The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-08-15
Conversation x.-Continued.

Mr.. WinSlOW, replied rather JOnn
retains, l fear, d little of the old Cal
whistle leaven of his ancestors. find
nothing i'll Mr.. Diefenbachs remarks
that savors of Graeco- Roman gentilism
and | know no reason why Catholics
should not be as bold, as firm, as in
dependent, as manly, nay. as aspiring
in laboring for the interests of The
church, as statesmen are in laboring te
advance the state of their own per-
sonal ambition. Humility is never IN
compatible with greatness of mind, ana
a servile, timid, crouching spirit is
never an evidence of grace. Without
me. said our Lord, We can do nothing.
In the Christian order all begins ald
ends in grace. But it is q mistake,
if nothing worse, to say that our Lord
seeks in his religion to substitute the
nobility of grace for the nobility o.
nature. We should say, rather, He
seeks to elevate the nobility of nature
to the nobility of grace, for in no re-
spect whatever does grace superSede
nature. or become a substitute for ma
ture. 1t is certain that Catholics in the
EngiishSpeaking world have been too
long held in an inferior position, have
so long been deprived of their freedom,
been so long cowed down by their
Naughty. llOIl-NdtIOllc MASTER W liC
have ruled them with a rod of iron
so long been forced to practice their
religion by stealth. in opposition to the
civil law, that they can hardly believe
THAI their present apparent freedom is
real, and it seems almost unnatural to
them. 1t is not strange, then, that, 0p-
pressed by their memories, they should
not rise either in their hopes or in
their conceptions to the level of their
position. They are timid. where the
interests of their religion are CON
cerned, and are too ready to purch ise
the freedom to worship according 10
the dictates of their Catholic con-
science, at the expense of their dig
nifty as men and their rights as citl-
zens."
Your great defect" said Diefenbach,
is your humble Difference to nom
Catholic public opinion. That opinion
brands Catholics as inferior to nom
Catholics, and, unhappily, the bulk of
your Catholic population, however they
may protest in words against it, really
believe, it, and, for the most part, act
accordingly. This is one great secret,
whether they are conscious of it or not
of their neglect of their own educated
young men and their preference of
Protestants, wherever talent, learning,
energy, influence, is needed. The Swiss
Sonderbund had the weakness to place
a non-C Catholic at the head Of their
army in 1S47, and gaiDed-a defeat by
it. In almost every country, and in
none more than in this, they are
crushed down by this sense of inferior
ity, which is generated by this false
non Catholic public opinion. There is
no justice in it. Morally, intellectually
and physically. Catholics are far SUI
perior, wherever othey dare be, to non
Catholics. 1t is only the Catholic re-
ligion that gives to nature fair play
and enables her to display herself in
all her strength. What l want is to
see them shake off this Difference to
non Catholic public opinion, to rise
above this sense of inferiority, and to
assume in their feelings as we'll as in
their words their rightful position as
freemen, as Gods noblemen on earth.
Resist the devil, and ne will flee from
YOU Dare be yourselves, and take
your rule of conduct from your own
divine religion and face, in the strength
of your faith and the grace of God,
boldly the enemies of your church. and
show them, by proving your intrinsic
superiority. that al! their charges
against you are false and caluminous.
To do this you must rely in great meas
ure on your colleges. and academies"
But this submission to non-Cathoilc
public cr.naon, this partial adoption at
the Protestant estimate of the Catnonc
BODY" added Father John, lis great
obstacle to making our colleges and
aca denies what they should be. NO
matter how able and jealous are cur
professors, how just their views OF
what education should be or how adj
mirable are the methods they adopt
for giving it, they cannot give it I'M
less they are ating in and for a
that feels the necessity of
such education, and will sustain them
in giving it. / viii not undertake 10
defend in all respects our colleges for
young men and academies for you1jt
women, as they are now organized ma
They do not meet our neeIs.
though they fully come up to the IDEAS
of the great majority of parents, WE1
send their children to them. Thei. re-
suits do not satisfy me. Ouf coa-
ventual schools for girls are too 81
perfcial, run over a great number of
studies. but teach nothing thoroughly,
unless a few light and snowy tccom-
plishments. They seem to forget that
girls have intellect. and that intellect
in wives and mothers is not Il super
fluffy. 1 reverence the moral and re-
ligious worth of the good sisters, who.
with so much patience, gentlenesS ana
assiduity. devote themselves to the un-
grateful task of education. but / wish
they would take higher views of fena'e
do more to develop thu IN
derstandlng of their pupils, ana place
less stress on mere external accom-
! have no patience With
your strong minded women. but
have great respect for the female mini
and 1 measure the civilization IF
by the cultivation ami inteili-
gence of its women. There are
branches i'll which [ do not expect them
to equal men, but there is no reason IN
the world why the young ladles who
graduate from our conventual schools
should not with the modesty. reserve
and the lighter accomplishments al
ways Indispensable. come forth think
ing, reasoning beings. and prepared
to give TO the society into which they
enter a high moral and l:.tAllectuai
tone. at least be able to do slmethinS
besides simpering, gossip and dance.
Women, as we'll as men. have rational
souls, and should receive rational
and be qualified to take their
part in any rational conversational That
may be started. I never read Brown
sons Review is a very common ie-
mark with our so-called educated Cath
oIic young ladies'; it is too deep for
me- That is all nonsense; any Young
lady, as well as young gentleman, wh9
has heen properly taught, been iccua-
toned to think. will easily understand
it. if she chooses, at least With The OK
cer ton cf now and then an article.
The difficulty is not in the Review-it Is
in the fact our young ladies have rot
oeen educated to take an interest IN
grave intellectual subjects. ami in !ilis
respect are by no means as well elu-
Gated as the better class Of ron-iSath-
Jlic ladies' Young ladies Should be
Taught to think and to reason IS we'll
&c 70 InNe The same full 1IIIIS