The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-03-22
THE MORAL TRAINING OF Chill
DREN.

The Bishop of Newport, England,
contributes to the Catholic Truth pub
locations an essay on the moral train
ing of children, which is practically
one of his Lordship's own pastorals
reproduced. No one, he says, is born
with clear ideas Of right and wrong,
and there is in human nature so much
bias and inclination to the evil side
that all our good inclinations and
convictions have to be carefully cult
waited and strengthened, or else evil
gets the upper hand. Hence to neg
lect training-for boys and girls can
be trained as regards doing good and
avoiding evils to leave child to
spiritual destruction for which par
ents will have to answer
It is not Catholics alone, says the
Bishop, but all that profess any belief
in Christianity, who lament the pres
ent general neglect of the training
and discipline of the young. Mingled
with much that is true, wise and use
full, there is in the utterances of cler-
gymen, social reformers and teachers
not little that is false morality, mis-
understanding of the New Testament
and sentimental twaddle. For no
training or discipline can be of any
value which is not founded on right
principles.
For a Christian, these right prin'
ciples are found only in Christianity
and in Christianity as taught by the
Catholic Church. Human nature is a
complicated thing, and it is the duty
Of every man to reduce all his'powers
and desires to subordination and or
der, so that they may cooperate to
wards his one and only end. The
rules by which he achieves this are
not learnt in the mere light of nature
nor in the philosophy of the heather
nor in the wisdom of the modern
unbeliever, but in the teaching o.
Christ as set forth by the Catholic
Church.
Non-Catholic writer's on training
and discipline are sometimes clergy
men who deal only with the Sermon
on the Mount, ignoring the Hol!
House of Nazareth, avoiding the Pas
sion and having no use for dogma
Sometimes they are schoolmasteri
and journalists who do not recognize
the supernatural, and by praisinI
such merely natural virtues as cour
age, endurance and drill, promote il
the human heart a pride and self
suff1ciency which is spiritual destruc
ton. Sometimes they are sentimen
talists who seem to hold that the en-,
of all training is to made sol
dierS
In the training of the Catholi
Church (says the Bishop, in effect
Piety and Humility occupy centra
place-particularly the latter qualit
which removes from the mind an
heart of the child all disposition t
pride and vanity. Unless the prir
. ciple be early inculcated, and unles
man is trained Christian, he mus
: inevitably become the slave OF vanit
and pride. In order to train a chill
in this chiefest of virtues which is
play so important a part in the lif
VI Iu0 WOEIu, Tic yOuAS AOeAAk al
mind must be made humble by tn
: practice of humiliation, the reason b.
ing that we should easily be humbl
were it not for the intrusion and th
uprising of what we call Self, and
: Self is meant the mysterious and PEI
: sistent propensity to love and admir-
: ourselves. But one cannot be humbl
: by merely rejecting on the beauty {
) humility, or by making resolution
not to be proud. One must trai
E ones feelings by accepting humilii
t ton.
: First (says the Bishop, a chill
!. should be taught the invaluable secr'
s Of pure intention-not to speak {
3 act for its own sake. This practiC
t which implies a very high degree I
|, charity and sanctity, should be gent
& explained and inculcated even in Il