The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-12-25
THAT PROTESTANT CON
GRESS.

Bishop Edsall Of the Episcopal
Diocese Of Minnesota, refuses to
comment on the action Of the six
teen Episcopal rectors under his
jurisdiction in st. Paul and Min
neapolis who, i'll an open letter to
the House of Bishops, protested
against the decision of the Board
of Missions Of the Episcopal
Church to send delegates to the
Congress for Christian Work.
as it is euphemistically called, to
be held at Panama III the Canal
Zone, next February
In an article written for the
diocesan magazine, "The Church
Record, Bishop Edsall defended
the action Of the Board on the
ground that the delegates from
the Episcopal Church would
merely confer with the delegates
of the Protestant denominations
and not cooperate with them re-
garding the carrying on Of mis-
slonary work in Latin America.
It is hard to see how the pres
ence Of delegates from the Epis.
copal Church could be construed
into anything short of approval
of the objects Of the Congress it.
self which, according ito the off
cial ciEculaE sent out by the pro-
moterssis to be d bfotlferly con-
ference as to how the needs oil
Latin America can be most effee-
lively met by the Gospel of
Christ. - This circular further
emphasizes the animus Of the 5cpn-
ference when it says that "SoHth
America is without true religion, =
thus arrogating to the Protestant
sects the right to say what true
religion" is and stigmatizing the
Roman Catholicism of Latin
America as unworthy Of the name
of religion at all. This is a most
absurd attitude for the denomina-
tions to take. Is it symptom OF
that pride which goeth before a
fall?
Does Bishop Edsall subscribe to
all this? Does he approve the OBJ
jects of the conference as set
forth in this circular? From
what we have heard Of him and
Of his observation-disclosures in mat
ters Of religion, we feel justified
in believing that he does not, but
that, without realizing fully the
significance Of his action, he APP
proved the sending of Episcopal
delegates to the Conference in the
hope that it would in some way
promote the cause of religious
unity. He overlooks, however
the essential point in such a pro
gram, namely, that there can be
no religious unity without the ae-
tive cooperation Of the Catholic
Church, and that there never will
be more than a senlbfance 1of re
Idligious unity tntil- the.seetsz mt
back to the True Fold and in al
humility submit once more TO the
yoke of Christ they cast OFF when
they spurned the authority of the
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostle.
lie Church founded by Christ and
against which the gates of he'll
shall never prevail.
And as for the primary pun.
pose of the Panama Conference
how absurd it is. It is to deter.
mime 'how the. needs of Latin
America can be most effectively
met by the Gospel of Christ, as
if that purpose can be attained
by a body of religious teachers
who do not accept the !" Gospel Of
Christ" In all its fullness! Surely
the intelligent leaders among The
Protestant denominations, moi
excluding the Episcopal Church
realize the necessity of coming tx
an agreement as to what is the
Gospel of Christ before any at
tempt is made to evangelize thu
people Of South America. Tht
Latin Americans are Catholics
and always will be Catholics
despite the efforts of Protestant
proselytizers, and before listen
ing to their message they can very
well ask the representatives d
the different sects for the creden
tials which authorize them t
teach the Gospel Of Christ. EaeI
sect has its own idea of what the
Gospel of Christ contains ant
There is no unanimity among