The Irish standard., 1901-04-27

They had as much right to be loyal
British subjects as the Catholics had
to be loyal American citizens. MY
bishop was begging the people to take
up arms in the cause of freedom. Their
bishop was selling the secrets of the
Americans to the English. My priests
and people were praying for this coun-
try. Theirs were praying for the king.
protestant England was trying to
crush us, and Protestant Germany sent
over her Hessians to butcher us. Cath
Ole France sent us Lafayette and
! Rochambeau, and when the war was
over and Franklin went to Europe in
the cause of America, he had to go to
the Catholic countries for assistance
and to float the bonds of the new re-
public.
"Who is there who will doubt if
Catholics have not done their share for
the material welfare of this country,
as we'll as fight and shed their blood
for it? Who has cleared the morasses
and pushed the way through the for
csts but the Catholic pioneer, with his
small wages, trying to better his con-
ditiOn? The Catholics have occupied
the lofticst positions in the various
fields of our life, and if you want a
man to think, to feel or even die for
this country, you will find him in the
Catholic church.
standing on the threshold of the
future and looking into the destiny of
the republic. who is there who is fair
in his teaching of political economy
who will not say these United States
can look to the Catholics with feelings
of greater security than to any Others? ?
The foundation of this country rests
upon the s;nctity and inviolability of
the family, and the only friend of the
family is the Catholic church. What
is the greatest thing opposed to the
family? Divorce. Who is the greatest
opponent of divorce? The Catholic
church. No other ministers dare to
dcnouncc it. My friends in the Epis-
copalan faith are making good fight,
but they are only beginning it, while
we have always been opposed to it,
The Catholic church. though she loses
Kingdoms, will not grant divorce. Go
up and down the streets of your own
city. Ask who lives there, and YOU
are told Catholics. There, and you are
told Catholics. You know in the
first house there is a large family, and
that some day one of those boys may
he president of the country. There is
no child in the other house to perpctl-
ate the country.
"The Catholic women of the country
arc giving to it sons who will care for
it after we are gone.
Going further, which is the friend
of the republic, the school where your
children are given Il lot of external
knowledge or the school where your
children arc brought out symmetrical
ly, and where they are taught temper
ance, fortitudc, chastity, reverence and
obedience to lawfully constituted au-
thorty? The Catholics of this country
are so loyal they build their own
schoolhouscs and pay enormous taxes
besides so that their children may be
developed. not only as catalogues filled
with proper names, but with n knowl-
edge of the ten commandments as
well.
"Who is it that can look out into the
future without trcpidation, the father
who sees his daughter given in mar
ragc to n man who may kick her out
the next morning, or the father who
secs his daughter married by church
which recognizes no divorce? Look ut
the society woman in New York who a
short time ago was the wife of one
man ut . o'clock in the morning and
the wife of another at in the after
noon. And she was married by Pres
byterlAn bishop. Look at the case Of
my own former minister in Buffalo
who has wife and family He was
struck with Il prctticr face in Boston.
AMI was granted a divorce from poor.
palcfaced Mrs. Fuller, the mother of
his family. OH the ground of incom-
patibilty of temper. and was married
to the pretticr face by bishop of the
Episcopal church here in your own
Boston.
mo. indeed. Catholics, we need not
feel afraid of our rights in this country.
We have guarded her through all her
crises, and we will hand her down to
our chil'lrcn's children undisturhrd."