The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-21
INTERESTS OF THE CATHOLICS
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND TALKS
$3.50. ON THE SITUATION.
Affairs of the Church Will Cause No
Complications In Our New Pos
sessions-No Missionary Field.

Washington, Aug. 2O.-Archbishop
Ireland, who has been in the city for
several days, left today. During his
stay he has had several conferences
with President Mckinley, with whom
his relations are of the most cordial
character. The archbishop has declined
to discuss the significance of his cans
upoR-th president, but it has been
/ generally unders God that he was acting
in the interests of the Catholic church
for it's protection in our new posses
Sions. Archbishop Ireland dismissed as
! without foundation the statements that
| the church matters are liable to cause
| discussions. To the Associated Press
tonight he made the statement which
! follows;
THE church question in our new pos
sessions offers no difficulty whatever.
! Two principles are already settled by
! the constitution and laws of America.
! There will be no union Of church and
state, such as is established by custom
| or concord in certain Catholic coun-
| tries Of Europe. There Will be COM
plete protection of all properties and of
all persons. With such principles
Catholics in the United States are sat
isfied and Catholics in our new pos
church question need not be considered
by military or peace commissions. 1t
is fully regulated the moment the flag
of this country is raised over a terri
tory. The people of our new posses
I sions understand, [ am sure, this mat
ter very WELL and will Loyalty accept
the situation. 1t may not be very easy
for them at first to adapt themselves
in all cases to this situation, but the
embarraSsmentS felt will be tempo
rary. The people will soon realize that
ii is their duty to support religion by
voluntary and personal contributions.
In the greater number of parishes,
moreover. church properties yield am
pie revenue to meet all expenses. The
church everywhere in our new possess
sions is thoroughly organized. 1t wears
no missionary or experimental aspect,
but has the full form and the full
strength of complete organization, and
is well prepared to care for all her
interests without the help of state or
no privilege, naught but liberty and
the legal protection of the natural and
civil rights of its members.
Certain people who talk of these
territories as fields fer missionary eff
forts from the United States do not
know what they are talking about.
They might with as much sense or
the Catholics of Santiago, Havana or
San Juan, and their labors would have
as much prospect of success in Wash /
ington as in those cities of Cuba and /
Porto Rico. The separation of the /
countries of South America from /
Spain and Portugal brought no change
of religion, nor will the separation of |
Cuba and Porto Rico from Spain bring
any. Indeed. the Catholic church will .
flourish better in Cuba and Porto Rico /
than IN other territories formerly colo
MES of Spain, because in Cuba and
Porto Rico there will be the liberty
and stability of order which our flag
guarantees.
Cuba and Porto Rico form. an &C.
clesiastical province with the archbish-
op af Santiago as metropolitan, and
suffragan bishop at San Juan and Ha-
vana- This province will take its place
IN the American hierarchy, just as does
the province Of Baltimore or that of
St. Paul, making the fifteenth eccles-
lastlcal province in the United States
and bringing to our Catholic population
an addition of two and a half millions.
not TO talk of islands in the Pacific; so,
whatever else will come to America
from the late war, considerable in
crease of numbers and power will come
to the Catholic church AS a Catholic
am very much satisfied with the way
things have been going-and as an
American, l am, of course, thoroughly
But if l were to speak at
length OF my feelings as an American
the interview would be 100 lengthy and
stop at the religious feature of the
situation"