The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-02-20
CATHOLIC CHURCH HIGH LY PRAISED.
Governor Claude A. Swanson, of Virginia, Protestant
Welcomes St. Vincent De Paul Society to the
City of Richmond.
HER WORK IN CONVERTING THE HEATHEN W0RLD
The Rains of Heaven Are Not More Extensive Than Her
Benefactions, and Every Race Has Felt Her
Mnistering Hand.

I were possessed of that genius and
fame which number them forever
among the immortal, yet who had a
| faith as simple and as humble as that
Of a child, and who gloried in prac-
ticing the simple virtues of Christian
life.
"We hope your stay among us will
be pleasant, and we assure you that
cur homes and hearts are open to
; receive you-a portion of the worlds s
best and most benedcent workers.
'We also welcome you as a portion
OF the great Catholic Church, whose
blessings and benefits have been given
in every cline and to every race Of
men. No human ingenuity is capa-
BILE of estimating what modern life
! and civilization owe to the great Cath
olic Church. which today numbers
among its believers almost three hun
dred million human souls. We can
never forget that it was 'tliis Church
! which first taught and first practiced
the individual dignity and worth of
every human being.
1T has carried to pagan world
that sublimest truth: For what shall
it profit a man, if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?' From
this great idea sprung the conception
Of the dignity and worth of every hu-
man being, however humble, however
poor. It has taught that every in
dividual possessed of a soul is more
important than states and Kingdoms.
Kingdoms and states arise, crumble,
reform and disappear, but the soul of
the humblest man continues through
all eternity. From this grand idea,
taught and treasured by this Church,
has sprung so many Of the influences
Of modern civilization which have
worked so much for the uplifting of
mankind in every direction. It taught
the kings and rulers Of the world that
the passports to position and power,
We're but vanishing vanities in COM
parison to character and good deeds.
When privilege, caste and aristocracy
ruled the world, and the feudal lords
oppressed it, and birth and blood were
the passports to position and power.
the voice of the Catholic Church was
heard loudly proclaiming the Father
hood Of God and the brotherhood of
man, and that every individual, wheth-
er prince or peasant, would ultimately
be weighed and measured by his NOR
al worth. The highest and most po-
tential dignitaries of the Church were
selected from the humblest ranks. The
Church in this age of exclusion and
ostracism furnished alone the avenue
by which character and capacity could
climb to heights. During the dark
ages of blood and rapine this Church
alone furnished refuge for the weak,
unfortunate and oppressed. The
Church found woman the plaything of
the passions and caprices of man and
lifted her and made her his equal. It
abolished the Roman and pagan idea
that marriage was mere civil con-
tract, surrounded 1t with the religious
sanctity and made woman, in every
respect, the equal Of man. In this
age Of luxury and wealth, when men
are seeking to return to the policy Of
the pagan world, which permitted di-
vorces from whims and caprices, I
wish to commend the Church which
still places around the marriage vows
the sancity Of religion, and stands as
a barrier in the path of those who
would destroy marriage and with it
the home, the main source Of modern
progress and civilization. May the
Catholic Church ever uphold the sa-
credness Of the nuptia1 bonds upon
which is dependent individual and ma
tional happiness and prosperity.
Language is powerless to express
the great missionary work the Catholic
Church has done for the conversion OF