The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1912-08-22
The Efforts of the Roman Catholics
to Have Chaplains Appointed

always belong to their Bishops, and
it would be matter of some com
fort to them if their Bishops would
keep in close touch with their
priests in the army and navy and
make them feel that after a career
of honor in the army and the navy
they may return to their dioceses
and there receive the same consider
alton for their work as they would
have received for similar work in
the diocesan field Chaplains may
enter the service for limited Pc
riod.
EBut there is another matter
which demands immediate atten-
ton, and that is the care of the sol
diers when they are located in posts
where there is no Roman Catholic
chaplain. 1t is true that some of
these are very well attended by
priests in nearby parishes, and some
are visited occasionally, but the
large majority are totally neglected,
and the soldiers never get an oppor-
tunity of going to Mass or of re-
ceiving the sacraments I have just
returned from a visitation of our
seminaries, whittier | went to appeal
to our future priests on behalf of
our soldiers, that they, through love
OF God and of country, may do all
in their power to keep the faith
alive among the Roman Catholic
soldiers. The interest and enthu-
siasm displayed everywhere in sol
diers and the many expressions of
devotion to such a work convince
me that we are not lacking in
priests who have the proper spirit
of sacrifice necessary for-this special
vocation.
"On my trip I visited many army
posts, some indeed among the most
important in the country, and I
found that while in many cases
priests never enter the gate, Prot
estant teachers and the Y. M G.. A.
secretaries were constant and con-
sistent in their efforts to get Roman
Catholics under their wing. l found
perfect system in operation for
tabulating soldiers whereby they
can keep in touch with them as long
as they are in the army. What
chance, [ ask, has an ordinary Ro-
man Catholic soldier of preserving
the faith of his fathers under such
circumstances? We have the same
right to enter army posts and to
care for our own as have the Prot
estants, and the Government and
army officers are always very will
ing to help us, if we only seek their
aid
Probably the greatest menace to
the progress of the Roman Catholic
Church in our army today is the Y.
M. c.. A. They are building estab-
lishments in every army post, and
while pretending to be non-secta-
rian, they are, to use the words of
one of our Archbishops, all that is
left of Protestants today These
men are trained for this special
work, which is to capture converts,
through athletics, education or any
other means whatever. 1t is no use
for us, through blindness or indiffer-
ence, to say that they are not MAX
ing progress or that Protestants are
opposed to them as we are. Many
Protestants do not like them for the
very reason that we should oppose
them, that is, because they are re-
1igious body masQuerading under
non-sectarian colors, and who are,
therefore, fishing for converts in
every pond. Tney are de- Catholic
ing many of our soldiers.
Last winter Congress voted the
right of free transportation on the
TRANSPORTS in the PhiliDnines. Porto