SOME HOME-TRUTHS FOR BIGOTS

New Zealand Tablet, 15 August 1912, Page 45

SOME HOME-TRUTHS FOR BIGOTS

A DEFENDER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH The publishers of an anti-Catholic organ in the United States sent specimen copies of their publication to the Hon. Dudley G. Wooten, of Seattle, Washington. Mr. Wooten apparently does not appreciate such kinds of literature, and he tells the reason why. In the first, after declaring that he finds the utterances of the magazine ‘ plainly contradictory of the liberty and tolerance it professes to advocate,’ he remarks:‘l am not myself a member of the Catholic communion, but I do recognise—what every impartial observer realises the Catholic Church is to-day the only form of organised Christianity that is vital enough to merit consideration, and faithful enough to command respect. It is perfectly natural, then, that the allied forces of infidelity, indifferentism, and a decadent Protestantism should combine in an unholy crusade against it. To do so, however, in the name of religious liberty and toleration, is so manifestly insincere and disgusting that I must decline to read the literature of . such a syndicate of hypocrisy and malice.’ This outspoken criticism of the literature which emanates from the so-called Religious Liberty Association, was not appreciated by that body, so its secretary or some other official sent Mr. Wooten a long' letter explaining and defending the object of its magazine, and asking him to withdraw his censure or incur the reproach of being opposed to the American system of civil government. The effrontery of this provoked Mr. Wooten’s second letter, which was in part as follows: ‘lf you had said that there is a well-formed, concerted, and malicious movement extant in this country among certain Protestant ecclesiastics to secure governmental and legislative action hostile to the Church of Rome, for the purpose of discrediting the influence and crippling the growth of the Catholic faith, you would have stated a fact whose existence and significance are known to every discerning and impartial observer of the current tendencies. This movement is led by one very numerous and noisy denomination, whose fanaticism and bigotry seem to increase in proportion to its dwindling influence over sensible and liberal-minded men, and whose rancorous hatred of Catholicism extends even to the invasion of Rome itself. ‘ The Catholics, now and always in this country, have sought governmental recognition and action only for their own protection and to secure equal rights and privileges under the laws and institutions of the Republic, and you can show no authentic case to the contrary. ‘ Every intelligent man in the United States who is enlightened enough to be capable of discernment, and not so prejudiced as to deny the truth, realises that amid the disintegrating and disorderly elements of our civilisation the Catholic Church stands as the defender and conservator of all that is most vital and valuable in the constitution and institutions of civilised society. She takes an active and intelligent interest in politics and legislation to that extent and for that purpose only r to preserve the sanctity of the home, the authority of organised government, the safeguards of virtue and piety in public and private life, and the equal recognition and protection of every religious creed that is not in itself a denial of lawful authority. ‘lt is the deliberate judgment of all' thoughtful men, both in the Church and out of it, that she is destined to achieve her highest triumphs of usefulness to mankind in this Republic, and that no amount of narrow intolerance and ignorant prejudice can prevent Under the liberal and enlightened conditions here existing, emancipated from the political and secular entanglements due to her historic career in the Old World, and left free to extend her influence solely by the intrinsic power of her own divine mission on earth, the Catholic ; Church in America occupies a position where possibilities of growth and benevolence are immense and inevitable. The great; mass of our citizens

of all creeds and conditions recognise and welcome these possibilities'. ' It is only the ignorant, the intolerant, and the envious who dispute the facts and seek to prevent their consequences. Of course the turbulent and godless agitators, who defy the obligations of human laws and deny the authority of divine government, are bitterly hostile to the Church, as they have been and will continue to be always and everywhere. And so blind and unreasoning is the religious hatred of some Protestant leaders toward the Church, that they are willing to join the forces of lawlessness and infidelity in the war upon her rights and liberties.