Arizona republican., 1910-04-13
\ LOCAL TREATMENT
 OF VATICAN INCIDENT
BY REV. FATHER WESTHOFF OF
 ST. MARY'S.
4 Reply 10 the Discourse of Rev. Pob-
 ert s. Fisher.

To the Editor of The Republican, Sir: In this mornings isue of your paper noticed again d certain local clergy man. C'Who loves to hear himself talk and Oc talked about in printD thanking you for the great considerd- ton he and his last Sundays dis course have received from your press. Though that discourse was extreme
 ly painful and insulting to the Cath olics of this community l had already passed it over without comment so as not to give worthless thing and preacher looking fer sensation and notoriety a coveted opportunity of at taining undue prominence.
 Now, however. forced by the self complacency of this man I will answer him. and for the sake of fairness ask of you the courtesy of the same
 prominent place in your columns so as to present to your readers the other side of the famous RooSevelt-Natican incident.
 | In the first place it is imprude'1t fo'' any man to jump at conclusions in any case before the facts bearing on
  | is still more deserving of unqualified censure when a clergyman. of whom by rights we should expect discretion
 proceeds to discuss such matters pre- maturely and in such a bitter way. in the pulpit.
 i weet-sounding names of milk and cocoanut'' will not do % cover the lack ! of truthfulness and charity so con spcuous in the remarks of that
 preacher. In fact. his utteranceS bris-
 tie with bias and absurdities. He
 starts out by assuring us of his broth
 erIy feeling towards all denominations and then goes on and winds up with
 abuse on "Romanism'' and priests and ! Catholics in general. It is a practical
 illustration of a Philosophy of Fly
 pocracy" unworthy of christian gen
 tleman and the exalted position he IS supposed to occupy. We look to nm | for messages of peace and not for utterances which create ill feeling and
 religious animosities. I refer the read
 CT to the reports recently published
 in the papers.
 Further on. the persons primarily
 connected with the affair in Rome
 were gentIemanly and honest enough
 to acknowledge that both parties were
 perfectly in their right to act as they
 did The pope though by force of cir
 cumstances a prisoner in the vatican,
 maintains a papaI court as it becomes
 the spiritual head of Christendom. As
 even every private citizen so still more he has the right to determine the con-
 ditions under which he can be seen l z tiS- factory the applicants have the right
 of declining to visit in all propriety. This. MT. Roosevelt did, for certain
 reasons. perfectly within his rights Whether or not the course taken by
 Cardinal Merry del Val was a prudent
 one. is not the question He explains it as precautiOD, friendly warning | to avoid unpleasantness. It is well
 known fact that the holy father has
 only words of sweetness for all re-
 gardless of their religious belief: that he has no quarrel or unpleasantness
 with any denomination except the
 Methodists, whose propaganda in Rome is so vile so slanderOus and so low and dishonest in its methods that
 Cardinal Merry del Val thought 1t
 necessary to send a friendly warning
 to Colonel Roosevelt in order to avoid the repetition of unpleasant eXpcrl-
 ences. It is certain that the pope has the highest esteem for Mir. Roosevelt
 both as a private individual and as former president of the United States:
 also that he was looking forward with
 pleasure to meeting him. However,
 the self-respect and dignity of the Apostolic See so insultingly treated by
 the Methodist agitation demanded
 that the distinguished visitor as a
 matter of courtesy. refrain from rec ognizng those rancorous foes of the
 vatican. just as in Berlin MT Roosc- welt would not think of visiting Elm l peror William and straighway ad dressing socialist meeting opposed to the government. Colonel Roose- welt thought 1t best. under the cir cumstances. to decline the audience at
 the vatican. explaining at once his at titude in a cable message to the Out look in New York. requesting all his friends both Catholic and Protestant to regard the incident as a personal matter. not warranting the slightest exhibition of rancor and bitterness land it would cause him real pain to have anything said or done that would hurt or give pain to his friends. what ever their religious belief. Any at tempt "to seize upon this incident as
 an occasion for controversy would be wholly indefensible' he said. and should be frowned upon by Catholics and Protestants alike. and all good | Americans" Now in the face of these facts. in the name of sense and re- spect for the so emphatically express ed wishes of our beloved former pres ident. I ask all fair minded American
 citizens of this community to decide for themselves in what pitiable light
 that ultimately cocoanut and milk lec-
 ture pronounced by certain local
 minister must appear. not to speak
 of the many insults to Catholics
 Where is the Christianity of it all. should like to know?
 Instead of administering to his flock
 the wholesome word of God the min Il ister took it into his head to treat his | famished sheep to his own peculiar