Catholic Problems in Western Canada
G >> George Thomas Daly >> Catholic Problems in Western Canada_The religious element_ belongs to a higher plane. Although
independent in its nature of any particular racial feature, yet it
co-exists with the love of country, giving to our patriotism something
of its sanctity and durability. But the point at issue here is: Can
the religious element prevent racial assimilation? In the eyes of many
Canadians the Ruthenian's religion is looked upon as one of the
greatest obstacles to his Canadianization. Under the cover of that
specious plea, many agents are at work in our Ruthenian settlements.
With the preconceived idea that their religion with its ritual,
language and traditions, is the greatest obstacle to their
nationalization and to its inherent benefits, these agents are
multiplying their efforts to wean new Canadians from the faith of their
fathers. The last report of the Methodist Missionary Society--1918,
openly states the designs of this Church in the matter. "_Many of
these Ruthenian people are ignorant and degraded; and under the
sinister leadership of their priests are resolved to resist all
Canadianizing influences. . . . For the Christian Church to act at
once is the need of the present hour, if the foreign peoples are to be
made Christian citizens of the great West._". This statement is
symptomatic of the curious Christianity that now prevails among the
various non-Catholic denominations. With them Christianity is nothing
more than social welfare inspired by a vague philanthropy. Differences
of creed are being cast to the winds, and _Social Service is the basic
idea of their forward movement_, around which they are trying to rally
their dwindling forces. It is then but consequent to have the burden
of their message and the policy of their apostolate bear on
Citizenship. The inevitable and perfidious neutrality of state
officialdom unconsciously seconds their efforts in this direction. But
the most efficient co-operators in this nefarious work are the
fallen-away Ruthenians. They have a smattering of education which
makes them the more dangerous among their own.
This organized opinion and co-ordinated action of the "churches"
against the CHURCH should give to all Catholics food for thought. To
be indifferent would be criminal. We can say with Augustine Birrell:
"It is obviously not a wise policy to be totally indifferent to what
other people are thinking about--simply because our own thoughts are
running in another direction."
* * * * * *
This diagnosis of the Ruthenian problem should suggest practical lines
for individual and group action. It would be preposterous on our part
were we to assume an attitude of destructive criticism without having a
remedy to propose. But what we have in mind is to suggest means
whereby the Church as a whole, and the laity in particular, will come
to the help of a few heroic, struggling missionaries and to the rescue
of their Ruthenian flock.
The Ruthenian people in Canada are now going through their assimilation
period. In another generation or so they will be, at least they should
be, all full-fledged Canadian citizens. This "land of opportunity"
that has adopted them has a right to see them all become good citizens,
as ready to shoulder their share of the common burden as they were to
receive the benefits of our liberties.
In our large industrial centres their transformation is rapid. The
stranger is swallowed up in the vortical suction of the city and is
soon carried away in the maelstrom of its strenuous life. He rapidly
loses his identity; only the strong individual will survive, bearing
the features of his race. In our rural settlements where the foreigner
has established colonies, the assimilation is slow and gradual. The
change affects the community and, through it, the individual. But in
all cases this transformation is a necessity, and necessity should be a
deciding factor.
If this process of assimilation, we contend, is not surrounded with
Catholic influence, if it is not carried on by Catholic agents--and is
left only to those who see in the faith of the Ruthenian, a "relic of
the Middle-Ages," an obstacle to Canadian citizenship--the danger to
the faith of our Ruthenian people is greater than in the days of open
attack. This method of neutral proselytism is more insidious, and in
the long run, more telling. We know perfectly well that if the
Canadian Ruthenian is "to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar" he
must first "give to God what belongs to God."
