The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-03-24
AN AWAKENING is EVIDENT
THERE WITH REGARD TO THE
CATHOLIC cHURcH-THE MIS-
SIONARY REVIEWS THE FAVOR
ABLE CONDITIONS IN THAT
COUNTRY.

Our readers have already enjoyed
an account of the conversion of Mr..
Vethake, minister of the CalvlnlStlc
Church in Holland. From recent hap
penings it seems as if his is type
of mind in present day Professionalism
there, for several other ministers
have openly defended his course, and
some have expressed downright SYM
pathy with his convictions. An occa-
sional correspondent of ours, Father
w. Fl. H. de Ham, Anthem, Holland,
writes us the names of some-not all
of these. Snethlage, De Light, van
Sender, Gerrelsen and Rutgers.
These, all of them preachers of the
Dutch Established Church, have
avowed decided leanings towards
Catholic principles.
Is the Spirit of God preparing a
Tractarian movement among that
people, so earnest, so intelligent, so
innately religious? Let us hope So.
Vethake's Apologize, as we may call
his published statement, was a power
full appeal to the higher class of
minds to which he himself belonged,
men Of university training. He re-
yealed to the more enlightened cir
cles that deeper, diviner and also
that more conscious religious life of
every day Catholicism which is Who'll
ly unknown to Professionals. And he
placed over against this splendid
Catholic heritage of truth and love
the meager inner conditions of the
Professionalism now prevailing. He
demonstrated that the Reformed re-
ligiOn has yet to provide religious
nourishment for the imperative crav-
ings of human nature; after mOnopo-
lizing the Dutch people for three
hundred and fifty years, it is a demon
strated spiritual failure. And, fur
thermOre, the earnest spirits whom
we have named, with the courage
peculiar to their race, have not hest
tated to publish these views, so
ominous to Professionalism and so
hopeful to Catholicism.
Pastor Rutgers, for instance, prints
in the Reformed journal Onward, that
| he is persuaded that 1.-The doctrine or
pnrgatory, spiritually understood, and
viewed from the psychological stand
| point, is far more rational than the
| frigid and indeed absurd vagaries in
vogue among Protestants concerning
| MONS nr - octn 10 a q
| affiXes his decided approval to these
sentiments, saying: that it were well
| that the Dutch church had the equiva,
! lent of the Roman doctrine of purga.
tory"
The reader will bear in mind that
such utterances are wholly novel
among Dutch Protestants, especially
on the part of preachers. Our in
formant, Father De Ham, sees in
them manifest tendency towards
widespread study of Catholic princi
pies in themselves and in their his
torical development. He is persuaded
that Gods grace is opening an era
exceedingly hopeful of conversions
and that the seed of divine truth has
fallen on good soil, these men being
one and all fearless characters, anC
earnest seekers after truth. If, he in
sists, SO many of them come to be
lieve the doctrine of purgatory, anC
praying for the dead, their indul
gences must claim place, quickly tc
be followed by the intercession of the
saints. No long time can elapse be
fore the Sacrifice of the Mass and