Catholic Problems in Western Canada
G >> George Thomas Daly >> Catholic Problems in Western CanadaAnd what will, this Catholic university mean to Catholic life in Western
Canada? Well established upon the highest academic level by its success
in the competitive field of learning, it will stand out as the embodiment
of Catholic intellectual life and the centre of Catholic activities. It
will be the counter-ideal to the ideal of agnosticism and materialism so
fostered and so prevalent in our neutral universities. Just as the
cathedrals are the expression of the Catholic faith in Christ's abiding
presence in the Sacrament of His love, so is a Catholic university the
embodiment and accomplishment of the Church's ideal in education. By its
extension work, summer courses, circulating libraries, correspondence
courses, lectures, etc., the university would unite our activities,
eliminate waste of energy and direct our combined efforts. Cardinal
Newman believed that a Catholic university was essential for thorough
health and efficiency in the Catholic body at large. To realize all that
a Catholic university would mean one has only to know what Washington
stands for in the life of the Church in the United States. In his
beautiful letter to the American Hierarchy, Benedict XV said of it: "The
University, we trust, will be the _attractive centre_ about which will
gather all who love the teachings of Catholicism."
_What is the Conclusion?_
We may summarize our argumentation in favour of our contention in the
following statements:
1.--THE INTERESTS OF CHURCH AND COUNTRY, PARTICULARLY IN THE WEST, DEMAND
CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP;
2.--NO GENUINE LEADERSHIP WITHOUT UNIVERSITY TRAINING;
3.--FOR CATHOLICS HIGHER EDUCATION MEANS HIGHER CATHOLIC EDUCATION.
Now, Patient reader, allow us to conclude these already too lengthy
pages, by this pointed question: "_Is a Catholic university for Western
Canada within the possibilities of the near future?_"
Our answer will be simple, direct, conclusive, and, we hope, convincing.
If all Catholics in the Western Provinces, under the direction and with
the continued support of the Hierarchy, unite in one sublime and
persistent effort, we have the utmost confidence in its immediate
realization. Some Catholics, we know, will distrust its expediency,
despair of its success or even feel an obligation to oppose it.
Difficulties, most undoubtedly, we will have numerous and great. With
time, patience, perseverance and self-sacrifice we will overcome them.
Nothing succeeds like success. The establishment of a work of that kind
is the work of years and even of centuries. There must be some day a
start, a foundation to build on. The policy of nihilism leads nowhere.
The frequentation of our State universities would indefinitely postpone
all efforts for the Catholic ideal, and be a surrender of the whole
situation. But let us not be carried away with the modern fallacy of
materialistic grandeur. Spacious and beautiful buildings, nice grounds
and attractive surroundings are not to be despised when the finances are
good. But all these things are secondary; they do not give the intrinsic
value to a university, they are not "the pulse of the machine." The
great business of a university is to teach; the highest academic level
should be its worthy ambition. The teachers are the real makers of a
seat of higher learning, they pitch high or low the standard of learning.
This great work will demand from every Catholic a continued effort of
loyal and generous support. The Canon-law, the Councils, the
exhortations of the Pope insists on this support of Catholic
universities. Particularly those who are blessed with the goods of this
world and to whom Providence has been generous, should remember that
"their wealth has a fiduciary character; a character that entails duties
towards the Catholic community at large, none less obligatory because
they are rooted in the virtue of _charity_, instead of the virtue of
_justice_."
But experience tells us that our Catholic institutions are founded and
supported more by the "widow's mite" than by the millionaires' donations.
The support will come from the Catholic communities of Western Canada; it
will indeed come with most gratifying results _if the appeal is lofty in
its motive and proposal, concerted and systematic in its action_.
We are not to go to the Catholics of the West with an appeal in one hand
and an apology in the other. A straightforward, self-respecting
presentation of our cause will bring a no less straightforward and
self-respecting response. To make this appeal an unqualified success
there must be also concerted action. Intensive efforts alone bring
results. This means the canvass of the West for this single purpose, at
a stated time. But any canvass of this kind, to be effective, must be
prepared by an educational campaign. Give the Catholics, we maintain,
the vision of their duty, sound the call . . . and they will respond.
