How is this atmosphere created? By the continued, persevering repetition of the same ideas; by the vesting of these same ideas in the attractive garb of self-interest, passion, fancy and vogue. On this process, we all know by experience, is based the ever youthful power ofAdvertisement. . . and ofFashion.
Advertisement! Modern business is built to a great extent on the mysterious allurement, the attractive invitation and innocent camouflage of the advertisement that you find sparkling everywhere, on the flashy poster, in the show-window, in the magazine, in the daily paper. Without willingness to admit our weakness, we fall victims to this wizard that we despised yesterday and court to-day, and line up at the counter . . . for aSpecial Sale, anAstonishing Bargain. "We are so thoroughly accustomed to the exploits of the advertiser that we take them as a matter of course, rarely pausing to appreciate the art, or at least, the artfulness with which we have been lured into the acceptance of his ideas."
Fashion! Who can analyze this power so great, so universal? Who can explain the psychology of this fact? Every spring and fall of the year Dame Fashion has an opening-ball—Paris plays the tune, New York wields the baton, the ladies of the world . . . keep time . . . and the gentlemen pay the piper.
We mention these facts of every day life to illustrate the permeating and driving force of an idea, when constantly kept before the mind. And what advertisement and fashion are in the commercial and social life,PropagandaandPublicityare in the world of thought. The policy of propaganda is to enlist the active co-operation of every vehicle of thought for the furtherance of an idea and to keep that idea ever before the public. One readily sees the tremendous responsibilities, and understands the flagrant abuses of those called to create and direct Public Opinion. "The supremacy of ideas," it was stated, "gives the greatest places of opportunity to those who awaken, stimulate and organize the thinking of the people and especially the thinking of a people in a democracy. The teacher's desk, the preacher's pulpit, the orator's platform, the writer and editor's sanctum—these are the places of true leadership, the thrones of real power."
This analysis of Public Opinion, of its power, of its formation will now make us better understand its relations with the Catholic Church.
Public Opinion and the Catholic Church.
Nowadays the relation of Public Opinion to the Catholic Church is, generally speaking, one of suspicion, frequently of silent contempt and very often of open hostility. This statement of fact may appear to many too sweeping; its broadness may trouble the peaceful faith of others. Yet, history and every day experience prove the truth of our assertion. We go further and claim that for the Church this condition will, and must exist. The Church, like Christ, her Founder and Master, is to be a "Sign of Contradiction." Her very name "Catholic" is a perennial witness to her sublime and admirable Catholicity, and thereby an abiding proof of her Divinity. A Church that modifies her tenets and adjusts her moral standards to accommodate herself to the conveniences and fancies of the world is not, and cannot be the Church of Christ. Now, as in the times of the Apostles, the Church "Is a Sect that is everywhere spoken against"—"If ye were of the world?" said the Saviour, "the world would love his own; but ye are not of this world, therefore the world hateth you." Yes, suspicion, contempt and hostility are the hall-marks of historic Christianity, for they are the realization of Christ's promises to His Church, the fulfilment of His prophesies. This fact for a Christian who has eyes to see, and ears to hear, is particularly noticeable when periodically a tidal wave of bigotry or open persecution strikes the Catholic Church, lashes itself into fury, washes the Rock of Peter with ugly foam . . . and dies away, ashamed of its own powerlessness and unfairness.
Viewing this relation of Public Opinion to the Catholic Church—not as an evidence of that spiritual conflict, often unconscious but ever real—but as a fact, a historic reality, some may ask the proof of our rather bold statement. Even those who are not of our Faith, and yet always wish to be fair and broad in their dealings with the Catholic Church, may question it.
The proof is very simple to give. Public Opinion is against theCatholic Church, because the powers that create and maintain PublicOpinion are against the Catholic Church. Facts here speak forthemselves.
The Press—the Novel—the Periodical Literature—the Cinema—the Stage—the Public School—the Academy and University Halls—the Legislative Assemblies . . . are without doubt the high voltage-wires that receive, carry and distribute the current of Public Opinion. Or rather, like the wireless stations they gather those invisible and imponderable waves of thought and feeling that are ever flashing through the intellectual and moral atmosphere of nations, and translate their message to the masses. Between these powers and Public Opinion there is a continuous action and reaction. They are at the same time themouldersandmirrorsof Public Opinion. They are itsmasters, but with the condition of being first itsservants.
Of all these creative forces none is greater and more universal than thePress. If Public Opinion is the king and master of the modern world, the Press is assuredly his faithful and most active Prime Minister. This chief executive has extended the kingdom of his master to the very confines of the civilized world. Nothing has contributed more to the rule of Public Opinion than the Press. With it ideas and opinions run through the public mind as rapidly as the dispatches that carry them. "Mental touch is no longer bound up with physical proximity. With the telegraph to collect and transmit the expressions and signs of the ruling mood, and the fast mail to hurry to the eager clutch of waiting thousands the still damp sheets of the morning daily, remote people are brought as it were into one another's presence." (Ross-Social Psychology.)
The ordinary man now sees the world through his newspaper. He absorbs facts and principles with the shades and variations the daily paper gives them. Reports of events and announcements of policies are colored to suit the aims and opinions of the editors and proprietors. Windy platitudes—at least for those who know facts and have studied principles—become gospel truth for the unthinking mass. Public Opinion is thus conscripted by an "irresponsible power." This irresponsibility of the Press is without doubt the greatest menace of the day. For, the opinions,—we mean to say—the propelling forces of the silent millions are at its mercy. . . . And these silent millions make and unmake the world.
This great power of the Press is inimical to the Catholic Church. By press, you will readily understand, we do not mean any particular paper, or a certain group of papers, but rather that formidable ensemble of tremendous financial backing, of world-wide information-services, of chains of papers that encircle the globe, of these various agencies that tap the telegraphic wires of every country and keep the cables hot. The Hearst papers alone reach simultaneously four or five million readers daily. From New York to San Francisco one man is leading the minds of these millions "to conclusions that he wants them to arrive at"—What Hearst is for the United States, Lord Northcliffe is for England.
This great press is against the Catholic Church. The total suppression of truths and of facts; the conspiracy of silence—often more dangerous than an open attack; the coloring of news with shades of thought suited to a definite purpose; the partial admission of truth and the maimed relation of facts; the bold assertion of deliberate falsehoods; the deceptive headlines—and the people live on headlines; the insinuating title which is often in flagrant contradiction to the dispatch it underlines:—these are a few of its various strategies of attack. "The Pope and the War," "Quebec and the War," "The Guelph Novitiate Incident," are recent instances of what we refer to.
