Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-04-16
FREELAND, PA, APRIL 1G, 1891.


The A. p. A. and the Catholics.
From the Philadelphia Record.
One of the clerical champions of the |
American Protective Association asserts,
as an excuse for his own bigotry, that
"a man cannot be good Catholic and
loyal citizen" 1t would be interesting
to learn on what evidence this state
ment is made. There certainly is no |
proof of it in the recent forgery of an
encycical of Pope Leo, which gave
such fright to the members of the
American Protective Association in
Cleveland and Toronto. The circulation
OF so impudent fraud affords in itself
the strongest assumption and genuine
proof of the disloyalty of Catholics
toward this country cannot be dis
covered. Nor can any proofs of such a
charge be found in the policy of Pope
Leo, who not long ago wisely but gently
advised the Catholic Bourbons of France
to Loyalty support the French republic.
But when have the Irish Catholics of
this country (or the German Catholics
either ever betrayed the slightest want
of fidelity to this government? When
have any of them afforded aid and COM
fort to its enemies? One of the ac-
knowedged purposes of the A. P. A.
Is to oppose the election of any Catholic
to office in the United States. This is
nothing more or less than a revival of
the know-Nothingism of bad memory.
But who ever heard of Catholic voting
for or against a candidate for office
because of his religious creed or want of
creed? In this respect the Irish Catho-
lies set an example of liberality and
freedom from sectarian favortism and
bias which some members of other de-
nominations would do we'll to initiate.
In Ireland the foremost political lead
ers of the Catholics, from Grattan to
Parnell, have been Protestants, to whom
they have yielded support and devo-
ton not often accorded to leaders of
their own religious faith. Daniel O'Con-
nell truly expressed their sentiments
when he said; eve 90 to Rome for our
religion, but not our politics" When
some years ago, English Catholic ennis
saries were suspected of intriguing at
the Vatican with the view of influencing
the situation in Ireland, it is not for
gotten with what spirit the Irish Catho-
lies resented the assumption that their
political policy could be dictated or CON
trolled by religious considerations flow
ing from Rome. There is nothing better
understood at Rome than that the Catho-
lies of Ireland will tolerate no outside
interference with their political affairs.
What folly and falsehood then, is the
pretense that the Catholics of this coun-
try could permit their political opinions
and acts to be nodded by ecclesiastical
power, if ecclesiastical power had any
conceivable interest in such dictation.
There have been great crises in the his
tory of the American people, as in the re-
yolutionary war, the war of 1872 and the
civil war when such an organization as
the A. p. A. would have been nothing
less than reasonable. Suppose that in
the spring Of 1861 such a secret organiza-
ton had risen out of the darkness with
the avowed purpose of subiectng Catho-
lie citizens to political ostracism; would
not the tendency of the movement have
been to discourage enistments, and
would that not have been reasonable to
40 4