For indifference, profound and widespread,--fruit of ignorance more than
of ill-will,--would be the greatest obstacle to overcome. Arousing
interest will be the initial task. In Australia, Archbishop Mannix
organized a campaign, in co-operation with his suffragan bishops, for the
purpose of the Catholic College of Melbourne and from June to December,
1916, half a million of dollars was collected. The Catholics of Western
Canada are just as ready, we claim, to furnish such annual payment as
would be wanted: if only they are properly called upon. But this proper
calling involves first a systematic and periodical recommendation of its
claims by the clergy and influential laymen.
System will avoid a conflict of claims for other great causes equally
worthy of our generous support. The war has in this matter taught us at
home a great lesson. There were appeals for the Patriotic Fund, the Red
Cross, the Belgium Relief, the French Aid, etc., etc. They all came to
us in rotation. No apology was made, every one felt in duty and honor
bound, and the money was always there with an extraordinary readiness.
Organization is the first element of success.
* * * * * *
Who will be the promoters of this great work? Naturally the Hierarchy of
the West will be its inspiring and moving spirit. But, should not the
Knights of Columbus, that body-guard of Catholic laity, be called to the
honour of "seeing it through." This great undertaking would be a most
appropriate background for all the activities of our valiant Knights in
Western Canada.
A society, Catholic in principle and membership, must, to last, and be an
asset to the Church, have a definite programme of action in harmony with
its aim and constitution. If it keeps its energies pent up behind the
walls of the council-chambers and only finds them an outlet in social
functions and friendly gatherings, it will soon go to seed or die of dry
rot. When on the contrary an organization, such as the Knights of
Columbus, throws the full weight of its energies in the forwarding of a
great cause, the possibilities of its influence are limitless. The war
activities of the Knights and their splendid results for the Church and
the nation are a tangible proof of it.
Could there be a work more in harmony with the aims of the great Catholic
organization than that of higher education. At the national convention
of 1912, held at Colorado Springs, the committee on Catholic Higher
Education ends its report by saying: "In the newer impetus that will come
to Catholic education as the result of better understanding (its
necessity and value), the Knights of Columbus must make themselves an
important factor. We owe it to ourselves and to that special loyalty to
both Church and State which we pride to claim as the special note of the
order. It is often asked what are the Knights of Columbus doing that
they should be so proud of their organization, and the best possible
answer would be for all of us to be able to point to benefits that were
conferred by Knights individually and in bodies upon our Catholic
education. There can be no mistake about the benefit to be conferred on
Church and State by progress in Catholic education."
The active and persevering co-operation of the Knights in the forwarding
of the great cause of a Catholic University for Western Canada, would be
their contribution to the great period of reconstruction which the world
is now facing.
* * * * * *
On one of those beautiful mellow autumn evenings, of which the Prairie
alone has the secret, the traveller, as his train steams into one of our
Western Cities, will behold a stately cupola tipped with a golden
cross.--"What is that new building, yonder on the outskirts of the city?"
will he inquire. The answer will be: "_That is the Catholic University
of Western Canada_."
[1] This chapter appeared as a series of articles, in the North West
Review of Winnipeg,--under the signature of "Miles Christi."
[2] "Less than one per cent. of American men are college graduates Yet
this one per cent. of college graduates has furnished: 55% of our
Presidents, 36% of our Members of Congress, 47% of the Speakers of the
House, 54% of our Vice-Presidents, 62% of our Secretaries of State, 50%
of the Secretaries of the Treasury, 67% of the Attorney Generals, 69% of
the Justices of the Supreme Court."--Dr. Jones, of the University of
Missouri.
[3] Lord Haldane addressing the Co-operative Educational Association
(May, 1920) made this statement: "The universities of England must be
made able, as national institutions, with a larger range of activity than
at present, to undertake extra-mural work on a scale so great that it
will be of general application throughout the land, and they must be put
in a position to be fitted to bring this about."
[4] Speaking of Publicly and privately supported institutions of learning
in the U.S., Dr. Cappen, assistant commissioner of the United States
Bureau of Education stated that there are 93 of the former in the U.S.
and 477 of the latter. About 62 per cent. of the college students in the
country attend voluntarily supported colleges, and the private schools
have about 68 per cent. of the educational funds of the country at their
disposal. This includes of course such very wealthy endowed institutions
as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell and Stanford.
