The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-12-21
Religious Equality at Last.
(Fron The Cincinnati Telsgarp

For the frat timo in the official history
Of Cincinnati, tho religious equality Of
Catholics has been admitted. On Monday
evening the Board that controls the gov
eminent Of the Work House, decided that
Catholic inmates Of that inatitution had the
asme religions rights - fellow Protestant
prisoners, and made arrangements to give
them the full enjoyment of those rights.
Our agitation Of the question of religious
services in public inatitutions has not been
tProhtless. The seed Gown months since
fully ripened but this decision Of the
managers of the. Work House, the justice
Of which Will be admitted by all who Gin
ccrely love liberty Of conscience, indicates
that it has grown some valuable fruit. In
time this fruit will DO more abundant. Az
g change in the religious government of an
Institution, to the support of which Catho-
lies contribute, as we'll as other citizens,
this new order of the Work House Board
deserves to be noted. Hitherto the appli-
cation to exercise the right of furnishing
catholic worship ana Of giving Catholic
persistentiy denied. While Catholic SER
vices have been excluded, Protestant
ministers or those acting in their capacity
and performing all the duties of their
religious Office have had free access. There
Representatives of that sect were permitted
to make that worship as full and complete
as Proteatsntism required. The ritual of
Protestant worship was observed in its
minutest points. Of this freedom granted
to Protestants, we have never complained.
As q citizen, we hold that in teaching the
Protestant religion to all who wished to
listen to it's doctrines, these preachers were
only exercising q right, which the civil law
was bound both to concede and protect.
But at the same time, we protested against
the illegal and oppressive exclusion Of any
Nfh EsNrvx <,E
injustice of requiring the attendance of
prisoners at any religious services which
violated conscience and was repugnant to
their religious convictions. This was an
open and offensive denial of the American
principle of religious equality. Nor did
the injustice to Catholics stop here. Not
only had Professionalism secured religious
ascendaney, not only had it converted the
Work House into q prosely tizing institu-
ton, but the preachers Of Professionalism
have drawn salary from the Work HousS
fund ever since that prison was opened.
robbery of the public treasury, committed
to enrich preacher at the House of
Refuge; but the Young Mems Christian
Association has been rewarded for its
labors at the Work House by o similar
robbery up to the present time.
All these grievances. have now been re-
moved. The rule of the Directors Of the
Work Honse has asserted, that Catholics
are in the eyes of law, the religions ca uals
Of Protestants. That is the whole signif-
cance of the late division of hours for
religious serviee-and that is all Catholics
entitled. Though they ViH s,ever seek more,
with less they will never be content.
The Catholic priest who is appointed to
minister to the spiritual wants of the |
Catholic prisoners, will never initiate those
who have appealed to the violence of pre-
To ~l,lz
forcing the worship and teaching of the |
Catholic Church upon any who do not |
belong to it Nor will he, initiating their
conduct, take wages which he has no right
to receive. He goes to that institution as !
one, having right to admittance, which |
law snpports--he goes for the sole purpose |
of bestowing the services of the Catholic |
religion upon those who voluntarily seek !
them. He goes, as q Catholic priest to per-
form his whole ministerial duty to Catholics,
as the Protestant minister goes to fulfill in
ell its entirety the same office for Protest
ants. He goes, animated only with tho |
motive of reforming Catholic offenders,
whom no minister of q Protestant sect can |
benefit in the least BY any of his spiritual
functions: He goes there, bringing no ex-
the time and labor that he devotes to the
Catholic inmates of the Work House, are
not only priceless gift to them in their
fallen and disgraced condition, but will
prove hnauclal benefit to the city.
We have treated with the silence of con-
tempt, the anti-Catholic cry which some
very silly and stupid writer's in the daily
Journals have been prolonging for weeks,
in anticipation of this order of the Directors
IF the Work House. They have been
amusing us with most frightful and pro
racted commissions, into which the mere
mention of religious freedom to Catholic
prisoners seems to have thrown them. If I
heir rawlings were to be credited, the ap- |
,earance of q Catholic priest in the Work
House saying Mass and preaching the |
ruths of salvation to poor, miserable out
asia, in the hope of making them sober,
law-abiding citizens, was
Othing less than q Popish conspiracy to 9
verthrow Professionalism, and to annex the 4
title speck Of earth, called the United Q
tates to the prisoner Of the Vatican. The c
and Wildness of these alarm
'ts, have, however, brought disCredit upon
heir sincerity, and the truthfulnesS of their &
orrible predictions. e.
Professionalism is weak unto death it is t.
uej it went long since into state of col e
pee !; it is destined very soon to fall int o
10 hands of an undertaken and to be it
'rted out of the world. But its exit, We b
sure these writing Bedlamites, will not
hastened by the spiritual work Of q
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