St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-05
ANSWER TO IRELAND,
Minneapolis Ministers Formu-
late a Reply to the
Archbishop.
The Board of Trade Considers
Two Proposed Canal
Routes.
After Two Months Of Wait
ing, Supt. Berry Is
Exonerated.
Smaller Matters Making the
History Of a Day in
Minneapolis.

The union meeting of the ministers of
! Minneapolis yesterday morning was de-
voted to scoring of the Catholics, as
was expected. Shortly after the be-
ginning of the session the report of the
committee instructed to prepare an an
swer to the utterances of Archbishop
Ireland was called for. Rev. c. Nj.
Heard read the report, which he himself
had prepared. The report YVES in the
form of an address to Archbishop Ire
land, and read as follows:
To the Rev. Archbishop Ireland-Dear Sir:
A reported interview IN the press concern
| ing the report of the Minneapolis Union
! Preachers meeting, upon the educational
movement in Faribault and Saltwater,
makes you characterize our ASSOCIATION as
| the principal obstruction in the harmoni
GUS working of the school system, and init
| mate that the members of our organization
| have concerned themselves with the matter
| from probable lack of occupation" Your
remarks are far from being an adequate re-
| ply TO our report. The question is whether
there are workings in the new system which
ought to be obstructed. II is legitimate
! part of the occupation of every American
! citizen TO raise such a question, to discuss il
i IN good temper. and TO act according to the
! findings This is our country. as well
as yours, and yours as we'll as ours. pro-
vlded you admit the first part of the PROPOSE
| ton.
If we have misstated The facts about the
schools at FaribaulI or Saltwater, or if we
have put wrong construction upon them,
we are certainly willing 10 be corrected. AT
! the same time. aftera calm review of the sit
uation with all The light that has come to us
| since, we cannot but feel that If there IS I'M
due suspicion upon our part. and misun
derstandlng or what is being attempted In
4! the new movement, those representing the
Catholic side of the case are largely respon-
sible for both. "Poughkeepsie dust was
blown into the discussion not by US. but by
Rev. Walter Elliott, priest of New York,
writing for Catholics to encourage them 10
stand by the plan in Faribault. The school
board in that CITY understands that the OBJ
jectionable features of the Poughkeepsie
plan have been eliminated from their plan.
Does the archbishop, who has publicly adj
| vocated and approved the Poughkeepsie plan,
have the same understanding: A CORE
spondent representing the Faribault school
board. says that 1t is wholly untrue and
ridiculous that in that city ward lines are not
carefully observed, children of the whole
city being segregated according 10 religious
antecedents." But the Northwestern Chron-
1cIe, the organ OF the Catholic church at St.
Paul. had said: The school board has
abolished ward divisions, so that the Cath
ollc) children may attend from any part of
the city" We have since learned that there
are no ward divisions in Faribault, but this
does not necessarily change the fact as to the
segregation of Catholic children. The Fari-
bault board denies that there is tacIt under
standing that only nuns should do the teach
ing and have general charge. except in spe-
cial branches which on their part may be
true. But will the archbishop join them in
this denial? And until he does can we be
sure OF the exact terms upon which the
Faribault schools standr'
We do not wish to be intolerant nor unre a.
sonable toward or Catholic fellow citizens
We allow them all the rights we claim for
ourselves. We do not wish to teach in any
way, by word or symbol. IN our public schools
either during or after school hours the pc
culiar tenets and usages of any of the demon
nations of the church with which we are
connected. We feel we could not in LOYALTY
to the principles of our republic. We do not
thus give up our faith. nor ask Catholics to
give up theirs. Our ideal of condue ting
moral and religious education in the free
schools of the state does not involve requir-
Ing Jews to eat roast pork nor Catholics 10
offer incense 10 pagan gods. as a Catholic lay
man seems TO infer. Believing that this is
essentially Christian nation, re hold that it
can consistently allow liberty to all men as
individuals TO receive whatever form of re-
liglon they prefer, or to reject any and all
forms of religion. At the same time we
claim for the state the right and duty to
teach in is own schools those ethical ele-
ments OF religion and those principles
of morality and Jurisprudence on which
our laws and institutions are based
and the knowledge of which is essential to
good citizenship. To Catholic Christians,
who claim exclusive authority for their
church TO teach its chill dren religion, and OBJ
Ject TO state schools because the manner in
which they are generally conduc ted Is peril
GUS to Catholic faith, -" we feel constrained to
reply with the question. What is the matter
with your faith! Are the countries where
the Catholic church has had for centuries
the exclusive control of education any more
moral and less infidel than our own? If YOU
could prove the virtue of your theory by
showing ms nations superior to ours where
you have had YOUR way,and thus demonstrate
your faith by your works, we might allow
you a larger liberty than we ask for our
elves. And when agnostics, atheists and
Sail shades of unbeIievers object to the state
schools because they teach morality based
upan the Christian religion, we say to them:
GO of by yourselves and prove by sue
cessful experiment what is unknown to all
past history. prosperous state without any
religion. Then come back to our country
and ask us to adopt your principles. -
Now, If Catholic leaders are thoroughly
sincere Il their pro fession of loyalty to the
state, an d are really more afraid of infdelity
and irreligion than of Professionalism, why
can they not during the hours of the public
school drop their Romauism as such as we
will our Professionalism as such, and unite in
the common schools against the common foe
of both church and state to promote an
ethical education based upon Christs sum-
mary of the law: Thou shalt love thy God
with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thy
self: Is it because, having laid such a foun-
dat1On, they cannot afIerward build upon it =?
Or does the teaching of such morality give
Protestant bias to the tender minds of chill
F, dren?
VIII the archbishop claim this and ac-
knowledge so much in favor of Protestant
| ism? And if he objects to Protestant bias
| from such source how can he blame us for
! obJecting TO Catholic bias from the ex-