The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-08
ST. PAIL s SCHOOL
WILL OPEN TODAY
Will Be Solemn High Mass
This Morning
A PASTORAL LETTER
Pastoral Letter From Bishop Allen of
Mobile Read in Catholic Churches
observation-disclosures Re-
ligion in Schools

st. Paurs parochial school opens to-
will be a solemn high mass in the
chuch at s a. m. The music of the mass
will be in Gregorian chant.
At ST. Pauls and other Catholic
churches yesterday d pastoral letter
from Right Rev. Edward P. Allen,
bishop of Mobile, on Christian educa
tion was read. This pastoral letter was
in part as follows:
Edward, by the grace of God and
favor of the apostolic See Bishop of
Mobile: To the reverend clergy and
laity of the diocese, health and bene-
diction:--As the time for the reopening
of the schools is at hand, it becomes
our duty to call attention to the laws
of holy mother church concerning
Christian education and the obligations
of parents and guardians towards the
little ones whom God has entrusted to
their care. Nineteen centuries ago our
Divine Lord clearly expressed His will
in regard to the little ones and His
words have the same force today as the
day they were first spoken: Suffer the
little children to come unto me and
forbid them not for of such Is the king
dom of heaven. Mark, x-14. In nothing
perhaps has the church inherited and
displayed more abundantly the spirit of
her divine founder than in her love
for little children and in her zeal in
providing for their temporal and spirit
ual welfare. She leaves no means un-
tried to make Christian parents realize
their responsibility to Almighty God
for the souls of her children and their
strict accountability to Him for their
Christian education.
God has endowed the child with
wondrous powers of soul and body
which are to be developed by careful
training. The childs physical moral
and intellectual faculties are dormant
until they are aroused and in due course
of time cultivated.
The harmonious training of all the
powers of mind and body is what is
meant by Christian education. 1t means
the development of all faculties.
whether corporal, spiritual, natural or
supernatural. 1t means the bringing
out of the image and likeness of the
Creator, already impressed on .he soul
by Baptism.
Although the child is weak and
helpless. coming into this world he has
received from his Creator inviolable
has a right to life, has a right to an
education, and above all, to a Christian
education which will prepare MIN not
merely for his duties in time but also
for his destiny in eternity. By the very
fact of procreation there arises the
strict obligation on the part of both
parents to preserve the life and procure
the spiritual and temporal welfare of
their offspring
when we look around and see the
state of society, with hundreds and
thousands who seem to have given up
religion of every kind. the truth is
brought forcibly before us that the only
security for faith and morality lies in
religious training and in giving to AL
mighty God that place in the lntellec-
tual world which, by every right and
title, is His.
The secularization of the schools in
this country has brought about a sad
state of affairs and God fearing men of
every denomination are beginning to
see and acknowledge the strength of
the Catholic position. Many are begin
ming to see that by eliminating rell-
gious instruction from the schools they
are driving religion and with 1t moral :
1ty from society. They concede the
necessity of faith and it's practices, but
all will not admit that, if we wan,
the light of faith to guide the foot
steps of our children through The dan,
gers and temptations of this world ana
prepare them for the next, we must nut
religion into education
"All good citizens deplore the growth
of crime at the present day. especially
among the young. In some parts OF
our country the crimes committed are
absolutely appalling. Along with other
breaches of the moral law, there Is
widespread deception and fraud in bust
ness life and rank corruption IN politics
Not little of which is the outcome OF
education without religion What else
can be expected when so many through
out the land grow up with nazy notions
OF God and of the reverence due to His
holy laws.
"fhe Catholic church has a high con-
ception of mans dignity here on earth
and of his sublime destiny hereafter in
eternity. Hence she never loses sight of
the soul and its interests To her the
soul is of all created things the most
precious. For this reason she is al
ways on the alert to train her children
and to make them comprehend the most
sublime truths OF religion
'The aim then of Christian education
is not only to acquire all secular knowl-
edge but also to learn those things which