Plymouth advertiser. [volume] (Plymouth, Ohio) 1853-1988, 1853-12-03
Catholicism and Ignor.nee.

Valley is Published with my aPprooalion,
and recommend il to the support oil the I
Catholics Of this diocese. 4
Peter RICHARD,
archbishop Of 81. Louis.
July I, 1883.
MIR. Bakewell is, we believe, Penn
sylvanian, who in his boyhood was taught
Methodism, in his youth, studied The
Ep' scopalian theology, and, in his man
hood, became q Catholic from conviction.
He is man of strongly marked character
and of that peculiar intellect which aP'
plies every abstrac, principle it embraces
TO social life, without gard to time, place
or popularity. Bolder than any other
Catholic editor in this country. he better
embodies the spirit OF Catholicism. I'm
bued with the false idea that the intellect
and conscience of the many should bow
to the intellect and conscience of one or
few, he denounces popular education as
follows:
We are not the friend of popular edu-
cation as at present understood. Tine
.popularity OF humbug shall never, we
trust, never lead us to stpSort it. We do
not believe that the 'masses,' as our mod.
ern felormers insullngly call the labor
fling class, are one whit more happy, more
respectable, or better informed for know
ing how to read.
! We think that the masses were never
less happy, less respectable, than they
have been since the Reformation, and
particularly within the last fifty or one
hundred years--since Lord Brougham
caught the mania oGteaching them to read,
and communicated the disease to large
proportion of the English nation.
The idea that teaching people to read
, fur: ishes them with innocent amusement,
is entirely false. It furnishes the major
ity of those who seek amusement from II
with the most dangerous recreation in
; which they can indulge.
In view of these and other facts, we or
our own private account, and not as
Catholic, but as prudent man and as d
) good citizen, unhesltetingly declare thai
), we regard the invention of printing MS
$ the reverse of a blessing; and our moderr
ideas Of education as entirely erroneous.
= A few more such articles as this, ant
the editor of tho Shepherd Of the Vale,
,s will be the means Of forming a Nativ
o american party that '0W amount to some
,e thing. When such sentiments are opcnl
D. avowed by q church rs powerful as tn
1q Catholic, the lover Of liberty has ju;
e. cause of alarm--more especially whe
ey we look at the thousands upon thousand
be who land yearly upon our shores, who OF
d. ly wait the appreciation Of their spiri
in ual rulers, 10 destroy every temple {
to learning in the UniCn. He says he dot
ig not speak as Catholic. He can spea
;c as nothing else. No one but Caholi
could utter sentiments that smack S
r. strongly Of the narrow.minded bigotry
m the dark ages.
ve We hope the Shepherd of the Vale
II may continue its present course. 1t wi
10 show our people that RepubIicanism an
Catholicism can never flourish together
~ that when they are brought in contact, or
=, or the other must fall. Ii should war
II us that the bigotry VII ch would hav
-, crushed our Free Schools, last winter, h;
, , not reinquishcd its unholy designs, b'
,h- only waits al opportunity to make ano.
,,,r er attempt.