The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-03-08
The Emigration Curse.

guished Oblate, contributes TO The
Irish Ecclesiastical Record for
February an article on Ireland and
America which will be read with pain
full feelings by Irishmen at home, and
especially by Irish Catholics. Father
Shinnors has just returned to
his native land from mis-
sion tour in the United states. Like
every other visitor, he has been i'm
pressed by the magnifcence of the re-
public and the boundless possibilities
of it's future; like every other Irish
visitor. lie has returned full of pride
at the part played by Irish hands
and brains and blood in the building
up of the great commonwealth He
found, too, the Catholic church in
America. grown from the tiny mus
tard seed of the days of persecution
which preceded the revolution, into
the greatest religious influence in the
country. In the church. even more
than in the state, exiled Irelands part
has been influential. effective, and far
reaching. The roll of the American
!
own. The churches are filled with
congregations largely Irish in their
composition; and when an Irish mis-
sioner fresh from the old country as
cends an American pulpit, or goes into
an American parish to preach the old
doctrines and revivify the old fervor,
he finds himself surrounded by a peo-
10
speak their nationality. But strong as
is the position of Catholicism in Amer
lea, its reckoning proves that there has
been an immense leakage of people
who ought by their antecedents to be-
long to the church, but have been ir-
retrievably lost to it, and among these
losses the Irish emigrant and their chill
dren figure largely.
The estimated Catholic population of
the United States. according to the
best authorities. is now about 10000. 600.
-Four and half millions of Irish Cath
olics have, Father Shinnors estimates.
gone to the states. Had these and
their children all remained loyal TO the
religion of their fathers, the 10000, 900
Catholics of America would merely rep
resent Ireland's contribution to the
American nation. But besides these.
as Father Shinnors points out. mil
lions of Catholics have gone from Ger
many, Poland, Italy, France, Austria,
and Canada. If all had remained
faithful to the church. the Catholic
population of America would have
numbered 2O0OO.0OO instead of 10
100000; and it is Father Shin
nors' conclusion that the leakage of !
the past sixty years must have
amounted to more than half the Catho- !
lie population, when account is taken |
of the number of converts. Nor are the !
100000 coo lost merely to Catholicity; |
they are lost wholly to Christianity ard |
are immersed in the mass of American I
materialism. They become atheists |
and materialists pure and simple" Thi; I
is a soldering picture; but it is doublv
so to Irishmen says the Dublin
Freeman, for Father Shinnors de- |
clares that there are reasons . fear
that the great majority of the aros
tates are of Irish extraction, and not
few of Irish birth" The Irish ir,mi-
grants are more easily Americanized
than the immigrants of any other ma
uonality. Other immigrants Lave
language of their own, AM it pre-
serves all their religious traditions
The Irish unfortunately have hot
language of their own to preserve. ami
the consequence is that they plunge at
once into the habits and manners and
modes of speech of those around them.
they become a few months after their
arrival more American than the Ameri-
cans themselves; they are caught many
IL them by the spirit of irreligion thu.
oreathes everywhere around them. and
f they do not formally give w the
aith they become careless and indif-
erent. and by and by they bring u2
heir children without any knowledge
If God or of his church." Ibis Fathe-
rightly describes as one of the
most mournful facts in our mournful
history
Father Shinnors appears To The
priesthood of Ireland to do all in theic
'ower to discourage an emigration thar ]
Involves such perils to the faith ami !
haracter of their people American
bishops and priests are most vehement ,,
n their appeals to stop the tide cf en-
grafton" Irish priests, sd Is the wri- {
er, could do much to dest .oy the eIa-
lour that surrounds American LABOR :
nd American citizenship W. :, Il false 5
plendor. That is true. But until much
lore has been done to make life pos
ible for Irish boys and gir.s in their !
Id land the tide will Gov. AMI the
Melancholy results describ.d by Fa- !,
her Shinnors VIII follow for thousands $
f the Irish peasantry. His article is c
ne to stimulate exertion, and to call
orth the hottest zeal in the cause by
he Irish in Ireland and their friends
I America. +
Mrs. McKinley's Health Restored. !
Private advices, from Canton. telling 9
the great Improvement in Mrs. Nc /
.lnley's health, say that the former g
Mistress of the White House is now I
rurely capable of looking after her c
ousehold affairs and is again taking +
n active interest in the worlds work !
Nc life. She drives daily about Can =
IN and personally supervises the man
cement of her entire establishment .
he reads the daily papers. writes her !
VIZ letters and leads an active life. :
lch as she has not known for more :
lar twenty years. !