Evening star., 1924-09-21
COUNCIL UN|F|ES
CATHOLIC ACTIVITY
N. c. w. c. Formed Here in
! 1919 by 81 Members
of Hierarchy.

81 members or the American nle-
rarchy, meeting at the Catholic Uni
Nersity of America in Washington,
D. c.. established the National Catho-
lie Welfare Council. The council was
organized as an agency to unity and
coordinate Catholic activity through
out the United States and to promote
the general interests of the church
and the welfare of the country.
The National Catholic Welfare
Council operated first as the National
Catholic War Council, one of the
seven agencies designated by the
United States Government and the
organization through which function
ed the Catholic patriotic effort in
connection with the welfare activities
incidental to the war. The story of
the patriotic accomplishments of the
National Catholic War Council during
the war and reconstruction period
has been recorded in volume en-
titled american Catholics in the
War" This book tells how a new
era in the history of the church in
America was opened through the
bravery of her sons in battle and the
sacrifice of her flock at home.
Agencies Grouped
The 90 members of the hierarchy
who met in Washington in 1919 de-
termined, as they themselves stated
In their pastoral letter issued shortly
after that date, ito maintain, in view
of the results obtained through the
merging of our activities for the time
and purpose of war, the spirit of union
and the corporation of our forces
for the ends of peace. Ac-
cordlngiy, we have grouped together
under the National Catholic Welfare
Council the various agencies by which
the cause of religion is furthered.
Each of these, continuing its own spe-
cial work, will now derive additional
support through general co-opera-
ton, and all will be brought into
closer contact with the hierarchy,
which bears the burden alike of au
thority and of responsibility for the
interests of the Catholic Church"
The action of the bishops was every
where acclaimed and the movement
to unity the Catholic laity welcomed.
history at Columbia University, re-
ferred to the establishment of the
n. c. w. C. as the most fruitful
and significant creation of the war"
Senator Walsh of Massachusetts
welcomed the n. c. w. c. as the
agency in America by which the
laity can be doers rather than simply
hearers of the Word"
Given Wide Support.
These opinions were voiced by
many other Catholic leaders who
studied the organization and familiar
lied themselves with its operation
Two supreme pontiffs of the church,
the late Pope Benedict XIV and the
present reigning pontiff, Pope Plus
X1, have blessed the organization and
urged the bishops and laity to work
for its success. Pope Benedict saw in
the n. c. W. c. a mechanism which
provided means whereby the
clergy and laity might strive that
America become the leader in all
things Catholic" In September. 1922,
Pope Plus sent, through Bishop
Schrembs, episcopal chairman of the
lay organizations department of the
n. c. w. c.. a special message to the
bishops meeting held in Washington
that year. II expect" said His Holi-
ness to Bishop Schrembs, that the
bishops will arrange to go on with
the work of the National Catholic
Welfare Council. The council and
the bishops have my blessings. l
trust that they will earnestly set to
work for the welfare of church and
country"
At that same meeting the hierarchy
sent the following message of ap-
proval to the officers and members
of the National Council of Catholic
Men and the National Council of
Catholic Women:
The arcnbishops and bishops of
the United States. at their meeting
held at the Catholic University, have
learned with much pleasure of the
very splendid work accomplished by
the National Council of Catholic Men
and the National Council of Catholic
Women during the short time of their
existence. They are much gratified
a of n nf 10
true Catholic loyalty of both bodies
and express the sincere hope that
they may continue in the same spirit.
Let them carry on their work un-
der the guidance and leadership of
their bishops in those dioceses where
they are invited to organize and they
will become great power for good
and deserve well of the church in
America"
Name Is Changed.
Again, in 1923, the holy father sent
a special letter, read at the annual
meeting of the bishops by his excel
lency, Archbishop Fumasoni Biondi,
apostolic delegate, in which his holi-
ness praised the bishops ''character-
istic ability for organization" At this
same meeting the name of the n. c.
w. C. was changed to the National
Catholic Welfare Conference instead
of the National Catholic Welfare
Council, by which name it had been
designated from the beginning.
The departments of the conference
are education, social action, press and
publicity, laws and legislation, lay
organization-the latter including the
National Council of Catholic Men and
the National Council of Catholic
Women. These departments are di-
reccted by an administrative COM
mittee selected at the meeting Of the
hierarchy, the departmental deSigna-
tion being made by the members of
the administrative committee select
ed The executive work of the \. c.
w. c. is in the care of the chairman
of the administrative committee,
Archbishop Hanna of San Francisco,
who is represented at N. c. w. c.
headquarters by a general secretary
selected each year by the administra-
tive committee Rev. John ]. Burke,
c. s. p, is the general secretary of
the conference. Archbishop Dowling
of ST. Paul is chairman of the depart
ment of education; Bishop McDevitt
of Harrisburg, acting chairman of the
department of press and publicity;
Bishop Muldoon of Rockford, chair
man of the department of social ac-
ton; Bishop Gibbons of Albany,
chairman of the department of laws
and legislation, and Bishop Schrembs
of Cleveland, chairman of the depart
ment of lay organizations.
In connection with the department
of lay organizations. which includes
the mems and women's councils, these
national bodies were formed, not to
supplement societies then in exist
ence or to encroach upon their special
prerogatives or fields of action; they