. It has been composed in great part of common laborers and servants, poor and illiterate; but this, strange as -it -may seem, has been an advantage, not only because they were the more likely to adhere to their faith in a hostile country, but because they were less likely to alarm Protestants as to the spread of Catholicity. Protestants Prot-estants would tolerate Catholicity in these humble classes, apparently without with-out personal or social influence, when a much smaller immigration of the more intelligent and influential classes would have excited their unrelenting hostility. The church was looked upon simply as the church of poor, ignorant and superstitious super-stitious foreigners, and as these foreigners for-eigners were very necessary to the development de-velopment of our material prosperity, she was tolerated, and in some instances in-stances supported, for their sake. She grew up, so to speak, under the shadow of Protestant contempt, for while these classes were comparatively few, and strangers, nobody dreamed of their making conversions from the American tionillfl Hon Thf rnmtnnn nnlnlnn irnc that Catholicity could not live in our Protestant atmosphere, that the first,, at furthest the second, generation born here, would be absorbed in the general non-Catholic population of the country. Through this foreign immigration It was believed the church could gain no permanent - footing, here,- and must needs die out when the immigration should cease. It. was not then worth one's while to persecute them, or to abridge their religious freedom. What to a superficial observer might have seemed in the outset areat disadvantage, disadvan-tage, and likely to strengthen the prejudices prej-udices of the country against Catholicity, Cath-olicity, has proved to be the best, and,, as far as we caij .judge, the only practicable prac-ticable means of: introducing and establishing es-tablishing the church on a solid basis, as one of our institutions. . "These poor, illiterate laborers and servants adhered to their religion, they j supported the clergy, they built churches, they provided for the celebration celebra-tion of the holy sacrifice. They became permanent settlers, citizens of the country, married, prospered, brought out their fathers, mothers brothers, sisters, and, aided by European events and the continually increasing, demand for labor by our-works of internal improvement im-provement and . the extension of our manufactures, trade and commerce, they in a few years have swelled into a Catholic population that Is counted by millions, growing in intelligence, in respectability re-spectability and influence in proportion to the increase of their numbers. The Catholic body may be exposed to annoyances an-noyances and vexations from the anti-Catholic anti-Catholic spirit of the country, but it is now too large and too important to be overlooked, and too numerous to be banished or massacred.. The material interests, of the country cannot afford to sacrifice the Catholic population, and it cannot as yet dispense with foreign immigration. Catholics may almost be said to fill the lower Ftrata of our society so-ciety in all the . free states, and they are every year rising and filling the middling ranks, while not a few have already reached the summit of our social so-cial hierarchy. The church has gained a footing, and is every- day taking a mere influential position in the country. The 2,000 churches, the nearly 2,000 priests:, and a Catholic population of at least 2,500,000, afford a very respectable basis for missionary operations. It is through these, through their example, influence and silent but effectual exertions, exer-tions, that prejudice is to be softened, hostility disarmed and interest excited." "But you forget. Father John," said Diefenbach, "that this Catholic body, large as it is, and zealous as it may be, is separated from the American community com-munity by difference of national origin, manners and customs, and to some extent ex-tent even of language. The church they support is still regarded as the church of a foreign body in the American community, com-munity, and is not an exponent of any element of the American national life. Your Catholic body does not act on the American body, and you want, it seems to me, a larger infusion of the American Ameri-can element. Instead of relying on this foreign body, you should direct all your efforts to the conversion of Americans, wh3 have the sentiment of American nationality, and thus Americanize the church." "Undoubtedly," replied Father John, "it is desirable that the Catholic body should be or become "American, so far as to avoid all that is repugnant to a just American national sentiment; but I want the church Americanized no more than I want it Jrishized, Germanized, German-ized, Englishized or Gallicized. The church always suffers from having imposed im-posed upon her the form of any nationality. na-tionality. Nationalism in religion is only another name for gentilism, or heathenism, and- is in Its essential nature na-ture anti-Catholic. There is ro need of anxiety for the support of American nationality. It is abundantly able to take care of itself. In addressing foreign-born Catholics, it is always proper to