It is therefore our bounden duty to help our Ruthenian brethren to
swing into the main stream of our national existence; and there is no
reason why our religious duties and patriotic endeavors should work at
cross purposes. In fact, if in the present crisis, the two are not
merged into one, there will be a distinct loss to the Catholic Church
in Canada. Have we not waited long enough for the immigrants to come
to us? We contented ourselves with giving them as often as possible a
priest of their language; and have left to others, to neutral and, most
often, openly anti-Catholic agencies the duty of initiating them to
Canadian life. The American Bishops have understood this necessity,
and with what marvellous foresight and wonderful organization have they
thrown into the work of reconstruction the whole weight of the Catholic
Church! Their joint letter--the most timely and most luminous
pronouncement on the labour problem,--their general meeting in
Washington, the constitutions of the Catholic National Board with its
various departments, all go to prove that they grasped the signs of the
times and have readjusted the sails of the Ship of Peter in America to
the new winds that are sweeping over the world. We should never forget
indeed that the Church of God is not of this world but is in this
world. To strip ourselves of crippling "formalism" and to bring the
Church nearer the realities of the times, is, in Byron's words, making
"realities real." Is it not indeed time to broaden our apostolate and
give more scope to the laity? If the non-Catholic denominations are
able to find young men and women who consent to live among our
foreigners as teachers, social workers, field secretaries, lay
missionaries and catechists, surely we should be able to find the same
among our own to protect the faithful against apostasy. We must
remember that the Ruthenians who have come to this country belong,
generally speaking, to that class for whom even existence was a problem
in their native land. They are the very ones who have been protected
in their faith by language, tradition, customs and all that goes to
make up the mental atmosphere of the uneducated mass. When that
atmosphere disappears these poor people are exposed to all pernicious
influences. We are therefore responsible to the Church to build around
them the protective wall of Catholic life. The initiation to their
Canadian life should not be at the price of their Catholic life.
This is the situation. What can be done? Naturally, to quote Lord
Morley: "A settlement of foolscap sheet, independent of facts, of local
circumstances and feeling, and passion, and finance, and other
appurtenances of human nature" . . . will lead nowhere. To do
effective work along the lines suggested in this chapter we must take
facts and circumstances as they are, and work into them the idea, and
then work the idea into the people. The LANGUAGE, the SCHOOL, the
COMMUNITY LIFE are the THREE GREAT FACTORS that the enemies of the
Ruthenian's faith unscrupulously exploit in their nefarious work. We
must meet the enemy on this common ground and beat him with his own
weapons.
_Language_.--The right of a man to his language is an incontestable
right; the free use of it is a primary human liberty. The Church has
always respected this right as one of the most elementary laws of
nature. In the evangelization of nations She has always accommodated
Herself to the ways and language of the people. In this, She is
faithful to the illuminating lesson the Master gave to Her on Her
birthday, Pentecost Sunday, when the Apostles were heard each speaking
his own language. "They began to speak with divers tongues according
as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak . . . _Every man heard them speak
in his own tongue_." Since that day the true Apostle of Christ has
respected the language of the people he evangelized.
The theory of compelling a nation to learn a certain language as if it
were the only vehicle of the "Great Message of Christ" or of waiting
until the people know the missionary's own language . . . is not
Catholic. The Church of Christ is not a nationalistic Church. No one
has to deny his race nor to give up his language to become or to remain
Her faithful child.
But, facts are facts and one must face them and take from them one's
bearings. They stand as the tossing buoy on the drifting waters of our
ordinary life. To ignore them often spells disaster. Now, the fact of
paramount importance is that the English language is fast gaining
ground among the Ruthenians. The recent school laws (we do not discuss
here their wisdom)[2], the anti-foreign feeling that has held the
country in its grip during the war, the violent campaign of a certain
element, the general drift of the various annual conventions, the
studied plan of action of Provincial Governments, the eagerness of the
Ruthenian rising generation to know English[3], and above all the
unbounded zeal of non-Catholic denominations who make the learning of
English the trump card of their game, these are facts, and have to be
reckoned with. The sooner our Ruthenians are made to grasp these
conditions, the better will they be equipped for the struggle of
Canadian life and for the preservation of their Catholic faith. Is it
not time, therefore, for some English-speaking priests to go out among
the Ruthenians and share the work with those valiant missionaries who,
the great majority at least, are strangers to our country, and who have
learned the language, embraced the rite and for the last twenty years
have been doing our work for us? Their presence is a stimulating
lesson and an abiding reproach. A dozen or so of young
English-speaking priests would be a great boon to the Ruthenian
mission, particularly in the West with its present mentality.
