The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-03-04
DAN NGE ROUs READING c
THE DEADLY PLAGUE OF MODERN
SOCIETY.
Bishop Corbett of crookston in His
Lenten Pastoral Points Out the
Dangers Of Pernicious Books
and N w s s-Recon-
nends The Catholic BuIIe-

and N eWsp p er s-Recon1-
nends The Catholic BuIIe-
Men of serious thought will undoubt-
edly affirm that the deadly plague of
modern society is the multiplication
of pernicious books, atheistic pamph-
lets and unrestrained newspapers.
The wicked influence of this corrupt
literature weakens religion, stains
purity of morals, and saps the founda-
tion of the great central truth of the
existence of God.
Catholics are not free to read what
ever literature they may choose.
Their grave duty is to deny themselves
and those under their charge danger
Gus and immoral books and newspa-
pers. Holy Church condemns bad
books by placing them on the Index
and absolutely forbids the reading of
them under pain of sin. Even pagan
ism acknowledged that the true object
of reading was instruction and not
perversion. The Jews exhibited great
solicitude lest dangerous reading
would injure the faith and morals of
the people. The early Christians, who
had followed curious things, burnt
their books before all. The unre-
strained perusal of periodicals in
which the doctrine and history of the
Church are falsified, her practices ridi-
culed, her dogmas condemned as
tyranny and religious indifferentism
praised will eventually diminish faith
in the hearts of those Catholics whose
judgment lacks sufficient discipline to
distinguish truth from error Few in
tellects command the ability of dis
secting intricate sophisms and detect
ing error clothed in insidious and
double-meaning phrases, but fluent
and elegant in style. Few minds study
profoundly the incontrovertible argu-
ments which Catholic theologians have
produced in defense of truth and in
refutation of error
The reading public possesses the
scantiest knowledge of our Catholic
faith, of the proofs from reason that
underlie it and of the solidity of it's
motives. The books commonly read
to the exclusion of those expound-
ing our holy religion actually TEEN
with anti-Catholic prejudice and dis
torted views of the action of the
One, Holy and Apostolic Church upon
the world The current literature
has become a real hot-bed of objec-
tions against the Church, of open mis-
representation of her administration
and of villifcation of her clergy.
Every pure and honest man should
abhor those books which, with pleas
ing language, though shameless auda-
city, depict Infamous scenes of vice
disguised in glowing colors, and extol
the lowest passions of the human
heart at the expense of virtue and
modesty.
Never since pagan times was public
tastes so vitiated and public morality
at such low ebb as in the present
age. Human life takes it's quality
largely from the nature of it's reading.
Parents, especially, should siren
uously protect the innocence of
their children from the gar
bage of novel reading. By
such sensuous reading their youthful
minds become enfeebled and incapable
of serious efforts. It is a question
whether or not bad companion or a
bad book produces the worst effect.
Parents who do not want to be disap-
pointed in their offspring should keep
close vigilance on their reading lest
they lose their holy faith and morals.
Untold good comes from well-ordered
and well-patronized parish libraries
where intelligent librarians, under the
direction of the pastor, keep the books
| in constant circulation Numerous
public Libraries contain books which
calumniate, insult and ridicule our
Holy Church, and describe scenes most
dangerous to the faith and morals OF
our children.
Newspapers.
| The Roman Pontiffs have unceas.
ingly endeavored to restrain the un-
bridled license Of corrupt journals
Newspapers cater to the depraved
taste of the age by making their read
ers familiar with unlawful love, hid
den marriages, broken matrimonial
vows, divorce suits, suicide and mur
der. Even common police court cases
are written to fan the basest pas
sions. The alleged justification fol
this is that the reading public wants
news of this sort. Newspapers supply
millions and millions of people with
false or insinuating and satanic ac
counts against our Holy Church, the
true mother of civilization and the
lonly possessor of the salutary rene
dies for the evils and vices of the
hour. Journals which fail to check, ol
rather strive to arouse low human
passions, are menace to the very ex
listence Of society, and should b