The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-06-21
Rector Of the Catholic University
at West Point.

u ISHOP CONATY of the Catholic
ID university. was invited to address
the young Catholic cadets and Of
ficers at West Point on June 9.
His speech points out the duty of all
loyal citizens, and the soldiers place
in preserving the integrity of the ma
ton. Between him and the Catholic
priest, who is a soldier of the cross,
he draws a parallel He said:
AT all times society has needed the
strong right hand of its loyal and de-
voted citizens to protect itself from.
those who rebel against its just laws,
interfere with its progress or attempt
God from whom comes all authority,
has never failed to preach the lesson of
duty to the state, even when that duty
demands the sacrifice of ones life. The
High Priest Simeon of old commanded
his sons to go out and fight for their
nation, promising that help from
heaven would be with them. There is
something of similarity between the
two vocations of the priest and the
soldier. Both are called to an abso-
luteness of duty; both give an undi-
vided life of service; both are devoted
to an ideal; both are for God and for
human kind. The priest is primarily
for the spiritual, while upholding the
civil. The soldier is primarily for the
civil, while acknowledging the spir-
itual The one is the right hand of
God, and the other the right hand of
the state. Both are for the highest
interests of society through authority
and order, both are pledged to obe-
dience and ready for the self-denial and
privations which service demands. The
life of the soldier, the success of the
army, are based on the principles and
philosophy of authority, which has its
success in God. Unity comes through
discipline and the aims and purposes
form unity through which the abso-
lutte obedience by which alone success
reached.
/" Theirs to do and die.
Theirs is not the question why
Wars, being necessary evils, If evil
in any sense, demand the bone and
sinew of nation to preserve its rights
and liberties. Religion, though it's mis-
sion is peace, lends its aid, sympathy
and consolation. The rector of the uni
versity thus depicts the scenes:
Eve all realize the dreadful terrors
of war aod o,,r I,up,ouit., ,,Iaodc for
peace and brotherhood; but, unfor-
tunately, rights must often be vindi-
Gated amid the clash of arms and the
din of battle. The loss of human lives,
the tears of widows and orphans, the
devastation of homes, the ruin of in
dustry and the destruction of harvests
terrorize the heart. The evil result
cannot be overestimated nor too loudly
deprecated. Yet time may give again
new lives, the wheels of industry may
turn again and other harvests ripen
into plenty; but, if liberty is lost, if
nationality vanishes and tyranny OPP
presses, the evil is still greater and
the loss is well nigh irreparable. The
soldier is like a strong physician who
in time steps in to prevent a last and
final collapse. Our rights must be
defended, our liberties preserved, our
country and sanctuaries saved. If
these be lost, all is lost. Religion has
always stood for peace, yet it has also
blessed the standards of battle and has
given its blessing to those whom jus
tice and principle have called to war
against tyranny and oppression.
Religion has always honored the sol
der and prayed God to bless him.
Moses called ON the God of armies to
help Israel with victories. David went
against Goliath and the Philistines,
and Judith against Holofernes under a
divine inspiration. Machabeus. by
Gods will. resisted the enemies of his
people, and offered sacrifices for those
who fell in battle. With Christ came