The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-01-07
THE APOSTOLATE OF THE
PRESS.
The Circulation of Catholic News
papers.

The Circulation of Catholic News
papers.
The recent storm Of calumny against
the Church which has swept over the
press in this country appears to have
at last awakened Catholics to the
necessity for being up and doing.
The need for such action presents
itself in many shapes, for the minds
of our countrymen are being poisoned
by the continuous infiltration of anti
Catholic literature in the shape of
books, pamphlets and newspaper arti-
cles Every department of Catholic
truth is being assailed, dogmatic and
moral Weapons are sought for in his
tory, in science, in sociology, in com
parative religion, and above all in
current events-or imagined events.
There is the special correspondent
who telegraphs lies which are SO pre-
posterous that we wonder how any
one can swallow them until we remem-
Der that the public mind has been pre-
pared for their reception by
caIumnies of Home Production.
A public which devours its Horton
and it's Hooking, its maria Monk" and
it's escaped nuns, will find no difficulty
in assimilating stories of Jesuit assas-
sins in Portugal or convent cruelties
in Spain. Nor need we suppose that
the special correspondent" is con-
sciously and maliciously telling lies.
He shares in the current prejudices
and he has the current fantastic no.
tions about monks and nuns, Cardinals,
Jesuits, and Inquisitions. He inter
prets what he sees or hears in accord
ance with his prepossessions. He sees
a coal-cellar and his imagination
transforms it into torture chamber.
He talks nonsense, not so much be-
cause he is bent on telling lies as be-
cause his mental background is all
wrong. But the result is the same-a
result which would be entertaining
were it not quite so serious. 1t is
serious because about half of his read
ers will have their mental background
similarly warped in all matters con-
cerning the Catholic Church.
1t is something to nail each lie to
the counter as it appears. This is
Hess. 5a4:s :sFarllsg, fftil tho lie has IN IN
blushing habit of getting into circula-
tion again. But it has to be done, and
the
New Information Bureau
recently started in Paris by an inter
national committee of Catholics will
help us to do it. Yet it will not be
enough to wait until the damage has
been done and then endeavor to repair
it. Of those who swallow the calumny
not one in twenty will read or be
convinced by it's refutation SO long as
their minds are warped by anti-Cath-
olic prejudice. Or if they are con-
vinced that Catholics have been ma
ligned in this one particular instance,
they will remain persuaded that the
main charges against the Church are
still true.
Hence we must make q systematic
effort on a large scale to deal with
the evil at it's sources. An enormous
mass of
Hereditary Prejudice
has to be dislodged from the minds of
our countrymen; a mass of prejudice
which is constantly being augmented
by the nationalist press and similar
agencies. The task might we'll appall
us were we not assured that we have
the truth on our side and that our non
Catholic countrymen are still to some
degree accessible to reason.
About the production of literature
little need be said here, since the
matter has often been dealt with. We
have much excellent literature, and
though more is wanted, it is likely to
be supplied in the near future. A more
pressing question is that of distribu-
tion-frst of all, among Catholics. We
must fortify ourselves in our Catholic
faith before we can hope to carry the
standard Of our faith among others.
Catholic Newspapers.
Taking first of all the question of
Catholic newspapers, the time would
seem to be ripe for the systematic
of their sale in every
parish. Such organization is in ac-
cordance with the earnest desires of
the Church. The form which it might
take would be determined by the
parochial clergy in each instance. 1t
might well be conducted by existing
institutions such as the Conference of
the Society of st. Vincent de Paul, or
a mems club, or WOman's sodality.
When necessary a Subcommittee for
the press" might be established in an
society; or where no suitable
society exists a special committee of
parishioners might be formed. As an
example Of what may be done let me
quote from letter received some
months ago from member of st.
Vincent de Paul conference in the
North of England:
1T Is twelve months since we COM
menced this work, and we find the
following arrangements TO work most
successfully. We divided out parish,
which is a very scattered one, into
eight districts. Two brothers were
chosen for each district to wait on