The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1913-03-01
CATHOLICS WHO
APOLOGIZE FOR FAITH
Critics Who Show Ignorance and
Inane Human Respect
Considered.
Should Leave Their Fault-Finding
to the Enemies of
Religion.
Some of the Advanced Thinkers
Easily Fall Under Another
Designation.

A disposition of mind which strains
our forbearance to the bursting point
is that of the Catholic person who has
an every ready apology on his lips for
his faith and all things Catholic, and
an equally ready and cringing admir-
ation for the views and work of out
siders, says The Ave Maria. The dis
position grows out of rank ignorance,
and is fostered by human respect
as coWardly as it is inane. One such
victim Of this folly writes to the
Catholic News Of the manner of his
disillusionment and enlightenment:
A Valuable Experiences.
81 belong to that large class of Cath
olics VINO like to find fault with their
own people, and sometilmes-alas! I
should say frequently criticise our
charitable works. But las. week I
had an experience which brought me
up with a jolt, and got Inc tn thinking
L had little restitution to make. 1
shall try in the future to make it.
This is what happened:
II had two old ladies incurably sick
with cancer; and 1 spent an hour and
a half in the office Of big non-sec-
tartan institution, gradually going
ssss15 Che sc
the ground floor, with the sign star
ing me in the face: This way OUT
1t was case of No tickee, no
was1iee,'-or, in other words, Pay up
or nothing doing. During my wait
in the office had a chance to read
there large sums Of money paid by
the city of New York for the keep Of
patients, and a long list Of special
benefactors, some of whom were Cath
olics.
II went home doing Il heap of
thinking, and Immediately telephoned
to the House of Calvary at Perry
street. 1t was rude to telephone, but
] did. 1 explained the case to the Sis
ter, not mentioning anything of my
mornings experience; and before 1
got halfway through she said: Send
both old ladies' to us at once.' More
over, she added: Whenever you come
across any such cases in the future,
let us have them without delay"
The class OF Catholics "who like to
find fault with their own people,
there you have them characterized,
the meanest of the mean. Contrast
with their attitude the disposition of
outsiders, distinguished non-Catholic
in all the walks of life, who are vying
with one another in their commenda-
ton and appreciation of Catholic
genius and Catholic activity. In the
last year two works of apologetics for
the Church have been compiled on the
basis of just such evidence. OF course
there are defects in men and methods
and institutions. But the people who
shout their criticism from the house.
tops are not the ones to come down
and take up the burden and help tc
make things better. Let us leave. the
fault-finding and detraction to the
enemies of religion, who are numer.
Gus and active enough
Whom They Admire.
The class of Catholics "who like tc
find fault with their own people" has
too, an intellectual or academic wing
They are our advanced thinkers;
some of them fall under another des.
ignation formed by Papal judgment
But, without being Modernists, these
Catholics have high regard for the
"method" and temper" of heterodo,
and rationalistic writer's, and a cor.
responding scorn for the slow, i
surer-footed, wisdom of Catholic schol
ars. The phase of the delusion i.
we'll analyzed in recent issue O
America, in an article called "A Snar'
Of Rationalism," by Rev. Henr,
Woods, S. J. Referring more espe
cially to the study of Scripture, HI
says: This manufacturing of repu
tations for the unorthodox, and tn,
systematic depreciation of the ortho
dox, is a common practice of the ad
versaries of truth. Haeckel is F:
great biologist, Wasmann is pett
$50,