Some may object that the Catholics are of a rather susceptible nature and always expect "privileges"—No, we only want the privileges of truth, we mean fair play, equality, and justice.
What we say of the Press can also be said of periodical literature and modern fiction. "The very nature of periodical literature," says Cardinal Newman, "broken into small wholes and demanded punctually to an hour involves the habit of extempore philosophy . . . and that philosophy, we know is not Christian philosophy. The writers can give no better guarantee for the philosophical truth of their principles than their popularity at the moment and their happy conformity in ethical character to the age which admires them."
Any one who has kept in touch with the stream of modern fiction is well aware to what extent its waters are polluted and have contaminated the mind and heart of our present generation. When the world has been slaking its literary thirst at sources such as H. G. Wells, Galsworthy, Ibanez—only to mention a few—should we be astonished that public opinion is drifting to paganism? If theories of "Free Love" and Divorce are rampant in our society, the responsibility to a great extent lies with our modern novel. The novels that are written and read, indicate the mind and morals of a people.
What could we not write of theMoving-Pictureand theStage? Suffice it to state with Rev. R. A. Knox—then an anglican minister, and now a catholic priest: "When a nation has lost its hold of first truths and its love for clear issues, which has had its morality sapped by sentiment, thinks of Christian marriage in the light of the problem-play . . . the moral fibre of that nation is gone." For, the vision of life and the interpretation of its pleasures and sorrows, that come from the glare of the foot-lights, or the dimness of the Movie-Screen, are surely not that given by the Catholic Church. Over the screen of the movies and the proscenium of the stage could we not very often write what the author of the play "Enjoy Life," Max Hermann Neisse, said lately to a Berlin sensation-seeking audience that was underlying with frantic applause the unsavory remarks and filthy inuendos of the closing act: "Pardon me, I did not write this act.—You dictated it to me."
In pandering to the morbid curiosity and lustful passions of a pleasure-mad world, the stage, the moving-picture, the novel, the illustrated weekly are leading Public Opinion to depths before unknown. The abyss calls to the abyss. Ways of living always follow ways of thinking. Should we then be astonished that crime-wave after crime-wave is sweeping the shores of every country.
Existing conditions in our universities, public academies and schools are not of a nature to conciliate Public Opinion with the Catholic Church. We know perfectly well that in our seats of higher-learning the Church is looked upon as an effete Institution, as something of the past that has kept a certain air of respectability. Her teachings and her history are there viewed in the light of the "evolution theory." Who has not read, a few years ago, that terrible indictment against the antichristian education of the American Universities, as it appeared in a celebrated article, under the title: "Blasting at the Rock of Ages?"
In our legislative assemblies, here and abroad, do we not find the educational problem the burning problem for Church and State? Over the head of the child swords clash, for the child of to-day is the man of to-morrow. The stand the Catholic Church takes on the educational problem—from which She never deviates—has always stirred Public Opinion against her in political and social circles. We have only to mention "separate schools" to awaken the memories of a long and bitter struggle.
The same inimical relations dominate the International Order. Rome and its world-wide moral influence have been deliberately ostracized in the recent and unhappy attempt to form a League of Nations.
So the tide of Public Opinion sweeps upon tide. Everywhere its heavy waves break into a foamy froth on the Rock of Peter. We conclude:Public Opinion is against the Catholic Church.
Our Duties to Public Opinion.
The antagonism against the Catholic Church is an overt fact. What are the causes?A distorted vision, born of misrepresentation of facts and misrepresentation of doctrine and practice; theblind prejudiceagainst which our refutation of facts and explanation of principles are of little avail:these are the two main causes to which can be traced this universal opposition. And indeed no one will tax us with exaggeration were we to repeat here what Tertullian wrote in his "Defence of the Church," a hundred years after St. John's death: "They think the Catholics to be the cause of every public calamity, of every national ill." Have we not in our own country, organizations that live and thrive only on enmity to the Church of Rome? They cannot meet without passing resolutions of condemnation of the Church, of the Pope, of separate schools, etc. We all know how often Public Opinion, in our country, has been inflamed by prejudiced appeals to racial and religious feelings. Racial antagonism itself is only a cover for anti-Catholic fanaticism.
Let us, by clear and sound thinking, by definite and bold expressionenlighten Public Opinion. To-day Public Opinion is shifting as the winds, swinging like a boat with the ebb and flow of the tide. These are days of loose thought, wild words, catchy phrases, especially in social and religious matters. Words and phrases are passed off as ideas, and fragments of an idea as the whole idea. Let ideas always be clear-cut, with a sharp, definite relief. Hazy notions are of no constructive value, and always full of danger, particularly in times of intellectual ferment, such as we are now going through. They are on the great sea of Truth as the smoke-screens, behind which lurk the destroyers of error.
Cardinal Newman concludes one of his letters on "The Position of Catholics"—which bears on the subject of Catholics making themselves known: "Protestantism is fierce because it does not know you; ignorance is its strength; error is its life; therefore bring yourselves before it, press yourselves upon it, force yourselves into notice against its will. Oblige men to know you. Politicians and philosophers would be against you, but not the people, if they knew you."
Create Public Opinionbyindividual and concerted action, that is our next duty. Truth spreads, not like the devastating torrent, but like the tide. From individual to individual as from pebble to pebble it slowly creeps in and spreads the silent power of its rising waters. "No one ever talks freely about anything without contributing something, let it be ever so little, to the unseen forces which carry the race on to its final destiny. Even if he does not make a positive impression he counteracts or modifies some other impression, or sets in motion some train of ideas in some one else, which helps to change the face of the world." Godkin "Problems of Modern Democracy." 221-224.
By the continued repetition of truth and the persevering refutation of falsehood we will help to create around us, in our limited sphere of action, a sane Public Opinion. But it is above all by the radiance of our moral life that truth, particularly religious truth, will spread. Religion, as we know, is of the moral order; its dogmas, precepts and sacraments reach out into that domain. Paul Bourget, the celebrated French writer sums up one of his most striking novels in this phrase: "At Forty-three" which he calls the noon hour of life—"man must live what he believes or he will eventually believe as he lives." To live up to our principles is always the best proof of our belief in them.
