The Irish standard., 1919-09-27
Socialism the Enemy of Labor

religion, and treat the spiritual and
the supernatural as if all theories re-
lating to them were visionary and of
no value for human life. Another
class, or group, will be met with who
insist that Socialism in no sense can
be accused of hostility to the Chris
tian religion, for it is solely and ex-
clusively an economic theory of gov
ernment ownership of property and
of all products of human industry.
Another group, more consistent, and,
evidently with more intelligent un-
derstanding of the tendencies and pur-
pose of the Socialist movement, admit
very frankly that Socialism is at war
with religion, and especially engaged
in open war with the Catholic church.
The Catholic church is the only reli-
gious body which Socialists fear, and
which Socialists regard as their most
formidable enemy. Socialism is the
most dangerous enemy of labor. The
tendencies of Socialism are directed
against the rights of property, the
rights of labor, the freedom of the in
dividual and the rights of God. The
tendencies of Socialism are in favor
of might as against right, in favor of
strength as against weakness, against
the spiritual while claiming to ad-
vance the material welfare of man.
Wherever it has secured sufficient
organized strength to give it the
shadow of claim to be regarded as
a political organization, it has shown
it's antagonism to our Catholic faith
and all that the church stands for
One serious danger that every Cath
olic should guard against is the fact
that most of the leaders in the Social
list tendency assume, with a lofty air
of superior knowledge, that the Cath
olic church does not understand the
economics of Socialism. They will
admit, with patfonizing air, that the
Pope and the leaders of Catholic
thought are honest, unselfish and kind
ly disposed towards the cause of Ia
Dor. But, these Catholic leaders are
too often deceived and Influenced un-
duly by clever champions of capital,
and therefore they are not competent
judges of the needs of the laboring
classes No Catholic should permit
himself to be deluded by such unwar-
ranted assumptions on the part of the
advocates of Socialism. The church
has never failed to study the needs of
the poor. The poor are the richest in
heritance that Christ, the Savior, Who
did not even own the grave in which
He was buried, left to His church. The
poor have always found in the church
their most generous, most sympathet-
ic, most consistent and most unselfish
friend The teachers of divine truth
in the Catholic church have always
studied with devoted interest the prac.
tical problems relating to labor and
capital. A large percentage of the
Catholic clergy has come from the
ranks of the laboring classes. The
majority of the people who crowd up
to the affairs of the Catholic church
belong to the respectable and worthy
children of toll The church under
stands the needs of labor, and the
church realizes fully the menace Of
Socialism to the interests of the wage
Garner 1t should be satisfactory evi
dence for every Catholic that Social
ism is not the friend of labor, wher
he knows that the Popes, bishops ant
priests, and intelligent Catholic lay
men, in every land and everywhere
are unanimous in warning the people
against the impractical, the unjust ant
the un-Christian theories Of Social
ism. Socialism is the enemy of labor
The church is the best and trues
friend of both labor and wealth, for /
is the divinely appointed friend o
humanity.
Willie gloried in posing as "tougl