advise them to be on thejr guard against unnecessarily offending the national na-tional sentiment, but for their sake, not for the sake of American nationality itself. it-self. The Americanizing of the Catholic Cath-olic body does and will go on of Itself, as rapidly as is desirable, and all -we have to do with it is to take care that they do not imbibe the notion that to Americanize is necessarily to Protestantize. Protest-antize. The transition from one nationality nation-ality to another is always a dangerous process, an,d all the Americanization I insist on is, that our Catholic population popula-tion shall feel and believe that a man may be a true American, and a good j Catholic. In my own judgment, the Americanization of the Catholic body goes on. as rapidly as is compatible with .1 the Interests of religion,, and perhaps" even more rapidly than is desirable. "It is a mistake to regard the Catholic body today as a foreign body in this country, it is not so. The great majority ma-jority of them, if not American-bnrn, are American citizens. This country is the home of their interests, the home of their children, and the home of their ! affections. They are as much identified j with the country and its interests as ara non-Catholic Americans. Catholici-' Catholici-' ty is now as much at home here as Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism or ! Methodism. The Catholic body has here Ian American organization, and depends on no foreign state. It has its Ameri-j Ameri-j can sees, its provinces, its bishops, and holds its councils, subject to no foreign power or jurisdiction, except the spiritual spirit-ual jurisdiction of the pope, who as spiritual head of the church, by divine appointment, is no more a foreigner in the city of New York than he is in tSe city of Rome. The church is here in all her integrity, and here as elsewhere she must act as the church. Her first care is due to the faithful already here, and she cannot neglect them for the sake of engaging in direct efforts for evangelizing the non-Catholic population. popula-tion. The conversion of the country, it is evident to every one who knows the spirit and temper of the American people, peo-ple, can go on for the present, humanly speaking, only gradually, and as influ-, enced by the presence of the church here, and the example of devout Catholics. Cath-olics. The first step is to provide amply for the spiritual wants of the existing Catholic population, and to bring, them up to the level of their religion in their practice as well as in their faith. "This is a country in which the laity-must laity-must dr, more to promote the interests of religion than they are accustomed tt do elsewhere. The American people, not yet evangelized, hate or despise Catholicity, Cath-olicity, regard it as hostile to their republicanism, re-publicanism, as degrading to human nature, as a spiritual thraldom, as a debasing de-basing superstition, or as a wornout, dead and buried institution. They are indisposed to examine its claims, to ascertain as-certain its doctrines, or to put themselves them-selves in communication with Catholic The more lax of the Protestant sects are profoundly indifferent to the question, ques-tion, and neglect all Catholic publications; publica-tions; the more rigid exercise a strict vigilance over their members, and prohibit pro-hibit them from reading anything in defense of Catholicity. The study of the Protestant ministers is to shut out the light from their people, to keep them in profound ignorance of our religion; re-ligion; and to perpetuate their unfounded un-founded prejudices against it. The non-Catholic non-Catholic people will neither hear nor read, or if they do either, it is not to learn what we really believe, but to catch something which they may present pre-sent to our prejudice. These are obstacles ob-stacles that can be overcome only by personal intercourse, by personal acquaintance ac-quaintance with Catholics, and by being be-ing forced to observe more closely their Intelligence and virtue. It is only as our numbers and influence firrarliia.il v increase, only as the fruits of Catholic life become more abundant and manifest, mani-fest, that these obstacles will give way, and the missionary be able to gain access ac-cess to the non-Catholic mind. Hence it is that the laity have here a great responsibility, re-sponsibility, for they have here, each in his own sphere, a missionary work to perform, preparatory in some sense to that of the priest." "It seems to me," remarked O'Flan-agan, O'Flan-agan, "that some of our converts in their zeal have talked too much about the conversion" of the country. Cath olics have never converted a country by saying they were going to do it. Too many proclamations are unwise, and tend rather. to defeat than to accomplish ac-complish one's " purposes. God makes use of human instruments in converting a nation, but it is he after all, not the instruments, that converts it, if con- verted. It is never well to forget that ! all depends on his grace. There is no surer method of failing than to place Our dependence on human agency, or reliance on our own .well-devised schemes. God has his own ways, and his ways are not our ways. He seems to take pleasure in