Concerted actionwill extend the benefits of this individual action to the creation of Public Opinion in the Community, in Society at large. As all great powers, Public Opinion is courted; this courtship is "Propaganda." Truth requires propaganda as life needs transmission. An efficient propaganda takes myriad forms but its purpose is always the same, i.e., give to others our ideas and through them organize the public mind. Distribution of literature, lectures, the press, the novel, the cinema, bureaus of information, active participation in public life are vital factors of an efficiently organized propaganda. The recent Northcliffe propaganda, followed by the Hearst propaganda are typical illustrations of how the public mind of a Country was swayed from a pro-British to an Anti-English attitude.
The Direction of Public Opinionis the ultimate triumph of propaganda. This is obtained when our principles pass into the warp and woof of the social textures which are always in the making on the great loom of our nation's life. Ideas have their full value when they are extended to social and political issues. It is only then that they influence a nation as such. For our lives are knitted with the lives of others, and their action and reaction upon them form our public life. "In the formation and guidance of the public opinion which ultimately determines public action, Catholics bear responsibility and must take their part." (Cardinal Bourne, at the Catholic Congress of England, 1920.)
As Catholics we have a contribution to make to the great upbuilding of our Country. There is in every problem an ethical side, an unchanging and unchangeable principle, the bedrock on which it rests. This principle, the Catholic doctrine possesses; we know it, we are sure of it. Why not then have that aggressiveness of militant Catholics who take advantage of every opportunity, without being obtrusive? Are we not too apologetic in our Public life? We would not suggest in the least to be discourteously aggressive, although at times we are tempted to do so and seem justified in our retaliation. But there is no reason why we should apologize for our principles, for the solutions we have to offer. The sun of Canadian liberty shines also for us and for what we stand; we have our place under the shade of the "Maple Leaf."
May we add a word for our non-Catholic friends. They also have duties towards Public Opinion in its relation with the Catholic Church.
Receptiveness of mindis, in our estimation, the first and most important duty of the non-Catholic. Open-mindedness was named by Confucius "mental hospitality." It opens the door to truth by allowing ourselves to be convinced by the strength of argument and the weight of evidence. This state of receptivity permits the mind to correct its distorted vision, and to see facts and principles as they really are. Freedom of mind enables those who possess it to see things in their true proportions.
Fair-mindednesswill overcome prejudice, the great obstacle in matters of Religion. Prejudice is made of a coarse and impenetrable fibre, of a close woven texture; it is the product of numerous and various influences. The ordinary causes of this pre-judgment or mental torsion are an habitual intellectual outlook resulting from education and surrounding influences, and a mental laziness which fails to question its own attitude and to pursue principles to their logical conclusions, and problems to their solution. This explains how reluctantly the mind, in religious matters particularly, will accept views contrary to those with which it has been familiar since early youth and which time and surroundings have but strengthened. A straight-forward appeal tofairmindednessis alone able to break down this barrier.
Duties are in proportion to the responsibilities they entail. Public Opinion, as we have seen, is a tremendous power but it is the power of a high explosive which misdirected and ill-used will spread disaster. Leadership is the spark that ignites the charge, is responsible for its driving force. In the days of real intellectual leadership the mastery of ideas prevailed and Public Opinion was considered as the triumph of an idea. But in our days of so called democratic equality the centre of gravity of this power has shifted from the leader to the multitude. De Tocqueville in his book "Democracy in America" [1] has a remarkable page, illustrating this point. "The nearer the people," he writes, "are drawn to a common level of an equal and similar condition the less prone each man becomes to place implicit faith in a certain man or certain classes of men. But his readiness to believe the multitude increases and opinion is more than ever the mistress of the world. Not only is common opinion the only guide which private judgment retains among democratic people, but amongst such a people it possesses a power infinitely beyond what it has elsewhere. At periods of equality men have no faith in one another by reason of their common resemblance; but this very resemblance gives them almost unbounded confidence in the judgment of the public; for it would not seem probable, as they are all endowed with equal means of judging, but that the greater truth should go with the greater number. The public has therefore among a democratic people a singular power which aristocratic nations cannot conceive of; for it does not persuade to certain opinions, but it impresses them and infuses them in the intellect by a sort of enormous pressure of the minds of all upon the reason of each."
To this prestige of vast numbers Bryce has given a name. "Out of the mingled feelings that the multitude will prevail and that the multitude, because it will prevail, must be right, there grows a self-distrust, a despondency, a disposition to fall into line, to acquiesce in the dominant opinion, to submit thought as well as action to the encompassing powers of numbers."
"This tendency to acquiescence and submission, this sense of insignificance of individual effort, this belief that the affairs of men are swayed by large forces whose movements may be studied but cannot be turned, I have ventured to call it "The Fatalism of the Multitude." It is often confounded with the tyranny of the majority, but is at the bottom different though, of course, its existence makes tyranny by the majority easier and more complete. . . . In the fatalism of the multitude there is neitherlegalnormoralcompulsion; there is merely a loss ofresisting power, a diminished sense of personal responsibility of the duty to battle for one's own opinion, such as has been bred in some people, by the belief of an over mastering fate." [2]
One can readily grasp the dangers of Public Opinion at the mercy of blatant agitators and unscrupulous leaders. They have no idea to promote, but only a feeling to exploit. They flatter Public Opinion to gain it. They appear to consult it when in reality they are creating and directing it. They catch the restless and undirecting currents of popular feeling when they are seeking an outlet and swing them slowly at first but with a growing impetus in the channels of their own interest or of the party they represent. The people are deluded into thinking that they are their own leaders and masters. The feeling of unrest that now prevails is due to this abuse of Public Opinion. Like children the leaders of nations have been playing with this wire of high voltage. Should we be surprised to see the world suffer deadly shocks from whence it should receive light and power?
We are now at one of the most momentous periods of history. Never have clear thinking, earnest expression and concerted action been more needed than now. The world is ringing with wild words and dying from loose thinking. "The persistent statement of principles and the union of all true conservative forces are absolutely necessary, if we wish to bring the nation safe through this agonizing period and make the world safe for democracy," as President Wilson said.
Therefore we claim that it is for the greatest benefit of the community at large to have Public Opinion enlightened as to the value of the Church as a reconstructive factor.
