The Catholic bulletin., 1916-07-29
APOSTLE OF ORGANIZED CHARITY
THE WORLDS DEBT TO THE
CHURCH FOR SCIENCE or
r cHARlTY--WoRK OF ST. VIM
CENT DE PAUL.

There has arisen In modern times
movement of secular philanthropy
which has been a rival, and to some
extent an adversary, of Catholic
charity. The movement of which we
speak, writes Henry Someryille, in
June Catholic World, may be said to
have begun In 1888 when the report OF
the English Poor Law Commission
was issued. That Commission was
appointed in consequence of the
evils which resulted from the poor
law system established in England by
Queen Elizabeth, after the monasteries
and other ancient organs Of charitable
relief in England had been destroyed
by the Reformation. The State sys-
tenn OF relief introduced by Protestant
ism had, it is universally admitted,
a very evil effect on the characters of
those whom it was designed to benefit.
Relief had the effect Of 'pauperizfng''
its recipients, that is, of weakening in
them habits Of industry and self-help,
and creating in them a chronic habit
of depending on aims for their liYeli.
hood.
Scientific philanthropy is secular,
utilitarian; it is, as we have said, a
rival, and sometimes an adversary, of
Catholic charity There are some
things in scientific philanthropy that
are detestably bad, but there is much
that is good. We shall not in this
article say anything about the bad,
but we propose to show that the good
belongs, by right of ancient posses
sion, to Catholicism. The literature
OF scientific philanthropy stakes for
granted that it's principles are modern
discoveries. The Importance of charity
organizations was not found out until
the nineteenth century. Medieval
almsgiving'' is the stock synonym of
the up-to-date philanthropists for all
that is wasteful and pauperizing in
methods of relief. 1t is commonly
assumed that charity in Catholic coun-
tries has been, and is, a means Of
degrading multitudes. And it is ex-
planned to us that the reason for all
this is that Catholics are taught to
give aims for the good of their own
souls, to lay up treasures in heaven,
not to benefit the recipient. For a
learned dissertation on the un-
enlightened character of Catholic
charity see the article on Charity
in The Encyclopedia Britannica.
But history vindicates the Church.
Would that we Catholics were aware
of our birthright. We know that the
Church was the creator of Christian
charity, of that spirit which covered
Europe with hospitals, which made
men give themselves as galley slaves
that others might be freed, which in
spired st. Elizabeth to leave her royal
palace, and wash with her own hands
the bodies of lepers. The supreme
heroes and martyrs of charity are un-
questionably ours, but do we realize
that the pioneers, the geniuses of
charity organization are also ours,
that the world owes to the Church
the science. as well as the spirit Of
charity?
The highest quality of ST. Vincent
was not his genius for organization,
extraordinary though that was; and
his best work was not what he did
to alleviate human suffering, though
no ma in history has ever done more.
1t is only with the least of his labors
that this sketch deals, but it is suff1-
cient to show that the most repre-
sentative of Catholic social workers
was as thoroughly scientific" and in
finitely more successful in charity or
ganization than the best of modern
secular philanthropists. There are
signs that secular scientific philan-
thropy is developing on lines more
and more opposed to the principles
and practice of Catholic charity. If
we Catholics are to meet our op-
ponents successfully, we must remem-
ber that the traditional charity Of the
Church is both supernatural and
cnfanfifin