Catholic Problems in Western Canada
G >> George Thomas Daly >> Catholic Problems in Western Canada_The Catholic Solution_
In season and out of season, in the press and on the platform, in
private gatherings and public meetings, through every medium of social
control, let the people hear the Catholic solution of the problems now
facing the nations of the world. We have a message to deliver. That
message, if it comes to the people shining like a steel blade, sounding
like the blare of a trumpet, if it wells up from a fiery heart and
drops from burning lips--that message will be heard. In this period of
strain and suffering the public mind is keyed to its highest pitch,
ready to snap at any moment. Strong feeling has generated in many
minds intellectual hysteria. "In war time," says E. H. Griggs, "there
is a curious paradox of widening radicalism of thought, with constantly
decreasing freedom of action and expression. When the discrepancy
becomes too great, you have the explosion,--a revolution." Therefore
in this time of intellectual ferment, the continued affirmation of
truth, and the persistent statement of principles are in themselves a
highly valuable service, which we are bound to give to the world. The
thought of the human mind, like rays of sun-light, focused on one
point, acquires the burning power of conviction.
Participation in public life develops conviction; conviction repeatedly
asserts itself; continued assertion creates opinion; and public opinion
is without doubt one of the most universal powers at work in the world.
In every sphere of life you can feel the constant pressure of this
tremendous influence. It may well be named the "current" of public
opinion. Draining to its profit the latent and loitering powers of the
individual thinker, silently, irresistibly it moves on; checked, it
becomes an angry whirlpool of confused and gyrating waters; harnessed
to the wheels of national life, it will transform its energies into
light, heat and power.
The creation and the spreading of Catholic opinion in social matters
should be in our mind, the ultimate goal of our activities, for it is
the greatest asset we can contribute to the vast work of
Reconstruction. As Lord Morley said, "great economic and social forces
flow with tidal sweep over communities half conscious of that which is
befalling them. Wise statesmen are those who foresee what time is
bringing and try to shape institutions and to mould men's thought and
purpose in accordance with the change that is silently surrounding
them."
Time, you readily understand, will not allow us to dwell upon the
various problems which Reconstruction will bring before the country.
Our aim, now, is rather to awaken the sense of responsibility, stir the
sleeping conscience into watchfulness, and give to our Catholic men and
women the stimulating thought of co-operation. Our country is being
re-created in its political, social and economic life; to be a living
factor in that "re-creation" is the duty of the hour.
Before bringing these remarks of a rather general character to a close
allow us to mark for your attention the leading problems. They will be
as landmarks planted to guide you on the way. In the international
order, the problem of resetting nations on a new basis by a "just and
durable peace" now faces the world. Racial and language problems
command our attention in the national order. In the political world
ideas are to be readjusted as to the nature, powers and obligations of
the State. Of late, the monopoly of the State has been asserting
itself so strongly that one is led to believe the old pagan principle
of the supremacy of the State will once more reign supreme. When
nations have ceased to give to God what belongs to God, they give to
Caesar alone what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God.
The social order will witness demobilization and immigration. Who
cannot grasp the importance of these great problems with their various
and intricate issues? The greatest transformations are, perhaps,
reserved for the economic order; capital and labor, efficient and
greater production of industry and agriculture, the living wage, and
uplifting of the workman's status, etc. In the educational order the
battle will be greater, for there is a great tendency to centralize, to
federalize education, under the plea of "national schools."
The religious order will see tremendous efforts for union among the
various non-Catholic denominations; "social service" will be their
center of unity, the common field of action.
Various and important, as you see, are the problems that confront us in
the realms of human activity. Now, bear in mind, the Catholic doctrine
has a solution for each problem and it is your duty to give it.
Knights of Columbus, as you helped the Church to solve the problems of
the war, so will you also help to solve the greater problems of peace.
If you wish to be the body-guard of the Church, your mission is to lend
your noble and generous efforts to your spiritual leaders in this great
work of reconstruction. For, of this reconstructive period and its
great opportunities for militant and active Catholics, we may say what
Carlysle said of the period that followed the French Revolution; "Joy
was it, in that age, to be living--and to be young, was very heaven."
The task indeed is enormous, but the incentive most inspiring.
We are bound to meet with the fluctuations and uncertainties of the
human mind, particularly in such times of readjustment and intellectual
unrest. Let us then never forget that since the coming of Christ and
the establishment of His Church on earth the principles of His teaching
are for all nations. The sun of truth has its meridian in Rome, on the
rock of Peter. There it stands at its zenith, in the permanent blaze
of a perennial mid-day; there it sets the time for the Catholic world
amid the ever-changing and conflicting problems of human history.
