The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-01-28
kueful Rivalry.

Side by side the IRISH STANDARD prints
a sSoicitous Christian Mothers plant
about the careless swarmings OF soilcl-
tors for church fairs or church baEaars,
and dispatch from Rome announcing
the project of the building Of a new
church there, ito outrival st. Peters and
to cost 100000 o, said cost to be de-
frayed by contributions Of the Catholics
throughout the world.
Already, according to this ''Solicitous
Christian Mother" a large proportion OF
the women and girls of five OF six OF the
large parishes of the city have been for
days begging On the streets, in stores
and shops, and uninviting places; in one
single day six solicitors visited her store,
where already her profits are barely suf
fcient to MAINTAIN her family.
I do not want here to waste words in
barren sympathy with that mother to
whom religion is a commodity that is
if not expensive, at best annoying, But
[ have no doubt that what Father Faber
sets down as one of the characteristics of
saints, "touchiness about the interests OF
Jesus does III this case call for sympa-
thy with Mother Church, for compassion
for tspoor Jesus Christ for un"asiness
at the retardation Of the Kingdom
OF God, in individual souls and in the
community at large. IT is cheerful Civ
ing that God loves, and tnat increas
his grace and brings blessing. Per
siatency, and FOSTERING persistancy, in
soliciting is commended IN the Bible,
when it is directed to God Himself, when
it takes the shape Of prayer: then and
not otherwise. Freely give" Il 30 run
not as at an uncertainty" "In Him
Christ-was Yea."-no 'schances" about
Him or His religion.
But meantime, with all the collecting
done already, the Christian world is
threatened with a scheme for another
cupola and rival to st Peters. Let
the Christian world say out it's senti-
ments and they will read: Cardinal
Parocci and Holy Father, don't! don't!
That one c 'pola is enough; it has already
divided the Christian world these AGO
years. It may inspire poets sonnets and
tickle tourists curiosity, but these are
sorry offsets to the heresies, apostacies,
wars and jangling that have torn the
Church's bosom because there was more
concern about the cupoa than Christian
living, more earnestness to rake up the
funds than to instruct the people, con-
vert sinners and build up the Kingdom
Of God Within"
For this is what occasions the collecting.
new churches, new filings, improvements
and decorations, and always something
wanted, wanted for outrivalry, if not for
real use. And surely wherever else a
church is needed, it is not in Rome, and
wherever else thers ought to be con-
Germ for the real interests OF Jesus, wher
ever else there ought to be so]icitude
for all the churches, and the entire mem
bership OF them, and the surrounding
peoples that ought to be won to member
ship, it ought TO be in the Holy City.
Let st. Peter's alone; it is all right, all
right at least since Leo X fixed it's Gu
pola; for the rest let the funds and ener-
gies of the Catholics throughout the
world be directed to make the Italians
as thrifty, peaceable and civilized as the
Danes, aud the Danes as devout to Our
Lady and more than as practically Cath
clio rs the Italians.
MARTIN MAHoNY.