The _School_ is the great melting pot. One has to read "The New
Canadian," by Dr. Anderson, to understand the full meaning of this
statement in its relation to the Ruthenian problem. The schools among
the Ruthenians in the Western Provinces are practically all public
schools. The number of Catholic teachers is exceedingly small and yet,
were they available, the Ruthenian trustees would be at liberty and
glad to give them the preference. Only those who know the influence
the teacher wields in a Ruthenian settlement will fully appreciate the
presence of a Catholic teacher. Were a good Catholic teacher to give
to this cause a year or two of her teaching life she would be doing a
great missionary work. If the Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists
can get girls and young men to go, surely we could also, were we to
organize and try it. This is the reason why the foundation, in
Yorkton, of the English speaking Brothers of Toronto, is one of the
wisest moves in the right direction. The idea is to prepare teachers
for the Ruthenian settlements by giving them the benefit of a higher
education under Catholic influences. The Governments of the various
Western Provinces made several attempts to equip the Ruthenian schools
with Ruthenian teachers. With a few exceptions, these embryo teachers
proved to be a failure and from a Catholic view-point a real calamity.
We remember personally how in a certain normal school the special
Ruthenian class was nothing but a hot-bed of infidelity and anarchy.
The students were collaborating with the worst subversive elements in
the country. Therefore, our practical suggestion would be to encourage
the recent foundation of the Christian Brothers by contributing
liberally to its support and to the extension of the work of which it
will become a natural centre. Could there not be a bureau in the East
for the recruiting of teachers? A campaign of education to this
effect, in the Catholic press, would be in season.
_Community work_ is without doubt a deciding factor in our civic life.
Considered from a Christian angle it is nothing else but the practice
of charity. When animated by mere philanthropy it may play havoc with
souls, particularly among our foreign element. The Church in the
United States has realized its importance and has outlined a social
service programme for Catholic agencies. They have field-secretaries
and instructors--often Knights of Columbus--throughout the country,
carrying on this welfare work. I would refer the reader to the monthly
Bulletin of the National Catholic Welfare Council for an idea of the
extensive work of their Catholic social activities. It is simply
wonderful. As times change our activities also have to be modified.
New questions call for new treatment. The initiation of the Ruthenian
people to Canadian life should be our work. Being Catholics they are
our wards in this new country and it is our sacred duty to see that
they receive true ideals of Canadian citizenship without losing the
higher ideal of their Catholic life. At times Canadian liberty has
proved to be to some extent too strong a tonic. It is through a sound,
intelligent, local government exercised in the school district and our
municipal life that the new Canadians can learn best to play their part
in the greater life of Provincial and Federal politics. If any one
desires more details on this subject we refer him to the National
Catholic Welfare Council's Reconstruction pamphlets No. 5 and 7.
Who has not followed with pride the launching of the great educational
programme of the Knights of Columbus, particularly their nation-wide
scheme of supplementary schools for the explanation of the "American
Constitution" to foreigners? It is an open challenge to radicalism.
To educate a citizen in the chart that governs his country, in the
right use of his franchise, is an act of real patriotism and real
Catholicism. Picture to yourself the results of the Ruthenian vote on
an issue in which the Church is involved. Eventually time will bring
such issues.
We would say to our laity what the editor of the 'Columbiad' wrote in
the October number: "The vista of the glory of service that opens
before the mind musing on the power for good within our grip is
sublime. To each the image rises. An army, a host of faces keen with
knowledge, calm with contentment, eager with honest ambition looks up.
Men, women, boys, girls--humanity gazes at the beholder. The eye does
not glimpse the last face, far out beyond the faint horizon of the
panorama. . . . The vista is unending."