bringing to naught our wisdom, and accomplishing his pur-peses pur-peses by means that it never entered into the mind of man to devise. Who ' would have seen in the act of the legislature leg-islature of New York authorizing the construction of the Erie and Ohamplain canals, a measure for the evangelization evangeliza-tion of the United States? Yet, in the providence of God, it has been made to contribute powerfully to that end. It inaugurated a system of internal improvements im-provements which created a demand for labor that the country itself could not supply, and thus led the way for the migration hither of foreign labor, while this foreign labor could be supplied only by the Catholic populations abroad oppressed by Protestant gov-4 ernments. The Introduction of the fac-' tory system by absorbing the surplus American female labor, and the abolition aboli-tion of negro slavery in all the northern north-ern states, opened a demand for maid servants, which could be supplied only from Ireland or Catholic Germany, and no class has contributed more to the growth of our religion here than our Catholic servant girls. Indeed, our religion re-ligion has been planted here, and has sprung up and .flourished by means adopted without any direct efforts to that end. Man, in what he did, had other purposes, and Providence has made them contribute to his. The foreign for-eign immigration to whom we owe it, under God, that the church is here, did not migrate hither for the purpose of Introducing and spreading Catholicity in a non-Catholic country. They were not even led by their religion to come hither. They came for worldly reasons, to improve, their rriaterial condition, yet God so ordered it that they brought their, religion with them, and retained it. These facts should induce us to do our duty in our own sphere, and leave it to Providence to convert the country in his own way." "It is our duty," replied Father John, "to co-operate with Providence according, accord-ing, to our means and ability. I feel no less interest in the conversion of the country than do they who say and write so much about it, but I see nothing noth-ing at present to be done for it but to operate on, and with the Catholic population pop-ulation we already have, to save as far as possible our children from apostasy, and to do all we can to make all who profess to be Catholics worthy of the name. I see little that Rome can do to aid us, except to see that -we have ood bishops, and that they maintain proper discipline and use' their best efforts to rear up and sustain a body of zealous, faithful and efficient priests, numerous enough to meet our wants. I see no need of enlightening Rome on the institutions insti-tutions of the country, on the nature of the heresies rife among us, or the prospects pros-pects of Catholicity in the United States. In providing for, the legitimate wants of the Catholic population as Catholics, Rome will provide for the wants of the country. Rome is prepared pre-pared to sustain and encourage us in every legitimate effort for the promotion promo-tion of Catholicity here, we can make. I like the things our friend at Rome has said in his articles, but I attach no great importance to them except as they tend to give the Italian people a juster view of our national character and institutions. I should have been better pleased if the excellent and patriotic pat-riotic writer -had taken more pains 'to separate genuine American republicanism republican-ism from the false liberalism of Italian. French and German- revolutionists, and : entered a stronger protest against the I wild radical spirit that is ruining his own country, and affording an excuse for absolutism in Europe. We Cath olics are placed between two fires, and are obliged to present a double front. We have to defend to ourselves on the one side against absolutism, and on tin ether against radicalism, and we are constantly in danger while opposing the one to be regarded as accepting or defending, de-fending, the other. The writer of the articles in question shows more sympathy sym-pathy than I feel with American democracy, de-mocracy, but no more than I feel with American republicanism, or free constitutional con-stitutional government, in which the people have in some form an effective voice in the management of the na-; na-; tional affairs. But let this pass. Every ! one who studies the Catholic popula-; popula-; tion in this country, though he has to ; deplore some scandals, many losses both of children and adults, must admit ad-mit that it is becoming every dav stronger, better organized, more homogeneous, homo-geneous, and more compact, increasing in intelligence, literature. science, weight and influence. It is no longer in a condition to be despised or ignored. It forms a large and integral portion of the American people. It has weight in both the world of buev. and the world of politics. It is every day acquiring a social influence, and thus forcing Catholicity upon the attention at-tention of non-Cathofics. It forces individuals in-dividuals in all parts of the country to think about the church, to inquire into her claims, to learn what are her rell doctrines, and thus disabuses them of many of their prejudices. (To be continued.) |