_Stat Crux dum volvitur orbis_.
[1] A speech delivered in the Assembly Hall of the Knights of Columbus,
St. John, N.B., December 22, 1918. "The Catholic Mind" of New York
reproduced it in one of its issues.
[2] R. H. Tierney, S.J., Editor of America, at the Catholic Federation
meeting, Brooklyn, September 15, 1918.
CHAPTER XIII.
WHOM DO MEN SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS? (MATH. XVI.-13.)--PUBLIC
OPINION AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
_What is Public Opinion--Its Power--How is it Formed--Public Opinion
and the Catholic Church--Our Duties to Public Opinion._
Numerous and strong are the influences at play in human life. Acting
and reacting on the free will of man they are ever at work moulding his
character and shaping his destiny. Like the waves of an incoming tide
they are beating the shores of our heart; their triumph is to carry
away our liberty on their receding waters.
Surrounding influences for good or for evil are indeed, to a great
extent, the determining factors of our moral life. Day by day they
write our history and with it the history of the world; for, the life
of every man is but a line on the great page of his nation's history
and the history of a nation, but a chapter in that of humanity.
Of all the influences underlying human activities in the moral, social,
economic, and political world, one of the most universal and most
effective is beyond doubt, nowadays, _Public Opinion_. We may well
name it the "_current_" of Public Opinion. In every sphere of life one
can indeed feel the constant pressure of its tremendous power. Like
the waters of a mill-race constantly and irresistibly the stream of
Public Opinion sweeps on. It is very difficult to determine exactly
where lies its strength; it is nowhere and everywhere. Unconscious of
its swollen powers it spends its energies for the welfare of the
community, or, unfortunately too often, loses itself in an angry
torrent of destruction.
You thwart its onward march: it will bury your barrier under its
laughing waters or . . . sweep it away. You ride with it: it will
gladly carry you. You check it: its troubled waves will rise angry
around you and engulf you.
Such is the "_current_" of Public Opinion. To direct this great power,
to harness its tremendous forces, to convert them into light, heat, and
energy and set the wheels of moral, social, and political life running
with greater smoothness, rapidity, and strength, should be the noble
effort and the great task of every serious-minded man.
By no idle whim or sheer literary piquancy have we coupled _Public
Opinion and the Catholic Church_. The inevitable relations that exist
between Public Opinion and the various predominating factors of a
nation should necessarily interest every true Canadian. Among these
factors the Catholic Church stands pre-eminent. Her beneficial
influences and her ready solutions to the various social and moral
problems that confront the world, cannot, even to the most prejudiced,
be passed unnoticed. So no matter what our spiritual allegiance may
be, the relation of Public Opinion to the Catholic Church should be of
the greatest interest to any one who has at heart the common welfare.
In Western Canada particularly, where Public Opinion has such a sway,
this subject, we presume, must be of service both to those of the
Catholic Faith and to those of a different persuasion.
* * * * * *
_What is Public Opinion--Its Power--How is it Formed?_
1. _What is Public Opinion_?
Ideas rule the world, but various are the effects ideas have on the
minds of men. On some minds they exercise only a passing influence;
they are then what we call "_Impressions_"; variable as lights and
shadows over a summer lake they come and go. Impressions are indeed
only on the surface of the mind, like foot-prints on the sand washed
away by the next tide.
When ideas take a stronger footing in our intelligence and are accepted
with a certain confidence, on their face-value or on the authority of
some leader, they become "_Opinions_." Loosely entertained and readily
exchanged, opinions are the ordinary mental pabulum of the masses.
Few minds see their ideas crystallized into "_Convictions_."
Convictions are permanent, unchangeable ideas: based on facts and
supported by satisfactory evidence, they rest on the bed-rock of truth.
Few minds indeed, particularly on the larger and fundamental issues,
can claim the right to convictions. For, convictions demand a breadth
of vision and grasp of detail which are given but to few souls. These
minds, few in number, are the minds of leaders. Their noble duty and
great responsibility is to _Awaken_, _Stimulate_, and _Organize_ the
thinking of the people. Their thoughts, their ideas, are on the
unchartered sea of truth as the tossing buoy or lighted beacon from
which the unthinking masses take their course. Rather than go to the
pains of thinking for themselves the crowds leave this task to a few
and content themselves with ready-made opinions, as these float by with
the tide of the hour. Few make up their minds; they are made up for
them.
The common opinion which reflects the mind of the great majority,
embodies the prevailing idea, the universal sentiment, and directs the
common action is called. . . _Public Opinion_.