Yes, the apostolate among the Ruthenians is, we claim, a necessity of
the hour; its possibilities are beyond realization. Procrastination in
this matter is nothing short of treason and will prove a disaster to
the Ruthenians, and to the Church. Turning to the Knights of Columbus
in Canada and pointing to the feverish and unceasing activities of
other agents among this our people I say: _Go and do likewise_.
* * * * * *
Our conclusion is obvious. The Ruthenian Question stands to-day as a
religious problem to solve and a national duty to fulfill. Church and
Country present a united and pressing claim for our co-operation. This
appeal to the two strongest feelings of the human heart should awaken
patriotic sympathies and quicken Catholic conscience into action. The
issue is serious and far reaching in its consequences. Only organized
opinion with united and determined action can successfully meet it.
[1] This chapter was the matter of a series of articles in the "North
West Review," of Winnipeg. The Editor prefaced them with the following
remarks, to give emphasis to the importance of this Problem:
"We wish to draw the attention of our readers to a series of
authoritative articles now appearing in the Northwest Review on 'The
Ruthenian Problem.'
"The writer is one of our foremost educationalists and knows his
subject thoroughly. Furthermore his manuscript has passed through the
hands of Bishop Budka and other members of the Hierarchy of the West
who have given it their warm approval.
"It is, we think, very essential that the Catholics of this country
should thoroughly understand the problem before them, so that when
called upon to perform their duty in the matter they may be able to act
promptly, wholeheartedly and with conviction.
"Our thanks are due to the author, 'Miles Christi' for having put
before us such a clear presentation of the problem which sooner or
later we shall be called upon to solve.
"The matter is one that to a very large extent concerns the laity and
we think it should be thoroughly discussed in every council of Knights
of Columbus throughout Canada. In districts where this society is not
organized, any other existing Catholic societies might very
appropriately co-ordinate in this good work.
"The question is also one of national as well as Catholic moment and so
entitled to its due share of any 'forward movements' now anticipated."
[2] Judge Buffington, of Pennsylvania, gave a lecture lately on
"Americanization." From it we cull the following paragraph on the
foreign language question:--
"The solution is not in the abolition of foreign languages in this
country. I have heard loyal patriots who found English twisting their
tongues, and Bolshevism has come from the lips of those of New England
culture like Foster. This country has not only been remiss in failing
to teach the foreigner but in teaching the native. I believe in the
English tongue and in the amalgamation resulting from common speech,
but we do not accomplish our aims by destroying other languages."
[3] In a recent report of the Department of Education of the Province
of Saskatchewan, of 177 schools in Ruthenian settlements only 28 have
engaged teachers holding provisional certificates or permits; all the
others are fully normal-trained and perfectly qualified. In many
school districts salaries range between $1,000 and $1,500. The
Ruthenians are among those who pay the best salaries to teachers.
CHAPTER IV.
WHY? WHAT? WHO?
_The Necessity of a Field-Secretary for the Organization of our
Missionary Activities_
No one can read the Encyclical letter which His Holiness has recently
addressed to the Catholic Church on the Propagation of the Faith
throughout the world, without being deeply moved by the yearnings of
the apostolic heart of our Common Father, and vividly impressed by the
lessons that come from his inspired and timely message to each and
every one of us.
Without doubt our own dear country is witnessing that movement which,
inspired by the Holy Ghost, is being felt throughout the Catholic world
in favour of home and foreign missions. The growing interest of our
people in the Catholic Church Extension Society; the enthusiasm with
which the great and noble work of Father Fraser, for Chinese Missions,
was greeted everywhere; the recent foundation and marvellous
development of the community of the "Missionary Sisters of the
Immaculate Conception" in Montreal, for service among the lepers of
China; the wonderful response which the call of Africa met with among
the college and convent youths of the Province of Quebec; the
increasing number of vocations to the missionary orders, both for men
and women,--to mention only a few outstanding and significant
facts,--are evident signs of the "_stirring of the waters_" in the
Church in Canada.
To help to promote and develop fully this providential movement in the
Church of God, we beg to submit a few suggestions which may be of some
use in the great cause of _Home_ and _Foreign Missions_.
