Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-07-22
Declares That Few in American,
Republic Know Chusch
History.
Lesson For Materialists
Politicians of Europe I'm,
Brief.
SOME GOOD CATHOLIC RENrIv

Ill. D., mas Sald the 1oreWOru IN
introducing Catholic church history
in America" now being issued by th
Catholic Editing Company. Amq
other things Father Smith says:
One peculiar fact about the Cs
Olic church in the American repu
is that so few know anything at
1t. And another fact in the same
nection, amusing as well as pecu
is that so many who should BID
terested in it do not care to
anything about it. Perhaps the
striking and amusing fact of q
that the few who know and ca
know somthing about the Ca
church in the republic know So
and know it so badly.
OF course our orators and editors
know something about it, to Judge by
their pleasant paragraphs on occa-
sions. We are told in grandiose
sentences of the splendid growth Of
the church in America, but their
knowledge begins and ends in these
gorgeous phrases. What are the ele-
ments of that growth, what are its
characteristics, what are its ten
dencies, no one knows. Outside of
the professors of history in the
Catholic colleges, only the few have
read John Culinary Shca's tour vol-
umes, or Bishop O'Gorman's sketcl
in one volume of American chur9 !
history. IN
This absence of knowledge and
lack of interest are both fully indi-
Gated by the absence of books on
this subject. The publishers will not.
print, because they are fully CON
vinced Catholics will not buy, bool
of this kind. The public will
buy because they fancy they Ky
all about it, or think it uninterest
ss coDlDared with the. life Of BOD
parte, or the history of the Spanish
American war, told by the yellow
journals.
Real knowledge of the church inN
this republic is confined to few
professors and writer's and clergy
men, who must go to Shea aQdG
original documents to increas
store of information. Conse
about five millions intelligent
among the Catholics, and fQcrd
ions among the non-Catholid,u us
be very much astonished I'D
that the Catholic church hadno
ious history in North Americ4he
the Puritans lanked at PI1Po1
The church in AmerN Is eSoeR
the results of that genuine In hal
are visible for the first time A.,
history published by RN& ux~
Editing Company. S4a w
will it be all around ~
churchmen and ssteSy SyIUh of
school!
What lesson for Protesta
every sect, who proudly procl
that the Catholic church cou2
live in the air OF liberty, b
die poisoned by that ~
phere! Yet the chuE
has thriven beyopd<
saints. What lessN
Materialist politicians Pe
America, who declarey hurch'
Christ a dead issue, az Felict flos
Ing on the sea of time, never to be
force among living men! Yet
force so living and strong in
American republic as the Cathd
church. What a lesson for the
torians of the schools, who thou
they could safely ignore the chu1
existence in their one-sided bq
and now find themselves j
charged with incapacity and uI
ness, as well as timidity an
justicei
What lesson for Catholics
selves, both at home aud 2
For they at home sighted
greatness by remaining
place, the place of indiffe
ignorance with regard to l
confided to them by~2
abroad wrote of the 81
lea with contempt a
unjust charge, with
with no preparatit
honesty
The church in Eu
to the church In Am
succor of help and q
Is the mission Of the
American republic; toI
public, 70 set forth
statesmen may be guis
help and encourage
brethren everywhere