The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-17
The Catholic Mission at St. JOseph's Church

| Gordon, Sterling; j. Reiter, Rock Island.
The Catholic Mission at St. Joseph's Church
aud the Lecture Of Father Cook
BY request of Mr.. j B. Danferth, we
publish his criticism on Father Cook s
lecture:
A mission of unusual interest closed at
ST Joseph's church on Wednesday even
ing, with lecture by the Very Rev.
Father Cook, of St. Lonis, ON The
Roman Catholic Church and Human
Liberty" The lecture occupied an honr
and a half of rapid speaking and was
listened to with marked attention. by an
immensely crowded house at so cents
each. There must have been 600 or
700 people present. Father Cook is
an excellent very attractive speaker
But the lecture was especially weak
in spots. He was particularly severe
and unfair toward the efforts Of
people who are trying TO i. secure
for the masses a better condition in The
world, and wholly misstated their posi-
ton He said they claimed that all men
are equal, and then he battled with this
man OF straw which he himself had set
up. No one makes any such claim as
Father Cook stated. He evidently gets
his information from prejudiced source.
What is claimed is this: All men are
created equal. with equal rights and equal
privileges to the gifts of God, such as air,
light, land and water; that God never
intended that the people now on earth
should monopolize these gifts to the ex-
cfusion of generations yet to come.
Father Cook drew a vivid picture of the
awful morals of ancient Rome, and of
the slavery of the masses, bnt he
wholly failed TO set forth its cause
viz that they who produced the most of
the comforts Of life were prevented by
poverty from enjoying them; that the
laws encouraged and projected monopo-
lies which aggregated the earnings of the
masses into great estates and made slaves
of the many and that the very same
things which caused the decay and death
OF every ancient nation are at work in our
own country, and will unless checked,
produce the same result here. Let Father
Cook look through the abodes of the
laboring people in any city or country
and see if 1t is not true that they who pro
duce the most wealth consume the least
of it and have the fewest of the necessities
and luxuries of life. Now, if that is true,
it is the result of some vicious force or
cause tAdb Is tI W Oh n III our
What is the cause? What is producing
this dreadful effect? The church, of all
sects, should study this and help remedy
it, instead of pandering to rich pews and
and discouraging the people from apply
ing the proper remedy.
Nobody claims. as Father Cook enron
eously asserted, that all men are equal.
They develop unequally, some by their
supeior natural ability, end worldly advan
tages developing greater powers thar 9th
ers. We are in favor of this rivalry but
it should be fair Government should not
be used to give portion of the people ad
vantage over the weaker and more ignor-
ant. Father Cook wholly misrcpresented
The position of organized efforts TO better
Lhe condition o. the masses. He ridiculed |
he idea that all men are eqnal (Which no
1ne claims) and then in his Philip The |
Fair story he declared that the church |
leld that all men are equal OF course he |
meant exactly what the communist. the |
socialists, and the nihilists mean, viz: not |
hat all men are equal, but all men have |
,qual rights hot an equal right to the |
earnings of others. bnt equal rights before |
he law, equal chances for prosperity and |
and should, as in the case of
he cast-off wife of Philip The Fair. be
by government and church
gainst the expressions of the strong and
gainst being made the slaves o. power.
The lecture was trimming with humoI
'ut we thought his playful ridicule on
married. women decidedly inappropriate
or priest.
On the whole, we liked the lecture, as it
bowed that the Roman Caholic Church
n all ages of the Cristisn world. has been
he protector of Individual liberty, and of
du cation, and the arts and sciences, and
nay be relied on as the true Interpretation
f the word of God; and a true conserv-
tor of good morals and good government.