Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-07-01
CRUSADE AGAINST DIVORCE.
Catholic Society Woman of New York
VIII Ostracise Those Who Remarry.

Roman Catholic women of high degree
in New York have publicly announced a
crusade against divorce. Their weapon
will be social ostracism. They have
banded together to snub offending
women, to shut their doors in the
faces of Divorces who remarry.
Their organization is known as
The Daughters of the Faith
ttiiiae Fidel. When the society was
formed the proposition to use social os-
tfaeism as weapon against the divorce
evil aroused opposition. 1t threatened
70 disrupt the organization, and it did
delay the adoption of its programme.
Now the die is cast and the ''Daugh-
teFs" are committed TO the plan of cam
paign Their manual is in print and will
be published this week 1t declares UNI
equivocally: The Catholic DIVORCE who
renlarries must pe socially ostracised"
ms drastic rule may work havoc in
Catholic social circles. Not few society
women have already declared that to
fulfill the letter of the rules they would
be forced TO ignore socially not only
closest friends, but in many instances
relatives, so largely has divorce through
mixed marriages made inroads into
Catholic homes.
Although the crusade threatens to split
among old friends, it has the special in
dorsement of the Pope When opposition
threatened her work, the founder of the
society, Miss EiiZG O'Brien Lummis.
went to Rome and had an audience with
the Pope, which resulted in a papal brief
approving the scheme and suggesting
that the women of the world cooperate
with their New York sisters. A preface
to the book contains the brief of appro-
baton recently received from Pope Plus
y. and personal letters of Endorsement
from Mgr. Falconio. the apostolic dele
gate; Cardinal Gibbons. Archbishop
Farley, Archbishop Riordan of San
francisco and Bishop Cotton of Buffalo.
so thoroughly has the field of work
been outlined that there is scarcely
capital of Europe that has not one or
mort women of title or unquestioned So
clal position ready to cooperate with
the New York society as soon as Off
clal notification comes that the hour for
action has arrived. Negotiations already
are pending for the manuals traslatiOn
into French and Italian. The manual
also directs Catholics to invite Protestant
women to work with them.
While THE Daughters of the Faith"
propose variety of social reforms. the
crusade aimed at divorce is the most i'm
p0rtant and one which will attract most
attention. Here are some of the rules
laid down on that subject by the manual:
That Catholic Divorce who remarries ex-
communicates herself She enters into
what she knows to be sinful relationship
and by that act openly sets at naught the
teaching of the church. 1t is not the church
that has cast her off, it is herself that has
broken the flial tie. The Catholic Divorce
who remarries must be socially ostracised.
She has no excuse. The Protestant has
some. Such unions ProtestanD as are
openly aduiterous should be treated in the
same wap as the Catholic divrocee and sub
5ected to the same rule. To neglect to dis
courage divorce because of the Divorces
who are in good faith is to encourage it,
Cur own country, the morality of which
has not kept pace with its enlightenment
says the manual, has thrown off all re-
straint and allows divorce for the slightest
cause ana with almost unlimited frequency.
Society in consequence is on the verge Of
moral ruin, and nothing but the religious
and social recognition of the true horror
of this crime can arrest the evil that with
cycionic force has within comparatively
short time overthrow domestic peace and
uprooted the safeguards of purity and
honor. To condone the sin is to partake of
1t. and we should realize It's effects as well
as its nature, for If we so condone it we
become moral participants, not alone in the
sin, but also i'm the evils that follow