The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-12-03
"A Chinese Missionary in Now York.

..,.. A Chinese Missionary In Now York.
One that was present at St. Lawrence
O'Toole's Church, in s4th street, near
Fourth avenue, on Sunday, November 5tb,
sends to the New York Herald an interest
ing account Of the discourse delivered. 1t
was by a Rev. Jesuit Father, very lately
returned from the Chinese Mission, and
now for while the guest of the Jesuit
Fathers at st. LawEence's Church. The
following is this summary account:
Since the power of France has waned,
and she can no longer protect her mission
aries, the rulers Of China have again ln-
stituted cruel persecution against the
Christians. The Catholic missionaries and
their Chinese converts are now hunted, ex-
lied, imprisoned and even martyred.
China and the adjacent countries of japan,
Thibet, Corea, Mongolia and Mantchooria,
contain no less than 4OO, ZOO, 900 human
beings. At Shanghae and in the ueighbor-
hood are 1000 tombs of martyred priests,
missionaries, chiefly Of the Jesuit and
Franciscan Orders. Besides these, many
men, both clerics and laymen, European
and native, have never received burial, and
await the final resurrection in unknown
caves AID holes, where hasty vengeance
inundated them to the heather gods OF
| China. 1t is a most interesting fact, no
less to the searcher after antiquities than
to the fervent Christian, that in the annals
of Chinese history, during the eighth CEN
| tury, more than a thousand years ago, are
found records of the expulsion of 5000
Christian priests, +" from the West" (ac-
| cording to the text), who were by legal
| ordinances sent in a body "back to the
! West" Their religion was styled in these
records "the religion of number ten," from
| the accidental circumstance that the Chi
nese cipher for the mineral 10 is cross.
The missionaries have also discovered
among the people, sayings and traditions
| that have been handed down from the time
| stances the very resemblance of the outer
observances of the Chinese priests, f." the
BONES, ]" with those OF the Catholic Church
has been turned into powerful argument
against the latter.
| The condition of women among the Chi
nese was briefly mentioned in the discourse
| of the missionary, and astriking example
of the degradation induced by hcathenism
upon Chinese women was given. One of
| these unhappy creatures, still full of the
popular pagan belief that her sex possessed
no soul, was, through the accidental
| circumstance no soul, of the break
ing out of a persecution in her neghbor-
hood, too hastily admitted into the ranks
of the Catholics. Ordinarily the catechu-
| mems are kept under instruction for-two or
even three years, before they are baptized,
and this rule is never broken save in the
cnse of imminent danger of death or of the
expected dispersion of congregational
| This poor woman soon after p1blicly aver
| red her belief that she had no soul. Upon
| beiBG seriously pressed to explain her
meaning, and asked what reason had in
dncep her to receive the sacrament of bap-
tIsm, she replied, That 1 might get my
rights" What an unconscious testimony
| tn he mn linz Of I'm rcI, fSr
the recognition of woman's spiritual aud
social standing, and at the same time what
a sad revelation of the effects Of even the
most stable and respectable Of all civilian
tions before it has been humanizel and
vivitied by Christianity
Of the fate of a million of Chinese chill
dren yearly, especially female infants, it is
useless to speak the cruelty that dooms
the so-called surplus population to death
and turns Gods best gifts into burden
and n curse, is too well known throughout
the world. The preacher also insisted upon
the duties we have towards these Chinese
! immi grants, who are daily pouring into the
country by thousands to minister to our
comfort and luxury, and descanted upon
| their natural good qualities, which only
| want the light of the gospel TO become high
virtues. They are, he said, practically
though not theoretically imbued with some
of the principles which form the~verN basis
VI soCiety-a SIeab EespecI ior auIuOTltS,
deep and sincere filYal love, industry and
patience, and, above all, sobriety in their
habits of life; yet1with all these qualities
we see them bringing their degrading idol
worship te these Christian shores. and no
one lifts up his voice to evangclize and save
them
IN passing through Japan, the preacher
went on to say, he had visited, near one of
the great cities, the Mount of Martyrs, the
place where thousands of Jesuit and Fran
ciscan missionaries and many faithful ia
panese converts have been crucified, i'm
paled, burned or BET eaded, from the days
of St. Francis Xavier to our own. From
this height he saw the city lying not far
away, with European trade hourishiug
in its streets and squares and flourishing
without the leastdesire t" extend the shield
of it's protection over the Christian filth
and Christian teachers He saw, too, at
the foot of the hill il village of seven hum
dred houses. in which four thousand Chris
tians had recently been discovered by the
government and instantly driven from
hearth and home into the businesses of the
mountains. On tho horizon he saw also
tle hi sutline of these maintains whare