The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-11-15
The Ill Treatment of the Catholic Press.

|
therein SO applicable to this side of the
water that we transfer the article to our
own columns, and trust none of our readers
will fail to give it an earnest perusal -
"lf we had no Catholic papers, there
would be great cry out amongst Catholics:
Faith, are to be driven, day by day, to
read the'police reports and divorce reports,
the false news, the bad polemics, rash poll
tics, of the detestab!e heretical Press,
while our authorities are Indifferent to the
supply of periodicals adapted for Catholic
reading" And the cry out would be
fair one. Only, We happen to possess a
weekly Press, though wanting, it is true. in
the salt of iniquity. In our Catholic pa
pers, we have, week after week, the full
expla nations of mis-. statements, the most
earnest advocacy of truths, and the resume
of the week q best news, minus only the
resume of filth! Ia it this latter resume
that Catholics crave for Would Catbo-
lie newspapers have larger circulation IL
It'd bits of scandal were daily produced, if
the divorce courts received full attention,
if petty felonies or huge murders were
described. or if, say, there was q suspicion
of heresy suppose, yes. Persons who
will take in Protestant journals, but won't
take in Catholic week1ies, show n taste in
the direction of what is wrong. and a re-
pugnance for that which is right.
''Oh but really You do not give US those
and Tyndall. You leave us without the
knowledge of both sides, which: is essential
to due understanding. 1t is both sides
we want, not one side" And for this rea-
son, dear reader, you read only the one
side, and leave the Catholic papers alone
.'If must have one side, let me at least,
have the true side; OF, if must read the
inventions of Protestant Press. the mis-
statements rs to Catholic facts, the distor
ton of things as they are, and the wild
dreams of things as they should be, at least
let me turn to my Tablet or Register when
the grateful Saturday comes around, and get
put right before Sunday morning, when
propose to hear Mass with eQuanimity.
What is the use of Catholic papers con-
Quoted at no little expense, with the ut
most care, if, week after week, I am to
leave them unheeded, while I gulp down
to say that no week passes without some
gross hallucination being cleared, some
fact being revealed in true colors, some
principle being markedly portrayed, some
policy being temporarily stated on all of
which points we have been violently mis-
led during the five previous days of the
week. Nothing can exceed the merit of
that care which the Catholic journalists
bestow on the unravelling of popular I'M
truths and no class of Journalists deserves
more to be encouraged than those beacons
of "facts as they are" Plus TX. has said
y
nalists. Yet now we are afraid to start a
daily paper, for fear Catholics should not
give it their support, the apathy or disln-
terestedness of Catholics render the specu-
lation quite dangerous. l, who have
watched the growth of our press, who re-
member the days when one Catholic week
ly had to struggle, single-handed, against
the nation, have always felt the most pro-
found respect for the plucky continuance
of that paper, and for the subsequent eff
forts to progress We have now what we
want in the way of good weeklies, though
there is Il very growing want of daily yet
such is the ukewarmness of the Catholic
community that there is constant timidity
about increasing expenses for fear the com
munity should not buy.
cit is ungrateful. 1t is also very stupid.
Catholics can find funds for the chronicles
of error, but not for the chronicles of truth.
And mark consequence. We often
meet with persons, especially young per-
sons who are unable TO ward off the attacks
of clever Professionals, IN regard to some
error of the day, for the same reason that |
they have been careless to read the organs
which would have set them quite right on |
the points. l have very frequently heard |
young Catholics half whisper TO one an |
other, THAT was an awkward fact in the |
Standard last Tuesday ) and when have
suggested, THAT was an a~kwarder fact |
which appeared the following Saturday in
1 have not seer it," "More shame for
you," have observed, saw yon last night
at the Gaiety and yet you cannot take in
your Register"
81 suppose that earnestness is the. last
thing to be expected in The mass of Chris
tians or of worldlinge. We most of ue,
more or less, glide down certain streams,
when we should be pulling hard against
the flood ; and this is specially true to that
apathy as to facts, which in these days are
Of paramount Importance. "There is no
such lie as a fact" says somebody F.; and it
is class of lie with which newspapers
have to deal, either on the true side or
false. All Catholics know the Faith, but
hey do not know the facts and it is to
our Catholic papers we should gratefully
urn for what even the Faith cannot teach
Is. Catholic is only half educated who
Ices not read Catholic papers. He is at the
mercy of the widest climates, and gets bis
orains obscured BIZ dark phsntasies, be-
,ause he neglects the pare sources.