The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-01-31
Y. M. C.. A.

The Y NJ C. A. is a protestant
organization, in which Catholics are
only admitted as associate members
They have no voice in the manage
ment of it's affairs and are not eligible
to office. Catholics are only tolerated,
but their money is welcome. The Y.
M. G. A. is essentially a Protestant
institution, with the secret purpose of
proselytizing. It's anti-Catholic spirit
appears now and then in the lectures,
bubbling over with calumnies and
lies, delivered in it's halls and under
it's auspices. Catholic young men
should not suffer themselves, there
fore, to be duped by an organization,
for the sake of bodily advantages,
position or social standing Catholics
possess the precious heritage of the
Faith of nearly twenty centuries.
They belong to the grandest organi-
zation the world ever witnessed. How
far then it is beneath the dignity of
a Catholic to forget the tradition of
his Church, to disregard the precious
jewel of Faith, unflinchingly held by
the blood of his forefathers, amidst
the worst of prosecution and to tram
pie under foot all sense of honor by
becoming a secondary member of that
Protestant organization called the Y.
M. G. A.
No young man, with honest Catholic
blood flowing in his veins, will suffer
the indignity of becoming an inferior
member of any organization. The
Church cannot compromise with er-
ror. Catholicity is essentially intol-
Grant as truth is intolerant The
bearer of Gods message to mankind,
she cannot accommodate herself to
the changing modes of human thought
to please a tickle and corrupt world.
Her mission is to correct error, when
at variance with the doctrine of
Christ. Let Catholic young men,
therefore, cease to join an organiza-
ton which will eventually rob them
of their faith, the noblest Christian
heritage. No Catholic, to my knowl-
edge, ever became a permanent mem
Der of the Y NJ G.. A, without grow
ing lukewarm in his faith and finally
descending SO low as to abandon the
only and true Church of his fore
fathers Catholics, who join that sect
organization soon imagine that one re-
ligion is as good as another and that
the Y. M. C. A. is the best of all.
Let Catholics, therefore, band to-
gether in approved Catholic organiza-
irif
advancement for themselves and the
benefits of Holy Mother Church.
Catholic laymen have done noble
deeds in the past for the progress OF
the Church. Their strength Of union,
their religious, political and social in
fluence have ever been felt far and
wide throughout the centuries. That
golden chain of bishops, clergy and
laymen, under the guidance and as
sistance of the Divine Spirit, has ac-
complished wonderful work in the adj
vancement of virtue and the steady
progress of the Church. In our coun-
try, especially, there is urgent need of
strenuous lay action. The clergy and
laity here, must work hand in hand.
The clergy are too few and generally
overworked. Laymen can often reach
farther than the priests; and their
explanation of the Catholic doctrine
carries weight with outsiders, who are
generally prejudiced against the one
true Church, on account of ignorance,
traditional lies, base calumnies and
the misstatements of ranting min
listers.
+TIMOTHY CORBETT,
Rishon of CrOokston.