The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-10-22

Ek ~. is71
A Catholic Press.
We call the particular attention Of our
readers to an article from the Oivilta CatAo-
Hoa, which We publish in another colana.
They will there fnd portrayed tho evils Of
journalism q it exists in . large portion o.
the secular preas; they will recognize the
necessity Of risidly excluding many Of it
issues from their homes and find Irresistible
reasons in favor Of creating and sustaining
compsteht Catholic press. There 10 pro-
baby NO other subject upon which Catho-
lies are 90 remiss in their duties, 90 regard
less of their Christian interests and obliga-
lions a. upon this of the newspaper press,
and that Of the public schools.
There is constant struggle going on in
this world between good and evil. All tho
weapons Of moral war are most 'assidu-
ously sought after and used by tho latter
Of these contestants, and certainly . good
zeal ought not to be behind bad one in
such efforts. What are those weapons
We answer, all the means by which the
PROPAGATION Of ideas may be assisted.
These means are Immensely multiplied
nowadays. in conparison with the condi-
ton Of former ages. Steam navigation
has brought remote countries into intimate
Communication, railroads make close neigh
bors Of what used to be Inaccessible dis
tances and the telegraph annihilates space.
All these things greatly facilitate the diffu
sion Of ideas while the art of printing af-
fords an almost limitless medium of COM
municating them.
Men are restless in their iniquity.
Wickedness, as we'll as misery, loves COM
paDy. People are not satisfied with dis
carding the truth themselves and inventing
all kinds of false theories and philosophers
to give countenance to their own irregular
conduct, or to fatter their own sense of
Importance, but they must labor uueeasing-
~ and energetically to disseminate their
errors False religion finds q Jealous HER
archy, false philosophy boasts an untiring
corps Of professors, and false political doc.
trine has it's missionaries who scatter it
abroad with the speed of pestilence.
Tho vehicles of all these errors are every
where. The pulpit, the lectare-room, the
theatre, the novel, the historS. the school
book and above all the newspaper, cow
these seeds of evil broadcast all over the
earth. All men are naturally missionaries
of evil it is only those who are under the
influence of grace that become mission aries
of good, and low weakly do they generally
respond to their exalted vocation!
Look for q moment at the unequal strug-
gle that is gong on and the unequal efforts
made by the relative champions of good
and evil. The principles of free-love in, q
divorce, the intermarriage of near relations,
immodesty in dress, in dancing, the princi
pies of agrarianism and revolution, of de-
spising vested rights, of marshaling class
against class, the righteousness of arson,
plumber and murder provided it be under
cover of association, contempt of all au-
thority, the right to follow ones impulses
regardless of restrictions human or divine,
every thing that can strike at the fabric of
social order and public decency is taught
in myriad forms by voice and type, by
music, engraving, painting and statuary.
The expression of such sentiments is a
flood.
And what is done on the other side of
the contest Where is our food of good
novels, poems, plays, illuminated weeklies,
mastery reviews, magazines, pictorial pa
pers and mammoth dailies Eight millions
of Catholics in the United States and not
a single daily-not single decently sus-
tanned weekly, not a single author fostered
into effort, ind sustained in professional
industry by Catholic public!
And why is this 7 You say the word of
God can sustain itself, it will not perish,
none of these intrigues and iabors of iniqui-
ty can prevail against it. Very true! But
are Catholics doing their duty in thus
trusting all to the promised Intervention of
the Almighty Have they not obligations
of their own, which cannot be neglected
with impunity When a food of fanati-
cism and infidelity, of anarchy and violence