The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-07-02

conclusions arrived at by the educar
tional convention held In Detroit some
years ago was that the present sys-
tenn Of state education was inadequate
inasmuch as it made no allowance for
the moral development of the pupil.
which ought TO be the primary func-
ton OF education. The Catholic
Church was the first to sense this in
adequacy and to take measures to
avail itself of the constitutional privi-
lege Of providing that, at least 50 far
as its own children were concerned.
this defect might be remedied. says
the Catholic Vigil.
We cannot too strongly stress the
fact that the Catholic school exists,
not as a protest against the public
school because of what it is, but as
protest against the public school be-
cause Of what 1t is not. We support
the public schools by our taxes. That
we do not avail ourselves of the op-
portunities for which we are paying
is our own business. We are con-
WINGED that SO far as it goes, our pub
lie educational system IS second to
none. In maintaining a separate sys-
tenn and thus submitting to double
taxation we are simply using our con-
stitutional right Of safeguarding the
religious heritage of our youth and as
surfing them character equipment
which we believe to be dependent up
on religion.
Parents have not yet forfeited this
right of protecting the faith Of their
children. Bitter experience has shown
them that this protection is impos-
sible in an atmosphere negatively hos
tile to religion. The finding of expe-
rience is verified by the fact that
hostility towards the Catholic religion
focuses its enmity upon the parochial
school. This enmity Is tantamount to
an admission that the Catholic herit-
age is dependent upon the Catholic
school. The propaganda against the
Catholic school system is aimed there
fore at the religion of the growing
generation Of American citizens. It is
an effort to rob them, whilst they are
still minors and unable to protect
themselves, of their rights as Ameri-
cans. The constitution guarantees US
the free exercise Of our religion. 1t
was with that intention that freedom
along educational lines was granted
from the beginning. The right of the
child is of UNNECESSARILY greater con-
Germ before the law than the right of
the adult. No subterfuge can hide
from thinking men the real purpose
behind the prejudice against Catholic
education: It is not Americanism but
the antithesis of Americanism.
The Catholic school presupposes
three premises: First, that the child
has a right to its religion; secondly,
that the only dependable safeguard OF
character is religion; thirdly, that il
religion is the biggest factor in human
life, it should dominate, instead OF
being subordinate to education, which
is supposed to be process of adapt,
ing the child to life's needs.
Either God exists or He does not
II there is no God, why play make.
believe? If there is q God, He holds
within His hand all the strands worth
while in human life, and all the irfiu
ences of the home and the school and
the Church should be strained to the
utmost towards the strengthening Of
those strands.
One educator recommends the story
book as means Of teaching morality
to the child; and this is what the story
book morality is: It's drain upon a
fast dwindling capital. And the CAPT
tai is whatever is left of real opera
tive faith in God. The moralist Of