PART III
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
"The political and economic struggles of society are in the last
analysis religious struggles; their sole solution, the teaching of
Jesus Christ."--(John Stuart Mill.)
CHAPTER XII.
BEYOND BERLIN[1]
_After-War Problems from a Catholic View-Point--Reconstruction, the
Duty of the Hour._
The heavy clouds of war and the bloody mist of battles are lifting;
once more the sun of peace bursts forth triumphant over a sad and weary
world. The storm has wasted its fury. The landscape is washed clear
and bright, the atmosphere is glowing and transparent; destruction and
ruins everywhere stand out in sharp and ghastly relief. On the distant
horizon, beyond the Rhine, the dark clouds drag their tattered shreds;
the angry lightning still flashes and thunder yet rumbles yonder--on
German and Russian soil.
The war is over. The muddy trench, the deadly shrapnel, the perfidious
gas, the roaring cannon, the forced marches on the slimy roads of
Flanders, the heroic dashes and agonizing retreats of struggling
armies, the lurking submarines, the treacherous, owlish zeppelins, the
long-protracted vigil on the deep--all these grim realities of four,
long, endless years have melted away in the blaze of a glorious
victory. Now the German Armada rides at anchor, prisoner, in British
waters, the armies of the Allies bivouac on the banks of the Rhine, and
our Canadian boys, flushed with victory, come marching home.
The day of the German surrender, Clemenceau, Premier of France, made
this significant statement: "Great have been the problems of the war,
but greater will be the problems of peace." Nations, indeed, now face
one of the most momentous periods of history. The world has struck its
tents and is once more on the march. Never, we believe, have such
tremendous responsibilities weighed upon a passing generation. The
future will be greatly imperilled if at this critical juncture great
questions are fought out between ignorant desire for change and
ignorant opposition to change. The handwriting is on the wall, and our
economic and social life, foreign to Christian morality, has been found
wanting. Will a new and better social order rise from the ashes of
this world-conflagration? There is the searching problem which presses
itself upon the mind of every thinking man. "On every side," writes
Father Plater, S.J., "there is talk of reconstruction, economic,
political, social, educational. Government departments are hard at
work gathering information, elaborating schemes. Numerous organized
bodies, such as the Labor party, are putting forward their programmes.
Conferences and lectures on reconstruction are multiplied and
literature on the subject pours from the press."
"Great ideas," said Wilson, "at last have captured the hearts of the
common people and directed into positive channels and constructive
programmes the very energies which otherwise may have spent themselves
in the acts of retributive destruction." Reconstruction! This is now
the world's watch-word. It sums up the various problems with which
nations will have to grapple in every realm of human activity. It
speaks of conditions that are no more and suggests new outlines of the
social order. Our present and pressing duty then is to weigh the
anchor, to swing out into the middle stream and take our course on the
permanent principles of Catholic Truth. These principles stand on the
shores of History as the great revolving lights that sweep the high
seas in the darkness of night.
Canada, after having bravely and generously solved the problems of war,
is now also facing "the greater problems of peace." This period of
reconstruction, more than that of the war, will test our national
fibre. The strain will be greater for the conflict is being lifted to
a higher plane, that of ideas. But nowhere in Canada will this vast
work of readjustment be more tangible than in our Great West. The
youth of that part of the country, and the dominating factors of the
national problem will, we believe, make the West the classical land of
reconstruction. A gradual evolution will bring our Eastern Provinces
to readjust themselves to the changing conditions of political and
economic life. The West, on the contrary, has in such matters the
beautiful qualities, the unlimited resources of youth, but also its
dangerous shortcomings. Daring, venturous, over-confident in
democracy, the Western mind is frequently most hasty and radical in its
conclusions. It has not been matured by time, that great teacher of
patience and moderation; experience has not, as yet, tempered that
feverish and progressive youthfulness, so prone to speedy and often
drastic legislation. The heat of fever is often mistaken for the glow
of health. And as legislation is in the minds of the Western people
the panacea of all evils in society, will not the common tendency be to
carry on the work of reconstruction by parliament bills and
orders-in-council? Is there not here a great danger? "The danger of
premature commitment is much greater than that of more cautious policy,
proving a stumbling block in the way of future progress."