"Great have been the Problems of War!" But, with Clemenceau, we also are realizing—and some countries, with bitter deception and depressing sorrow, "That greater still are the Problems of Peace."
[1] Vol. II., Chap. II.
[2] Bryce—"The American Commonwealth," Vol. II., Chap. 84.
(Jo. VIII, 32)
Facts—Principles—Policy of the Catholic Truth Society—Its value for the Church in Western Canada.
Truth and liberty, error and license are inseparable partners. The measure of truth gives the measure of true liberty, just as the degree of error tells the degree of bondage. This is a logical necessity, a natural consequence. The Master emphasized it when He said: "And you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." These pregnant words of Christ are the charter of Christian civilisation and mark the passing of expediency as the supreme rule of human liberty.
This explicit confidence in the abiding power of Truth and in its necessary relation with our moral and religious life has prompted the creation of the Catholic Truth Society and inspired its policy. Never was any Society more useful nor so well adapted to the conditions of present times.
The world nowadays is fast drifting from its Christian moorings and taking to the high seas of modern paganism. The outlook on human life is as in the days of Greece and Rome. The old cry:panem et circeuses!—is to be found on the lips of our multitudes and reflects the aspirations of their life. In the social realm, State-monopoly is fast absorbing the individual and the family, and is heralded as the supreme ideal of human society. A speedy and complete return to Christian principles will alone re-establish the world on its proper axis. Christian Truth shall again make the world free and save it from the bondage of neo-paganism. For, history and experience prove that there is nothing more tyrannical than that bondage—let it be the bondage of Czardom or Bolshevism—which comes to man under the cover and name of liberty. In the present universal unrest, so widely and so emphatically voiced throughout the world, the mission of the Catholic Truth Society appears as most providential. The spreading of Catholic Truth will help the world to reconquer its liberties and, with them, true civilization.
To state facts, discuss principles and advocate policies, in connection with the Catholic Truth Society of Canada, particularly in the West, is the object of this chapter.
Facts.
The Catholic Truth Society was born in England; November 5th, 1884, was its birthday; Mr. Britten,[2] its honored and devoted parent. The activities of the Anglican Church inspired this great Catholic layman to counteract the influence of its propaganda. Tract for tract, pamphlet for pamphlet, lecture for lecture, advertisement for advertisement was the plan of campaign of our new militant leader. To marshal all the tremendous forces of the "printed word" for the service and defence of Mother Church was his noble ambition. He had implicit faith in the everlasting vitality which lies concealed in the divine seed of the Word of God. He knew that by spreading it broadcast, it would necessarily fall on prepared and expectant soil, germinate and produce a hundred fold. With the approbation of the Hierarchy and the generous support of a few intelligent associates, the Society issued devotional, controversial, historical and dogmatic pamphlets. Small in form, compact in doctrine, living in expression, these messengers of Truth winged their way through the world. Little by little the Society's influence has spread everywhere and proved beyond doubt to be a great factor of Catholic apostolate in our time.
For twenty-one years (1888-1909) the annual meeting of the Catholic Truth Society was the outstanding event of Catholic life in England. It became the field on which Catholic forces—clergy and laity—met yearly to exchange ideas, formulate plans, co-ordinate purpose and concentrate activity. This gathering gave rise to the "National Catholic Congress"—which now stands out as the annual review, the "mass-manoeuvre," of the Church militant in England. These meetings have made of a handful of Catholics, many but neo-converts of yesterday, the aggressive body we all admire, and from which we, in Canada, have many things to learn.
The Editor of the "Universe" in his issue of Sept. 22, 1919, on the occasion of the C.T.S. Conference in Nottingham, paid a beautiful tribute to the Society. "This summing up of its activities is in itself an inspiration and incentive. We are reminded by this Conference of the debt and duty we owe to the society under whose auspices it meets. The debt is all-pervading. How many Catholics in this country are there, teachers or taught, who have not profited directly and personally by the labour and enterprise, freely given, of the comparatively few who, since that memorable day of its foundation, November 5, 1884, have maintained, written for, and contributed to the expenses of the Catholic Truth Society? It has provided the apologist with an armoury and the teacher with material; it has saved the scholarly many an hour of troublesome research; it has given the unlearned instruction suited to their needs; it has given the masses of our people the popular Catholic literature they want; it has been a veritable sleuth-hound on the track of traducers of the Church; it has explained and commended her cause to even greater numbers outside her pale who were simply ill-informed; it has helped more souls than anyone will ever be able to count, into the Fold. Moreover, it has been the fruitful parent of progeny (not always filially grateful) which extends to-day to the uttermost parts of the earth. And always it has maintained a standard—which, in fact, it created amongst us—of material high quality, of intellectual respectability and of religious solidity, the more worthy of grateful appreciation because not everywhere fully appreciated. Nor can we forget that the Society is in a real sense "the work of one man," though never has it been that very different thing, a "one-man work." No one layman (and very few ecclesiastics) has done a larger definite and objective work for the Catholic Church in our time than Mr. Britten."
Such a record should shame the faint-hearts among us who seem to think that no corporate efforts are of any use in the world now rushing on to its own destruction. That it should shame those who take no interest at all in the progress of their religion, would be too much to hope.
The mustard seed has become now a great tree; branches have been detachedfrom the main trunk and transplanted in the various parts of the world.Ireland, Australia,[3] India,[4] America, Canada, each now has its ownCatholic Truth Society.
In 1887, six years after the foundation of the parent Society in England, Canada had a first branch in Toronto. Halifax,[5] Montreal, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Vancouver soon followed suit. Silent and powerful as the incoming tide, the Society in Canada is working its way into every diocese and parish of the land. The Society is now incorporated by act of Federal Parliament, with Head-Office in Toronto, 67 Bond St. Its noble and just ambition is to weld into one great efficient organization the various other branches that are in operation here and there throughout the Dominion. Organization means efficiency, strength and success.
The time has come for the Catholic Truth Society in Canada, to create its own literature, to issue its own pamphlets dealing with the needs and problems of our own Country. We have been importing from other countries and have lived until now on their mental activity. But this move demands unity of purpose and concentration of effort. Moreover, should not this Dominion-wide organization serve marvellously to rally our dispersed and disunited forces? There is indeed a sad need of unity in our ranks to-day.
Principles.
