Year: 1876

The Catholics and the Schools,


Catholic Bishop MQraid of Rochester,
New York, has been lecturing on the public
school question considered from the Catholic
standpoint. Bishop M'Quaid uses plain
words, but courteous ones, and equal plain
ness and courtesy are called for in reply. He
takes the position at the start that it is i'm
possible to establish any satisfactory system
of religious instruction in the public schools
because of the diversity of opinions enter
tanned by the prominent denominations. So
far majority, perhaps, of American citizens
will 60 with him. But he takes the position
too that sectarian instruction should be given
in the schools whenever pupils or the parents
ofpupils call for it; and he does not finch
from the logical consequence that as the
common school system does not admit of
sectarian instruction that system must be
done away with. He argues that an inalien-
able right is infringed upon, curtailed, cut
off altogether, when Catholic appears at a
school house door and finds that hostile
creed or no religious creed at all is taught
therein, and contends that the school system
is radically wrong. He demands that the
Catholics shall have schools of their own, in
which the Catholic creed shall be taught, and
asks for the non-interference of the State in
schools because interference .infringes upon
parental duties and responsibilities.


Bishop M'Quaid expresses the opinion Of
his Church. The Catholics will be content
with nothing less than the total destruction
of the common school system, and we may as
well prepare ourselves for struggle on that
question. The arguments they will put forth
will be plausible ones, and will be advanced
and defended by trained dialecticans. AT
ference of the State in church or in school,
and the combination of church and school
in the proposition will commend it TO many.
In order to combat it the proposition must be
broken up into two, and the only one with
which it is necessary for us to deal is the con-
nection of the State with the schools. In a
government founded on popular suffrage, in
which the opinion of the common people, ex-
pressed through the ballot box,is in effect the
court Of final appeal, it is necessary to the
safety of the State that every citizen should
be educated. The limits of that education are
not easy 10 fix, but certain amount of men.
tai discipline, and knowledge of certain
methods and facts sufficient to give power to
form correct judgments from facts and testi-
mony are imperatively required. As meas
ure of selfpreservation the State mast make
so much education compulsory, and it cannot
with safety leave the education of his chill
dren, who are its future citizens, entirely to
the parent. By taking education out of his
hands no just parental right is infringed up
on. A father may hold to the morals of Spar
ia, and teach his child to steal. Has not the
State right to interfere, and give the boy
other training than that? A father may hold
to the practice of Spain, and give his child no
education at all. Has not the State right
to interfere, and give the boy other training
than that? 1t certainly cannot afford to let
grow up generation of thieves and litter
ates.


Bishop McQuaid makes show of liber-
ality, and expresses his willingness to permit
other denominations to have schools of
their own in which their creeds may be
taught. We all know how much weight is
to be attached to this declaration. The
Catholics will clamor for the severance of
the school and state, of church and state, so
long as they are in the minority, but the
moment they come into power they will
proclaim the banns of marriage be-
tween these institutions. II is the only
consistent ground they can take. They
hold that their church organization is
directly authorized by God. and that the
Pope is His vicar upon earth to whom all
power here is given. As their church is the
only true church, as all others are damnable
heresies which God has commanded them to
crush out, they are of necessity fiercely in
tolerant. They feel that to them has been
entrusted the salvation of the worli, and that
not only the weapons of argument, but fire
and sword and the torture are to be used in
the inculcation of the only true faith; that
they are commanded to extirpate heresy on
pain of eternal damnation. The very con-
stltution Of their church implies that the
world shall be one great sacerdotal state, and
they never for moment lose sight of that
object. Their sincerity and piety make them
all the more dangerous, giving them the cour-
age of the fanatic.


1t is not expected that vigorous on
slaught upon religious freedom will be at
once made. Wise and cautious men guide
the counsels of the Catholic church, and they
will hasten slowly, breaking down defense
after defense. One great barrier to their sue
cess is the common school system. and upon
that the first attack is made. II is we'll not
10 under-rate the danger. Many do, giving
as reason for their ease of mind that the
catholics have not majority in this country.
This is true; but the Catholics propose to
carry tneir point by alliance with one of
the political parties which divide the vote !;
and they find party, the Democratic, which
has ever been ready to lend itself to their
purposes in order to secure by the aid of their
votes power and the opportunity for public
plunder. If the Democracy can get control
OF the national government by use of the
solid Catholic vote it will give great things in
return. There is the danger. The alliance
is not an unreasonable one, for pretext can
easily be found, has indeed already been
found. 1t is contended with show of reason
that sectarian worship is practiced in the
public schools. No one pretends that the
Protestant Bible is taught in the schools; but
the assertion is made that the reading of
verses or chapters and the offer of PRAYER at