The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1912-11-30
hat would give us some

thing ta .le to work on, if We
charges. AS q rule, we DO not try 10
follow up these calumnies. While VIC
are running down one lie dozen
more are set in circulation. Then.
too, they go SO fast it is almost use
less to give chase. A lie, somebody
said gets half way round the world
before Truth is able to pull OH its
boots to follow. If this man gave
names and made specific charges he
would be in 9. bad way were anyone
to take the trouble OF investigating.
At the very least it would be easily
proved that he had exaggerated gross
ly; that he had taken rumor for fact,
calumny for truth; that he had been
devoid of the first principles or
Christian justice and charity in judg-
ing his fellow men; that he had been
governed by prejudice and by hatred
OF Catholicity rather than by "a sense
Of fair play or Il love of truth.
Unsound Reasoning.
Again, why is it that SO many
ministers are prone to dwell Oh the
actual or alleged immortality of Cath
Ollie priests? Suppose, il YOU will,
that many Catholic priests are inn
moral; suppose, too, that some bish-
<,f E,Ni,s CT I.,
not punish them. Does that prove
the claims OF the Catholic Church un-
founded? Does that rob such rc;L-
soling as we are setting before you
night after night in defense and proof
If Catholic teaching, of clcarness and
cogency? If such things make tell
ing argument against a Church l
wonder what would become of the
Episcopal Church, of the Methodist
of the Presbyterian, or, for that mat
ter, of any other Protestant Church
ON earth?
we know that the reasoning which
lies back Of all these attacks on the
Catholic Church is utterly unsound;
that if the sins of priests or minis
tcrs furnished logical, a sound. a,
reasonable refutatien Of their claims.
no one church would live a year. The
Church Of Jesus Christ would have
been strangled at it's birth by the
treachery of the apostle Judas, the
denial of Peter, and the cowardice Of
the other apostles who fled from the
side of the Master in His hour Of
trial.
"One thing more: If any of us
We're to fight Protestantism-not as
we do by argument, by appeals to
reason and to Scripture, and by the
evidence Of results-but as many Pro-
testants fight Catholicity, by harping
on the weakness and sinfulness of it's
children and it's priests, do you not
know that We could speedily parallel
immortality with proved cases of min-
isterial intidelity to marriage VOWS
and violation of the laws of purity ?
Were we to gather the statistics of
such crimes among Protestant minis
ters in these United States we would
have more in ten years than could be
tluthfully charged against the Cath
olic clergy of South America for the
past hundred years. We do not keep
such records; we do not use such
worthless arguments against Protest
antism; we do not dwell on the sins
Of Protestant ministers to make our
people open their purscstrings for
missionary purposes.
Before leaving this subject it may
: be well to remind you Of letter writ
ten by Robert Louis Stevenson, some
years ago. A Protestant missionary
in the East relying on the distance
of Molokai, and the unresentful pa
tience of the average Catholic, under
took to blacken the fair name OF
Father Damien, who gave his youth
his health, his very life for the lepers
That missionary had not counted on
Protestant disgust and anger at his
lies. He thought himself safe. But
Stevenson knew the truth, hated the
lie, and spoke to the world Read
this letter, if you can get it into you,
hands. 1t gives lively sketch OF one
type of anti-Catholic lecturer.
| IN conclusion wish to recommend
to Mr.. Meem and others OF his class
that in the future he use against the
Catholic Church Gf they can be benz
to that purpose) the weapons Of
Christian warfare mentioned by his
confrere, the Rev. st. Clair Hester
Persuasion, example, divine love anG
prayer casting away the carnal wea'
pons of prejudice, defamation ant
calumny."