The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-02-19
CATHOLIC EDUCATION
MAKES EFFICIENT MEN AND WO.
MEN-THE CHURCH THE ONLY
ORGANIZATION THAT HAS SUR
VIvED TWENTY CENTURIES OF
HISTORY.

Doctor Emil Reich, writing on Sue
cess in Life" pays a tribute to Cath
Ollie education which is of interest as
showing what a modern philosopher,
who follows no accepted religion, is
broad minded enough to say of sys-
tenn of education which is more often
condemned than praised by non-Cath-
olics. 1t Is satisfactory to hear from
him that success in life is rarely, II
ever it can be shown to have been,
dependent on what is termed luck.
On the contrary, we are told, every
thing is so well-balanced in our world
that provided man have the energy,
he will be certain to find his reward at
some time or other in his life.
Journalism Doctor Reich defines as
the only international university; sue
cess in this department of life de-
ponds on a great respect and love for
the profession, constant and diversi-
fed reading. a knowledge of history
and economics and observant travel.
AS to the question Of education, here
is what he has to say:
"The immense power of education is
rarely realized by people in non-Cath-
Ollie countries. Whatever opinions one
may or may not have of the dogmas
and liturgy of the Catholic Church,
one thing remains quite certain, he
says, that that Church has at all times
been able to raise. efficient men and
women for the ends it pursued, and sc
it has undoubtedly come to be, to the
present day, success of the most
marvellous kind. In fact, nothing but
wilful blindness can prevent one from
saying that as a mere matter of sue.
cess the Catholic Church is absolutely
unique in history. No other organiza
ton of men and women, no other pol
ity or body-politic of the same high or.
der, has ever been known to survive
nearly 20 centuries of European his
tory.
ut is scarcely necessary to prove
that at the present day as well as
1900 years ago, that Church Yields an
immense power and influence.
"Such an unprecedented success
must necessarily imply some fruitful
LESSONS for individual candidates for
success, too.
"Now, leaving aside all historical
and theological considerations, it is
quite clear that the wonderful success
of the Catholic Church, with 100000
600 adherents, is owing very largely to
peculiar system of education carried
to its perfection, This can be studied
in no organ of the Catholic Church
with greater facility than in the way
in which the mightiest of Catholic Or
ders, the Jesuits, has prepared its in
dividual members for a career of sue
cess such as no single family or class
in Europe has ever achieved. It is
well known to any serious student of
history that the Society of Jesus has
repeatedly been supreme in the af-
fairs of the world If one stops to
think that men who as matter of
fact did not possess any capital to
speak of, have succeeded in building
in thousands of towns in Europe and
America, vast edifices, carrying on
very large institutes for instruction
and education, and allowing thousands
of their members to devote themselves
entirely to academic pursuits of the
oretic students in all the sciences
when one considers only this side OF
their immensely successful career, one
cannot but admire system that has,
these 366 years, enabled members of
that Order to achieve a most remark
able success in all the countries, in
different times and under the most
varying circumstances.
The central and fundamental rea-
son of the success of Jesuits edu-
cation, Doctor Reich continues, is this,
that st. Ignatius took the greatest
care to develop in each disciple the
two strongest engines of success,
namely, intellect and will-power. He
avoided falling into the fatal mistake
OF some teachers and OF number OF
nations. who strengthen the will-pow.
er and character of the pupil at the
expense of all the other faculties OF
the mind and heart as is the British
method. The Jesuit novice goes through
a course which when completed
leaves him with tenacious win and