The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-09-26
CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS.

CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS.
VAIL, Iowa, Sept. %, 1899.
EDITOR REVIEW:
feel that I should not as a Catholic,
born on the soil of free America, let
the opportunity pass, to congratulate
you upon your manly, broadminded,
liberal editorial anent the Methodist
conference resolution on religion in the
Philippine islands. Appearing, as 1t
did, in a paper that gave such a de-
tailed and complete account of the con-
ference proceedings, should make it
appreciated that much more by all the
people not %hidebound by ignorance, BIZ
gotry and intolerance and for it l am
sure, you will have the warmest and
sincerest thanks of all the broad
minded. liberal thinking people Of any
religious persuasion, or of no religion
at all. that read your paper.
Considering the fact that Gen. Otis
and many Of the officers and men of the
American army and navy in the Phil
ippines are Catholics, and that they
are receiving the most active support
and encouragement in their efforts to
secure and maintain peace, from the
Catholic archbishop of Manila and the
Catholic church dignitaries in the is
lands, the resolution adopted by the
conference was as misleading and as
false asst was prejudiced and malicious.
Granting that the Filipinos are not
all that are to be desired in the matter
of the practice of their religion; granting
that they are not all that we are in the
matter of civilization. are they not bet
ter as a people, because of the religious
teaching that they have had, are they
not more advanced in the scale Of civil
ization because of the influence of that
much maligned institution, the Cath
Ollie church, than they would be if they
had no religious teaching whatever?
Our Methodist brethren rejoice in
their resolution over the downfall of
sPapal dominatlon", but have they
shown that Methodist domination in
any quarter of the globe has made men
any better? Is not the white American
Catholic as good a citizen and as good.
a man morally as his Methodist bro
Their, if he practices the precepts of his
religion? Are the colored people Of the
southern states. who are within the
pale of the Methodist church, any bet
ter morally or as citizens than their
colored Catholic brethren? Is a Chinese
Methodist any better than q Chinese
Catholic? Have the people protesting
the Methodist religion any more of the
grace Of God. any more Christian char
ity, than the people of any other Christ
ian religion? I leave the answers to
these questions to yourself. For my
self, / will say that any religion is bet
ter than no religion at all and as far as
my experience, observation and study
enables me to judge Methodism, while
it has done and is doing much good in
the world, it has not done one whit more
good than other forms of Christian re-
ligion. If Methodism has not then
done more good, has not done more to
make people better, where it has been
tried, than has Catholicity, what rea-
sons have we to believe that a Method.
ist Malay, OF a Methodist Filipino
would be any better than a Catholic
Malay. OF a Catholic Filipino?
lean not understand the spirit that
animates, or moves any so-called relig-
ious body in passing such resolutions az
the one commented on. and l can not
bring myself to believe, (knowing the
Methodist clergy and laity as we'll, az
favorably and as intimately as l do,
that the resolution adopted by the
Denison Conference truly voiced the
sentiment, faith or belief of our Method.
ist brethren throughout the United
States. II it does, then there is here,
in free America a wide. broad fertile
and populous field for the cultivation
of the simple doctrine of true Christian
charity, and it would be we'll for oul
Methodist brethren to examine theil
own eyes for the beam that may be
there before they call attention to the
mote that is in the eyes of others.
Very sincerely,
MAURICE O'CONNoR.
CAsToHIA
Bears the The Kind You Have Always Daugtt
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THREE CORNELL
Cornelius is q favorite name in the v
played important parts in the history0f Il