IS ROMAN CATHOLICISM DECLINING IN AMERICA?

NZ Truth, Issue 58, 28 July 1906, Page 6

IS ROMAN CATHOLICISM DECLINING IN AMERICA?

TO THE BDITOB.

* Sir,— Your very able and trenchant article on "Pinching the Yellqw Pup's > 7Tail," in "Trvith" of the 14th inst., .tnust merit it the unqualified approA'M'iil and unstinted admiration of every true citizen of "Cod's Own Country." .'■But to my mind it seems somewhat' '/marred by 'the introduction and re-' ' " production in full, of Mr Franklyn's ' letter to the "Nelson Evening. Mail," giving figures from an Australian pub-, 'lication, .which he does not name, showing the enormous decline of Catholicism in America. It te a pity ■• • iyir : Franklyn did not endeavor to; verify hig figures— if he ■had the opportunity— before -giving i publicity to them, fn the circumstances *hey are very misleading and must ; cause a considerable; amount of mis-- ■ apprehension. No doubt Mr Franklyn ; was actuated by the best' intentions ; but his letter, if left unchallenged, would lead to much misgiving on the part of your readers. Now, I have kncta-ii..AMo«ca.:;fot. over forty years, and watched the progress of the; 'Catholic Churcli; in that country,, anil so far fronr ' declining in numbers, wealth and -affl^ierrc'e,. I can safely asseri, without. ;fear of contradiction, that- she was xnever so prosperous or ■ , influential as she- has . been during ■ thelast quarter of a century. Instead' of losing ground, as the Australian pub-, lication referred to assumes,, it .will be found t4iat no other denomination in America has made inore rapid strides, socially, morally, ihtelleotu- . ally -and influentially, within, the same period. But the man who as- . serts that the Catholic Church in Am- ,. erica has lost 20,000 ,000 of adherents within a comparatively recent period, or within any. p«riod, must -he either •talking very rashly or he knows not - what he is' jalluiig about. Twenty] millions of adherents lost ,to the Catholic Church] in the United States ! It is presumed Ithat by .'America, he means the U.S. A- How in the name of common sense could she lose so enormous a number of . adherents in a country where she has never had so many professing. Catholics at any one time ? The thing is most ridiculous, and can only be an invention ,of the enemy to suit some nefarious purpose. 1 The Catholic population of the United States has been variously estimated at from twenty to twenty-five millions. But that is apparently an error, -being out of all proportion to the total Christian population of the United States. According to the last census the total Christian population of the States was thirty-nine millions, out of a total population of some eighty millions. Of these thirty-nine millions of Christians, ' thirteen' millions are set down as Catholics, leaving sixteen millions as belonging „ to all other Christian' denominations. One secular authority, however, estimates the Catholics at twenty-five mjJJions, while the "Catholic Direc- . -tor y," which should be in a position' to know, puts them at twelve . mil- . lipjisTj wlricjiis in all probability near- """ $st the'truth. But even supposing.we Jaske the secular 'authority's figures as "correct, it is preposterous to suppose that twenty millions left the Church in the course of a few years. Why, if that were the case, the church would have to close her doors,, as 1)e---ing reduced to stagnation. Bufe instead of that we find, her Ml*of-,Hfe> *nd vigor, and capaWe^of holdingiher ,own against all others, the assumpjtions of that Australian, publication* So the contrary notwithstanding. But if the figure&'giveneiby the-Aus-" .tralian- publication is. -a. sample. of .the .author'*; veracity/what reliance can/be* placed on those given for Canada, Belgium, Austria,; &c. ? Chindquy : visited these* colonies some five andf jtwehty or thirty years ago, and I -should like to know how many concerts he made. I have never heard ..of ■ *>ne. But, like most other renegades,... me filled his pockets t-with money re-i-ceived from his dupes ; and on his arrival in America, where he received* Jittle or no encouragement, he quarirelled with his secretary.-, and agents ./over the division of the Australasian--spoils. As to the secession' from the.church in- Canada, .1 believe the statement to be a pure -fabrication. The {Canadian French are zealous Catholics, and if any of them hearkened to SChiniquy's blandishments; it , was- not jto join other churches "but' to: 'become jpure atheists. I have never yet heard' :of a sincere Catholic going over to [Protestantism through conscientious: motives. And if any of them have 2eft[ the Mother Church in Belgium and? 'Austria you will find it was (through worldly considerations, a la SLutter, Henry. VIII., Calvin,,. Chinijquy, Slatteijy, &c., &c, „ Kjyt to retfcrn to the question-under-lying ts«U v this apparent exaggeration, jwhat is tftveM*fo feat from the supjppsefl domaMnce of Roman Catholicism ■?■ Nothing} i as you- fairly, and imjpaitially remajirKj Assuming -that the pathoift&^vws. United States were Tfcjwenity-five mjjil(libns, or even twiceIjthat number t is atay one so blinded by or 'animosity, as to think jthat they wotatd; 1 take 1 advantage ■of [their superioq and outvote (the others as d&tif imental *o the interests rof the S&ate^ or to» the minorSty if 1 you willi? I think the attitude of the Irish Catholics to their fellow .{Protestants, v^ho, are in the great aiiinoijity should disabuse the mind on ;that point. Is it not a well-known fa|ct that Catholic Ireland has for the last fifty or sixty years been returning Protestants to represent them in •Parliament— although the Protestants ai|e only about one-fourth of the population ? And is not the same prac'itiue pursued in France, even on a larger scale, where Catholics outnumber aty other sects by about thirty-eight ,toi one. In that largely Catholic jDojuntry they make no distinction as Ito religious tests. Atheists, Jews, Freethinkers, and other secte are reiturned to Parliament by Roman Car thblic electors. And so it is in most, ai not all, Catholic countries. This cry, then, of Roman dominance, of Roman persecution, can be nothing but the emanation of a chafed brain. | This Img-hear of the State's beinK in \ danger from the growth or spread of ! Roman Catholicism is 3,11 imagina- ! fcion, and. to ur-:e a colloquio.lisin, j "woii't wash !" It is to be regretted, '