_I--Why?_
The continued progress and abiding success of a movement depend on its
organization. For, to realize its proposed aim and accepted plan of
action, organization alone can enlist and keep secure the sympathies of
patrons and members, co-ordinate the various forces, and call into
play, when necessary, new and fresh energies. The greater the number
to be reached by the society or societies which embody this movement,
the more efficient should be the organizing power.
Experience and reason prove that an organization destined to affect the
masses and hold its grip on them, will not live and thrive only on an
occasional appeal or a printed message. These are indeed of great
value, particularly the insistently repeated message in print. We are
great believers in the force of a persistent, regular and frequent
circularization. But, in our humble estimation, there is something
more essential in the matter under consideration, and that is the human
contact and continued influence of a "field-organizer." An extensive
organization without this factor will not be efficient, will not last.
As Floyd Keeler wrote in "America" (July 10, 1920): "It is the personal
equation between the organizer and the various units of the Society
that counts. . . . The masses are accustomed to think in concrete
terms. . . . Long distance appeals and those made to total strangers
do not produce permanent results." This influence of the
field-organizer is so great that we may safely state that the life of a
society fluctuates with the various impulses it receives from him. He
is the very heart which gives health and vigor to its organism.
Here lies the secret of the mission-organizations in the Protestant
Churches, to which, of late, we have referred so frequently in our
Catholic papers, under the heading of: "_Fas est ab hoste
doceri_." . . . Every denomination has its field-organizers entirely
consecrated to mission activities among its people. Financial results
tell to what extent they are effective in their work.
We have also among our own missionary societies, examples that
illustrate the point we wish to emphasize. Since when has the Society
of the Propagation of the Faith, in the dioceses of New York and
Boston, leaped into prominence, and headed by generous contributions
the list of the whole world? How did that change come about? Where is
the secret of this success? The establishment of permanent diocesan
organizers is the answer. What they have done, why could we not do?
"_Quod isti--cur non et nos_?"
Never, we claim, will the missionary potentialities that lie dormant in
Canadian Catholicism, be actuated to bear its message of spiritual
light, heat and power to the Church at large, until we establish in the
field at various points, secretaries or organizers, whose life-work
will be to call into play, to systematize the mission forces of the
Church in Canada. If on the contrary, as in the past, we content
ourselves with an occasional appeal for missions, a collection now and
then, a spasmodic effort here and there, a subscription to a Catholic
paper or missionary magazine, the work for Home and Foreign missions
will remain exterior to the corporate life of the Church, will not be
woven into its very fibre to permeate its activities. As shadows on
the wall, they will suggest rather than reveal the possibilities of our
missionary effort. The great and pressing call of the White Shepherd
of the Vatican will go unheard. If there is a response that comes from
Canada, it will not be from the Church at large.
_II.--What?_
The "_raison d'etre_," the definite function of a field-secretary is
organization. This work implies the double duty to spread, by an
intelligent and well thought-out propaganda, the knowledge of the Home
and Foreign Missions and of the responsibility it entails, and to found
and maintain efficient the various societies established to promote and
help their great work.
1. _Vision_. The effective presentation of the case of Catholic
Missions, both to the clergy and to the laity, is the field-secretary's
first and important duty. Nothing indeed can be hoped for, nothing can
be accomplished until the Catholic people fully grasp and intensely
feel what their help and co-operation--however little it may be--mean
to the Church, to the salvation of souls, to the honour of our Blessed
Lord, to the glory of God. _Fac ut videant_! The clear, broad and
deep vision of these great possibilities in the mission fields will
alone overcome selfishness and apathy, awaken interest, stimulate
energy.
The field-secretary is the official expert in mission-matters. He will
be able to accumulate strong evidence, sum up striking statistics and
draw burning comparisons for the effective presentation of his case.
An enthusiastic advocate, he will plead with thrilling appeals, the
great cause placed in his hands.
During his absence from the field of action, the vision he pointed to,
will be kept bright by the recurrence, at stated intervals, of the
printed message. Missionary literature receives its life, vigour and
impulse from the field-organizer and continues his work in his absence.