The Irish standard., 1912-10-05
Delivers Magnificent Discourse at
the Dedication of Cathedral
at Wichita, Kas.
Takes for His Text the Phrase Make
America Catholic" Which
Bigots Employ.
From the Catholic Standpoint, the
Words Simply Mean to Preach
the Gospel of Christ.

olic Cathedral at Wichita. Kas., on
Sept. 10. by Cardinal Gibbons, the fol-
lowing sermon was preached by Arch
bishop Glcnnon of st. Louis. Mo-, who
took for his text the phrase so fre-
quently used by the Guardians of Lib
erty-"Make America Catholic" The
eloquent prelate said in part:
What then Is the meaning of this
phrase. Make America Catholic?" Our
enemies. the people who live by slund-
ering the Catholic Church. make much
OF the now famous phrase. They claim
to have discovered it. It originated
they say with the Pontiff on the banks
OF the Tiber. Looking from his watch
tower hy the Vatican he saw how the
races of Southern Europe one by one
were giving up allegiance to the Holy
See. With their diminishing faith
so also diminished his power. Some
thing must be done, to prop up his
tottering throne. New nations and
people must be mustered in to take
the place of those who had eft--oth-
erwise Roman faith and Roman pow-
er would soon be negligible thin%
in this great progressive world Of
oars. SO America became the land Of
promise the country OF all others
wherein to retrieve a lost cause Am.
erica had youth and wealth and prom
ise. 1t is a world power. Would IL
not be 4 glorious thing To see the
Church which Is failing elsewhere,
WAX strong and great over there?
So the watch-word was created. ANA
the message sent Make America
Catholic" Priests and Bishops were to
rcccivctthc secret pnssword.--and 10y
ally work for it's nliillment-politic-
inns were to he approached-ncw Car
dnnls were to he created; SO that i'm
posing dignity on the one side, and
servile cxpediency on the other might
be made to hasten the result.
And see, they say, the result already.
turmoil,-the nations faith Nor are
we not Protestant?) is challenged.
Men and women rejoicing in their free
dom, religious and CIVIL are compelled
to bow to the claims and chains Of
Rome, until now they know not how
long the government itself can stand
Such my friends is a statement Of
the grievances the Knownothing re-
vivalists have against the Catholic
Church. / abstain from recalling their
slanders-their calumnies, tho mere
tricious charges which the promoters
of the propaganda resort to. 1 abstain
from even alluding to them, because
I am addressing q congregation of de.
cent people,-who whatever your relig.
ious belief, know full we'll that no relig-
ion or at least none even remotely al
lied with the Gentle Jesus, could toll
crate such offenses and crimes as they
accuse us Of.
But l return to the text, a text which
/ am willing to accept,-although in
the form in which 1t is spoken, it is
not of mine or the Church's creation
Make America Catholic" as a phrase
savors somewhat in form of political
methods. 1t is crude and materiaistc
A Catholic may pray that America
will become Catholic. but he knows
that neither he personally, nor III col
lusion with others, how great their
dignity or intelligence may be. car
make America. He knows full well
that unless '"The Lord should build .llu
house, in vain do they labor who try
to build it," He knows that even the
labors and tears Of an Apostle are vain
unless the Lord give the increase.
TO make America Catholic" from
our standpoint, means no more than
to teach the truth, as we know it,
to preach the truth when and where
we may be heard; and to live the truth
in our everyday lives. thereby making
our teaching and preaching effective.
You know, and would readily ad-1
init, that truth in any order, natural
or supernatural or religious.
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