The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-07-16
coMPARATITE PROSPERITY.
liverpool Times 1

4 Liverpool TimesI
The question Of the comparative pros
~perity of Catholic and Protestant coun
tries 10 not one question but many quee
lions, involving an immense range OF STUDY
First, what do we mean oy prosperity
Next. are Catholic countries not prosper
oueS And if It should be proved tina
Catholic countries are not prosperous
then is this q consequence OF their reilgion
Prosperity is a word which Is sadly mis-
need by amateurs in political economy
ENGLAND is supposed to be prosperous, be-
cause she has big fleets, and ia mistress OF
India because she has trade, which is 10
proportion to her population, and her mid.
die glasses are markedly respectable,
aud that the presumption Ia that she lie
" civilized, and enlightened, and progress
sive," and that all this is consequence of
her Professionalism. Now let 1t be ked-
sweeping all this rubbish aside, as mere
i0Horant piatitude and sbsm-what coDsti-
tutes national prosperity And we should
reply that there are three tests which must
certainly be found before any nation can
be called prosperous. Fret the unity OF
the faith must prove that the nation 10
really Christian, and not simply heretical
Secondly, there must be no want, no star
walton, no desolation but even the lowest
in the social strata must be cared for.
Thirdly. there must be keen social sym,
pathies between all the different classes of
the community. Now as to the first test,
England is the most divided and sectarian
country in the world. As to the second
test, the poverty Of our poor Ia the most
cruel poverty that isknown throughout the
world. And thirdly, there is no more sym
patty between the different classes of the
English people than there is between the
earth and the moon.
This is a general view. If we come to
particulars, we find that the masses of the
Protestant inhabitants of the great towns,
and still mere the agricultural population,
are'iess cultured, less refined, less Chris
tian, than any class which lie to be found
-"on the Continent" We stop not to ex-
plain this. We only state the stubborn
fact. And it has to be got rid of before SOL
emn nonsense can be talked about pros
porous Protestant England" England, as q
nation, is not prosperous; it is her rich
her poor are very poor their isolation lie
something horrible and no one cares to
lift them; nor does any one seem capable.
But even if prosperity were diffused
throughout the land, in the material or
purely worldly sense, the fact would not
prove anything in regard of religious truth. |
There is no direct connection between true |
faith and comfortable income nor does q |
nations status indicate Gods favor. The |
same nations have been prosperous |
when their faith was Catholic and when |
their faith was Protestant but who knows
WuCbuCL bHo HSaCO WAS HEchlcTS "ueIu0T |
there was more of happiness, more of knowl-
edge, culture, blessedness, in the one state
than in the other? That noisy, vulgar sell
which most men call prosperity; or
that right of believing wrong (Which is |
esteemed an English privilege, are not
the tokens of progress such as Chris
tians prize, but such as Christians hate.
And yet this kind Of progress is bran
disbed in our eyes, even preached from
pulpits, as proving "England's greatness"
England is welcome TO it. A Catholic
would not change his faith, nor aught that
it Involves, for the whole Of highlands
greatness, plus that of brand new Germany.
There Is an infinite littleness in this con-
ception of material "incomed "greatness.
Without the Catholic faith prosperity is not
even possible; for man who is not Cath.
okc is a grovelling, half educated man, in
only in the natural sense, but not
possibly so in the divine. We might as
we'll call man "a gifted man" because
he is stout or tall as call England pros
porous nation because she has ships at sea.
It is low, unworthy, estimate such as
would please a Pagan, and therefore may
please Protestant. 1t is much more like
~ that a nations power is given her instead
Of the faith as punishment-not az a re-
ward as that which alone is left her. But
greatness comes and goes. Perhaps, when
England. shall be BUNDLED, she will once
more receive the faith.