Evening star., 1915-11-08
Board of Missions Plight.


tend strictly to ones proper business
we may see from the sorry plight our
board of missions is now in. That
board is the handmade of the church
her servant. It's proper business is the
collecting of money to equip mission
aries for service at home and abroad
There are many who severely criticise
the methods of the society in the doing
of its proper business, particularly for
Its expenditure of the vast sums it an
nually receives without any adequate
precautions. Yet while believing these
criticisms to be more than justified be-
cause the society is here on it's own
ground we in this parish have done
what we coulG to meet it's constantly
increasing demands.
But some time ago certain men repre-
senting a variety of religious opinions
arranged to foregather next February on
the 1sthmus of Panama to plan for
mutual work in South America
The house of bishops. urged to CO.
scheme, positively refused. Then this
board-this handnlaid Of the church--did
an extraordinary thing. Unmindful of
the discourtesy to the bishops involved
by It's action; unmindful, too, of the fact
that the furtherance of the cause of
Christian unity, which it appears to have
had in view. was none Of its business :;
unmindful, too. that there are various
commissions in existence whose only busi-
ness 1t is to attend to the cause of unity,
1t actually proposed to send delegates it.
self to this new parliament of religions
Bishops Protest in Vain.
when this proposal was made. five
members of the board, with clearer vision
than their fellow members, vigorously pro-
tested.
of 7
full to say, was our own bishop: an
other was the Bishop of Marquette,
known and loved by many in st. Thorn
as. Alas, their protests went for moth
ing Therefore, when in defiance of
that protest; also of the protest of the
bishop representing the Catholic
Church on the Isthmus of Panama
oplivious also of the distress such ac-
ton would cause to many thousands of
devout church people, the board ac-
tually decided to send delegates to
Panama, these five members, to their
infinite credit, withdrew from mem
berShip.
Presently. therefore, we shall see a
Junketing party going to Panama at
the expense of contributions given for
missionary work. No wonder the ad-
ninstration expense of the board OF
missions is about is per cent of its
total receipts-reaching the extraordi =
nary sum Of the full amount given by
forty-three dloceses, twenty-five mis-
siorary districts-the contributions of
2,S3l parishes and missions - for the
preaching OF the Gospel.
The financial feature is. however, the
least serious part of this tragedy. The
cause of Christian unity itself may suf
fer an irreparable injury by this action
of our missionary board. Perhaps even
the cause o: missions itself may be
set back n generation by the very men
whose business II was to set it for
ward
Certainly the hosts OF churc!lmen
and churchwoAen all over the land
whose ideals and cherished beliefs, sc
well represented by the defeated mi
nority and so ruthlessly ignored by the
majority. cannot stand idly by while
their board OF missions acts as it has
done.
Indeed, the usefulness of the board
by reason of having lost their cont
dencc, must be so seriously impaired
that the missionary cause cannot but
suffer. \ pretty heavy price to pay
for the privilege OF attending to other
peoples business