OCR Text |
Show "CATHOLICS" REPLY To the Invective Indulged . in by This morning's "Tribune." Whatever may be thought of the Tribune Tri-bune editor as a politician or an obituary writer, he is not unquestionably one of our most distinguished historians, nor can he be assigned the highest rank as a genuine logician. He did not study the late Encyclical with praiseworthy care and diligence. He simply used the letter for the purpose of setting forth; confirming confirm-ing and disseminating his speculative bigotry big-otry of the Pope, Church and Catholic citizens. - The construction he ! placed on the Pope's words was not done for any good end, and the facts he related were grouped and colored in subserviency to his unhis-torical unhis-torical and prejudiced purposes. Possibly he betokens a new movement against the Church like those of 1835 and 1844 and 1855. . At any rate, his-moral sense is so warped that it is useless for Catholics to expect any fair or moderate treatment at his hands. When the bigot penned his malicious editorial -for Saturday's issue he was not adroit enough to conceal the animus that J inspired him. But the wretch's wretched reply, however, in today's to-day's copy proves conclusively that he is conscious of the weakness of his cause. His unprovoked attack affords matter for wonder and surprise, and we ask ourselves our-selves whether this great journalist, in whose paper so many of his best efforts have appeared in reproaching the East for her intolerance and illiberality, and at the same time eulogizing the West for her liberality, tolerance and manliness, has lost all dignity, all decency by his removing here? The fact of his leaving the narrow circle of New England thought for the more cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Coast, does not seem to promise freedom free-dom from many prejudices and grooves of thought that would be inevitable in his former home. But the utter confusion and maliciousness malicious-ness of thought, incorrectness of construction, con-struction, and bigoted ignorance as the Tribune editor exhibited in dealing with the late Encyclical, is not less remarkable remarka-ble than his deficiency in the argumentative argumenta-tive faculty. What does he mean when he asserts, "if the Catholic Church ever falls under a cloud, it will be because of such defenders as he." Think of the action ac-tion of an individual member bringing the Catholic Church under a cloud, when the apostacy of Nations could not envelop her in a mist. What would a reasonable man say if the writer would retort thus : "If the Protestant community of this region re-gion ever fall under a cloud, it will be because be-cause of such defamers of Catholic citizens citi-zens as the Tribune zealot." Of the Pope's present position this editor ed-itor speaksjvaguely. But as a prophet, he is sublime. Philosophical observer of the present, lie may not be ; historian, he may not be : but as a prophet he foresees what American Catholics will do under any contingency, at any period of time. This is as clear to him as noonday. Starting with the absurd and malicious story that the Pontiff was urging Catholics Catho-lics to vote Catholics-into office with the aim of getting control of the school fund, he ends by hurling at this writer degrading degrad-ing opprobious eDithets and vile invectives drawn from the rogue's lexicon, and wants him "gored into decency by a Pope's bull." . If the writer is not decent, that is his misfortune. But after such a display of Tribune, innate meanness, it is evident that it will require numerous bulls from some source to gore into decency the Tribune bull. Catholic. Salt Lake City, Nov. 18, '85. |