The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-03-14

Jorlty of them, if not American born
are American citizens. This country i
the home of their interests, the home o
their children, and the home of thei
dllectlons. They are as much identified
with the country and it's interests al
are nom Catholic Americans, Catholici
" IS now as much at home here a.
Eplscopalianism, Presby o.
Methcdism. The Catholic body has her,
an American organization, and depend.
on no foreign state. 1t has its Ameri.
can sees, its provinces, it's bishops, ant
holds it's councils, subject to no foreign
power or jurisdiction, except the spirit
ual jurisdiction of the pope, who as
spiritual head of the church, by divine
appointment, is no more a foreigner ir
the city of New York than he is in the
city of Rome. The church is here in al
her integrity, and here as elsewhere
she must act as the church. Her first
care is due to the faithful already here
and she cannot neglect them for the
sake of engaging in direct efforts for
eNangeuzing the nom Catholic popula-
ton. The conversion of the country, it
is evident to every one who knows the
spirit and temper of the American peo-
pie, can go on for the present, humanity
speaking only gradually, and as inf1u7
enced by the presence of the church
here, and the example of devout Cath
ollcs. The first step is to provide amply
for the spiritual wants of the existing
catholic population, and to bring them
up to the level of their religion in their
practice as well as in their faith.
This is a country in which the laity
must do more to promote the interests
of religion than they are accustomed to
do elsewhere. The American people, not
yet evangelical, hate or despise Cath
olicity, regard it as hostile to their re-
publicanism as degrading to human
nature, as spiritual thraldom, as de-
passing superstition, or as a wornout,
dead and buried institution They are
to examine it's claims, to as
certain its doctrines, or to put them
selves in communication with Catholics
The more lax of the Protestant sects
are profoundly Indifferent to the ques-
ton, and neglect all Catholic publica-
tons; the more rigid exercise a strict
vigilance over their members, and pro-
hlbit them from reading anything in
defense of Catholicity. The study of
the Protestant ministers is to shut out
the light from their people, to keep
them in profound ignorance of our re-
l1gfon, and to perpetuate their I'M
founded prejudices against it. The nom
Catholic people will neither hear nor
read, or if they do either, it is not to
learn what we really believe, but to
catch something which they may pre-
sent to our prejudice. These are OBJ
stacles that can be overcome only by
personal intercourse, by personal ac-
with Catholics, and by be-
ing forced to observe more closely their
and virtue. 1t is only as
our numbers and influence gradually
increase, only as the fruits of Catholic
life become more abundant and mani
fest, that these obstacles will give way.
and the missionary be able to gain ac-
cess to the non-Catholic mind. Hence
it is that the laity have here great re-
sponsibility, for they have here, each
in his own sphere, a missionary work
to perform. preparatory in some sense
to that of the priest"
1T seems to me-" remarked O'Flan-
agan, that some of our converts in
their zeal have talked too much about
the conversion of the country Cath
Ol1cs have never converted a country
by saying they were going to do it.
Too many proclamations are unwise,
and tend rather to defeat than to ac-
complish ores purposes. God makes
use of human instruments in converting
a nation, but it is he after all, not the
Instruments, that converts it, if con-
verted. 1t is never we'll to forget that
all depends on his grace. There is no
surer method of failing than to place
our dependence on human agency, or
reliance on our own well-devised
schemes. God has his own ways, and
his ways are not our ways. He seems
to take pleasure in bringing to naught
)!lr wisdom, and accomplishing his pur-
poses by means that it never entered
into the mind of man to devise Who
would have seen in the act of the leg
stature of New York authorizing the
of the Erie and Champlain
canals, measure for the evangelical
ton of the United States? Yet in the
of God, it has been made
to contribute powerfully to that end.
It inaugurated a system of internal i'm
which created demand for
abor that the country itself could not
supply, and thus led the way for the
migration hither of foreign labor, while
his foreign labor could be supplied
)nly by the Catholic populations
abroad oppressed by Protestant gov
ernments. The introduction of the fac
DRY system by absorbing the surplus
American female labor, and the aboli-
ion of negro slavery in all the north
arn states, opened a demand for maid
servants, which could be supplied only
rom Ireland or Catholic Germany, and
10 class has contributed more to the
growth of our religion here than our
Catholic servant girls. Indeed, our re-
igion has been planted here, and has
sprung up and fiourished by means
adopted without any direct efforts to
hat end. Man, in what he did, had
,ther purposes, and Providence has
made them contribute to his. The for
ign immigration to whom we owe it,
lnder God, that the church is here, did
lot migrate hither for the purpose of
and spreading Catholicity
n a non-Catholic country. They were
lot even led by their religion to come
lither. They came for worldly reasons,
o improve their material condition, yet
Tod so ordered it that they brought
heir. religion with them, and retained
t. These facts should induce us to do
ur duty in our own sphere, aud leave
t to Providence to convert the country
n his own way"
1T is cur duty replied Father John,
to cooperate with Providence accord
ng to our means and ability. I feel no
ess interest in the conversion of the
ountry than do they who say and
write SO much about it, but see moth
ng at present to be done for it but to
perate on, and with the Catholic pop
lation We already have, to save as far
S possible our children from apostasy.
nd to do all we can to make all who |
rofess to be Catholics worthy of the |!
anne. 1 see little that Rome can do to |
id us, except to see that we have good |
ishops, and that they maintain proper |
iscipline and use their best efforts to |
ear up and sustain a body of jealous, |
aithful and efficient priests, numerous |
nough to meet our wants. I see no |
eed of enlightening Rome on the insti- |
ltions of the country, on the nature of |