The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-06-25
THE MORALITY OF IRISH CATHOLICS.

Tribute by an English Protestant Clergyman.)
Rev. II. L. Everett, an English Protestant min
isIer who visited Ireland recently, wrote for the
Christian World his impressions of Catholicity in
that country. After praisng the Irish observance
Of Sunday. he writes: "By their fruits We shall
know Them said the Lord of all Christians. speak
ing Of His diciples. Apply this to the Catholic
Irish Is their religion all forms and superstitions,
has it real hold upon their hearts and lives
Take the text of the Ten Commandments. Is purity
a Christian virtue. Where is Protestant Britain
in comparison with Catholic Ireland in regard to
this Simply nowhere. All statistics and al ties
timonies affirm this. A young man who sins against
woman IN this respect in Ireland is so condemned
by all his neighbors that his life is burden to him,
and he is forced to emigrate. Even in the wild
outburst of 1898 1t Is admitted on all hands that
not woman was wronged at the hands of rebels,
while both before and after it, sins against Catho-
Iic the part of the troops were shame
FULLY frequent What stronger testimony
have TO the power OF the Catholic religion than its
ability to hold in restraint the strongest passions
Of human naturel The conditions of life under
which the Catholic religion obtains this conquest
in ireland increase our admiration for Its power.
J he people live there crowded together in their
poor cabins, and thus necessarily are in the way of
temptaion: and their land. too. is full Of priests
sworn to single life, yet in familiar and constant
social intercourse with family life and with The
othe rsex. The island Is full of nhammable ma
eral and dangerous situations, yet it Is the purest
land under the sun. at least regards the Catholic
part of the population. How can any fair-minded
Christian withhold high praise to the Catholic
teachers for this good practical fruit which their
teachings bear. Then, again, take the test of fam
ly affection. He that provided not for his OWL
and especially for those of his own house, says the
Apostle. has denied the faith and is worse than
inhdel. ] have heard steady well conducted,
igious men in England if called upon TO contribute
10 an aged father or mother. complain most Bit
tcrly of having the old father mother hung
around their necks The feeling and conduct of the
Irish to their aged parents might well shame such
rs these and have quoted actual words heard from
5he lips of agricultural aborers decidedly above the
average of their class. In the histories of evictions
in Ireland. three generations are generally found
i'm the cabins place by the turf fire having Cecn
kept for the old folks Then look at the money
sent from America to the father-land by The OK
lied Irish How many rent which the land would
not carry has been paid out of the earnings of sons
and daughters in America, sent over mere by lhem
10 the old folks al home There was no poor law
I'm Ireland till 1898: until then they had to keep
their old and sick or see them starve In the early
part Of this century the support OF these were
actually estimated TO cost the poor OF Ireland some
S3.000O00 year out of their incredibly scant earn
ings No doubt the poor law has been bad school
master in England, and the absence of 1t may have
strengthened family ties IN Ireland. But the poor
law has never, we believe, been the chosen Catholic
mode Of relieving the poor. And in Catholic Ire
land it is certain that family aeffction and family
mutual help far exceed what TO be seen IN
Britain This again is good fruit of no mean
order Take again, the test Of ordinary crime. Out
side of agrarian outrages there Is less of murder
and of savage brutality, or of stealing or wife
beating or of drunkenness, than in England. The
records of the court show this. In our own travels
in the country we saw only three drunken men. and
they we're each of them, English soldiers. If it
we're not for the land question they would hardly
need any police in Ireland. Even with the crimes
which sprung out of bad system and bad govern