The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-04-20
CATHOLIC LOSSES.

Canevin, OF Pittsburg, deserves
well of the Catholic Church for the
very cogent and convincing proofs
he adduces to demonstrate that
the leakage and losses she is said
to have sustained in this country
have been unduly emphasized and
exaggerated. In a recent PAM
phlet he embodies the result of his
historical and statistical investiga-
ton into the losses and gains Of
the Catholic Church in the United
States from 1870 to 1910. This
work was undertaken, as he tells
us in the foreword, in the inter
est Of truth and for the vindica-
ton of the jealous priests and de-
vout Catholic people who have pre-
coded us in the way Of faith, lay
ing, in poverty and sacrifice, the
foundation of the Catholic Church
in this country"
For many years it has been GUS
tomary to say that the OBJECTIONS
from the ranks of the Catholic
Church in the United States have
been very numerous. Indeed, the
leakage and losses have been esti-
mated as high as from ten to six
teen millions. That there is not a
shred Of statistical evidence in
favor Of this enormous number,
or Of anything approaching it, is
shown by an examination Of the
census reports of immigration.
cit is evident, from all statistics
at hand,'' says Bishop Canevin,
"that in the early missionary
period there were not many lost to
the faith for the reason that there
were not many Catholics in the
country to lose; and that, in the
most trying periods, the Catholic
movement was steadily onward by
fidelity in faith and conversions,
rather than backward by leak
age"
By reference to the census re-
ports he shows that at the time of
the Declaration Of independence
in 1776, there were about $4,000
Catholics out Of a population of
100000. In 1890, when Bishop
Carroll was consecrated, he esti-
mated the number of Catholics at
10000 in a population of 100000.
Between that and 1920 the total
number of immigrants did not ex-
coed a quarter Of a million and
these were largely Protestant.
Assuming the same ratio Of in
crease for Catholics as for the en-
tire population, it is calculated
that in 1920 there was Catholic
population Of $4,000. At the end
Of the next decade, during which
Catholics did not come in any con-
siderable number to our shores,
the Catholic population had risen,
by immigration and natural in
crease, to 337 500. By a similar
line Of argument he shows that the
Catholic population in 1910 was
Is, 483, 800. This, then, is the whole
number of Catholics to be &C.
counted for.
The Catholic Directory for the
year 1911 places the Catholic pop
ulation Of the United States at
14,618,761. This would leave lit
tie room for the very great leakage
and losses which have been set
down by supposedly reputable
authorities or heralded broadcast
by the detractors of the Church.
The difference between these two
estimates does not, in reality, give
the number lost to the Church.
Bishop Canevin accounts for this
discrepancy as follows: tIn the
18,483, 800 are contained about
100000 Indians, including their
children, and nearly a million more
made up Of the later immigrants
from France, Belgians, Cubans,
Spanish-Americans, and their de-
scendants, of whom not more than
thirty per cent would be included
in the usual parish census from
which the statistics of the Direc-
tory are compiled. Yet nearly all
of this eclipsed tenth are as Cath
Ollie today as the same class of peo-
pie In the countries of their an
cestors. Besides the merely nom
inal Catholics that are passed over
in the parish census, there is a
very large number of real Cath
Ollie immigrants, foreigners as
they are called, scattered all over
the United States, yearning for
the Bread of Life, but having no
priest, or none whom they can I'M
derstand, to minister to them. Ii
| the Directory included All these