The Minneapolis journal., 1902-08-04

as God hath divided to everyone the measure
of faith" " 1.s.,s s.&
In the mind Of the apostle, things most ex-
cellent, If made use of in undue measure
and without, proper regard to circumstances,
of time and place, change into things peril
Gus and hurtful. And this Is undoubtedly
what Is happening in the case of the fiery
zeal In defense of Catholic interests which
seems to be coveting an explosion at the
present time among certain classes OF Ameri-
can Catholics.
The interests of the church, it is said, are
made to suffer at the hands Of the govern
ment in it's newly acquired dependencies, and
the call to arms Is sounded from the rostrums |
of Catholic societies. and through the col
umns of Catholic papers to the perturbation
Of the whole Catholic body. and, indeed, Of
the whole country.
The moment has come to say to Catholics
BE wise, be Jealous unto sobriety, and ac-
cording as God hath divided to everyone the
measure Of faith-and such is the counsel
take the liberty to give my hearers.
Those Who Find Fault.
Who are they who complain and protest
and call upon Catholics to be up and doing?
Are they those who might claim to represent
the church in its general or even local in
terests? Has the sovereign pontif spoken?
Certainly he has not complained; rather has
he been heard from in very different tones.
Have the ecclesiastical authorities in the
dependencies invoked our aid? In no in
stance have they so acted; where they have
been heard from, as in the case of Porto
Rico and of Cuba, it was to tell us In plain
est words that they had no grievance, al
though from irresponsible sources 1t had
been on several previous occasions dinned
into our ears that the church was robbed
and prosecuted in both those islands.
Bishop Blenck of Porto Rico openly re-
| iofces that the American flag rather than
I the Spanish guards his diocese, and the
| hierarchy in Cuba are thanking God that
| church interests there were settled by the
| government of Washington before a Cuban
parliament was allowed to sit down in
| Havana. ....
The archbishops of the states meet to-
eether once year in Washington-each one
| representing the whole hierarchy. 1t cannot
| be said that they are needless of the welfare
| Of the church. and yet they have sounded
no alarm. Whatever complaints have been
| heard come from individual Catholics, or from
societies Of Catholics; in neither case is there
! warrant to represent others than the men
| themselves, or the societies themselves who
| do not speak. = *
| Societies of Catholics are organized for
| purposes Of their own, usually with the In
| tent to secure special aid or comfort to such
| as are members thereof. Restricted to those
| purposes, they are within their sphere, and
are entitled to respect. To venture beyond
those purposes and assume general direc-
ton Of the church, Is quite another thing. 1t
must be remembered that there are hun-
dreds of thousands of good and 1nhuentlai
Catholic laymen, members OF no mutual
benevolent society, who have commissioned
no society to speak for them. It must, too,
be remembered that soldiers of the church;
as soldiers of an army of whatsoever kind,
whether singly or whether In companies or
regiments, must await the action OF COM
| manders before they undertake to act for
the whole organization. BE wise according
as God hath divided to everyone the meas
ure of faith
| There are some very important matters To
be considered by Catholics before grievances
are proclaimed, or action Is taken to remedy
them. i The utmost care must previously be
had to make oneself sure that grievances do
exist, and that they are of sufficient masni-
tude to be taken hold Of In manner to
awaken public attention.
Position Weakened.
: TO complain, either when there is mo rea-
son, or when, the reason is slight and uninn.
: portant, is to weaken ones position in pres
ence of real or serious grievances, If at any
time such may exist. The habit OF querul-
BUSINESS brings inevitably the penalty-tna'
, OF being passed over unceremoniously on all
occasions even when, now and then, the mat
ter complained Of deserves attention. Then
Il NAAA'S VI
an act Of injustice towards men and institu-
l tions the iniquity of the act being the more
: grievous as the men or the institutions thai
i are tho objects of it rise in dignity or I'M
L portance .z: .. -.
). The government Of the nation, as few Other
things, calls for fair treatment and respect
on the part Of citizens; public attacks upor
it, overt suspiciousness of its acts and mo-
tives beget disloyalty and lower among the
f people civic virtue, the life blood of nationa
life and security. --'-.'.- --..-.
Catholics have In the past suffered mucl
from calumny and distrust, and in their de
!, fense their appeal has been to fair play ant
4 to- honest Judgment. OF the equitable treat
4 ,nent, which they claim for themselves ant
$ their religious faith from their fellow -citt
q zeus and for the county, let them In thei
g turn be high exemplars in their own dealing
9 with their fellow citizens ana with the coun
e try. y5f:.@51 - s.
II Most cautious at all times must Catholic
II in America be not to- stir up latent preju
S dices and smothered animosities, OF which
= as experience teaches, there is no small shar
y here and there in the community, and whic
but little provocation Is needed to tan int
: fire and flame. Better often 1t is to endur
some suffering than to give pretext 70
1 OPP ositfon and social turmoil. Nothing is
I;be more dreaded in America than hatred an
warring among citizens In the name Of rel
gion, and it behooves all classes OF the POT
y
maintain peace and harmony; 1t behooys
Catholics even more than others to be model
Of prudence and good will in this regard.
The simplest approach among them to forl
political party on the basis of religion
interests would be fatal to those interests an
fatal to public peace. It is quite easy for
few to kindle q fire which will threaten ra,
age to a whole community, and which who
community will find It an arduous task 1
extnguish.
Nor is public agitation necessary in Anne
lea to redress grievances. IL grievances do e.
ist, whether such grievances have origin, &
is the more often the case, from mere il
adyertance, or, as it more rarely happen
from malice aforethought on the part OF ind
viduaf officials Of the government. | say
advisedly, and am prepared to stand
what \ here say, there is always redress fro
grievances so far as circumstances may a
low. II It: is sought. through quiet and re