The Irish standard., 1915-07-24
(The Rev. James H. Cotter, LII. D., in
the Catholic Columbian.)

Lately Protestant gentleman
asked us if the ugly and slanderous
criticisms of bishops and priests
would not do good, in SO far that they
would make clerics more careful at
their work and more prudent in wav-
Ing even the semblances of, conduct
that could be misinterpreted by the
malicious. We do not think SO.
Priests learn nothing from the devil,
and it would be the equivalent of this
were they to be moulded in manners
by hell's agents.
The severest censors of the priest,
however, are his own people. They
generally are of two classes. One
part expects great things, because of
their knowledge of their faith, and, as
a sequel, they are conscious of the
dignity of the priesthood. Their piety
gives them worship character in
their treatment of all ecclesiastical
authority. They quote the priests
words; yes, they will even tell you
what his reverence said as he tapped
their baby's cheeks thirty years ago.
They note his conduct with pride and
they look after him as if he were
walking mystery. The quality of awe
is mixed with their respect, which in
turn is compounded with admiration.
The other class, very small min
ority, is in direct contrast to all this
devotion. They adopt the tactics of
the cuttlefish and rifle the whole
stream of humanity around them SO
that their own abominable natures
will not be seen. Some become mono
maniacs in calumny, SO that the priest
is carved as dish at every meal.
They mistake notoriety for fame, and
believe themselves all the more inter-
esting, according to the degree of their
startling falsehoods. The children are
raised by those parents in the hear
ing of the maddest onslaughts on the
pastors character. Some children
when grown to mans estate, will tell
you that the reason why faith was lost
or indifferently treated was because
SANDER Of authority was their youths
sole entertainment As. a result of
lessons in disrespect for the church
the parents authority was eventually
disregarded, and heart-scald was the
hitter result. These parents geRer-
ally come to the villainous conclusion
that there is no such thing as virtue,
but only degrees of vice. They mis-
take their own thefts for the dishon-
esry of every man-their own lying
character for the general quality of
the race-their own groveling mean
ness as the yardstick that measures
what they conceive as the maggoty
purposes of their fellows-their own
dirt for the absence of all cleanliness
and honor. According to their ig-
norance, and arrogance is always its
consequence, if the priest is kind in
word it is because he is weak and
fears their verdicts; if he is gener-
GUS, they declare him prodigal; if he
is thrifty, he is stingy; if he is pow
erful, he is proud; if he scorns pre-
tense he lacks piety; if he is fervent,
he is hypocrite; if he is obedient to
authority, he is slavish; if he is &C.
complished, he is a shining mark for
infamous fancy; if he rebukes super
stition, he is lacking in faith; if his
sermons are short, he is limited in
intelligence; if they are long, he is a
prate-box.
Such oddly malicious characters
will not cure the priests faults. The
measure of respect for the priest is
an index of the profundity of faith.
Congregations, like men in general,
do not make fine distinctions between
persons and principles, and so their
reverence for the priest is an indica-
ton of their love of the faith The
priest Is regarded as the oracle of
principle, and no logical distinction is
made between the teacher and the
teaching. b.
For ourselves we never had trou-
BILE with others. Our only trouble to
self was ourselves. This we declare
to the. credit of the people. and SO
that our words will not be weak by
being conceived as written in angry
retaliation.
Our thoughts have been inspired by
the wanton criticism given priests
whom we met in over three decades of
a sacerdotal priests "the
latchet of whose shoe" we were "un-
worthy to ose"-priests whose poor
est deeds were eulogized, whose best
ones were scorned by those who had
the obligation of being fair.
To hear them, then, was to marvel
at mans instability. An old book of
the dead Is treasured as precious
heirloom, but they continue their In
consistent and malevolent course by
making contrasts Of the inefticiency
Of the living superior to the super.
iority Of the dead leader whose days
they, by their conduct, embittered and
shortened. .,s
- Tho nrioathood NJ America dnoa