The assured possession of truth and the pressing obligation for Catholics to spread it: these are the two main principles upon which is founded and exists the Catholic Truth Society. As Catholics, we are absolutely sure that we have the Truth; as Catholics worthy of the name, we feel in conscience bound to give it to others.
The Catholic Church, like Christ, stands at the cross-roads of humanity and cries out to the passing generations as they come tramping down the avenues of time: "Ego sum Veritas, Via et Vita—I am the Truth, the Way, the Life." Her kingdom is that very same Kingdom of Truth of which the Master spoke to Pilate when the latter had asked Him so insolently: "What is Truth?" Faith gives to everyone of Her children the right to all the wealth of that Kingdom.
The self-assurance of the Catholic mind in matters of Religion is a noted and universal fact which implies necessarily the tranquil possession of Truth. This certainly is not a blind adherence dictated by fear or fatalism as some would lead the unwary to believe; but rather, as St. Paul states, the reasonable subjugation of the mind . . . "Rationabile absequium." The universal unrest and chaotic condition of Christendom outside of the Catholic Church are in sharp contrast with the unity and tranquillity of the Catholic mind. This is not the place to prove for our own pleasure and benefit the security of our position. Christian Apologetics have vindicated it.
This security of the Catholic mind extends beyond the sacred domain of Religion. Catholic philosophy has been justly named the "scientific justification of common sense." Its principles do not rest on the capricious fancies of the versatile human mind, as is the case with the philosophy of the dreamer of Koenigsberg. We only mention here Kant, for his influence has in our days been tremendous and far reaching. In Catholic philosophy the mind indeed reflects the objective order of things and from that order evolves universal laws. This basic truth of our mental attitude is still more evident when considered in the moral order. For, when God becomes but a "pure abstraction," and the moral law solely dependent on the human will, one readily sees where such philosophy may lead. This "ego-centric philosophy" is responsible for the frame of mind which gifted the world with German "Kultur." Nietzche taught Germany how to think, and Germany had set out to teach the world the lessons she had received. As some author remarked, Kant and Nietzche are responsible for the firing of the Krupp guns. Thus the war has shown the fallacies of anti-Catholic philosophy.
From these serene heights of Philosophy, Catholic Truth flows into the political, social and economic fields of human life. Our principles on Authority and Liberty, on Capital and Labor, on Family and State, on Marriage and Education are as solid as the rock, and are recognized as such, even by leaders who have a different religious persuasion.
Yes, religious, philosophical, social, political, economic truth we do possess. But of what use to the world, to the laborer, to the patriot, to the inquirer, is this truth and the solutions to problems it offers, if they are not known? If we have the light we cannot hide it under the bushel. We must place it where it can be seen, where its beneficial rays can light up the way for those who are "sitting in darkness, in the shadow of death."
No Catholic is a Catholic for himself only. Christian Charity imposes upon us the duty to help our brother. The spreading of Catholic Truth is one of the great works of Mercy and is as binding as alms-giving for the relief of temporal want. The love of God and of our neighbour is the foundation of this obligation. This consciousness of Christian solidarity whereby the rich come to the rescue of the poor, the learned help the ignorant, is the driving force behind the Catholic Truth Society.
With the vision of the Truth and the conscientious impulse to spread it, the Society is bound to grow in a genuine Catholic soil. We say it frankly, there is something wanting in a parish where the Catholic Truth Society meets with no response, creates no interest. The sense of real Catholicism and the consciousness of the duties it implies are conspicuous by their absence. There, Christianity does not run deep enough. This also stands true where the Catholic Church Extension or other organization of its kind, has no hold. The same principle is at stake; in both cases deficiency reveals a negative, rather than a militant Christianity.
Policy.
The world nowadays, like Pilate, asks the Church: "What is Truth?" But like Pilate also, proud of its power, its wealth, and success, it will not wait for the answer. Yet the Church's mission is to give to the world that truth after which humanity thirsts. Her mode of dispensation will vary from age to age. New times, new duties. Her policy is often suggested by the change of front in the line of the enemy.
As the "printed word" is now the great vehicle of propaganda, the great message of Catholic Truth will be given more by print than by speech. This new apostleship has opened the doors to Catholic lay activity. The Catholic Truth Society is one of its many forms and should, to be faithful to its origin, remain a specifically Catholic laymen's movement.
The policy of the Catholic Truth Society is very broad and embraces a great variety of activities which all tend to the propagation and defense of Catholic Truth.
Pamphlets.—The printing and diffusion of pamphlets are characteristic features of the Society. These winged booklets have come to be most fruitful transmitters of Catholic Truth. Silent Messengers of truth, they steal their way into homes and circles where the priest, and even at times the catholic layman cannot penetrate. Eloquent Preachers, their voice is heard to the extremities of the earth. Perpetual Missionaries, they continue the work when the apostle has passed to another field. They keep the light of faith burning bright in many a lonely homesteader's cabin on the Prairies of our Great West. How often have we not seen farmers coming into the Regina Cathedral to fill their pockets with pamphlets from the book-rack before they returned to their farms often situated at thirty or forty miles from a Church! Silent Controversionalists, they give Catholic information and drive the argument home without offence to the pride of the reader, for, the personal element of the controversy is eliminated. Their unobtrusiveness is what the inquirer appreciates in matters of religious research particularly.
TheCirculation of Catholic Papersand theirremailingto those who live far from large centres and are out of touch with the Church are other forms of the Apostolate of the Catholic Truth Society. By these means Catholic printed matter is capital, bearing compound interest and more.
Free distribution of leaflets; the Mass register in the hotels and public places; the information bureau; the bill-board; information about Catholic Faith given by a Correspondence Guild; circulating libraries; reading and study circles; reference library; the introduction of Catholic literature into Public Libraries by creating the demand for it, . . . these are some of the means through which the Society pursues its policy. To every wind, we may say, it sows the good seed of truth.
To fully understand the principles and forward with energy and perseverance the policy of the Catholic Truth Society, demands an enthusiastic love of the Church and an abiding confidence in the conquering power of Truth and in its ultimate triumph. Only a zealous and aggressive Catholic can grasp this vision and walk in its light. But the example of the enemy's activities alone should be sufficient to give us that zeal and aggressiveness. The Dominion is flooded with the literature of the Methodist Social Service, of the Bible Society, of the Christian Science, of the Rationalistic Press Association. Their activities should act on our apathetic Catholics as the gust of wind that scatters the ashes and fans the smouldering embers to a flame.