that any such groundless fears should be attempted to be promulgated by a party of no significance in this fair country— a party to whom you have given from time to time in your liberal journal a -well-deserved qastigation. Of course, the party to whom I allude is easily understood. The same party that endeavored by intrigue of the foulest kind, o£ the worst description, to deprive the late Queen -Victoria and her lineal descendants of the Crown of England ; ami in whose defence Daniel O'Connell, great Catholic, and- Irishman though he was, declared in the House of Commons his readiness to raise in Ireland half-a---million Catholic soldiers. Needless to say, such a party is beneath contempt. Its members, wherever domiciled, are ever disturbers of the' peace. Your readers are familiar with their conduct in Australia, in Ireland, and I have known them in America some forty years ago, where, hr New York, three hundred of them marched out of their lodge, and with drums beating and banners flying, to the tune of the "Boyne Water," armed with revolvers -tried to break up a peaceful Catholic procession'bf 50,000. strong, on a St. Patrick's "Da^;' with fatal results to themselves— several . of their number ibeiiig killed. f Such %ere the scenes that eiisued that the- May or of New York" was . compelled j^ call Out the volunteers and .State ■■„jnilitia to suppress the disturbances"^" and to , have afterwards enacted a Jaw prohibiting party processions in New York, city in future.. 'And this is^jie party whoin . we hear so much about lately, andi who, if permij/ted, wouid; menace the peace -of this law-abiding country as they have heretofore ■ done in Australia and elsewhere. But it is satisfactory to know that their power- for 'mischief here is infinitesimal, if not 'nil'. The cdmmon sense and intelligence of'^ the of the people ic capable- of clieclcmatiivg all such machinations and diabolical prbceedings. Hence, there can be no legitimate tear of the. growth of Catholicism, or its dominance in politics to the detriment of the interests pf the State. This storm-in-a-teapot the assumption the. Premiership by Sir Joseph Ward on his return to the colony is only th e result of i gnor ance . and. prejudice. And it is .with a' r view ; to dispelling,, if possible, that Igttor-! ahce and prejudice that I liave written sp extensively rather, than because of any great importance' h might have attached, to the ■question at issue. Sir Josep-h is nip fool, and we 'may be certain his policy will be guided by what he considers the best inteiests of the , community at large. , Then, it should be reinenibered that a Premier, whatever his inclinations, cannot do as ho pleases. He must work in harmony with his Cabinet— the members of which, if possessed of any stamina, must to some extent control his , actions. But there is proof already of his ability and disinterestedness in the manner in which he conducted tht; affairs of this colony as Acting-Pre-mier during the absence of the late Premier at the Queen's Jubilee and the King's Coronation. And at the recent Postal Conference he discharged Jris .'duti 6s with the eclat of an experienced diplomat, winning the respect and esteem of. all concerned. And, again, see the high consideration shown to him by 'his; Sovereign prior to his leaving Eiiglarid-, and the marked compliments paid to him . by the President, journalists, merchants and citizens of America, while en route to New Zealand.: ••■''■■ v But, apart from- all"^ that, why; this cry' against -a Catholic, gentleman assuming the reins of Government? Have we not had Catholic Governors, -'Catholic Premiers, a»d Catholic Privy Councillors in all the Australasian colonies heretofore, who have conducted the affairs of these countries with marked' impartiality, with credit to 'themselves, with benefit to -the people, and with the confidence oft the Home authorities. Then, look at Canada, where the Catholics- and Protestants are about equal, electing a Catholic gentleman as Premier-rra gentleman who has won the confidence of his Sovereign, ithe^respect of '-the' Democracy .and the r love of. his people/Yes, a gentleman, jSir Wilfrid cX.au.rier, who ■ is. recognised throughout the world as a great- patriot, ..statesman- and legislator.. It will- thus>l)e> inferred .tliaU the •charge that Catholics are unfit to govern mixed- commu-nities-i partakes of •the slanderous, and that' there are. no grounds whatever for the- gross impu.tation. 'And I have no doubt whatever that if Sir- Joseph^ Ward assumes the Premiership he has sufficient tact to legislate in the interests of this country without being' swayed by any feelings of his own; and that the community as a whole will in time reicognise and benefit by -his- wise legislation.—l am, etc., ■ THIGaiNTU 4 -22nd 'July, 1906.