The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1873-11-23
A Plea for our Young Men.

The Bishop of Rochester is too well
known in the three cities in which the
Catholic Revies0 has its largest circulation
to need any special Introduction to our
readers as an active laborer in the service '
cf Catholic youth. Seventeen years ago, !
his work in Newark, in laying the founoa
ton of that admirable Catholic Institute
which has borne such admirable fruit, ana
have fitted him peculiarly for his mission
among the young men first and directly o.
his own diocese, and secondly and Indirect
ly among their young fellow citizens ~
large, throughout the country. Tpese
years ard their work bave gwen given n,m; nG
of the difficulty of the work, and, setting
one against the other, he has wisely de-
cided in favor of the former. This experi-
ence adds it's own great weight to MS nu
mirable plea for lay work among CatnGi;iJhs b;.h
has for it's objects as we'll as for its instr9
ments, Catholic young men, and Catnoic
union of all classes and races and ages.
This plea we extract from his address 70
the people of his diocese on the opening OF
the New Catholic Hall in Rochester, an
account OF which We give elsewhere. he
Bishop said: ~,
Three leading ideas had been in his
head from the beginning of the enterprise::
These ideas explained briefly the object OF
the institution, according to MS viewe. 70
|
good and worthy young men OF the cry
to provide q place of resort in which to
spend the evening for the well meaning
and we'll behaved of the city. supple.
mentary to this, his idea was to reach ous
the kind and brotherIy hand to everyone
found fainting by the way-to those
found deep in vice and sin and to lead
them from their evil ways and bring tnem
into a place of virtue and morality-lnto
the midst of honorable and upright men,
l md nnahIa
them to find their way to the church OF
God and to salvation. This was the speak,
er,s frat idea in promoting the project, and
with it goes, as part of the idea, the pu7-
nose to rescue amusements and social re-.
creation from unjust odium-to snow tna1
men of minds and souls are capable OF IN,
nocent and virtuous recreation. goo hao
nlaced in mems nature the love of amuse-
ments. and divested of their evil associa-
, tions and attendant vices, they were per-
t fectly harmless. This institution was IN
tended to take all that was bad and dlsre
nutable out of amusements and games. l,
was designed to furnish every means o.
! en;ovment without the influence of the
3 Devil and his wickedness. There was NJ
r harm in cards, the speaker said, no harn
j in checkers, in dominoes, in billiards o.
. other games, save when gambling !s az
} tached te them-no more harm than in th'
: pebble which the boy conceals behind hin
g in one hand when he challenges his play
Q mate to guess which hand it is in. 1t wa
: the intention of the association to demon
d strate how true enjoyment can be mac
Il This was a house in which the work Q
the Church was being done in it's way
C This institution labors for the cause
l. morality in it's way just as the Church doe
r in it's way. This led to the Bishops sec
Of ond idea before referred to, which was
le Bishops and Priests could not do all tt
d, work. 1t was asking too much of them
is entailing upon them an overburden OF T,
d. sponsibility and labor. The laity must {
n, their share. There was no layman WI
u could afford to fold his arms and, becau
at he sits in his pew at church and perform
ht all the duties of the church, say that
of has done his whole duty. Clergy 81
sir laity were all dwellers and laborers Z
he gether, and could not live apart; they ~
,le sponsibilities to shoulder in toiting along
on road to Heaven. In this enterprise
all laity had a sphere of labor, and wide OF
.ps open for their exertion. 1t beloved the
lth old and young, to engage in this WoTk a a
We thus satisfy an obligation from wnicn Cn
er- tute was to furnish just this opportunity
pc- labor for the common good of their counI
Dr.. themselves and their neighoors. i
,rn Bishops third idea was to afford cent
las point of meeting for the furtherahce a.
of work that cannot be done in the chur
ta- There are in the city ten Catholic churc
,us and the eleventh in process of erectl
er- These are scattered and tend to divide
ian people, when they needed to come toget
,ly, and labor together for the cause of Char
Ca This institution Afforded an opPortunl'9
lle- uniting as one body from all churches
ov- nntionalities-as Catholics and Ameri
Ipel citizens. Here they would bring tt
the Irish OF German sympathies and sp
,ion their sentiments No matter where DC
and the man who stands on American SOIL
! at has pledged his fidelity to the country,
has act-that pledge-consecrates him an
He erican citizen and he has right to b
isti- up his head, walk proudly and feel in ev
to drop of his blood the proud emotion OF
rex. American citizen. In these three le
and was embodied a general synopsis of
the speakers views of the objects OF this
tied stitute.-Catholic ReuieW.
is
Tele- E. CoNERY 81 SoN.-No name in the
mercial annals of the city is better known than II
Il