The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-01-02

we find admirably expressed by thes.
words Of Archbishop Ireland: "If ore,
judice.is still tor a season to linger o.
earth there is one place where it mus
be unknown. and that is within tn,
sacred circle .of the Catholic Church
The solemn dogma Of the Church II
the equality Of all men before theil
God"
Since such is the attitude OF tn.
Church toward racial prejudice, one
may easily infer her attitude toward,.
human slavery. Among the forces en-
listed in the cause of freedom, the mosl
potent came from the Popes Of Rome
In every age the voice of the Papacy
las resounded clearly throughout the
world in the interests Of human free.
dom. Against human slavery Council
after Council legislated. Pope aftet
Pope Illuminated. For readers Of his
tory an enumeration Of the. long list
OF names and dates lis unnecessary;
they know that tire first lno5aNiAn,
towards general emancipation began ir
the Catholic Church; they know tina
the Catholic Church was the pioneer OF
abolition.
In confederation he quoted the testi.
n,ony Of three eminent Protestant his
tcrians-Guizor. Macaulay and L9cky.
At the close of the fifteenth century,
when slavery had almost disappaar
from among Christian nations, then It,
was that the iniquitous trahlc in men
from Ethiopia began. This Infamous
commerce was afterwards called the,
African slave trade. and was propagat.,
cd enormously in the colonies. There
upon Pope after Pope. from Plus H., In.
the fifteenth century. to the Supreme
Pontiffs Of our own time, issued en-
cyclicals and promulgated anath en1as
against the barbarous and inhumary
treatment of human beings. The Holy
See condemned the African slave trade
years before the discovery Of America.
The Church has been at work all
over Africa through such Of her self
sacrificing and indefatigable mission
aries as the Dominicans, the Capuchine,
the Jesuits, the Franciscans. the Bene-
dictines, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the
Misaloners of Lyons and of Verona and
those of Algiers under the APOSTLE
Cardinal Lavigerie. Why, my friends,
Catholic missionaries were in the Con.
90 country nearly three hundred years
before the arrival oflStanley.
Todly the Church has mission sta.
tions all over Africa. Though nave
not the latest statistics, I know tha:
the workers include q goodly number
OF bishops, hundreds of priests and
chapels, hundreds of nuns and schools,
besides hospitals, asylums and such
ether institutions as you know the
Catholic Church is wont to operate for
the good of mankind. That is the gist
Of a statistical report that was issued
more than fifteen years ago. At that
time the Catholic population was abou-
one hundred thousand, but this mum. /
ber of course, did not include the Cath.
olics Of North Africa, for they, ,togeth-S
g. with the schismatical Copts, nuns
bered about seven millions ysSj
l see here present two Catholic miss!
slonaries who have worked for years
OH the African mission. They are mem-
bers Of that great missionary society,
the Fathers of the Holy Ghost. This
society has at present the most exten-
slve of all the Catholic missions in Af-
rica. Their workers in Africa include
seven Bishops, about four hundred Fa-
tfers and Brothers, ten native priests
and three selninaries; they also corr,
duct medical college for natives.
During the last sixty odd years four
hundred and fifty of their congregation
have laid down their lives in Africa.
martyrs to their zeal for the salvation:
| OF their brethren in black. OF the sev-'
4 \ r .Itt , y ~