Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1913-12-20
DIR. McKIM REPLIES.
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Open Letter ITO 10 Monsigno6rr Russell
From Protestant Rector.
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Open Letter to Monslgnor Russell
From Protestant Rector.
:. IL f.L.Y!.ib1 II
Rev. DR.. R. NJ. McKim has the fol-
lowiha in one Of the Washington aiis
peHhs mor4ihei ! 4 ~; i
ssHspiying d bus annhaatbna
in the public press of December II,
let me say that the great mass .re ct ]
ing in the New, National Theatre. on
nsun5sy; last haa YrefsEence .yfaa
Fever to- any action Of the President
Laf The United. States --It-xas- arisaar--
/ lily intended as an answer to the ar
guments of thaPaulist Fathers in the
smissionlheld9oI TO g#ks in NoYshE
i Der in st. Patfcks sCHurch, a n5ti&
of which was actually tackled UPON
the bulletin board OF my church with
tout my consent.f The object Of this
was to draw Protestants away from
their allegiance to the faith of their
! fathers.
/ The meeting on Sunday was a unich
I Protestant assembly. 1t was for
4 Protestants, not for Romanists. The.
/ latter, we're not invited-we had no
room, for them, and no desire to
convert them.
"Now, was it stirring up strife to
4 answer the arguments of the
T'aulist Fathers? To defend our
church and our faith from their at
tack? To show the weakness of their
| arguments: :? To point out the cor
tradictions involved in the doctrines
they urged our people to accept? We
di5 not. begin the controversy-wc
{ were acting in self-defense. Bat il
sclf-defense it is sometimes sa1;
to strike out vigorously. Will yol
net aGnit, monsignor, that we have
as good right to state publicly TIE
! reason why we are Protestants a:
you and the Paulist Fathers have t.
explain why you are Romanists, arr
why "non- Catholics" should abanGc'
their Protestant faith?
"The meeting had another object
to warn our people of the polite
ambition Of the Church of Rome.
IF her encroachmcnts upon individu.,.
Herty in many directions. Is this L
I'D? If So hear the language Of
inrrirg Star C'oAic al Catholic ior
III OF the arch diocese of New @
"arsO in its issue of August
1913.
archbishop Keanc says the Fcdc"-
alton (of Catholic Societies) is a.
ought to be nonpolitical If so, VII,
is the reason for its existence? He
does it expect to accomplish its PIT
poses" The same official organ cha
arterizes the American CONSTITUTE
.as that "lying Constitution and
Yi!es the Declaration Of independents
"Now, monsignor, you seek 20 {
vert attention from this burning ISIS
by long series of quotations payta:~
ing to religious liberation in the state !
of Maryland. But all this has not'I,
ing to do with the main points of ny
argument on Sunday last. 1t is -.
cause you cannot meet the issues J
did make in my address that you ST X |
bring in an issue which did I It
make? This is familiar device
sputants who find themselves in
corner.
shall, therefore, pass by all 20
fifteen questions as irrelevant to t,r
subject of my lecture; only remindi"r
your readers that, while Bancroft { !
use in his earlier editions the lang
age you quote, in his latest edition Ct 4
1873, page 255, he omitted those state
mcnts. and testified that Roger WI
iiams "was the first person in modem
Christendom to establish civil goT-
eminent on the doctrine Of the liber
Of conscience"
"Your reverence will perhaps re-
that in previous discu
of this subject with you l establishc
beyond contradiction the followin 1
facts: |;
J. Maryland was not a Roma
Catholic colony, though its leade 2 !;
we're Roman Catholics. The large m"
iority of the colony were Protes
ants.
>. The legislature that enacted t. {;
famous cGict Of liberation was co
posed of 16 Professionals and r.
man Catholics. i
g. The liberation granted II I
Maryland was obligatory under IL"
terms of the charter given to Lol@
Baltimore by the Protestant King e
England 1t was not a matter ~