The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1917-10-06

the principal precepts and benef-
cences of religion.
ut is my experience that the Catho-
lie Church turns its face stolidly and
firmly against intolerance. Intoler-
ance is today the besetting evil of the
nation. 1t is born of prejudice, pride
and ignorance. 1t exerts it's noxious-
ness in social, racial and religious
prejudices. It's foundation is ignorance
its superstructure is prejudice-its
bone and Drawn are made of irreli-
gion.
1.-The keystone of citizenship upon
which lodges its integrity, is the home
and the family. No faith more than
the Catholic makes a fetish of the
sincerity Of family. So strong is the
Catholic Church in it's insistence upon
the security of this greatest of all
underlying virtues that it's ruling law
against divorce is at variance with the
law of every state in the Union except
one, on the same subject. We are not
here to discuss or to consider the Wis
dom or unwisdom of this law of the
Church, but we can say that the
Church appreciates and recognizes
that people and citizenship can
only exert potentiality and power for
good so long as there is the greatest
possible protection for the purity of
the home and the security of the fam
lily. Indeed, upon these two great in
situations rests citizenship. Destroy
them, weaken them, and the whole
superstructure falls as would house
of cards.
ut has been charged that the Catho-
lie Church is an active participant in
temporal politics. 1t is we'll known,
OF course, that in the past Church and
State were one in power and in author
ity, both in matters spiritual and mat
tiers temporal, and because Of that con-
dition many outstanding errors and
mistakes were laid at the door of the
Church, when in fact the instigator of
the acts was the ruler of the State
This dual form Of rule, however,
has long since passed and in every
state and in every nation no church
any longer has or exerts any temporal
power. 1t is confined to it's natural
jurisdiction dealing with the spiritual
sphere Of life. In this country it is
erroneous to charge the Catholic
Church with ever having been an act
i've participant in temporal or political
affairs of the nation. 1t has confined
it's eXertions to the religious and spiri-
tual side of life.
"The Catholic Church, to increase
community, and to elevate the stand
ards of service in citizenship, has
taken a most active and decided inter
est in directing the activities of it's
members. Indeed, it has succeeded in
making tremendous change in that
regard, so that today we find the mem
bership of the Catholic Church eschew-
ing pursuits which in the remotest de-
gree initiate against the virtue and
well being of the people and the au-
thority of the State, and find them en-
bracing and pursuing those activities
which make for Industrial advance
ment, side by side with all other Amer
lean citizens.
"The Catholic Church was the great
est of the worlds liberators in the
past. For centuries she occupied the
position of the court of last resort be-
tween kings. She gave to some CEN
turtles what we are trying hard to give
to the present century-an interna-
tional arbitrator. She is the saviour
of the classics, as we'll as of the holy
writings, which formed the worlds
greatest literature, handed down to
Christianity from Judaism. Hers was
the hand that protected the torch of
learning from the winds of medieval
militarism She was the re-awaker of
art, the preserver Of music, the builder
of the worlds greatest monuments, the
law-giver who succeeded Moses and
preserved his work for the present
age. She was the defender Of civiliZa
History testifies to the greatness of
her contribution to civilization; she
needed no Chateaubriand to tell the
world these things, but it is we'll that
Chateaubriand did actually rise and
give form to her story Indeed the
Christian world owes it's greatest debt
to the Catholic Church. When the
hordes of Asia, the Tartars and the
Moslems, in untold numbers swept be-
fore them all peoples of all faiths and
all nationalities, overrunning Europe,
and struck at the gates of the last
citadel of Christianity's defense, it was
the Catholic Church and her defend
ers that halted the assault and turned
her fortunes of war, and once and for
all time preserved to the modern world
the benef1cence, the hopes and the
achievements of Christianity.
'The victory of Christianity over
Paganism was a tribute of spirituality
over sensuality. 1t is not for the pur-
pose of casting a prophetic eye over
the future of this fair land that decry
the present status, but to one familiar
with history, there needs be but cas-
ual observance to note the striking
cimila ritv Of tho nrocont onnch in this