The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-06-14

in the Church there is sanctuary, but
know also that in the family there is an.
other sanctuary. In the Church there il
priest, but in the family there is annthe,
God-ordained priest, and that is the head
of the family, whom God has placed there
to do his work. 1t cannot be denied then
that true religion belongs not only to the
Church, but to the family, the man and
the citizen. And l come before you this
afternoon to speak a few words upon your
outy as men, as citizens, and as members
or the Church. There are many impor
tant questions connected with tile future
welfare of the Church and country to which,
your attention should be called. AS your
honored president said yesterday morning,
o good Christian makes good citizens.
1t is a mistaken idea that when you have
received the sacraments and left the
Church your duties as Christians have
done. l maintain that just then your
work before society begins. It is whep
you have fulfilled your Church obligations
that you are best fitted to do your work
among your fellow citizens as Christian
men with earnest Christian minds /
speak here, and for special reasons. Be-
cause, strange to say, in this country Of
freedom, of liberal minds, the fact that a
man is a Catholic is sometimes thou ght to
be reproach. But the day of Intolerance
is passing away, even if it has r,t IA ea..y
passed.
Everyone has right to place lis wron "a
before the people, and t.ey ara sure ct
being heard. And when here is a wrong
to be righted we must come before the peo-
PIE. We claim that Catholics do not
crj'y th"ir rights, and that they have
grievances. We need not look for examples
to Sut." a.. We but to look at the Am
ericae people t" see what they do. When
ever they have a grievance they mako the
world ing with their trouble. Wien they
have al IDEA, sound or unsound, beautiful
or ridiculous they drag that idea before
the public, and being earnest men, they
gained. They use the press and the
rostrum, they use the platform, the pulpit,
the newspaper and the book. They labor
by night and by day with untiring energy,
and the result is that the points which they
seek to accomplish are usually gained.
they place before us. They stop at moth
ing which will help their ends. The peo
pie may laugh at them, the newspapers
ridicule them, but they will persist in their
course until the accomplishment of the
end. Now we are to come before the Ana
the American people will be very much
displeased with US foreigners having a
foreign religion, coming into this country
and attempting to force our religion upon
them" We are not foreigners, and we
have not foreign religion. The Church of
oOSoS SuIlSb gwen 10 All ndbiUDS, ana
is not foreign anywhere. Besides, the
reign of bigotry is nearly over. The Am.
erican people like honest men. If we cx-
pect them to look upon us entitled to
consideration, we should conduct ourselves
in an honest, sincere and Christian manner.
now among the questions which have
come most prominently beft re- is the
education of our children. Believing that
Catholic children should be educated in
Catholic schools, we desire that they may
be so educated. We have our churches
in which we practice our religion, and tho
schools which should be the churches of
our children. We know by means that
admit of no doubt, that ualess child re-
ceives religious education the tendency
ia to become, irreligious. There has been |
a long struggle upon this subject. Years
before you came here the battle had been
waged, but when it was approaching an
end some cried peace, peace, and the agi
tation of the school question ceased for the
time. Then the Germans appeared upon
the field and going quietly to work erected
school houses and began practical solu
ton of the question. But it comes up
day, which must surely appear and which
will set the matter at rest, comes around.
And the good work must be carried on
stopping. 1 would like to see
case, but you cannot find one, where Cath
olics treat Protestants as we are treated
here.
If in any one country of the world the
Protestant minority being one third, one
ourth or one fifth should be deprived
~ Catholic majority of sacred and inal-
enable rights, the world would ring with
he injustice, and n 10 means be left speedily
% bring about change. In all the coun-
ries of Europe the Catholic majority re-
pected the rights of the nom Catholic
minority. We have a case in point close :
It hand. The other side of the lakes is the
Dominion of Canada. In Lower Canada
he majority of French descent is Catholic. {
\ very small minority is non Catholic. The ]
chools were Catholic. and as such were
objected to by the Protestant minority, {
Who objected to pay taxes for an education
ot in accordance with their views. The r
'atholic majority deemed the objection "a g
God one and permitted the minority to a
ave their own taxes for their own schools. !
n Upper Canada the majority was non. I
atholic and small minority Catholic. 4
or q long while it was impossible for this il
minority to obtain the same rights which t
ad been freely and cheerfully accorded to d
he minority in Lower Canada but at last ?
/ Upper, as in Lower Canada, the law was +