2. _Power of Public Opinion_.
You readily see, by its very nature, the tremendous power of Public
Opinion. It is the "reason why," the basis of appreciation, the norm
of conduct of the great mass of the people. As we stated before,
Public Opinion is like the stream that drains to its profit the
loitering energies of the individual mind, and makes them tributaries
that swell its volume and compress its course. Who can analyze the
powers of this "_Organized Thinking_" of the people in a democracy?
Who can measure the force of these sweeping currents, of these tidal
waves of Public Opinion?
In fact, Public Opinion may be considered in our modern societies as
the greatest driving power. For, Public Opinion is the vision of the
unthinking multitude, and vision is the first and foremost of
constructive or destructive forces. It lights the way and invites
action accordingly. Marvellous indeed is the sweep of the tide of
Public Opinion in various realms of human activities. Its ebb and
flow--although frequently beyond analysis, are felt on every shore.
In the world of finance,--and this is the lowest in the scale of real
values,--is not that fragile but mighty factor we call credit based on
Public Opinion? For, credit is but the general opinion of the
community on the possibilities of the industry or undertaking in which
its capital is involved, and on the honesty and ability of the
management.
What has weakened the moral fibre of our modern society so much that at
times one wonders if we are living in the Christian era? If the home
is now so often desecrated by theories of free love and trial
marriages, if the cradles are empty, if the very sense of shame is a
thing of the past, if the most elementary principles of morality are
questioned, is it not because the public conscience is being warped,
chloroformed, deadened by a frenzied propaganda of a corrupted Public
Opinion?
Has not the politician and the legislator the ear to the wind, the eye
on the running tides and cross currents of thought, to know and sound
Public Opinion? Like the skilful and watchful pilot, he counts with
the set of the tide and catches it at its crest. He knows the exact
height of the rising tide that will float him and his cargo over the
bar . . . of a coming election--. This tide of public feeling has
carried some to the high seas of success but left many stranded on the
desert shores. Many public men indeed have set out on its angry waters
to brave its fury . . . and have never returned. "In our times of
Democracy when the "competitive" principle has replaced the
"hereditary," not the kings, princes and nobles, but bankers,
merchants, railroad magnates, capitalists, politicians, editors,
educators, writers and artists occupy the high seats, hold the baton
and beat the time for the great social orchestra." (Ross-Social
Psychology.) "Power and influence," said Morley, "no longer reside in
the Crown but in the strong, subtle forces called Public Opinion: and
that Public Opinion is apt to involve fatal contentment with simple
answers to complex questions."
In the great international life of nations Public Opinion also holds
the reins. This power manifests itself particularly at the great
turning points of History, such as we are now witnessing. There is
always then resistance between conflicting forces; and resistance, we
know, strengthens the current. What power was at work for the last
fifty years and marshalled, on that fatal August day of 1914, the
formidable army that swept over Belgium, France and Russia? Public
Opinion created by the military caste in Germany! What secret and
growing force made of the Allies' contemptible army of yesterday the
crushing victorious army of to-day?--The invincible power of Public
Opinion!--It leaped from the very depths of the wounded heart and
outraged conscience of nations, and created in a few months that
unconquerable army of inexhaustible reserves upon which the Allies
relied until their final triumph. It fired the morale of our armies
and smashed the way to victory. For those who could not go to the
battle-field, it kept the homefires burning and fringed with the silver
lining of radiant hope the dark clouds that hung over our horizon for
four long, dragging, weary years.
3. _How Public Opinion is Formed_.
You may ask how are the thoughts of the multitude so marshalled as to
make the unit of Public Opinion. As we already remarked, the thinking
power of the ordinary man does not go _far_, _wide_, nor _deep_. His
facility of absorbing ideas is far greater than his power of valuating
them. He generally accepts as real value any thing that bears the
stamp of current opinion. His belief in the value and weight of number
is without recall; his absolute trust in what Bryce calls "the fatalism
of multitude" is beyond appeal. He lives and thrives on the
_surrounding mental atmosphere_.
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 of
_Advertisement_ . . . and of _Fashion_.
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 a _Special Sale_, an _Astonishing 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, _Propaganda_ and _Publicity_ are 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 the
Catholic Church, because the powers that create and maintain Public
Opinion are against the Catholic Church. Facts here speak for
themselves.
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
the _moulders_ and _mirrors_ of Public Opinion. They are its
_masters_, but with the condition of being first its _servants_.
Of all these creative forces none is greater and more universal than
the _Press_. 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."