The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-21

one It's program is public; on it's
principles we have admitted anyone
who is willing and able to subscribe
it, and we shall welcome every one
who does accept it, to whatever re-
ligion he may belong" Equal rights
for ALL is the motto of the party, and
there is no measure of religious lib
erty which it has claimed for the Cath
Ollie party which it has not been will
ing to extend to others. The Centre
is certainly not exclusively Catholic,
but in M. Erzbergers opinion there
is no other political party in Germany
today to which Catholic can con-
sistently belong. The SocialDemo-
Gratis are ruled out as impossible by
reason of their avowed attitude to-
ward all religions. The Liberals are
committed to policy, both as regards
education and the religious orders,
which puts association with them out
of the question. The National Lib
erals inherit the tradition of Prince
Bulow, and are the open enemies of
the Holy See. The Conservatives are
committed to general policy of
favoritism towards the Evangelical
church, and on education and the
Polish question hold views unaccept-
able to Catholics. The Centre party,
therefore, is essentially the Catholic
party of Germany which invites, and
operation of those who sympathize
with it's ideals even though they are
outside the Church.
The Aim and Object.
The aim and object of the Centre
ago as follows: "The Centre is a
political party that has taken for it's
aim the upholding of the interests
of the whole nation in every walk of
life in accordance with the principals
of the Catholic view of life" This
may seem somewhat vague, and no
doubt in the strenuous days of the
Kulturkampb a similar formula might
have suficed. But the very success
of that tremendous struggle has tended
to diminish the number of points on
which the Catholics of Germany had
to fight, as it were, for their own
hands Anyone who cares to compare
the successive electoral manifestos of
the party will be in a position to note
the gradual widening of the program,
until in the last one, that of 1906,
there is not so much as a reference
to any single distinctive Catholic
grievance. The objection to the defni-
ton already cited is that it covers
SO little of the ground. There are so
many things which are outside 'the
Catholic view of life," and which must
be settled without reference to it.
In other cases ''the Catholic view of
Fife is also the general Christian
view, and therefore not in itself dis
tinctive of party. There is no Gath
Ollie view of life" to guide us between
a policy of Protection or Freetrade,
or as to whether it is wiser to put
our trust in big battleships or in a
feet of submarines. Neither can We
get guidance from "the Catholic view
of life' in the solving of such prob
! 1S1uS dS "AStAC4 LAC CdA OA IOUc1SSo
should be five or seven shillings in
the pound, or whether the workers
day should be eight or nine hours
But it may be said safely that the
Centre has been true to "the Catholic
view of life'' in that it has stood stead
lastly on the side of freedom, and
guarded the rights of the poor, and
shown itself the champion of the
rights not of section of the people,
but of the whole. 1t was inevitable
that, as the specific Catholic griev-
ances got righted, one after the other,
the bonds binding all Catholics into
one political party should become
gradually relaxed AS the causes
which called the party into being
slowly receded into the distance and
passed into history, there came a
tendency to judge it's work from a
purely political standpoint. 1t is not
surprising, therefore, to find that the
present program, necessarily contain
ing little of distinction and separate
Catholic interest, is viewed with cold
disapproval by some of it's former
friends. On this subject we may
quote the quaint words of M. Err
berger: "a part of the nobility, form
erly on the side of the party, at pres
ent either keeps aloof or has Joined
it's adversaries; but the party does
not suffer by this, for as great
Christian, popular party, it is not
much concerned how it is judged in
some castles that know very little
about the world. In the world of
officials and scientists the sympathy
for the party is written in wax. The
broad mass of voters, however, never
stood closer behind the party than at
present" 1t remains to say word
as to the position of the party in
face of the great political problems
which have occupied the attention of
the German electors.