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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
THE CHURCH AND AMERICAN POLITICS
One of the most interesting of recent letters came
the other day from a Baptist minister. It is not often
we hear anything from the ministers. Our rule is
not to send them our literature, because it was the
early sentiment of the publicity committee that to do
so would be bad taste and would be misconstrued as
to motive. But every now and then one answers
our advertisements or through inadvertence we fail
to strike a name from a new mailing list. This
letter was out of the ordinary. It was a pretty com
plete arraignment of Catholics and the Church. A
part read like this: “You have a right to your re
ligion and the free exercise thereof as much as I do.
But you have no right to meddle with politics as a
church. . . . When you become genuine Ameri
cans and put American institutions above the Pope,
k^ep your religion out of politics and quit trying to
dominate American politics by your church, then we
are ready to join you in a campaign for good govern
ment and high moral ideals.” This was plain speech,
frankly expressed, and to it we replied as follows:
Now about politics. Only since receiving your let
ter the other day I read where the Methodist Con
ference appointed representatives to attend the two
big national political conventions as spokesmen for
the Methodists; where a Protestant minister running
for congress defeated for re-election the author of the
Volstead Act; where Dr. Jenkins, “a clergyman” (all
I know is that he is not a Catholic), will nominate
Mr. McAdoo at San Francisco; where Mr. Catts, of
Florida, a Baptist minister, was defeated for United
States Senator, after he had been governor for four
years. You know that perhaps for ten years past the
most powerful lobby at the national capital has been
a body composed mainly of Protestant ministers. And
I will ask you, when was there ever a legislature in
Georgia in which there were not Protestant ministers?
When was there ever a Baptist Conference in which
matters of a political cast were not more or less dis
cussed, in which certain legislation thought good and
wholesome was not urged, in which solutions were
not offered for questions and problems whose solu
tion comes only through political forum? And yet
you cry “Stop Thief!”
Catholics are in the majority in nine States; in five
or six they have been in the majority for years; but
in none have they ever held anything like a majority
of the offices. Only in three or four have they ever
had a Catholic governor. With nearly 20 per cent,
of the population of the country they have 5 per cent,
of the United States Senators, and a slightly higher
per cent, of the members of congress. Perhaps you
have heard that foolishness about 75 per cent, of
the Federal appointments being Catholic; it is spread
about ever so often, by men who write anti-Catholic
stuff and sell it, who make anti-Catholic speeches for
a price, who organize anti-Catholic societies at so
much per head, professionals, who would lose their
inglorious means of livelihood if the time ever came
that Barnum’s famous dictum did not hold.
Socrates taught that the soul is immortal, and was
accused of mixing in politics. Our Lord was found
to be free of fault by Pilate, and then the wily Jews
threw the question into politics. “Thou art no
friend of Caesar!” has ever been the cry of those who
had no other fault to find. You say of us: “You
owe supreme loyalty to America.” Of course we do;
we give supreme loyalty to America; do you happen
to know of any of us who ever failed? You say the
Pope has no business in American politics; you are
right, and I can tell you that Catholics would be
among the first to resent his presuming to take a
hand in American politics. You say for us to get
out of politics as a church. Let us see now; just
where must we get out from? The House, where we
have some forty members in around 400? The Sen
ate, where we have five in ninety-six? The Cabinet,
where we have none? The diplomatic service, where
we have three ranking members? The Federal Ju
diciary, where we have less than 5 per cent? The
House of Governors, where we have 2 per cent?
Or do you want that phantom 75 per cent to be
thrown out?
The bugaboo of the Catholic Church as such in
American politics is perfect and has all the qualities
that a bugaboo should have, the most characteristic
of which is that you can not put your finger on it,
can not point it out, can not see it. You might not
believe it had any existence but for the vestige of
that childish feeling we all have, which used to make
us imagine things at night. Why, there has not been
a Catholic ruler in Mexico in over fifty years; there
has not been a Catholic cabinet in Spain during this
century; the government of Italy has been unfriendly
to the Church for half a century; and in all South
America in a hundred years, do you know how many
Catholic rulers have there been? Catholics do not
get together in politics anywhere in the world, and
the free-thinker, infidels, Socialists and members of
secret societies of one kind or another, have managed
to control the government in all those countries, as
they have in France, as they did in Belgium until
quite recently.
No, there is no way for you to get a quarrel out
of us on the matter of the Church being in politics,
for it is not. As for what you say about our put
ting the Pope above American institutions when a
genuine American must put our institutions above
the Pope, it is our view that it would be wrong to
put either above the other; they should be kept sep
arate a free Church in a free State. This is our
ideal. I believe we can be friends and work together
for the common good on that basis.
Now, this is a long letter, with many statements of
a very positive nature, which at first reading you
may not be prepared to accept as entirely true, and
if so, I hope you will have no hesitancy in saying
your mind, pointing them out specifically, for I feel
the confidence of a sure conviction that I can persuade
you of their entire truth.