The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-10-23
POPULAR MAGAZINES
Contain Open and Vicious Attacks on
RELIGION,

Contain Open and Vicious Attacks on
Religion.
One Of the biggest money making
enterprises in America today is the
popular magazine, says the Central
Catholic of Winnipeg. Our Catholic
people are doing their share to sup
port it, and, as usual, get little recog-
pition in return. A recent venture,
taking a new lease of prosperity,
states it's policy as follows: People
are interested in two things-their job
and release from the weight of life
through pleasure and entertainment.
This embraces nearly all the whole
some and proper things for men and
women This is fair warning 20
Catholic parents who take this mag
azine into their homes that its appeal
is strictly worldly, leaving God and
His interests entirely out of considera-
ton.
Most of the popular magazines fol-
low this policy, but none of them stops
with it. The one quoted above, tho
American Magazine of New York, has
during the past year been particularly
offensive in two series of articles, one
by Professor Thomas, of the Univers-
ity of Chicago, on Woman" and the
other by Ray Stannard Baker on the
Spiritual Unrest
In his October contribution Mr..
Baker says: There is something in
finitely pathetic in the effort of the
old Jews to maintain their religion in
New York, and in less exaggerated
form one may see the older Presby-
terians, Methodists and Roman Cath,-
lies struggling desperately in the tor
rent of made progress to preserve III
the old conditions and customs of their
churches" Mr.. Baker nowhere gives
the name or date or authority for his
presumption that the Catholic church
is in the same boat with the other
religions. Altogether he has mentioned
in the course of his Investigation hav-
ing visited only two Catholic churches,
and he testihes that both of them were
crowded. But he seems to find special
delight in throwing the name Rome n
Catholic" into. his accounts of the des-
perate straits of Jews and Pedestrians
and insinuating in a general way that
the Catholic church is sharing all
their ills of decay
For instance: "A few Jewish con-
gregations in New York have bought
out and rearranged Gas synagogues)
Ollie churches" We haven't the data
at hand to denounce this with the
short and ugly word, but we would
want to see sworn proofs before be-
lieving it of even one Catholic church
in New York City.
Again he says: IA world wide lily
eralism is shaking ancient institu
tions; old walls are everywhere too
tering. The Roman Catholic has his
modernist, the Protestant his higher
critic and the Jew his reform move
ment." Mr.. Baker likes this statement
SO we'll that he publishes it twice, in
both the October and September num-
bers of the same magazine. 1t is the
grossest Misrepresentation. The o.
tober Missionary" published by the
Apostolic Mission House, says of 1t:
ITO class modernism among Catholics
with higher criticism among Protest.
ants and the reform movement among
the Jews is about as fair and accur-
ate as to class the plague of San Fran
cisco in 1909. where a few rats were
infected, with the Black Death of Lon
don in 134s, where nine out of every
ten men died."
Catholics have too much at stake to
let this sort Of thing go unrebuke6
Pastors and parents must safeguard
the mind of impressionable youth, and
every Catholic is obliged to make
straight the way of the Lord" for nom
Catholics who are hungering after the
divine life. Loyalty to the church and
the true missionary spirit alike call
for action. William Randolph Hearst
appears to have been terribly upset
on returning from Europe lately to find
that his editor, Brisbane, has aroused
the Catholics Of New York by attacks
on the church, and is now exertiny
himself to placate Catholic opinion.
Similar good results might be expect
ed If every reader of this wrote to
the American Magazine demanding for
Ray stannard Bakers detraction of
the church either proof or retraction.
The Vaiuea Of Good Temper.
The man who can look with a smile
upon the follies and foibles of life