The Irish standard., 1909-09-18

Inc street corners are infested with
them day and night. They fill our jails
and workhouses and penitentiaries.
Not one tn twenty can be found who
has not made his First Communion.
A very large .numler of them have
been educated In par6chial schools.
Why are they not kept in the right
way into Which they SO early enteredy
1t is complicated recital. We have
spoken OF the growing disposition Of
Catholic parents to rid themselves 81
the care Of their offspring by placing
them I'm orphan asylums. When par
entail indihersnce goes not to that ex-
treme there u evident on the part Of
fathers ana mothers disposition to
throw the spiritual care of their chill
dren on priests and Catholic teachers.
The Terrible aepravity Of so many Of
our Catholic young men only stimu-
iates this propensity. More depravity
on the part of their children means
only Increased care for the priests and
Brothers and sisters. 1t never. dawns
upon the, steAd minds Of these Catho-
lies that the condition of the grown
up children demands more care ana
better example on the part OF their
parents.
There Is one chief culprit in all this
terrible demoraliaafion; it is the slop-
.py Catholic mother. When she was
young and unmarried she dressed we'll,
had a good nSlire, belonged to sodali-
ties and never missed mass. But then
there were young men to see and per-
haps to please. Vol; they ind thsic
-psrtnersi, and &C.. married. They
are good Catholics a. long a. Their
good dresses last. Some who can pro-
cure new clothes are COED Catholics
until the mt baby il born. Then they
neglect theis waist line ana become
sloppy. They berlin e neglect Church
and soon cpntsAta th.i ni.selve. with 60
ing to mass q christmas and Easter.
Sloppy does Not 80 to mass. sloppy
has no Sunday clothes. .;sleppy's hat l.,
Of the 1900; PATTERN, slpppy.s hus-
band and SbeEtHs s. ts ssss mssss. Ruts the
tim. TOR the Children teg nal ss:thatr
First Communion cerassx on. apa;ce ami
sloppy paysSs \; visit TT, the parish
priest. Explanations 1ad promises are
made and Sloppy II = happy woman on
the day, her little daughter puts ,on
the. white veil and ths little son wears
the white rosettes But the priest soon
finds that s'oppyss children have for
gotten their catechism or given up the
duties it enjoins:: sloppy is not seen
around the priests house until ths
boy i in the hands OF the police, and
then she has tale, u woe. to tell Of
hsr drunken husband and her wild and
reckless sons. It fisl too late Priests
are not policemen. aAd they cannot
watch the streets to keep dissolute
Catholics off them. But sloppy comes
with a more terrible tale of woe and
disaster: one Of hsr. daughters has gone
Off and got married by1as squire Or
done worse. Sloppy for the first time
turns to God and watts 4 mass said
FOR her ~aywatd: girl:s TOO late. Priests
are not detention sonicsrs and theirs
is#not the work ef female reformation.
We do not think that much can 20
done for sloppy or her children. They
are both q disgrace to the Catholic
world. The fact that her children are
enrolled as Catholics IL q misfortune.
They did not receive their first Com
munion; they stole i. They inherited
FOOD constitutions and. brains from
fore-mothers who were not sloppies;
but. that only better. equips. them for
a. life Of successful crime. They have
received the rudiments of q Catholic
aducation: but that only emboldens
them, and nlls them with presumption
on the mercy Of God and good viii Of
the priest. The puszlins problem Of
the Church Of America today Is what
to do with sloppy
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