The Irish standard., 1914-08-15
CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH
EDUCATION.

The Plan of Five Allied Denomina-
tions to Spread Education in
Mexico.
The Labors of the Church Under
Persecution and Constant
Handicap.
The Protestant denominations arc
not slow to take advantage of the
situation in Mexico, which has,
since the inception of the Revolu-
ton, taken a change for the worse
as far as the Church is concerned.
In the State of Saltillo, in Chihua-
hua, in Nuevo Leon, and in others
the church has been prosecuted, the
priests and religious orders have
been either driven out or made to
feel the hatred OF the revolutionists.
Villa has declared that he will drive
the last priest from the country, and
he and his colleagues have promptly
set about putting the threat into
practice.
While the Catholic clergy are thus
seriously handicapped, the perform
ance of their duties being even made
utterly impossible, five Protestant
denominations have determined to
avail themselves of the disadvantage
in which the Catholic clergy is
placed. Announcement was recent
ly made that the Methodists, Bap-
fists. Presbyterians, Congregation
alists, and the Church of the Disci-
pies have formed an alliance to car
ry on educational and missionary
work in Mexico. A comprehensive
program, we are informed, has been
outlined. and preliminary arrange
ments for it's execution have been
completed. According to the In
dianapolis Sun, it is part of this pro-
gram, and the most important part,
to establish at least two hundred ell
ementary schools, high school for
each sex in each missionary district,
and a central university, and to pro-
vide teachers for these schools and
for the Sunday Schools as we'll.
The Indianapolis Sun gives it as
it's opinion that this arrangement
will confer upon Mexico what it
needs most-education." after all,
we read, Mexico to-day doubtless
stands in greater need of enlight-
ened education than of anything
else-even religion" The enter
prise is lauded because it proposes
to give education first and evangel-
ization last, and, at that, evangelical
ton without creed. OF course, the
school will be the forerunner of the
church. The enterprise means
simply that proselytizing will be
conducted under the guise of edu-
cation, with the aid Of those. who
are using every means at their COM
mand to fetter OF prescribe the
Catholic church, and have robbed
the churches and institutions as oft
en- as an opportunity presented it.
self. Villas declaration that he
proposes to govern the Church in
Chihuahua himself proves anew the
animus. of the revolutionary ele-
ments towards the Church, by which
these sects are profiting.
The entire plan savors greatly of
bitter religious bias and embodies
an accusation against the Catholic
church, which has for the past four
centuries labored, to the extent of
her means and the liberty granted
her by successive governments, for
the education and the religious adj
vancement of the people of Mexico.
In view of the insinuation that the
Church has been backward in ad-
vancing the cause of education in
Mexico it may be we'll to recall that
eAV UOOhS pA4ASOu IIS 4N0W
World were not printed by the de-
scendants of the Pilgrim Fathers in
New England, but Catholics in Mex
leo City. That the first university
in the New World was the Catholic
University at Mexico City, which was
spoken very highly of by the noted
traveller Alexander Won Humboldt
as late as one hundred years ago,
when many now famous American
Schools were still in their infancy.
That there are at present numerous
good schools in Mexico, a number
far greater than that which the
united denominations propose to
open. The statistics furnished by
the Catholic Directory. however in
adequate, show that there are so
seminaries and colleges, 81 acade-
mics and 841 schools in 20 Mexican
dioceses selected at random out of
the total of thirty. And this list
does not include the orphan asy-
lums, etc., in which children are
taught. 1t would be only fair if the
self-called saviors of Mexico were to
recognize the labors of the Church