The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-02-16
LATIN AMERICA JUDGED by IT'S
BISHOPS


of the Students Volunteer Movement
has just returned from a visit to the
southern hemisphere and his ac-
count of the moral state of Latin
America shows that its condition is
deplored by the leaders of the Catho-
lie church from the Pope downward
There is in the facts themselves ur-
gent demand for missionary endeavor
from both branches of the Christian
church. Mr.. Speer reports that a
Passionist father told him that he
thought Protestants ought to come
and work side by side with the Ro-
man Catholics, as in this country
The South American people, it is
said, do not object to the Monroe
Doctrine, but they do object to the
negative attitude of the United States
keeping the help of the European
nations out, but giving little con-
structive help herself"
Concerning the present condition
of things, Mr.. Speer quotes from
letter of the Pope to the clergy of
Chile. The passage runs thus:
In every diocese, ecclesiastics
break all bounds and deliver them
sleeves up to manifold sensuality, but
no voice is lifted to imperiously sum-
mon the pastors to their duty. 1t
is sad to reflect that prelates, priests,
and other clergy are never to be
found doing service among the poor
never in the hospital, never in the
dwellings OF the afflicted or the dis
tress, or engaged in works of bene-
ficence; that they are always absent
where human misery is, unless paid
as chaplains or fee is given. You,
as clergy, are always to be found in
the house of the rich, where gluttony
is to be engaged in and where good
wines are to be obtained"
Almost in the same vein are the
words of the Bishop of Carcas, taken
from pastoral letter.
The scandals in the parish or
town take on unmeasured proper
tion. The enemies of the church
triumph because of the shameful
evils of the parochial priests, and
good souls retire to groan in secret.
1t is revealed in the deserted
churches. We should know that the
one cause of this humiliating delay
is none else than the hidden corrup-
tion of the heart and life of the
priests
Mr.. Speer, whose words form part
of an address before the convention
of the Student Volunteers, reports
that in Valparaiso he was told that
only one-half of the priests in Chile
were men who were leading clean
moral lives" Upon asking priest
in Colombia, he was told that "out
of the eighteen priests who were his
own intimate friends, there was only
one who was leading a clean moral
life" He gives some figures that ip-
dicate the general moral condition
of the Latin-American people: To-
Latin America, especially South
America, is a country of appalling
illiteracy. The average illiteracy
in the American nation, including the
children under ten years of age not
in school, is 16 per cent; the Repub-
lie of Brazil, is S5 per cent; Argen-
| tine Republic, 60 per cent; Chile, 60
per cent; Bolivia, 80 per cent. All
of South America together has just
| about the population of Japan. In
all South America there are $4,000
school-teachers and 100000 pupils;
while in Japan there are 1873, 900
school-teachers and 100000 pupils
in the schools. Comparing Japan
with South America, there are three
times as many teachers and three
times as many pupils in the schools
of Japan as in the schools of South
America. If our educational insti-
tutions are justified, as they are, in
Japan, they are threefold more justi-
fed, on the face of the facts, in
South America.
According to the last Government
census, s per cent. of the population
of Brazil is illegitimate. 27.5 per
cent. of the population of Uruguay,
so per cent. of the population of
Ecuador, and 5S.5 per cent. of the
population of Venezuela. Only 6
per cent. of British blood and only
7 per cent. of French blood are thus
tainted, but between 25 per cent.
and so per cent. of the blood of South
America. | asked my friends down
in Buenos Aires what their expert
ence was as to the morality of stu
dent life in South America. They
said they could count on the fingers
of one hand all the students whom
they knew who were leading unsulli-
ed moral lives, l made the same in
quiry about a college in China, and
found that the estimate was SO per
cent. living unsullied lives"
The Catholic forces in Latin
America are reported as fearfully
inadequate" There are but ESQ
priests to the 100000 people of the
great Republic of Argentine Mr..
Speer continues:
Passing along more than 600
miles of the Magdalena River, we
found only four little Catholic
churches. The priests OF Buenos
Aires had actually asked to be allow