The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-02-20
SCHOOLS And SCHOOLS.
Father Corrigan Takes Di-
rect Issue With Bishop
Wigger.
THE PAROCHIAL QUESTION
The Bishop Defends His Right
to Issue His Order to
Catholic Parents.

Bishop Wigger's order, directing that
all Catholic parents send their children to
the parochial schools under pain Of denial
of absolution, has not been promulgated
in the Jersey City Catholic churches thus
far, because the parochial schools cannot
accommodate the army of Catholic
pupils The Rev. Father Corrigan, of the
Church of "Our Lady of Grace in
Hoboken, has not made the order known
to his congregation, because be says the
Bishop has no right to issue the order.
He claims that there is law Of the
Church which reads as follows
| IF Catholic schools have not all
| the grades subject to advance
| scholars, and if the parents secure the re-
| ligious training of the children at home,
Catholic children Chi ssirrcca GO To nnhlin
schools, and neither priest nor bishop is
| allowed to refuse them or their parents
admission to the sacraments or ever use
threats against such parents or chill
4 dren.'
THE BISHOP DOESN'T KNOW OF IT.
1 / called on Bishop Wigger at Seton
Hall College last night and asked him II
it was true that he Intended to compel the
parents of Catholic children to send their
refused to deny them the sacraments OF
the church.
.'Yes,'' said he, st is true. am fol-
lowing the laws of the last Plenary Coun-
Gil held at Baltimore"
rs there not a law of the church to the
effect that Catholic children may be sent
TO the public schools if they receive re-
Hgious training at homer | asked.
No, there is not, and You have been
wrongly informed if you think SO. I
h. EI-.4 II. l~<~.<
upon which base the course that have
adopted"
| The Bishop then read the following
from the DEGREES of the THIRD Plenary
Council:-
THE CHURCH LAW.
SO many persons imbued with, the
world find fault with the Catholic
Church insisting on Christian education
for their children; but the Catholic
Church, whose mission it is 10
look after the eternal welfare of soulA
cannot allow Catholic parents--whosa
right and whose natural and divine duty
it is to look after Christian education of
their children--cannOt allow them TO give
a merely secular education to their chill
dren, which will not give them the means
of knowing the last end.
Therefore, we not only exhort Cath
olic parents with paternal love, but we
also command them, with all the power
they possess over their offspring given
them by God and reborn in Christ in bap-
tism and destined for Heaven. TO
give them an education both Chris
tian and Catholic and to defend
them during the whole time of their in
fancy and childhood from the dangers Of
merely secular education, and there
fore that they send them to parochial
schools or to other schools truly Catho-
lie, except in cases where tine Bishop in a
particular instance judges that il -
permitted otherwise y
ARGUING THE QUESTION.
THAT law said tine Bishop, Il think
very explicit. There is another decreeOf
the Councils which says that we oughtto
do all we can to make the parochal schools
on level if not higher than the public
schools, but as far as any clause
which states that Catholic children may
be sent to q public school because the
parochial school is not graded SO highly.
| am entirely ignorant of il and AM sure
it does not exist
.'It would be against all the teachings of
the church, inasmuch as it practically
thinks more of the secular than the spirit
J ual education OF the child. The object Of
the church is eternal salvation. and this
can not be subserved by secular educa-
: ton.
"Do you think parochial schools are, as
rule, equal to the parochlal schoolsf"
asked.
THE SCHOOLS COMPARED.
81 do undoubtedly. / believe that the
| educational system of the public schools
is too elaborate. You will find a little
, fellow with about fourteen books under
his arm and he does not oftentimes know
, the names Of his studies.
) remember children who attend the
! public schools when asked what the
capital of certain cities We're answer all
! right, but when asked to define capital
they could not do it.
/ They were asked what the different
] parts of speech were and defined them all
t right; but could not pick out q noun or q
| pronoun in a sentence. The education IN
public schools is incomplete.
Now, there is another point in favor
of parochial schools. AS you know, in
public schools the majority of the teRch-
ers are young ladies of a marriageable
! age. 1t is natural to suppose that they
s are receiving the attention of some
h young gentleman, ard intend at some
: future date TO get married. Now, is il
q not natural to suppose that good part
n of the day these ladies are thinking OF
i their prospective husband, and love fan
G cies are tended to detract tqem from Civ
ing proper instructions to their pupils.
For the parochial schools it is diff erent.
The tutors are Christian Brothers and
: Sisters who have made teaching the study
of their lives, and no idle fancies
! enter. their brains But even i
a the parochlal schools are not as
e efficient in teaching the young idea
q as the public school the Church does moi
countenance the abandonment of the
J spiritual welfare of children to be sacrl
. feed for secular education"
= Then it is understood that you have
!, instructed the pastors to compel the pa
rents of children to send them to the
parochial schoolss' asked.
Eyes. I want it to be SO understood" -"
Lodge of the Temple.
] Lodge of the Temple No. 1l0, +. and A.