The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1952-09-19
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment considered or lneensidersis


Among the hundreds af apochryphal stories
about the late President Coolidge is one that tells
of his remark to group of clergymen who visited
the White House. Your church believe in prosely-
tizing?" asked the President Then without giving
time for an answer, he added dryly, Mine does
What is this thing called proselytizing? In its
simple meaning, it is an effort to make converts.
In this sense, any man who sincerely believes
clearly knows, that he holds essential truth and
tries to bring others to his way of thinking is
proseyter proseytzer In this sense the Apostles
were proseyters And in this sense every person
who offers explanation argument to show the
justice of his own position IS proseyter; for,
manifestty, the whole purpose Of explanation and
argument is to win dissenting minds to assent and
agreement, that is, TO make converts.
But there is another and meaner sense in which
the word proseIutize is used II is used to signify
dishonest and underhand method of weaving peo-
pie away from allegiance. The true and honor
able proselyter makes his position clear for all to
see; he shows his wares and calls open attention 10
their aenuineness and value at least offers them
for test and assay The tricky and dishonorable
proseytzer is not so much interested in showing
his wares in damaging the people he considers
competitors
The Catholic Church. from the first mission Of
the Apostles has spared no effort to spread the
Faith among mankind She has shown herself
the city set hill that cannot be hid, the city of
truth and salvation. She has proclaimed the doc
trine OF Christ; she has offered proof of that doe
trine as the unique religious truh-the proof OF
reason, the proof of sanity lives the proof of
during history, the proof of martrydoms the proof
of supernatural sign and grace and illumination.
The heresies and the sectS opposed TO the Ca
tholic Church, have often been proselyters in the
diShonorabe sense Consider the story of religious
freedom in our own country. The New England col
onists victims of persecution in their native lands
were prompt to perSecute others who disagreed
with them in this land. Only in Catholic Maryland
was there true religious freedom. The Catholic
Church in Maryland everywhere and at all times,
eager to have all men come TO the knowledge
Of the truth" she eager for converts But she
was not blinded by this eagernesS: she was not
moved to persecute by law or deed those who
outside her pale She permitted all to follow
conscience, not by any shallow philosophy of toer
ance (Which is mere cold ndifference) but by the
sound philosophy OF the love of God and man, which
knows that "the Spirit breatheth where He will"
and that converts are not made by force or by
meanness or by bitterness
The Church proclaims truth. expounds it, mani
tests it, urges her children to let 1T shine through
their truly Catholic lives prays for its extension
among men, spares neither means nor lives To bring
IL 10 the attention of mankind. The Church never
seeks merely TO draw people nipdB from something;
To put upon them economic preSsures social linn
itations or 10 harry them with petty Inconvenience
or TO nag them with nastneSs and meanness-as,
for instance in the matter of school buses. The
Church ptueS and does not merely deprtve she seeks
10 win souls to truth and grace not merely to poison
minds against old allegiance All this comes
to thing the hurch is always true and hon
orable proselvter, her enemies are often tricky
and dishonorable proselyterS,
In the Latin countries Of South America the
people generally are the inheritors Of long ages of
Catholic culture They have the Faith Like their
coregionists everywhere land perhaps more than
their co-religonists in some plaees) they need to
be stirred to renewed zeal in the practice of what
they sacredly believe But whether jealous in
practice careless and lax they Catholics and
they rightly resent the coming of anti-Catholcs
among them with lures or threats to draw them
away from their Faith This is plain fact which
some myopic on-Cathocs cannot Perhaps they
could see IT If they would face another fact which
is this the Catholic Church is never merely anti
Protestant wae Protestant sects (notably in Latin
Americal definitely dntiCathoic. Proseyting of
the mere anti variety is never honorable proselyt
ing,
In The meeting of representatives of the World
Council of Churches in Sweden last month the
Exarch Archbishop of Central and Western Europe
cGreek Orthodox addressed some stern words
Said he Il take the liberty of recommending to
all of you to respect our church and, above all, to
condemn in your conscience the tendency of any
Protestant group to exercise proselytism in the
bosom of the Greek Orthodox country and to resist
IT, Such proseiytizng, If not stopped might cause
enmity among the Orthodox people against all
the Protestants and this would be disastrous to any
ecumenical movement
The sects or groups which srdently carry on
al.sY.v. etn
in their own minds or in their words. about the
doctrines which they would have people believe.
In fact they are against cear-cut doctrine They
AGAINST the hard saving" Of the Catholic Church.
They want unity but unity in general rejection
OF truly authoritative teaching Of precise belief
of understanding, appreciation, and allegiance In
word, they seek to destroy, not to build up, they
are not for something, but they are against Some
thing And BY that token they are bad proselyters.
unworthy Of respect.