Evening star., 1939-10-22
Washington Becomes
an Archdiocese
BIZ Frederic J. H1skin.

pened to be taken has occasioned much
speculation. For many years. IN most
cases centuries, ether great capitals have
been Of the archdiocesan rank, but
Washington alone has had no archbishop,
indeed, not even bishop.
The inner counsels of the Catholic
Church are its own affair and even rela-
lively high churchmen do not necessarily
know the various steps which have been
taken to bring about the elevation Of
the American capital after so many
years, but the Catholic Church being in
a sense the widest spread democracy in
the world, there has been much discus
sion of the matter. One idea seems to
stand out prominently. That is that the
Holy See feels that Catholic prejudice of
long standing in the United States has
disintegrated to such a degree that the
elevation of Washington will be well
coined by Catholics and Protestants
alike as due recognition of the impor-
tance of the city.
Although there are some 20 900 900 per-
sons of Catholic faith in the United
>,
taken as Nation, might be called the
richest parish of the Holy See, neverthe-
less anti-Catholic feeling has endured
throughout the years. The colonists who
came to the Atlantic seaboard. with few
exceptions, were Protestants. Those who
came to Virginia were Church of Eng
land Protestants in the main and that
fba toh
Southern Colonies until the American
Revolution. Those who came to New
England were stern dissenters even from
the Church of England and even farther
away in spirit and formula from the
Catholic Church. With such a heritage
it has been but natural that an anti
Catholic feeling should have been hand.
ed down over the generations
The first emphatic indication of
breaking down of the old prejudice came
when Alfred E. Smith of New York. a
leading lay Catholic, obtained the Demo-
cratic nomination for the presidency and
polled such huge vote that the long
established idea that no Catholic could
possibly even be considered for President
AAoo " VIC QLSCdIuCO. AON. Was,
indeed, defeated but so many other is
sues were involved and even in defeat,
he received SO many millions of popular
votes from all sections of the country,
that it cannot be said with certainty that
he was beaten because he was Catholic.
Since that time, as even before it, manv
Catholics have been both elected and
appointed to the highest Offices, most Of
the opposition against them arising not
from religious but from political grounds,
as would be the case with any appoint.
ment in country where partisan poll.
tics maintain government of checks
and balances.
Last spring new pontiff was elected
by the College of Cardinals Bishop Of
Rome: that is to say, Pope. He was a
man who but recently had visited the
United States as papal secretary Of
state where he made distinctly favor
able impression with all parties. His
late eminence Cardinal Mundelein, Arch
bishop of Chicago, was personal friend
of President Roosevelt, the two having
exchanged visits. Since the cardinals
death, his auxiliary, Bishop Shiel of
Chicago, visited Rome and it was noted
that the American Embassy was under
instructions to accord him every mark of
respect and perform every service. Both
before he sailed from the United States
for Rome and after his return he
lunched with the President.
There have been In recent months
many current reports to the effect that
there is to be material increase in the
among Americans.
All these elements. considered together.
have formed picture which millions of
Americans have not failed to see. 1t
would be idle to suggest that anti-Cath-
olic sentiment in the United States has
dwindled to inconsiderable proportions.
Such is far from the case and such SEN
timent is as strong in some sections of
the country as it ever was but regarding
the country as a whole, there is unques-
tionably greater degree of religious toll
erance and it is quite obvious that
prejudice against Catholics has weakened
materially.
Another factor in the making of the
new American attitude springs from a
foreign situation. Americans are pledged
by their Constitution to religious toler-
ance, but that pledge has not perhaps
been always religiously kept However,
Americans have always been champions
of fair play and it is believed that the
prosecutions of Jews and Catholics by
the Nazi party in Germany has had a
part in fashioning American thought.
The stoning of Cardinal Innitzer's house
in Vienna by Nazi mob and the at
tempts at the suppression of Cardinal
Faulhaber in Germany had inevitable re-
actions in America, not alone among
Catholics.
1t is as q sequel to all these events
and trends of thought that the Holy See
now has made the Capital of the United
States an archdiocesan city. It is no
more than fair to say that had such an
action been taken so years ago, probably
even Is years ago, a storm of criticism
would have been aroused. There would
have been cries that Rome was attempt
ing to fasten upon the American Gov
ernment at its fountain head There
seems now to be q general recognition
that changes have come over the world,
including the United States and that