The Irish standard., 1910-04-23
.PUNGENT ARTICLE
BY AN AMERICAN
On Methods Employed by the
Followers of Wesley in
the City of Rome.
A Calm Review of Situation
in a Secular Paper From a
Visitor to Italy.
An Evil Day for Methodism
if Forces of Anarchy
Gain Ascendancy.


The Saturday Globe OF Utica. n. ".
a secular paper, publishes the follow
ing on Methodism in Rome from an
American visitor to Italy:
The presence of Mcthodism in Rome
has been displeasing to the Catholic
hierarchy and laity since 1t began it's
because it's preachers make q practice
of denouncing the Church and the Pope.
Secondly, because it strives to wean
Catholics away from the faith of their
fathers and induce them to accept the
tenets of a foreign religion.
The struggle for the unifcation Of
Italy ended with the taking over of the
Papal states and Rome, the seat OF
the Catholic church for the ages, was
included IN the absorption. The
1opes temporalities were taken away
and his territorial limits reduced to
the Vatican. Over this area, merely u
park for tho most part, and st. Peters
church, did the Pontiff exercise undis-
puted sway. No armed soldier of the
. Italian Rovernraent dare enter this, tho
. tiniest OF princiralities. With the over
} throw Of the old regime the open
l door to other creeds was established
The first to take advantage of the
change was Methodtsm. Other Pro-
ing her example.
Differing from others, the Methodists
denouncing the Pope and the Catholic
: church and making uncomfortable the
position of both as far as it lay in
theii power. This irritating and un-
christian. policy has been maintained
until the present time. Coincidcnt
, with the abusive propaganda were the
, their spokesman and writer's. These
. seers prophesied the downfall Of the
Catholic church as the result OF the
r temporal power being taken away from
the Pope and it's speedy dissolution
, as a great religious body. There would
be several Popes for the several coun-
Then ST. Peters in Rome would have
, to close, for the revenues would be so
reduced as to render maintenance i'm
possible. Such were the vagarics in
dulged in by the vanguard Of Method
ism. AS the reader knows, the opposit,
has been the case. The church has
and is stronger in every way. In the
downfall and confusion of the Catholic
church Professionalism was to rise upon
it's ashes and Methodism was to be
> the largest beneficiary of the trans.
, formation. Look at the situation to-
day. Methodism has 1000 followers
and in forty years has won over 15,0O(
Catholics at an expenditure OF $780,
100000, or $1,4O0 for each convert. Tho
accessons have averaged $50 a year
, In the meantime the city has advanced
it's population from 100000 to $4,000
= From this, conversion Of the capita
v is not likely. What the future may dc
we cannot tell. But 40 years are be-
n hind us and we know what a complete
, failure has been the prophecy that the
n church was to disintegrate and to be
r supplanted by other Christian bodies.
, What waste Of time and energy
the Methodists have to show for Tho
Roman propaganda. With $20,000,0Of
a and the work which they have brough,
O. to bear with characteristic fervor they
could have brought ten times as many
q converts into their communion among
the heathens Of Asia, Africa and Aus.
tralia as they have succeeded in gain
ing in Rome. If the leaders had beer
properly animated with the conques
: of souls instead of showing their hos
+ tility to the oldest church of Christen
4 dom, how much stronger would Meth
odism be today, how much more goot
|, 1t would have done, how much suf
fering it would have saved the hu
o1 man race!
] Apart from what it might hav