The Preachers' Protests; Religion, Politics, Bigotry (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1909 Excerpt: ... protests, as well as the fact that Catholics were silent in the face of insinuations against their loyalty, seemed to have emboldened the preachers to become more and more reckless in their accusations against the Popes. In Philadelphia, every Monday the city was treated to a new exhibition of bigotry, to fresh accusations against the loyalty of Catholics. At the urgent request of a fellow-priest, the first of the following lectures was hastily prepared in reply to the preachers' protests against the President's letter. The lecture proposed to deal only with the reason given by the preachers for suspecting the loyalty of Catholics, and for the propriety of voting against them when candidates for political office. Only in so far as it is a refutation of arguments against the loyalty of Catholics, is the lecture an exposition of the attitude of the Church on the question of civil allegiance. The second and the third lectures are replies to lectures of the Rev. Dr. S. M. Vernon, who gave woful exhibitions of his ignorance both of Catholic doctrine and American history, in his efforts to manufacture charges against the Popes. The fact that this Methodist minister has not retracted one of the libels he uttered against Catholics and their religion, shows how reckless and conscienceless ministers may be when attacking the Catholic Church. These lectures were not delivered with any intention of helping a Catholic to become President of the United States. The writer believes, and has always acted on the belief, that it would be a distinct gain to the Church if all Catholics kept aloof from politics, especially kept out of political office. A generation ago, Doctor Corcoran wrote: "The avocation of the practical politician is about the only one that is incompatible w...