IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA

New Zealand Tablet, 19 June 1913, Page 11

IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA

FATHER BERNARD VAUGHAN INTERVIEWED It was my privilege the other day, x writes a Catholic Times representative) to meet Father Bernard Vaughan, fresh from his world tour,. and to hear his answers to the many questions with which he was bombarded by a circle, of enquiring and admiring friends. ‘ln America,’ he said, ‘there is no time to grow old. _ Out there, like the Catholic Church herself, one is so inspired by the fire, the energy, and the enthusiasm of youth that one forgets the ravages of time, the worries of life, and the pains and aches of Anno Domini. It is a worth-while journey,’ continued Father Vaughan, as bright and cheery as ever he was. ‘lt is simply magnificent to" go round the world with the uplifted torchlight of faith bidding all sections of the community— and saints, young and old, black, yellow, and white, to rally to the great Light; to speed up and hope for the best. Everywhere in the world,’ Father Vaughan proceeded with grave emphasis, ‘ I have found more than enough to break down one’s spirits and to sob one’s bosom empty, but it was just then that the words of the Master uttered under similar circumstances came to the rescue: “‘Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God ; believe also in Me.” ’ . An Anecdote. • Did you,’ interrupted a friend, ‘find the same overwhelming audiences 'and congregations in New York as you have always found in our great cities in the old country * Well, now that you ask me, I may say,’ replied Father Vaughan, ‘that I preached in St. Patrick’s Cathedral twice a week, and the only difference between the Thursday and Sunday congregations was that more

were turned away on the Sunday morning than on the week-day. On the first Thursday, not realising what a crowd there would be, I tried to get in by the main entrance, and was stopped by a verger at the barrier, who, in response to my request to be allowed to pass" answered : “I cannot, there is not standing room anywhere but in the pulpit.” Very well,” I replied, “ I’ll take that ; if I cannot stand up for the preacher, at least I’ll stand by him.” A ripple of smiles followed as a Columbus discovered me, and I passed on to preach to seven thousand, people. I may say of my audiences in America generally, that one seldom found an auditorium, theatre, gymnasium, church, or cathedral big enough to hold the throngs hungering for the Bread of Life and thirsting for the waters of salvation.’ • Home Buie and American Friendship. ‘What do they think of Home Rule out there?’ asked the Catholic Times man. ‘Why,’ replied Father Vaughan, with a characteristic wave of the hand, ‘they think of it of course in the same way as their relatives in Ireland do. They are waiting on tip-toe expectation for it to be a reality. The sooner the Bill becomes law the sooner will America clasp England with the hand of friendship. Till then they cannot but be on terms of strained relationship, and that’s the end of the matter. I presume that 85 per cent, of the population of Ireland demands Horne Rule, and,’ added Father Vaughan, ‘ America asks why they have not got it.' Strong Indictment of Co-Education. ‘ What do you think of the co-education which prevails in America?' asked our representative. Personally, I just hate it,’ replied Father Vaughan with sonm bitterness, because human nature," being constituted as it is, I cannot bring myself to believe

that it is mentally or morally good for boys and girls to be brought up and taught in the same schoolroom. I am quite sure I should do my very' best to stop any child friend of mine from going to a school where this system was in vogue. At best it is a method to be tolerated under severe protest. If in itself it were a desirable system, the Church would have sanctioned it and adopted it as her pet system a thousand years ago. A great 'many non-Catholic educationists are quite as . much opposed to this sort of school as I am myself. Let us hope I am wrong in my verdict, but as you ask me for my opinion, I give you mine and not that of anyone else*’ Socialism. We have been reading most flattering reports of your new book, Socialism From the Christian Standpoint,’ suggested one of those present, and everyone is wondering how you managed to have time to write and give so much local color to the interesting chapters it contains.’ ‘ I readily admit,’ replied Father Vaughan, ‘ that I nearly broke down under the effort of persistent writing in train and on boat, whenever I had time to spare between the pulpit and platform but I was anxious before leaving America to leave the best I had at the feet of my best friends, and I felt I could do nothing better than offer them in testimony of my affection and gratitude a work expressive of the Christian mind upon the problem of Socialism. To my thinking America is up against Socialism, and the Catholic Church stands alone in her fight against it.’ The Decay of Protestantism. ‘ How is the Protestant Church faring in the States?’ Father Vaughan : ‘I am sorry to say it is a fact that Protestantism in all its forms and fashions is daily shedding its old dogmatic tenets so as more readily to adjust itself to the modern world. Protestant theology is being reshaped in its seminaries to suit what it calls “the social implications of the Gospel.’’ It no longer asks what is a man’s dogmatic creed, but what is his social work. It calls itself by the old name of Christian, but its Christianity is dying of anaemia. Protestantism can no longer be called the breakwater against infidelity. It is too invertebrate to stand up against anything, and its present mission seems to be to flirt with Socialism. Thousands of its ministers are being claimed by Socialists as their ardent followers. The Catholic Church, on the contrary, after a patient and exhaustive study of Socialism, has come to the conclusion that it is something much more than an economic theory. She recognises with its men of light and learning that it is a religion— a Church which wants to rise up on the ruins of Christianity. If Socialism is to be put back and kept in its place, it is the Catholic Church that will have to do it. The salt of other Churches has lost its savor, and their lights have burned out or else are quenched.’ The Future of the Church in the States. ‘ Are you full of hope about the future of the Church in America, Father Vaughan?’ ‘ The Church question in America,’ he replied, ‘is a school question ; in other words, its fate to-morrow depends upon its state to-day. If throughout the States the children of Catholic parents were schooled in a Catholic atmosphere, and under Catholic teachers, in another generation Catholics will be on top. The tide of emigration is a Catholic one. And, what is more, it is from these Catholic emigrants settling in the States that teeming generations are to come; condemning by their overwhelming numbers the sterility of the old American settlers who, by processes I need not mention, are robbing God of His children and pauperising the growth of the nation.’ Father Vaughan’s Prophecy. ‘ Twenty-five years hence,’ continued Father Vaughan, speaking in prophetic vein, ‘ the Catholics of the United States will not be sixteen millions, but twice that number. The vote will be in their hands, and the future of the Republic will depend upon their use of it.

'God forbid,' exclaimed Father Vaughan, ' that Catholic successes and triumphs should be in any measure due to the plurality of divorces among their fellow-citizens, and to the iniquitous practice of racial suicide. By less ignoble processes than these we should like to see the Church of Christ triumph in the land discovered by her chivalrous sonColumbus.''

The Cross and the Stars and Stripes. At this stage Father Vaughan was called away, and expressed his sorrow at being unable to say more on this burning question, which, lie declared, was at the very root of his heart. As he was leaving we asked him how it was he had so little criticism to pass upon the state of things in America. Standing with hand upon the door and looking back with that gracious and courteous manner so native to him,.he said benignly: When one has been the honored guest at a great banquet it is scarcely becoming to criticise the menu or to find fault with the cooking. The United States of America may be like a young, rich, and fruity wine, while England is like one that has grown matured and mellow by long keeping. When the rare wine of American youth ripens and mellows we ourselves may stand in need of none: our day will have passed. ' May the Stars and Stripes float proudly in the breeze over the White House for ages to come,' said Father Vaughan in conclusion, 'and may the Cross brought by Columbus stand over it always.'