The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1901-10-19

fact of ones being member would BE-
synonymous with saying that he is a
gentleman. For this reason whole cat
/ egories of men are excluded from
membership and prescriptions are in
{ trOduced into your bylaws and Consti-
tuition forbidding the society or its in
fiuence to be abused for unworthy pur-
poses.
Your founder saw another danger tt
Catholics which he wished to avert
and a need which he wished to supply
He saw that associations of a more or
/ less secret character had an attraction.
, [ might say a fascination, for men. II
saw that this was part of the spirit O.
the ase. that it could not be resisted
and that it must be controlled and di-
rected into safe channels. He saw thai
numbers of our Catholic young men
were being borne along, as by wind
and tide. by this influence, and that
a result they were entering societies
which the Church cannot look upon
with favor. and which he knew TO be
subversive of their faith and by con-
sequence detrimental to their morals,
as these sovereign ideas are under
stood by the Church, Being priest
he knew that the fundamental claim
of the Church is that she, and she
alone. has a right to teach faith and
morals; that this right is her divine
prerOgative; and that any body or as
sociation of men which sets up an al
tar or a chair of teaching, and has its
| ritual. its priests or prelates, its pray
ers. its code of natural or other relig-
ion. its appeal TO some indefinite and
impersOnal being called the gods of ma
ture or any other name. thereby
usuTps the functions of the Church Of
Christ and denies HtR. He knows
that for this and other reasons no
Catholic can enter such societies except
at the risk of FORGETTING the priceless
heritage of his faith, and that it is
the duty of the Church and her min
listers to prevent at all hazards so un-
sDeakable a calamity. Hence he or
ganized a society which fills every
craving of a man for the mysterious
and the secret and is withal so thor
oughly and essentially Catholic that
no one can enter it or continue in
it's membership who is not loyal to
his Church and does not make his Cath
olicity the very inspira ton Of his in
ellectual and moral life. Catholicity
Is the very badge of this society: it
permeates it through and through.
it courses in its veins; it is the pulse
of its heart.
These are the two ideal- which your
founder had in his mind: to form an
association of gentlemen and of Cath
OllCS. ana what q supreme lQedl Is
that of a Catholic genrleman-One
who respects himself, who is faithful
to his fellow man, who is loyal to his
Church and God. If the state had on
~ such citizens there would be no an
archy taught in our land and no as
sassin to lift hand against the repre-
sentative of the might and majesty OF
a free people.
And now. sir knights, as 1 began b,
bidding you welcome, 1 will close b.
cOngratulating you on your splendi,
Catholicity on the good example yot
have given everywhere in this diocese
on the great work you have done IT.
bringing Catholics together. in making
them known to one another, in Great
ing a Catholic sentiment AMI a CathO-
lie public opinion, in making CathO-
lies respected and self-respeCting. in
bringing back stray sheep to the fold.
in stirring up in many souls a spirit
of living faith, and in spreading
abroad an atmosphere of peace and
good will. 1 bill you God speed in your
great work and pray God that the
harvest of your autumn may more
than realize the promise of your spring.
Other toasts responded to We're
Unity" by Albert D. Marks. of
Nashville: Our Order" by P. J.
3rady. of Cleveland, o.; "The Present
tan0oga: Southern Chivalry," NJ. T.
Bryan, Nashville; and American Citi-
zenshiD." Thomas ]. Tyne, Nashville.