The Catholic Paper

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 14, 8 April 1909, Page 529

The Catholic Paper

In a recent editorial article, the Brooklyn. Tablet linked together the following litany of functions of the true Catholic paper : 'An eternal bond of unity. A channel of communication between the Bishops and clergy and the faithful people. The builder of Catholic thought and Catholic opinion on every question affecting Catholic interests. An organ of appeal and defence. The readiest exponent and defender of the Church's doctrines and practices. The medium of warning against danger to faith and morals. The voice that summons the Catholic people to protect their rights. The mirror of Catholic life. The powerful auxiliary of the pulpit and the complement of the parish school. The consecration of the great modern invention to the service of the Cliurch. The antidote to the poison of the secular press. The destroyer of non-Catholic calumnies and prejudices. The blessing of clean, wholesome, Christian reading for the home.'

Thirty years ago, according 'to an exchange, M. Baudon, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, gave utterance to this warning prediction, in writing for the Catholics of his country, France : ' The importance of the press is not understood enough "by the faithful. They look to the building of "churches, to the founding of -com-' munities, to the multiplying of homes for orphans and poor, all clearly necessary works, but they forget that over and above these needs there is another which the pressure of facts makes first of all — it is- the extension of the Catholic press, at least in certain countries, of which France is one; for if the Catholic press is not supported, encouraged, elevated to the height of its sublime mission, then the churches, if not burned, will be empty, the religious communities will be expelled, and the homes for orphans and poor — nay, the very schools themselves — will be taken from the religion that founded them.' ' History,' says Mark Twain in his latest serious work, <is a trustworthy prophet. History is always repeating itself, because conditions are always repeating themselves.

Out of duplicate conditions history gets a duplicate product.' A word to the wise ought to be sufficient.