Generous are the hopes founded on the future of the Catholic Truth Society of Canada. With its far-flung line, from coast to coast, great are the services it can render to the Church. But there is no field with greater possibilities for this apostolate of the "printed word" than our Western Provinces. There the pastors are yet few and the flock very scattered. The little pamphlet, the Catholic paper will keep the watch around the lonely settler's faith until the living contact with the Church's authority and sacraments be renewed. And in the great battle against religious indifference and profound materialism which are rapidly spreading over our West, the Catholic Truth Society will make us realize the saving power of Christianity. . . . "And you shall see Truth and Truth shall make you free."
[1] This Chapter was published in pamphlet form by the Catholic Truth Society of Canada.
[2] Cardinal Vaughan and Lady Herbert are the real Founders of the C.T.S. But Mr. Britten carried out the idea.—It was to be essentially a lay-movement.
[3] Australian Catholic Truth Society.—At the annual meeting of the Australian Catholic Truth Society the report stated that during the year 1919 152,309 pamphlets had been put into circulation, while the total number published since the foundation of the Society was 1,837,947. The executive had decided to publish in future 36 penny pamphlets each year, instead of 24, and trusted that their enterprise would be rewarded with a substantial increase in the number of subscribers.
[4] The headquarters of the C.T.S. of India are in Trichinopoly. They have already their own publications.
[5] Although the Halifax branch of the C.T.S. does not form a unit of the C.T.S. of Canada yet it is one of the most active branches in our Country.
Importance of the Catholic Press—Requisites for its Success in the West.
Nowadays the Press is assuredly the greatest factor of the public mind. For, if public opinion is "King" and "Master" of the modern world, the "Press" is his "Prime Minister." Between these two great forces there is a continuous action and reaction; the Press is at the same time the moulder and mirror of public opinion.
We all know how the world has turned this mighty weapon against the Catholic Church. To create an anti-Catholic opinion, to surround the Church—its authority, its practices—with an atmosphere of prejudice and antagonism has always been the aim of the non-Catholic press. Of late this campaign has become so universal and so violent "that were St. Paul to live among us, he would become a journalist," said Archbishop Ireland. Repeatedly the Pontiffs of Rome have urged the faithful to contribute to the support of the Catholic Press. "In vain you will build churches," said Pius X, "give missions, found schools; all your works, all your efforts will be destroyed if you are not able to wield the defensive and offensive weapon of a loyal and sincere Catholic Press."
The Catholics of Western Canada should have these words of the beloved Pontiff continually before their minds. There is no place in Canada where this vital factor, the Catholic Press, is of such an absolute necessity. In our sparsely settled Provinces the Catholic paper is the greatest help of the priest. It prepares, keeps, and perfects his work and very often is the only silent messenger of the Church's teachings on the lonely prairie. Isolation from all Catholic life, from its teachings, its authority, its sacraments, has created through Western Canada a tremendous leakage in the Church. This leakage can be stopped to a certain extent by the active service of a good Press. The Catholic paper, indeed, reacts as an antitoxin against the virus of unbelief and indifferentism which a non-Catholic atmosphere is bound to spread. In its columns we find the answers to the misrepresentations and slanders which bigotry is ever throwing at the Church. But above all it is through the medium of the Catholic paper that the lonely Western settler enters into what we would call the larger life of the Church. We are too prone to think of and judge the Church by what we see of Her in our own nearest surroundings. We lose sight of Her Catholicity and forget that greater life which is ever pulsating throughout the world. The reading of the Catholic paper breaks down the narrow walls of parochialism, provincialism and nationalism, and introduces its readers into the more serene and more spacious regions of Catholic life. This is, in our opinion, the greatest benefit one can derive from the assiduous and intelligent reading of a good, active, Catholic paper.
Australia and New Zealand have understood the imperative necessity, the paramount importance of a Catholic Press. "The Freeman's Journal," "The Southern Cross," "The Catholic Press," "The New Zealand Tablet," are widely circulated weekly papers that keep Catholic life so intense in those distant colonies. What the Catholics of Australia have done, why can we not, in Western Canada, do likewise?
One cannot, indeed, over-estimate the value of a Catholic paper, especially in a sparsely settled country where the Church has yet but missions, where the visits of the priest and the teachings of the Gospel are intermittent, where the Catholics are lost among people of different faith and often of hostile feeling. But, if we wish our Catholic Press to fulfil its noble mission, it must be received as an expected and welcomed friend, and not, as often is the case, as an intruder, a sickly visitor who imposes himself more or less on our faith and generous nature.
What then are the conditions of genuine success for a Catholic paper?Vigour in policy, extensiveness in circulation: these are the two essential conditions of success. The Catholic paper in a community must be a live-wire of high voltage, carrying light, heat, and power, and not a mere telegraphic-cable repeating what others have already said, or serving as a safety valve for the overflow of local gossip. The news and issues of general interest should be so combined with local topics as to awaken and keep the attention of the reader.
Circulation is also fundamental in journalism as well as in the human system. It carries life into the whole organism and is the warrant of success. The moment circulation becomes stagnant and loses hold of the people, the paper is but a ghost. Poor circulation is what gives to so many Catholic papers such languid existence.
How can we create these conditions of success for the Catholic Press in Western Canada, where its need is so deeply felt? There is the crux of the present situation. Our scattered and comparatively small population, even in our cities, the extreme difficulty of securing and keeping managers and editors suited for this work, the indifference and spirit of commercialism which characterize Western Canada: all these factors tend to render precarious the life of a Catholic paper. And still the crying need is there; how are we to meet it?
This leads us to make a suggestion which would help to solve the problem of the Catholic Press in the West. The beautiful work of the Catholic Press in France has prompted it.
The society of "La Bonne Presse" issues a weekly paper, "La Croix." This paper has different issues for the different parts of France. At the central office, in Paris, exists a well organized "boiler-plate" service for general Catholic news and opinions. These "boiler-plates" are shipped to all the sub-stations, where, during the week are composed the pages of local news, editorials, advertisements, etc. This is the most economical and most efficient modern method of publishing several papers or different issues of the one paper.
