The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-04-26

forms of sound words, of attendance
at church, of support of the Church,
and this habit becomes a sort of sec
ond nature. Catholics do attend
church, which is not to them simply
place of meeting for social or other
purposes, but everything that stands
for religion and the religious life.
No Division of Rich and Poor.
5. The Catholic Church draws no
dividing social lines between worship.
pers. Rich and poor, the cultured
and the uncultured, the distinguished
and the undistinguished are as one at
her affairs. There are not as general
thing churches for the wealthy and
refined, and churches for the multi
tudes. Most churches have successive
Masses Sunday morning, and for con-
may attend the early celebrations, and
the people of leisure the later celebra-
tions, but there is little of such dis
tinctions as wealth and social position
have received in some churches OF
other denominations. The cathedrals
are no more exclusive than the mis-
sion chapels. The shabby poor are
seen in them equally with the re
splendent wealthy. 1t is matter OF
general knowledge that multitude
of day laborers hold aloof from some
Protestant churches because of a
feeling that they are not welcome and
not wanted as worshippers. They say
they are not wanted because they dc
not wear fine clothes or rent costly
pews, or contribute literally to church
support, or hold good social position
Protestant churches admit that there
is alienation, but deny that it is due
to their treatment of the toiling
classes. They say that suspicion
over-sensitiveness and prejudice are
the real cause of estrangement, and
that those who are estranged have the
same feeling toward the Catholic
Church, pointing as proof to the fact
that thousands of Italians here are
hostile to Catholicism. Be this as il
may, it is undoubtedly true that a very
large percentage of wage earners and
of the poor are devout Catholics.
l have not sought to appear in this
article as an advocate or apologist fol-
the Roman Catholic Church, but sim
ply to treat it with impartial justice
which is all that it could expect Of
desire from one who respects and ap
preciates the immense influence fol
good it Yields, and would gladly see
every Church emulate it in it's devo
ton to humanity and to the funda
mental doctrines of Christianity. The
most venerable of all the branches o.
the Church of Christ, the most widely
distributed among the countries o.
the world, embracing within it's pale
more of Christianity's millions thar
any other denomination, having the
most elaborate ecclesiastical system
and the most ancient creeds and ritu
ais, and manifesting a zeal for it:
faith worthy of all admiration, we may
be solicitous lest the Church of Rome
use it's enormous powers oppressively
in countries where rulers and laws
permit, and treat other faiths with in
tolerance, but as it exists in our owl
country we cannot withhold from il
our respect for it's tenacity of belief
it's missionary passion, it's grip upoI
it's members, and the love and loyalty
it commands. l feel for one that
want to know and understand it more
perfectly that l may not oppose wha
ought to have approval, nor approve
what ought to be opposed.