-* "WE CATHOLIC S."

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 12, 10 July 1885, Page 13

WE CATHOLICS ."

TO THE EDITOR K.Z. TABLET. SIB, -Judging by the apparent earnestness with which the so-called apathy of the Catholics of New Zealand is being canvassed by vonr various correspondents, I am inclined to think that we may reason, ably conjecture that in the not very distant future there js a prospect of seeing that sin— let us call it what we may— wiped away The first step towards removing an evil is that those who possess the power to remove it are fully convinced of the necessity of doing so. It would appear that this step has been made. let me express the hope that those who have raised their voices in lamentation will not now retire into obscurity, satisfied that they have done all that their duty required. ' ' J One great difficulty at present seems to be to discover the cause of $ie present inactivity of the Catholics of New Zealand Well it matters little what may be the cause, if we can" pnly discover a remedy ; but, after all, is the cause so very hard to find ? Both Mr Maskell and Mr. Perceval admit that we are not united, and may not that very fact be the cause of the evil they deplore so much I May not disunion have brought about a state of things bearing the appearance of apathy, but which is nevertheless nothing of the sort l 1 protest strongly against the word ajathy being made use of to express the condition of [Catholics-in Canterbury at all events Whatever their defects, apathy is not one of them. £>o their noble and cheerful responses to the many calls which are constantly beine made upon them, for the support of their schools and convents, for the building of churches and for the cause of education generally throughout the Colony point to the sin of apathy '/ Call them whatever else you please, hut do not call them apathetic. I will grant however, that there is amongst them a very lamentable inactivity' which inactivity, I attribute, as I hinted above, to their being utterly disunited. J .And now let me go a little further and ask, what is the cause of this disunion ? I know no other, indeed I require no other for that is the very cause, the " standoffishness " between class and claes which Mr. Maskell dislikes so much, and which we all see and are inwardly amused at. One need not reside a long time in the midst of a community like that of Christchurch, to perceive that the very men, whose influence if exerted would be productive of the very best results, simply don't exert it at all. Why they don' t is not easy to say, but they don't. And what is the consequence ? Well, just this : the people finding themselves deserted, shunned I might Bay, by those who ought to be their leaders, naturally feel discouraged and of course fail to carry out even those projects which they know to concern their most vital interests. Your Christchurch correspondent in his letter of the 13th ult. holds up this discouragement almost as an accusation of guilt, but in doing so I don't think he acts wisely. They can no more help feeling discouraged than would a handful ,of imperfectly drilled recruits who found themselves opposed to a well-equipped' and disciplined aimy. Here, then, is the secret of our disunion. The very men who by reason of their social position or intellectual abilities would easily acquire an influence oveT the great body of Catholicß, the very men whose duty it is to lead them, avoid them, shun their societies scowl at them perhaps in the street, as Mr. Perceval correctly puts it, and are never seen any more. Did I shock you when I spoke of being amused at this queer thing, "standoffishness"? (I am glad that Mr. Maskell hit upon this word. It is one I had long sought for and had failed to find). When viewed as I have just been viewing it, there is of course nothing amusing about it, but it has a comical aspect nevertheless. Mr. Maskell says he knows instances where a Catholic has lived in the town for a very considerable length of. time and people haven't called upon him, haven't invited him to dinner, haven't tried to induce him to become intimate with them. Did the gentleman in question expect that any of these good things would happen to him ? It seems almost incredible that Mr. Maskell can have known a case like this, bat as he never jokes in a serious matter I must take his word for it. I said, sir, that apathy did not exist among the Catholics of Canterbury. Allow me to correct myself. Apathy there is, but it does not rest in the quarter your correspondents suppose. It rests with those who ought to lead their co-religionists and don't. The Catholics of this Colony ought to be a considerable power, but they will never be so, except— to quote the words of your Christchurch correspondent—" by combination and mutual help." Let me, however, remark that for purposes of combination leaders are required, and that mutual help pre-supposes fraternal charity. Let allmore especially the apathetic ones— take to heart Mr. Perceval's counsel and do what they can for each other, forgetting all former " standoffishness "j let them jointly consider what they want, and aid each other in getting it. Let them not, for instance, be content with deploring political disorganisation, but let them find out the best way to become organised. Either it can be done or it cannot. If it can, it behoves those who have most experience in these matters to get it done ; if not, a thousand times better to have said nothine about it. & To make myself quite clear, let me recapitulate what I have said. The great bulk of the Catholics of New Zealand ate not apathetic, but they are inactive. This inactivity is due to their disunion and disorganisation. This disunion and disorganisation result from the fact that their natural leaders stand aloof from them individually and collectively, and are themselves sunk ' in the very apathy of which they accuse their fellow Catholics. The remedy is that they shake off their apathy, and assume the position which they ought to occupy,— l am etc. if, Dobbin Chrifltchurch, July 6, 1885,