The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-11
HISTORY OF MEXICO.
BY Eber Cole 5yam.
Part XIV.


Mexico is priest ridden" cries the
anti-Catholic. Perhaps there have
been too many priests in Mexico"
weakly agrees the American Catho-
lie. And in the meantime the Next
can Liberals" have murdered and eX-
lied priests until in some states there
is none at ALL
How many clergymen do you sup
pose there are in the United States?
BY consulting the several authori
ties on the subject you will find the
number closely approXimating 100000.
Divided amongst population of 1OO,-
100000, this gives an average of one
clergyman to each 555 inhabitants.
But this includes the ministers of all
creeds.
Now, if we consider the number of
communicates as compared with the
clergy, we will find (World Almanac
1910 that the Catholic clergy number
19,462, and the communicates 14,079,
208,. or ratio of one clergyman to
723 communicates. The Protestant
clergy number 155.570, and the COM
municants 24,3OO,797, or ratio of
one clergyman to 156 communicates.
These proportions show that the
Catholic clergy in the United States
are much less numerous than the
average for the whole, and that the
Protestant> clergy are relatively very
much more numerous. The Catholic
clergy are to their communicates as
one to 1923, with Professionals standing
one to 1856. Catholics form less than
20% of the total population, while
their clergy form only about 11% of
the total number of clergymen.
With 14,079, 20S communicates in the
United States, the Catholics claim a
population of some 20,000,0O0. If we
take the proportion of the Catholic
clergy in the United States as a
basis, Mexico should have $4,000
clergymen. If we take the Baptist
proportion, Mexico should have no
fewer than $4,000 clergy. There actu-
ally were in Mexico in 1910 fewer
than 5000 clergymen.
Taking the average proportion OF
population to clergy of all creeds in
the United States, we have one cler
gyman to 555 inhabitants. Applying
this figure to Mexico we find that
Mexico should have had $4,000 clergy
men.
Numbers of Mexican Clergy in the
Past.
The greatest proportion ever known
in Mexico was in 1910, when there
were 7,341 clergy in a population O
6,122,354, or ratio of one clergyman
to 834 inhabitants. In 1906, whe1
the Liberals" became particular.
vicious i'm attacking the. Church, anl
alleging too many priests" there
were 1850 clergymen and population
of 7,661,919, or ratio of one clergy
man to 1,761 inhabitants. In 1910 tn
ratio stood one clergyman to 5000 O
the population. Take any basis o
calculation and you will arrive at tn
same result: Instead of there bein
too many priests in Mexico" Their
have been too few.
What is troubling the Mexican revt
lutionaries and their American friend
is not that there are too man
priests in Mexico" but that Their
are any priests at ALL
"a Stitch in Time Saves Nine"
The same element is raising the or
that there are "too many priests /
the United States" and they seek
accomplish the same destructive wor
in the United States that has bee
done in Mexico. If they can mislea
the American people about their ow
country as they misled them abor
Mexico, they will succeed in their pu1
pose.