The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-02-28

me, he says, "the wonder of won
ders was the fact that the Bible,
the great and holy book Of our
religion, the Bible of which, as a
Greek Orthodox, I had heard so
much but which | had seen so sell
dom in the hands of the laity, was
now free and open, even to me,
not only to read, but to study,
and to have explained to me, verse
by verse, by learned men'!" Note
how insidiously the idea is con-
veyed that only Protestant Chris
tians are allowed to read the Bible
in their own language!
The Protestant idea Of church
and civilization was constantly
dinned into the ears of this Syrian
youth. 81 was taught, !" he says,
that the Bible, and the Bible
only, was Of divine authority;
that church ordinances were man
made, therefore faulty. Prayer
to the Saints, I was told was
worship of the creature in place
of the Creator. the church was
the company of all believers, and
not simply a body of priests;
fasting and other legalistic prac-
tees were vain efforts on the part
of man to save himself by his own
endeavor, instead of seeking sal
walton by faith in the atoning
merits of Christ. I felt especially
predisposed to set my face against
Professionalism when it taught me
to give up adoring the Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God. 80
That the Protestant teaching
and atmosphere of this school had
its effect on the mind of the young
Syrian is shown by his own ad-
mission that when he returned to
his home in vacation he was to
all intents and purposes Protes-
tant. All that remained was to
take another step and formally
identify himself with Protestant
ism, and this he did in the early
part of his second year when he
joined the Protestant Church.
An insight into the methods en-
ployed by those in charge of the
school is given by the author
when he says: ''Happily we
knew no UNCONVENTIONAL designa-
lions in that school, which how
ever was Of the Presbyterian per-
suasion.''
It was part of the Sunday pro.
gram to listen to Mr.. Pond and
other preachers dilate on the
glories Of America as Protestant
country and the zeal Of it's peo-
pie for missionary work among
the heathens Of the earth. Gamer
lea was always presented to my
mind as sort of hermit nation.
It's people were rich and religious
and little else. Every one of it's
citizens told the truth, and moth
ing but the truth, went to church
every single Sunday, and lived a
life of non-resistance. America
had neither fleets nor armies and
looked to England for the protec-
ton of American citizens in for
eign lands What wonderful
picture of the religious and politi-
cal life of our great nation as
seen through the spectacles of a
Professionalism which evidently be-
lieves that "the end justifes the
means" when there is question of
gaining recruits among the heath
ems!
Nor did Mr.. Ponds efforts
cease with bringing Rihbany into
the Protestant fold. He suggested
that the young neophyte enter
the ministry and carry the Prot
estant gospel into Syria. He Of
fered him free tuition in the theo-
logical department of the Syrian
Presbyterian College in Beyrout.
This alluring prospect did not ap-
peal to Rihbany and after three.
years Of teaching in his alma
mater he was prevailed upon to
emigrate and landed in New York
in 1891, with nine cents in his
pocket and owing forty dollars to
friends who paid his passage.
After reading the article one is
rather surprised that a magazine
of such standing as the Atlantic
Monthly" would give space to an
article which rehashes the old
time calumnies Of Professionalism
against the Catholic Church. They
are not at all necessary to con-
vince an intelligent reader of the
proselytizing activity of Protes-
tant educational institutions in
the East. Every one knows that
such is the case. Surely the
editor knows that the Catholic
Church does not teach the "adora-
tom of the Blessed Virgin and
of the Saints as if they were on
parity with God. Why then
permit a writer to impose upon