The Irish standard., 1902-05-10
A NICE STATE OF AFFAIRS.

A NICE STATE OF AFFAIRS.
We publish to-day on the first page
4 letter addressed to Il Catholic digni
tary in this country from an American
traveller in the Philippines. To say
that we are surprised at the revelations
made by the correspondent is putting
the matter mildly. There is no doubt
of the truthfulness of his statements
regarding the manner in which the
public school system of the islands is
| being conducted by Protestant minis
ters for the proselytism of the children
of the Catholic inhabitants whom the
late President Mckinley called the
wards" of the nation.
The Protestant ministers and mis-
| sionaries have supreme control Of the
education of the Catholic youth Of the
archipelago. and, as the great Edmund
Burke said of such men on historic
occasion. they are possessed of the
spirit of prosclytism in the most fanati-
cal degree"
The head of the whole educational
system is a Protestant preacher named
Atliinson; the head of the public
schools of Manila is another Protes-
tant minister named Stone who en-
ploys none but PrOtestants as teach
crs; the head of the Normal schools for
the training of teachers is another Sec
tartan preacher named Bryan who
makes Il practice of attacking the
Catholic Church from Protestant pull
pits and who has no American of the
Catholic faith in any institution for the
training of native teachers. "Every
student that has attended the Normal
schools thus far" says the correspond
cnt "has left the Catholic Church and
all of them are now employed as Prot
cstant Sunday school teachers in order
to gain and maintain favor with the
American superintentlents, who are
running the educational affairs here,
directly with view towards prose-
lytizing the natives in spite of the 1O,-
100000 American Catholics in the
United States, who do not seem to
care whether these conditions exist or
not"
The Catholics of the United States
have been kept in ignorance Of the
conditions existing in the Philippines
on educational affairs, but now that
they know them what are they going
to do? The Catholic ecclesiastics who
went from this country to the Philip
pines should be called upon for Il de-
NAL or confederation of the allegations
made by the American traveller in his
letter to the church dignitary, and the
Catholic hierarchy of the United
States will undoubtedly take some ac-
ton to restrain the Protestant mission
ary advent,lrers from carrying on such
tactics while in the employ of the gov
crnment.
Let there be Il nou-sectaran system
of education in the Philippines as at
home and let the Catholic people have
religious freedom under the Stars and
Stripes in the Orient. Why should
Protestant ministers be permitted by
the Roosevelt or Taft administration
to tamper with the religion of the
Filipino children in the public schools
of our newly acquired possessions:
Why are Protestant preachers given
such positions among Il Catholic pro
pie?
1t is n gross insult to the Catholics of
the entire world to place Protestant
superintcndents and teachers in charS;
Of Catholic children in Catholic
country in order to Protestantizc them
Congress shall make no law respect
ing an establishment of religion. ol
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
says the first amendment of the Con
stitutiOn of the United States. There
is no occasion for establishing thu
Protestant religion in the Philippine:
while Protestant ministers on the pa!
roll of the government have entire
control Of the education Of the young
The religion of the people has beer
banished from the schools and thu
Protestant religions are being taugh
instead. Is that nOn-sectarianism
Is everything non-Catholic non-sec
tarianism?
Why is it that Theodore Roosevelt
has permitted such n state Of affairs
Nobody accuses him of being bigot
and we believe he has been imposes
upon in appointing broken-down Prot
estant preachers and adventurous EN-
} issaries of American Protestant ais
sionary societies over the schools o
: the Catholic inhabitants of the Philip
: pines.
We expect the Catholic prelates o
the United States to protest agains
2 the proceedings narrated by the col
respondent of the Catholic dignitary