Our circulation in Western Canada would not perhaps yet warrant such an organization. But working along the same lines, could we not haveone paper, withdifferent issuesfor the different Prairie Provinces? This would necessitate a chief editor for the editorials of general character, common to all—and a sub-editor in each Province who could also act as manager in his section of the country. To write editorials adapted to the ever-changing needs of his Province, answer those who attack the Church in our local papers, guide our Catholics in the various issues which are discussed in the Province, and control the correspondence for the different news centres, would be the duties of this sub-editor.
One central printing plant would be sufficient. Being a weekly paper, the printing and mailing do not matter much, provided the plant were not too far from the extreme points of circulation. With the exception of the composition of the specific pages of each issue, according to Provinces, the general overhead expenses of printing and remailing would be the same, and yet we would have alocal Catholic paper. This plan of unification would allow us, without heavy expenses, to answer efficiently the local needs of each diocese and each Province.
We have the "Northwest Review." It possesses a splendid equipment and could easily duplicate its actual out-put. Why could we not take that paper, and have a Manitoba, a Saskatchewan, and an Alberta edition? The plant is there, and why could not all Catholics take full advantage of it, at a price with which no local or provincial Catholic paper could compete, at least in the present circumstances. It would require "a subeditor-manager" in each Province to direct the provincial policy of his specific edition and manage its circulation in every Catholic community. This plan would be workable until the time when success would warrant in each Province a local printing plant, having at its service a "boiler plate" supply from the main office.
The possibilities and opportunities for the Catholic Press have never been greater than they are now. Never and nowhere has its need been more commanding than it is now in Western Canada. In this period of social reconstruction, efficient organization and combination of all energies are necessary. Organization implies leadership, and able leadership needs the support of publicity to create sane opinions, to spread and defend them.
[1] This Chapter was published as an article in the "North West Review," Winnipeg, June 1st, 1918, under the following caption—"Timely Suggestions on needs of Catholic Press in West—Constructive attempt to solve problem which has engaged attention for many years."
The following editorial remarks accompanied its publication. "We are indebted to Rev. Father Daly, C.SS.R., of Regina, for a thoughtful contribution on the needs of the Catholic Press in Western Canada. This subject is by no means new. Most people have had a fling at it one time or another, and those have been most insistent as a rule who have known least about it. The article under consideration, however, which may be found upon another page, besides pointing out the difficulties which must be encountered and overcome, outlines a constructive policy which should engage the earnest attention of the Catholic public. A scheme of development is there in broad outline and it is with particular pleasure that we call our readers' attention to it. We would ask them to study it—particularly those who have had some practical experience in newspaper work—and to give us the benefit of their thought and experience. A special invitation is extended to our staff of faithful correspondents and contributors who have stuck to their posts through fair weather and foul at considerable expense and inconvenience to themselves. They are in a position to realize in a very special manner the difficulties of the situation and their suggestions should prove invaluable. If everyone interested would expend a fraction of the energy wasted in destructive criticism in working out a scheme of practical operation along constructive lines much good would result therefrom. Suggestions need not necessarily be for publication. Any communication marked "not for publication" shall be, needless to state, regarded as private and confidential. But let all help. An old newspaper maxim is to the effect that the printer's devil has ideas that the editor or business manager would pay good money for."
Immigration!—Are We ready for It?
Demobilization is over. Canada has settled down to the work of "Reconstruction." Already the eyes of every serious minded Canadian scan the horizon, wondering if these transatlantic liners now bound for our ports carry in their dark hulls hosts of new settlers. Immigration is the topic of the hour. Confronted as we are by a fabulous national debt, GREATER PRODUCTION is the only solution. This intense and extensive development of agriculture and industry necessarily involves immigration.—Immigration is therefore an economic necessity.
War-wearied nations of Europe are just waking up to the realities of conditions. The dark cloud has lifted only to show everywhere silent industries and desolate fields. Thousands and hundreds of thousands are turning their eyes to the "New World"—as to the "Land of Opportunity." They need Canada to break away from a gloomy past, just as Canada needs them to build a bright and prosperous future.
Opinions may vary as to the time when immigration will be once more at its height, but all seem to agree on the certainty of the fact.[1] Probably the British Isles will open the march in the onward rush to Canada; Continental Europe will follow in their wake. Already the various philanthropic and religious organizations are preparing to welcome the new-comer to our Shores.
Misdirected and unsupervised immigration has been for the Church in the past a great source of leakage. Here and there noble and zealous efforts have been made to prevent these losses; but they were local and spasmodic. It was only a few years previous to the outbreak of the war that a Catholic Immigration Society for the Dominion was formed. The Reverend Abbe Casgrain was its Founder and Director. Homes and agencies were opened in every large city. Let us hope that this Dominion-wide organization will once more soon become a reality. A priest in full charge of its organization and responsible for its efficiency is, we believe, the main condition of success. And indeed immigration is in Canada one of those problems that over-lap the boundaries of dioceses and provinces and call for the co-operation and co-ordination of all forces. A leader, with the sanction and backing of the Hierarchy, will be the binding link between the various helping factors and will prevent immigration becoming "nobody's business" just because "it is everybody's business." This method of an organized and responsible unity will alone straighten out our line of defence from Halifax to Vancouver, and pinch out the various salients of enemy forces that are always and everywhere at work.
But who will carry out this leader's policy, once thought out and approved of? As our Catholic Immigration Society is about to reorganize its forces to meet new conditions, may we be allowed to offer a suggestion? The Knights of Columbus have just finished the great work of their "Army Huts." During the war and particularly during the demobilization, they had trained secretaries, hotels, recreation rooms, for the welfare of our soldiers. This work has placed them in the field of "Social Service" and given them a standing in the community at large. Now why could not that organization be maintained and serve the purpose of Catholic Immigration?
