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16 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA THE HOLY OFFICE AND THE “Y” You ask: “What grievance has the Catholic Church against the Y. M. C. A.?” You should rather ask: “What grievance has the Y. M. C. A. against the Catholic Church?” Hostility is all on the side of the “Y” towards the Catholic Church and not vice versa. In a half cen tury no official pronouncement was made by the Cath olic Church against the “Y.” The latest criticism was directed against their religious work among Cath olics. The same letter contained praises of its benefi cent work. The Catholic .Church, the oldest and largest body of Christians in the world, is not recognized as Chris tian at all by the Y. M. C. A. Catholics will not be accepted into membership of the “Y” on the same footing with Protestants. John R. Mott, head of the International Y. M. C. A., said two years ago: “Prior to this evangelical work the Y. M. C. A. had a few score of clergymen employed as secretaries, Now we have over 3,000 ordained secretaries. . . . In the Italian Army we have placed most dynamic literature . . . and when the story of the war is written, if the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. are not on record as the identified Evangelical Church of America, then I and many others will hand in our resignations, for the ‘Y* will have lost its interest.” William O. Easton, Executive Secretary of the “Y” in Philadelphia, says: “It must be clearly understood that Catholic boys coming to the Y. M. C. A. should do so with a full realization of the fact that the Protestant aspect of the Christian religion is not soft-pedaled by the asso ciation. The Y. M. C. A. stands squarely upon the Protestant faith, and in all its religious activities def initely presents the Protestant viewpoint. The or ganization never made a secret of this; it proclaimed and proclaims it freely and fully.” H. W. Stone, chairman of the Educational Council of Y. M. C. A. Schools, says: “The activities of the Young Men's Christian Asso ciation embody Protestantism lived in every-day life." (The Sunday Visitor.) The translation of the decree follows: ‘‘The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Cardinals who to gether with the. undersigned are Inquisitors General in mat ters of faith and morals, desire the Bishops to note with vigilant attention the activity of certain newly-formed non- Catholic organizations which, aided by their adherents in every country, have for a long time been laying snares of a most dangerous sort for our Catholic people and especially for our Catholic youth. While they provide facilities of every kind under the guise of physical training and of intellectual and moral culture, m reality they shatter the integrity of Catholic faith and wrest her children from the arms of Mother Church. “Considering indeed that these associations are supported by the good will, the resources and the active co-operation of highly influential persons, and that they render efficient service in various lines of beneficence, it is not surprising that they deceive inexperienced minds who fail to detect their inward nature and purpose. But their true character can no longer be matter of doubt for any one who is well informed; their aims, hitherto but gradually revealed, are now openly declared in pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals which serve as their means of publicity. Their avowed object is the intellectual and moral culture of young men through educative processes; and this culture, which for them is religion, they define as unlimited freedom of thought quite apart from any form of religion or denomination whatsoever. Thus, under the pretext of enlightening youthful minds, they turn them away from the teaching authority of the Church, the divinely established beacon of truth, and persuade them to seek in the depths of their own consciousness, and hence within the narrow range of human reason, the light which is to guide them. Students Chief Members. “It is chiefly students—young men and young women— who are drawn into such snares. They, above all others, need help and direction in order to learn Christian truth and to preserve the faith handed down from their forefathers. In stead, they fall into the hands of men by whom they are rob bed of their great inheritance and gradually led away until they hesitate between opposing opinions, then come to doubt about everything and finally content themselves with a vague indefinite form of religion which is altogether different from the religion preached by Jesus Christ. “Far greater, however, is the harm done to those—too many, alas!—who, through the neglect or ignorance of their parents, have not received at home that earliest instruction in the truths of faith which above all else the Christian needs. In consequence, they forsake the Sacraments, give up the practice of piety, grow accustomed to pass judgment with absolute freedom upon all things even the most sacred, and finally sink into religious indifferentism so-called which, re peatedly condemned by the Church, involves denial of all re- . ligion. “Thus, in the flower of their youth, groping without a guide amid the darkness and distress of doubt, they wither away; the rejection of a single dogma is sufficient to make shipwreck of faith. If, indeed, they still retain some vestige of piety—a word upon their lips or a fading trace in their hearts; if they show no little eagerness for doing good—this is readily explained: it is the result of inveterate habit, of kind and tender dispositions, or of a purely human and natural virtue which of itself does not avail to the gaining of eternal life. Y. M. C. A. Named. “Among these organizations it will suffice to mention one, the parent of many others and the most widely known of all (owing especially to its work in relieving large numbers of those ,upon whom the war brought suffering) and the most fully equipped with means—the organization known as the Young Men’s Christian Association, or. in briefer form, the Y. M. C. A. To this society, non-Catholics, acting in good faith, unwittingly gave their co-operation, regarding it as beneficial to all or at any rate as harmful to none; while some Catholics of the more easy-going kind lend it their sup port without knowing what it really is. This association, it is true, professes a genuine love for young men as though it had nothing more deeply at heart than to further their physical and spiritual welfare. But at the same time it un dermines their faith inasmuch as it claims to purify that faith and to impart a better knowledge of true living “above every church and independently of all denominational belief what soever.’’ (See the pamphlet published by the Central Agency of the Y. M. C. A. in Rome: ‘What the Y. M. C. A. Is, What It Proposes to Do, Etc.’) And yet, what good can be looked for from those who fling away their faith and, after resting securely in the fold of Jesus Christ, wander afar' whithersoever desire or temper may lead them. “You, therefore, one and all, whom the Lord has charged in a special manner with the government of His flock, are urged by this Sacred Congregation to exert your utmost zeal in preserving Catholic young men from the contagion spread abroad by these organizations whose very benefactions, ex tended in Christ’s name, endanger the Christian’s most price less possessions, the grace of Christ. Warn the unwary; steady those who are wavering in faith. Arm with Christian spirit and vigor the societies of young men and young women which are already established and organize others of the same kind. And in order that they may have the means to coun teract their opponents, appeal for aid to those among the faithful who can and will give of their abundance. Exhort also the pastors and the directors of your young men’s associations to an energetic performance of their duties. In particular, through, books and pamphlets, let them check the spread of error, lay bare the schemes and wiles of their enemies and furnish suitable aid to those who are zealous for the truth. Episcopal Action Urged. “It will be your duty, then, in your episcopal conferences to deal with this matter as its seriousness demands and adopt such measures as your united counsels may suggest. In this connection the Sacred Congregation judges it opportune that the Bishops in each country should state publicly that the newspapers, periodicals, and other writings of the associa tions in question which aim at spreading among our Catholic people the errors of rationalism and religious indifferentism, are expressly forbidden by the law of the Church. (See the Code of Canon Law, Can. 1384, p. 2; 1399, p. 4.) Such pub lications are, among others, ‘Fede et Vita’ (Faith and Life) a monthly review of religious culture, organ of the Italian Fed eration of Students for Religious Culture, San Remo ; Bilychuis, a monthly review of religious studies, Rome; II Testimonioi review of the Italian Baptist Churches, Rome. “Metropolitans will see to it that whatever is decided upon and put into effect in each Diocese as its conditions require, shall be reported to the Apostolic See within six months. “Given at the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome on the •fifth day of November, 1920. “R. CARD. MERRY DEL VAL, “Secretary.’’