Moreover, the most vital factors of reconstruction in Canada will
affect more particularly the Prairie Provinces. The back-to-the-land
movement, demobilization, settlement of returned soldiers on the farm,
intensive immigration policy, extensive agricultural production are
indeed Western problems.
The choice of the Hon. J. A. Calder of Saskatchewan, as chairman of the
Reconstruction Committee in the Federal Cabinet; the prominent part
given to him and to the Hon. Mr. Meighen of Manitoba, in the formation
and discussion of plans at the recent meeting of the Premiers of the
Provinces; these are in themselves striking illustrations of our
contention in the matter.
Although the West will, in the period of reconstruction command the
attention of the country at large, there are, nevertheless, problems,
particularly those affecting our social and economic life, which will
weigh heavily on our Eastern Provinces. So reconstruction will be a
nation-wide work.
_The Duty of Catholics_
What is, therefore, the duty of Catholics, at the present hour? Are we
to fold our arms and let others rebuild the very framework of society
according to plans which our faith, reason, and history disapprove of,
and very often condemn? Our ideas in the matter may not prevail, but
how would we be justified in deploring the consequences of a
legislation which we did not even try, by our influence, to suppress or
modify? To abstain as Catholics from this great work of reconstruction
is profoundly un-Catholic. It is the act of a traitor to the Church
and country. As Burke so gloriously said: he was aware that the age is
not all we wish, but he was sure that the only means to check its
degeneracy was heartily to concur in whatever is best in our time.
The Church depends upon her children to spread the beneficial influence
of her social doctrines. "The great work of the Catholics, after the
war, will be," said Father McNabb, O.P., "to bring the vision of the
Bride of Christ, the Catholic Church, before the millions of our
countrymen." "These countrymen of ours are blind and often bigoted,"
adds Henry Somerville.
There are Catholics who make this blindness and consequent bigotry an
excuse for their own narrowness and selfishness, for their neglect to
share in the nation's work, for their refusal to co-operate in
patriotic, civic and social undertakings as if they were none of our
business. The nation's business is our business. If we serve the
nation efficiently, we serve the Church. We take then the best means
to open the eyes of our fellow-countrymen to the fact that Catholicism
is not uncivic. If we make ourselves valued, anti-Catholic prejudice
will be dispelled.
Cardinal Bourne in his letter on "Social Reform" speaks very pointedly
of the duty of every Catholic in this matter. His pronouncement and
that of the American Hierarchy are the most notable declarations from
Catholic sources on "Social Re-construction." "It is admitted on all
hands," says the English Primate, "that a new order of things, new
social conditions between the different sections in which Society is
divided will arise as a consequence of the destruction of the formerly
existing conditions.
"The very foundations of political and social life, of our economic
system, of morals, of religion are being sharply scrutinized, and this,
not only by a few writers and speakers, but by a very large number of
people in every class of life, especially among the workers."
The nation's business is our business. The true love of country
demands from Catholics at this critical stage of our history to throw
all their energies into the various social activities. Society
throughout the world is shaken in its very foundations. This universal
unrest in the political, social and economic spheres is a decided mark
of the birth-throes of a new social order. Therefore, we will conclude
with Cardinal Gibbons; "The Church cannot remain an isolated factor in
the nation. The Catholic Church possesses spiritual and moral
resources which are at the command of the nation in every crisis."
The reform or remodelling of the social fabric, if it is to be
effective and abiding, must ultimately rest on the definite and
unchanging principles of morality. These principles constitute the
moral law, as physical principles are the basis of the physical law.
Ernest Fayle, in a very instructive article on "Reconstruction," in the
October number of the "_London Quarterly Review_," makes a statement
very pertinent to this matter; "The economic, political and social
factors in human life are so inextricably entangled that if we accept
quality of life and not mere power or wealth as the touchstone of
national success we dare not, even in the consideration of economic or
political questions, lose sight of the moral issues."