The Knights of Columbus are indeed ready for the task. Their chain of huts from coast to coast link together our main centres; their trained secretaries who have enlisted the sympathetic co-operation of devoted ladies; the very nature of the Order, Dominion-wide in its organization and spreading beyond the boundaries of any particular Province, everything seems now to invite them to turn their efforts to the great Cause of Immigration. During the war they worked side-by-side with the Red Triangle (Y.M.C.A.) and the Red Shield (S.A.). As these organizations are now intensely taking up what they call "Canadianization" work in its various aspects, is it befitting, would you think, for our Knights to drop out of the field? Should they not, on the contrary, prepare to "carry on"—as their brother Knights are doing across the border? The example they are giving there to the Catholic laity is simply wonderful. It is an object lesson that has awakened the tremendous energies that lie dormant in the ranks of the Catholic laymen and only want the spark of "leadership" to ignite them. And indeed no work should appeal more to the Knights, for it places them in their true sphere of action. It opens up long vistas of "Social religious work," by giving them the consciousness of the religious solidarity and the feeling of their social and national responsibilities. With that vision, under that impulse, they walk from their Council Chambers into the very life of the Church and of the Nation. They assume in all reality their office of aLoyal Body-guard. For, in this matter, our contention is that where the Knights of Columbus' Order is not wedded to some definite programme of action, in harmony with its aim and constitution, it ceases to be an asset and will soon go to seed, or die of dry rot.
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The following would be a summary of activities to be undertaken in connection with Immigration work. This is merely an outline that may help in drawing up a more exhaustive plan of action.
1.Permanent Secretaries.—In our estimation, a permanent, trained and well-paid secretary is the condition of genuine success. The time has passed to have to depend on voluntary and untrained service. Times have changed and methods also. The permanency of a secretary gives to our work stability and promise of intense life. This has been the secret of the success of other organizations that we could afford to imitate.
Moreover this secretaryship can become the mother-cell of various activities which eventually will branch off—i.e., Welfare Bureau, Information Bureau, etc., etc. This therefore should be our first preoccupation, for on it depend the life and prosperity of our Immigration Work.
2.Ladies' Auxiliary.—Local Women's organization can be called upon to bring their sympathetic support to the carrying out of this work of Catholic Immigration. Generous and devoted women are always to be found to whom this work will appeal. Their natural sympathy and their great faith make them always the "Real Workers." The very same ladies who helped so wonderfully in our patriotic work could continue to place their kindness and devotedness at the Service of this great Catholic Cause. We only need, we are sure, to call on them, and organize their various forces. Why should not "The Catholic Women's League" have its branch from coast to coast and take up everything of interest to the Catholic Womanhood of Canada, and thereby, to the Church also?
This would have a great bearing on various issues and offer a great medium for organized opinion and co-ordinated action. Has not the time come when our women forces have to organize and unite into one great Canadian Catholic Body?
3.Literature, Publicity.—We are living in an age when literature and publicity are the great vehicles of public opinion. We need, to carry on the work successfully, plenty of good literature and efficient, sane publicity. The hour has come to walk right out in the open and nail our sign to the post at every cross-way. Our Catholic Immigrants are entitled to this service which will offset the influences of dangerous agencies that meet them too often as they set foot on our shores.
A new map of Western Canada with designations of Churches and Missions, with resident or non-resident priests is needed. The map published before the war would have to be revised, for the growth of the Church has been wonderful—in certain dioceses particularly. Attractive booklets giving useful information and warning the incoming immigrants against the specific dangers he is liable to meet with; folders and cards with addresses of the nearest Catholic churches and rectories, with 'phone number of the Catholic Bureau, should be ready on hand. A list of the various offices of the Society and of other Catholic Social Centres should also be now prepared. This, we may remark, is very important and demands careful study and experience. A short snappy leaflet very often goes further than a diluted booklet. What others have done or are doing in this line will be of great help. Before the war the Catholic Immigration Society of Canada had such literature. The Catholic Truth Society of Canada could co-operate in this matter.
To reach the Catholic immigrant and emigrant is very often a problem ofpublicity. Posters on the docks, in the railroad stations and other prominent places, cards, notices on the bulletin-boards of the steamers and hotels, distribution of leaflets on boats and trains, copies of current activities in the newspapers, advertising in our papers and papers abroad, listing of the Catholic Bureau with other similar work in the city, are some of the means to keep our work before the public. Let us not be afraid to place our name where it can be seen. We cannot afford to hide our light under the bushel. Let it burn bright, to attract and guide our Catholic brother as he comes to our shores and goes through our country.
4.Co-operation.—Co-operation of all our bureaus with our Catholic Societies of Emigration of England, Ireland, etc., with Canadian Government bureaus, Federal and Provincial and various other benevolent organizations in Canada, as Traveller's Aid, etc., will be a marked and appreciated aid to our work. And when others will see us at "Our Father's work," they will refer our own to us. This is the ordinary experience of all engaged in Social Service activities.
The Catholic Emigration Society of England has been recently formed and is preparing for the exodus that will follow the inauguration of the Government schemes for assisting ex-Service men. This Society will work on national lines with international co-operation. The "Universe" of Sept. 26, 1919, gives us an account of the first meeting. The movement is endorsed by the Hierarchy and representatives of Catholic life in the British Isles, Canada, Australia and South-Africa.
5.Finance.—Naturally this work will demand funds. Catholic Charity will come to our rescue as this is certainly a work of preservation which should appeal to any zealous Catholic. And what others have been able to do, why could we not find means to do?
But in this work the Canadian Government will give a helping hand. The authorities in Ottawa will be the first to appreciate what we will do for our new Canadians. In a recent memoir submitted to the Premiers of our various Provinces the social welfare of the immigrants was one of the topics to which particular attention was given. We can see that the Government will be ready to subsidize social work in Immigration, provided there is no over-lapping. There will be subsidies for our work, if we are organized and ask for them. When looking over the amounts distributed to various Immigrations Societies, we see, for instance, in 1913-1914 the Salvation Army receiving a subsidy of over $22,000, while all the Catholic Immigration Societies received only about $6,000. We conclude that it is simply because we did not ask for our "Pound of Flesh."
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Should not, therefore, the work of Catholic Immigration with all its wonderful possibilities for the welfare of Church and Country, appeal to our Canadian Knights of Columbus? Many and many a settler has been lost to the Church—he, his children and future generations—because perhaps no one was there to receive him on his arrival in his new Country, to help him to settle where there was a church, a priest, and a Catholic school. No one needs more the help of his Catholic brother than the immigrant, who has just broken away with a past made up of customs, friendships, racial feelings, of all that is dear to man's heart, and faces an enigmatic future.
The long procession which we have seen in the years of intense immigration, winding its way through our cities and losing itself on the plains of the West, is about to start again. Shall we be there to welcome and direct it?
Knights of Columbus, what is your answer?
[1] 200,000 are expected to come to Canada in 1921 from the British Isles alone. Hon. J. H. Calder, Minister of Immigration, made this statement.