Year: 1870

many, and with reason, from their own point OF view
Catholics do not accept tho Protestant version Prot
estsnts do not accept Those who do not admit
tho authority of the Scriptures do not naturally wish
| them TO DO read where their children arc educated.
There IS no remedy for this difficulty. AS far as our
opnIon goes We have regarded the reading OF
appropriate portions OF the Bible as any great obec-
ton IN itself Public Schoos provided that It be
done without comment attempts at Interpretation
Formerly customary for tho teacher to open the
exercises OF the day with prayer in which very often he
embodied his notions OF Scripture, and the peculiar
tiles OF his religious creed To great extent we believe
that this practice has been renounoed Still In many
ways the pupil will mbbe the opinions Of those whom
he respects from whom he expects to derive light In
the arduous way OF knowledge II seems to US that no
argument is needed to satisfy the honest mind OF these
truths which are after all. facts. The exclusion or me
B6le roid render 0e Common Schools sdfsacto'yt 10
u.s. for this alone would not mako them Don-sectarian


"secondly, need something more than no'esecdrtdn


bools 10 such could be found Eegat,ons IN religion aud
science do not si We believe that religion cannot be
separated from education" &C., &C.
Such are the views of an able and candid
Catholic divine. We believe they are substan-
tally those of the whole Catholic hierarchy.
and clearly countenanced by sections 40, y, 2,
's of the Pope's Syllabus of modern errors
condemned by the Church. In short we be-
lieye the Catholic priesthood. with few (if any
exceptions, stand with Father Preston and not
with Mr.. Lynch. And the laity, if they are
not already in accord with the clergy on thls
point, ultimately will be.


Father Preston further says:


with convictions Of duty. no schools VIII satisfy
MS bat those In which teach religion; opening
its beauties upon the expanding mind from day to day.
training the with the intellect and preserving the
harmonies of science and faith. We do not believe IN
leaving the religious instincts to he perverted or In cu
waiting the understanding at the expense OF the duty we
owe to our almighty Creator and mercifu Redeemer We
do not hold educating If he were the creature OF
time, aud notl the child of eternity. Hence we
are obliged establish schools Of our own where we can
give truly Christian training to our children"


All this seems to us wrong as wrong can
be- Father Preston might as reasonably object
to having Mathematics or Grammar taught
otherwise than by Doctor of Theology, on the
assumption that tho faith should be paramount
in all things. We say to Father Preston and
all who side with him. "There is Sunday, set
"apart by law as day of religious instruction
"and worship. There are your churches and
" other edifces and apartments dedicated to
"religlous uses. If you say. these do not
"sufiice, add Saturday, when we have no secular
schools, and enlarge your accommodations
"but let lis have five days in the week for sec





"body polite. If we undertake to split up, and
"have Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist Bap-
"tist, Episcopal, and Unitarian schools, 1t Is
"plain that half our children will have no schools
"at all. Our population is too sparse, our means
"toO limited, to support such bewlderlng
multiplicity of schools. We cannot undertake
ait Let the children of each school district
"cOme together to learn whatever is COM
"mon and precious to men of diverse
faiths then let them separate and each 90
" the way indicated by his parents to be in
structed in religion. If a different plan be
adopted, thousands of children must grow up
without any secular instruction whatever"
This will not answer. In our view, Education
is no charity (Which Father Preston terms it)
but Urgent pnhlc necessity. We educate
our own children for their sakes we submit
to be taxed to educate others chill
dren because we dare not let them
grow up in ignorance with the destines OF the
Republic in their keeping. The State educates
her children in order that the State may not
be DESTROYED by them but cherished and up
held as the egis of their rights, their security,
their prosperity. She teaches whatever is
universally regarded as true and impartial;
wherever opinions gravely differ, the State
should remit each child to such incubation
as his parents may prefer. That is the
fairest and best that can be done: if
we give it up, we shall soon have no
Common Schools at all and no Free Education
for the children of the Poor We are willing
nay, anxious-to concede where concession is
not suicidal and will avail but our Common
Schools must stand. Any parent is welcome
to have his children educated elsewhere; but
this does not and should not absolve him
from doing his part toward the maintenance of
Commnn Schools