The Catholic Church has always been the teacher and guardian of that
natural moral law which stands as the foundation and buttress of the
social edifice. Her plans of Reconstruction rest on the eternal
principles of equity which God has engraved on the human conscience and
which the teachings of Christ have sanctioned and perfected. In the
light of Catholic doctrine moral laws are definite and unchanging, for
they are the deliberate expression of the necessary and fundamental
relations upon which rests human nature. They are the living, free
expression of man's place in creation. The most elaborate schemes and
powerful organizations are soulless without these basic principles of
morality and have but an ephemeral existence.
Is it not, therefore, a great act of patriotism to try to throw into
the scales of the nation's destinies the mighty weight of
indestructible and tried principles? A growing respect is to be found
for the soundness, the wisdom and the justice of Catholic social
principles, even in circles where our beliefs have not yet found
acceptance. True statesmen have always recognized the influence of the
Catholic Church's doctrine in social matters, although they may not
believe in the truth of her teachings. They always looked upon her
principles of social life as the ballast that steadies the ship on
heaving seas. To make the Church a spiritual ally, to recognize her
moral power and her far-reaching influence has always been considered
good diplomacy and clear-sighted statesmanship.
_Catholic's Patriotism in Public Life_
Reconstruction is the great work of the hour; co-operation is a duty
every Catholic owes to Church and country. What definite and concrete
form of co-operation will that responsibility assume? There is the
problem. Our first duty, in the matter, lies, we believe, in a greater
participation in public life. Too long have we stood aloof from
movements that aim at the social welfare of the community. A false
timidity and an erroneous conception of our responsibilities have
estranged us, to a great extent, from the various activities of
national life. This isolation has been most prejudicial to our
Catholic laity, for it has fostered in their ranks disinterestedness
and often apathy. "With regard to the necessity of Catholics to obtain
positions on public bodies, Cardinal Bourne stated that very often
Catholics were urged to take part in public affairs, by becoming
elected to public bodies in order that they might safeguard Catholic
principles. That was a great good--a very laudable object--but it was
not the highest object. The great object was that out of the fulness
of their Faith they might give to their fellow-countrymen the
principles that flowed from that Faith, so that little by little there
might be built up in the consciousness of the nation that belief in and
use of those sound principles of the Catholic Faith which contained the
only solution of the difficulties with which they were faced."
"Too long have Catholics lived in isolation, allowing others to think
and act for them. It is indeed, high time that they felt the pulse of
life that beats in the real statesman, as distinct from mere
politician. Duty demands that Catholics add their power of intellect
and will to the similar power of other citizens anxious to help the
commonwealth. We are not aliens in this land, not aliens by birth or
principle. As to the latter, I may say with all truth, that no one has
given clearer expression to the basic principles of democracy than the
Catholic theologians, Suarez and Bellarmine." [2]
This attitude of aloofness, during the coming period of reconstruction
especially, would be profoundly un-Catholic. Our active participation
in public life will give us occasion to dispel prejudice, to offset
subversive doctrines, to advocate in spite of failures and bigotry the
principles of Christian sociology. We are firm believers in the
prevailing strength of ideas. They are indestructible; they rule
sooner or later. They may take time to crystalize into convictions,
but the force of mental gravitation must ultimately prevail. And after
all, Reconstruction, as Dr. J. J. Walsh stated, is more a question of
remaking the map of man's mind than that of remodelling the map of
Europe.
The Catholics of England give us, in this matter as in many others, a
beautiful example to follow. During the war they formed a "British
Catholic Information Society," having at its service "the Catholic War
News Office." The result of their aggressive policy is the public
recognition of the value of the Catholic Church by the English people
in the national work of Reconstruction. We would here refer the reader
to Father Plater's letter on "Catholics and Reconstruction" for further
details in this interesting matter. Like our Catholic brothers of
England, let us also take our place boldly in the broad daylight of
public life. We have ideas to give to the Nation, let us give them.
Canadian liberty, without doubt, exists for our doctrines as it does
for the subversive theories of State-Socialism. We have no apology to
make for our ideas. They stand on their own merits and have been
vindicated by the great acid test of time. Yes, we possess the great
curative and creative forces for social Reconstruction; We have only to
call them into play.