The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1912-04-13
LOSSES AND GAINS
OF CHURCH IN j. S.
Bishop Canevin Says Early Losses
Were Due to Lack of Priests
and Churches.
Catholics Must Resist Baneful In
fluence of Godlessness That
Pervades Society.
With Increase of Catholic Schools
Future Problems Will be More
Easily Solved.

Anent the discussion that has gon"
on about the gains and losses of ~.
Catholic Church in the United States
the results of the Investigations u.
Right Rev. j. +. Canevin, u. d., Bsh-
op of Pittsburg, will prove interesting
reading. In an article on the subject
Bishop Cancvin says:
Among the principal causes of loss
to the Church in the United States.
particularly during the first half Of
the nineteenth century, we may mem
ton the inadequate supply of priests
and churches, the want of Cathollc
| schools, the scandals and schsms
arising from trusteeism, mixed mar
riages, intemperance and the degraded
poverty of which it was the cause, the
cial and political persecution of Cata-
olics; the proselytism If orphans and
of men and women of weak faith.
To-day, our Catholic people must
withstand the strong secular and NIL
terialistic spirit of the age, a spirit
which places materialistic progress,
profits in trade. and the accumulation
| Of wealth and means of living in lux
ury and ostentatious display, as the
great end of human existence. The
soul and the claims of religion are
Catholic faith and morality must con-
stantly resist the weakening influence
es of the baneful atmosphere OF god
| lessness that pervades society.
Mixed Marriages.
Against these forces of evil, pas
| tors must contend with all the pow
ers and agencies of good that God has
given to His priests and people; pow
ers sufficient, if rightly used, to cheek
all the leakage for which we shall be
held responsible, and to build up and
increase still more the Church Of
Christ. Our greatest efforts should be
devoted to strengthen the weakest
parts of the Catholic body in this
country. The one great source of loss
is mixed marriages. To this all the
other causes that tend to weaken and
destroy faith seem to converge and
not be as frequent as they are If it
were not for the facility with which
dispensations are obtained, and the
want of vigilance, earnestness and
uniformity Of practice. in striving to
prevent the too often urhallowed and
disastrous unions.
"Anothcr cause OF leakage is the
absence of real missionary spirit
and training in the education of our
Catholic people. Zeal and sacrifice Cor
souls is not a special part of their
education, as they should be. The
result is that immigrants and their
children are, in many places,
neglected because there is no Con-
fraternity of Christian Doctrine, or
society of lay catechists, to seek
them out and bring them to the
Church, encourage them by kindness,
instruct them in their religion, and
minister to them freely until they
have learned to contribute in their
turn to the support of religion.
The immigrants.
"With the increasing number Of
priests, educated and, ordained for
our dioceses, and our parochial
schools rapidly growing and improv-
ing, the future of our Catholic people
presents no problem that cannot be
solved, with the exception OF the
descendants of few races, which, as
has been explained, send many i'm
migrants to this country who are
Catholics in name only.
Conversions.
"If the conversions recorded in
baptismal registers Of the United
States since 1890 could be set against
the losses Of the Church in the same
period, on which side would the bal
ance fall?
1--WE do not know how many have
been gained to the Church in the last
one hundred years by conversion.
but the gain has been great. greater
III i ! . r. r a.