St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-20
INDIANS AND BLACKS.
Rev. Father Stanley Speaks OF
the Needs of Missionary Work
Among These Classes.

hcN. rdller Nuaniey delivered the
sermon at the cathedral yesterday. He
took his tex: from these words of the
days gospel: st is written: Not by
bread alone doth man live, but by
every word that proceedeth from the
mouth of God" The reverend father
said: missionary work is the work of
the Catholic church, and it is not out of
place, when throughout the United
States the work of propagating the
faith is being carried on by
Gods church, to speak few
words to you concerning this work.
You were asked this morning to con-
tribnte of your means toward the evan
gelizing of those still in the darkness of
error. 1t is sad reflection that after
nineteen centuries of Christian teach
ing large portion of the human family
is still outside the Christian fold. But
to-day we find entire peoples buried in
idolatry, millions upon millions of i'm
mortal souls not in a state of Sanctify-
ing grace, yet for each soul Jesus Christ
shed his precious blood. Year after
year earnest and Jealous missionaries
go forth, leaving home. friends and
every tie that makes life sweet, expos
ing themselves to the
MOST DREADFUL PERILS
for the sake of planting the standard of
the cross among savage tribes. And
there is not a year that is not marked
with the martyrdom OF some of these
noble missionaries. The missionary
fold embraces both men and women, land
the sisters of charity are as brave as
the priests in the work of
is special reason why we, in
this country, should listen and respond
generously to the appeal of the prelateS
or the church. In this country the
church has been planted largely by the
society for the propagation of the faith.
In this our own diocese when the
Catholics were few in number and very
poor. an appeal for aid was made to the
society for the propagation of the faith,
and the appeal was heard and aid sent.
Here is claim that the propagation of
the faith has on our generosity We
have become wealthy community, and
therefore We should repay the debt we
owe. Another incentive that should
cause us to listen to the appeal of the
fathers lies in this: That One-half of the
moneys contributed is to be devoted
to the propagation of the faith
among the heathenS of the
United States of America to home mis-
sionary work. We have two races of
people who stand in need of the teach
ings of the gospel. There are the In
dlanS who are left to us as wards and
for whose Outstanding we certainly
are responsible. AS inhabitants of the
United States we owe a great debt of
gratitude to the original pOSSeSSors of
the soil of this country.
THESE POOR INDIANS
have been driven back to the wild West,
robbed of their possessions, cheated by
designing agents, in fact, robbed of
every instinct that might have led them
to Christianity. We, in measure, are
these people. The Indians have
love for the Catholic faith.
They love the priests and look
upon them as their guides. and
fathers. The priests find little difficulty
in bringing them to knowledge of the
faith, and that the Indians are not all
Catholics to-day is because the mission
aries have not had the pecuniary means
to carry on their work.
The other class who merit our atten-
ton are the negroes. If the Indians
have been abused by the whites, what
shall we say of the treatment that the
negroes have been subjected to? Thank
God, slavery no longer exists; but a
Stdtc OIL dldirS Is going On Ill tIle oOuJn
that you and know little of. Those
formerly slaves are not so to-day. They
are freedmen; but freedmen stepped in
ignorance as to the most ordinary
things, and seemingly but a
few removes from the animal.
They die in SwampS without
knowing that there is church which
Christ instituted Tor the salvation of
souls. The number of priests in the
South is very limited and the Catholics
in that part of the country are not able
to give them the necessary assistance
Since the war many of the people living
in the South find it difficult, even, to
support themselves.
The blacks in the South are increaS-
ing with marvellous rapidity, and in
Mississippi they far outnumber the
whites. the proportion being blacks, 60
per cent, and whites, 40 per cent. With
the exception of the states of Louisiana
and Maryland, the negroes are all either
infdels or slightly tinged with veneer
of Professionalism. The Catholics have
done little there on account of their
poverty and therefore the support must
come from other states. Missionary zeal
is not wanting.