The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-01-23
SHOULD CATHOLICS JOINT
The Spirit of the Y. M. C. A. Un-
questionabIy Anti-CathoIic.

BY reason of the fact that it's mem
berS claim that the Young Men
CHRISTIAN association, does not inter
fere with the religious convictions OF
any one who wishes to join, and that
1t is strictly unsectarian. many Catho-
lies have been induced to affiliate
with the association, and thereby are
enjoying its undoubted social advan-
tages.
That the Y. NJ. c. A. is strictly
Protestant society and that its spirit
is anti-Catholic, cannot be questioned
That a Catholic will not hear ANYTHING
of his religion in the club rooms of
the association and that he will find
no Catholic books ON the shelves of
its library and no Catholic papers in
the reading room ought to be suf-
hcient evidence to any Catholic that
he should have nothing to do with the
association, for its atmosphere and
environment arc permeated with the
spirit of Professionalism.
A member of the Knights of Column
bus of Utica. n. y named Fogarty
recently wrote to the local secretary
of the Y. NJ. c. A. to ascertain whether
Catholics were allowed the right to
vote and hold office in the association.
and the reply was to the effect that
those rights were confined to the
members who belonged 20 the Evan
gelical churches. Mr.. Fogarty wanted
to know what was meant by the
Evangelical churches" and the an
SWer of the secretary was as eX-
plicit and clear-cut as could have been
expected.
'Of course, you understand that the
Y. Nj. c. A. is Protestant organiza-
ton. 1t has never even been sug-
gested as being otherwise. but it's
membership is open to any man of
moral character. regardless of creed
or nationality The association con-
cedes to every man the right of re
ligious choice. The right to vote and
hold Office is limited throughout the
country TO members of Evangelical
churches.
THE term Evangelical is held, by
some to include the Catholic as well
as the Protestant churches. but the in
tent of the constitution. as I under
stand it, when originally adopted, was
to avoid any possibility of controversy
by limiting the matter of voting and
holding office TO members of Protest
ant churches.
BY the very fact that the constitu-
ton OF the association was intended
to conffne eligibility to vote and hold
ONCE, IIlc most important privileges
of membership to what is assumed to
be the only Gospel church, composed
of the hundreds of Protestant sects.
should make every true Catholic re-
fuse absolutely to connect himself
with such en association. Any man
with a particle of self-respect will re-
fuse to Join a society that reflects in
juriously on his own religious convic-
tions. Now, inasmuch as the privi-
legged membership of the Y. NJ. C. A.
is confined to the Protestant men,
bers. and that Catholics are not con-
sidered fit to enjoy these privileges,
why should Catholics submit to this
unjust and unfair discrimination that
is based solely upon the fact that they
are not Protestants? The simplest
and most logical plan is to refuse all
efforts to make them join the asso-
citation in question.
In business and social matters we
may very well associate with nom
Catholics. but we should not tHin any
association like the Y. NJ. c. A.. that
clearly regards us as an inferior order
of beings.-T. A. B.. in New Orleans
Star.