The Irish standard., 1919-03-08


motion have the support of the meet
ing, but letters were read from emf
nent priests and laity who heartily en-
dorsed it, and wished God-speed to it's
achievement. The principle, put into
execution, will mean great change
in our Convent schools. Briefly, the
idea is to cultivate the social sense,
and the creation in the schoolroom of
public opinion which will have learnt
among it's elementary lessons that So
cial injustice and oppression are sinful
and not to be acquiesced in or toler-
ated."
In the discussion which took place
at this Conference and which was
participated in by FIR. Heating, S. j.,
DR.. Downey, and Mrs. V. NJ. Crawford,
all well-known authorities in social
service, ideas were proposed which
had been outlined by the present writ
er year ago in two articles contri-
buted to Central Blatt and Social
Justice That this problem of prepar-
ing social workers touches the inter-
ests of the Church as closely in this
country as it does in England, needs
no proof Many Catholic girls are now
attending State universities, and many
are enrolled in the courses of Sociol-
! ogy, with a view of taking up social
service. The unwise policy of leav-
ing this work of training entirely to
those who are often hostile to Catho-
lie principles, has already been point
ed out.
! What then shall we do? At the
London Conference the unanimous
opinion of those present was this: we
must begin the training of our future
workers in the lower forms of our
schools. But as so many English
Catholic girls are being educated in
Convent schools, the sisterhoOds them
selves, as we see from the aforecited
paragraph, are to take the initiative
in training candidates for service for
the period of social reconstruction.
Those in attendance shared the opin-
ion of FIR. Perceval who presided. He
said ''it was up to the teaching nuns
to carry the proposition through. The
full force of such a movement could
not possibly be felt for some consid-
cradle time; possibly notsin their own
generation. 1t would be necessary
first to overcome many prejudices, and
to create new traditions in our Catho-
lie schools. But once these traditions
were created and fostered there was
really no limit to the amount of good
that might come out of it. He there
fore, invited the teaching nuns to help
the great cause of Gods Church in this
country in the tremendous responsible
tiles that lay before it in the future.
First, they must equip themselves, and
then, through them, the children un-
der their care. The world lay about
us in ruins, and the only thing that
could save it was reconstruction on
distinctively Catholic lines. The mot
to of the Church today must surely be
the motto that was given by our Holy
Father Plus X-"to restore all things
in Christ" The nuns part in this
(humanly speaking) impossible task
was great and noble one. It was
nothing less than to make England
Catholic through her women, and to
attempt that with any success they
must tackle the thing at it's source
and get at the Catholic girl
u The question at once arises wheth
: err these suggestions would be practic
of the plan would have to be left to
the Bishops, the superiors of the vari
GUS religious communities, and the
diocesan school-superintend From
these sources we may expect much
} help and cooperation in the great
work which we can no longer neglect
But that efforts along this line will be
taken before long is quite evident
J The Hospital Sisters" and those in
terested in their work, chiefly Catho
: lie physicians and nurses, have al
ready organized a Catholic Hospital
Association, to safeguard their inter
ests and to promote the efficiency Of
their particular branch of social serv
: ice. That the work will now have tc
be widened so as to include the entire
field of social service, needs no furth
er proof.
To ask the Sisters to devote part Of
their summer vacation to such studio.
seems hardly fair, in view of thu
i fact that so many of them are giving
: Iup part of that time to work along
c scholastic and professional lines
+ though many Of them would, no doub
: be willing to do so. Fortunately, al
4 Iapproach to solution of this vita
+ problem has been made by FIR. Joh1