The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-08-28
THEIR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLE.
tiles IN EVERY WALK OF
LIFE.
Extract from Bishop canevin's Sermon
at the Catholic Young Mems Con-
vention in Pittsburgh Last Week.

"The Catholic young man is not ex-
pected to be a trained theologian or.
controversialist, but every young man
OF ordinary intelligence should know
the catechism and be iesle to give a
clear account of the doctrines of his
faith and of the principal disputed
que stions of Church history. In dis
cussing any important moral problem
OF the day there is some aspect of
| doctrine of religion to be considered
and some basic principles of Catholic
faith or practice to be explained.
Take the question of education, of war
or peace, of neutrality. Take the per-
picking problems of marriage and d.
vorce, of capital and labor, of Social
| ism, of civil allegiance, of respect for
authority and the sacred obligation of
reverence and obedience to law, divine
and human. If men hope to combat
the evil influences which assail re-
ligion and society, they must be solid
ly educated in the fundamental truths
of Christian doctrine. If it were poll.
tics, or baseball, or tennis, or basket.
ball, or bowling, or other form of rec
reation and amusement, the average
man would let his neighbor know what
he had to say. Why not try him on
religious theme? Why not get the
start of the non-Catholic in religious
inquiry? Your neighbor wishes to
know something about the belief of
Catholics. Questions of the soul are
the supreme things of life The
knowledge of them is more important
than the knowledge of earthly affairs,
and no Catholic should treat the truths
/ of religion with cowardly silence
when he can assert and defend them.
What Church and country need is
men, men of rugged faith and clean
hearts, men instructed in their relig-
ion and brave in practicing it, ready
to assert and defend it before the
world, ready to obey it's laws, and if
the necessity arises ready to die for
it's doctrines. Such men are always
the most faithful citizens and truest
patriots, the most honest and most
kind friends and neighbors to their
fellow-men. Indeed, our nations need
badly today generation of stalwart
Catholic young men, who will man
fully strive to live up to the high
ideals of truth, honesty, sobriety, pur-
ity, justice and charity, which their
religion holds before them. They are
needed to secure the home on the
strong foundation of Christian mar
rage, of obedience and reverence, of
respect for law, of mutual charity and
forbearance.
Catholic Men in Public Life.
1.-THE true Catholic Young man is
needed in the public service of his
country, where the dictates of COM
mon morality and the command
ments of God are too often set aside
for private, gain and to the detriment
of the rights, progress and happiness
of the people.
Every Catholic young man should
be trained to take an intelligent inter-
est in all that concerns the welfare of
the people. He ought to know the
community he lives in and take an
active part in all that pertains to it's
peace, happiness and prosperity. A
deep sense of his duty as a Christian
and a citizen is to be fostered, for
without this deep sense Of responsible
ity no man can live either the life of
a Christian or a citizen. To awaken
apd auItiyofn 4hic copcn 0f rocnonci
bility and teach man to recognize the
duties he owes to God, his neighbor
and himself is one of the aims of the
Church and of Catholic societies.
There is the duty of self-respect. No
man can be expected to be respected
by others unless he respects himself.
Self-reverence is primary law of our
well-being. Hence impurity, obscen-
ity, intemperance or any other sin that
vitiates human character, degrades
the Christian and tends to brutalize
the man. Weakness or decay of faith
inevitably leads to private and public
corruption of morals. The shameful
immoralities that are exhibited in
theatres and under the name of art;
the depraved naturalism and licen-
tiousness of many papers, magazines,
books, the social disorder, perversion
of marriage, divorce, suicide, youthful
crimes, even economic wrongs and in
justices, are traceable to the rapid de-
cline in faith in Christian dogmas con-
corning man and his relations to God,
his Creator, and to Jesus Christ, his
Redeemer.
Dangers to Catholic Men.
when men like not to have God in
their knowledge, He delivers them up
i to a reprobate sense. Without relig-
ion, no morality. Qualification of the
lowest passions, allurements to sins
of the flesh are the chief motives of
many stage performances; they form
the chief attraction in many motion
pictures,4 vaudeville sketches, musical
comedies and various other forms OF
amusement. Vice and coarse ifndecen-
4 cy are the secret Of success for hun
dreds of books, papers, magazines,
while bill-boards, postal cards and
pictures display representations that
appeal to all that is sensual and cor
rupt in human nature. This pestiI-
ence of moral filth is epidemic; it eats
into and poisons the hearts of men
and women of every class who will
fully expose themselves to its contag-
ion, robS them of all modesty. self