Kentucky Irish American., 1911-02-25
Baptist World Gives Place to
a Letter From Far
Bohemin.
The Lying Campaign Against
the Catholic Faith In
Progress.
TIME TO CALL ATTENTION

the ''slings and arrows of out
rageous fortune" but they do resent
slanderous attacks on the Catholic
church and her ministers. Here is
case in point. The Baptist World
under date of February 16 published
the following yarn and gives as It's
author Rev. Joseph Novotny, of
Prague, Bohemia. After reading the
stuff one will wonder IL Novotny
ever existed. Read It:
For the Catholic lands there is
no such religious liberty as in the
Protestant lands, for our Sunday
schools are allowed only children of
our members, but no Roman Cath
Ollie children. And If they come
they are punished for it in the pub
lie school by the priest and the
Sunday-school teacher by the court.
But nevertheless, almost every Sun
day we have in our midst some
Catholic children. remember now,
as l was a little boy and scholar
in the Sunday-school, that one Cath
olic boy showed me his hands,
which were wounded by stick of
the priest; his little hands had blue
signs of the stick.
"My sister was a missionary In
our church, and she told me one day
this true story: She was once visit
ing an old, Ill woman in the darkest
part of Prague. She told her about
Jesus and what she ought to do II
she would be happy. The old
woman arose and said: oh, know
1t already; look here. here is my
Bible; l read it. My sister was
astonished to see Bible in the
hand of Catholic woman because
1t is forbidden to the Catholic peo-
pie to read the Bible. Tell me.
how did you get this book?' said my
sister. oh, II Is a long story, said
the III woman. Seven years ago I
had two boys, but they were very
bad sons indeed, especially the older
one. He took away every penny
and left it in the public-house. At
once there was a change in his life.
| did not know how II came. He
said he used to go to certain meet
ings. and he learned there to pray.
to sing, and brought home this book,
in which he regularly read. And
then he entered the public-house no
more. My neighbors told me
could be a happy mother. think
God must have given him a new
brain. I could not read the Bible,
and so he read aloud. But soon he
became Ill, and SO he could no go
TO the meetings: his illness was very
serious. One day he told me he
knows he must die; but he did not
fear the death. He sang and
prayed and read the Bible; and in
in few days he died. After his
death the younger brother took this
book and read in ii, and went reg
ularly also to the Sunday-sohool.
The boy spoke of the religious in
struction in the school as a heretic'
$50 said the priest), and he soon
knew that his pupil goes to the
Sunday-school. The priest punished
the boy with a stick, imprisoned
him in a dark chamber. and then
asked him II he would go to the
hereto Sunday-school again The
little disciple OF Christ said he can
not help 1t. he will go again. Then
the priest became so wild that he
threw his scholar against the fire
place; the boy broke few ribs. He
came home and became very Ill. and
died In a short time. But how did
he diei' said the old woman. with
the tears In her eyes. With this
book on his breast, with peace.
telling me about Jesus. died my dear
son. May l die as he closed the
happy mother her story. Was this
little boy not hero, a martyr, as
John Huss, or other famous
martyrs? What are you doing for
the kingdom of God in your country.
where there is the best religious
liberty of the world?"
The story is ridiculous is the
aggregate and In It's integral parts.
II would be laughable were It not
so serious a slander. Intelligent
Protestapts know better. but Il
seems that few OF them ever inter-
fere to stop such nonsensical stuff.
This is the sort OF matter used to
attract hatred toward Catholics IN
Kentucky and In the other Southern
States. Is II any wonder then that
Catholics have no faith In a man
who asserts that the interests OF
the Catholics are safest in the hands
or Protestants. true Protestantsy