The Church also for her own benefit needs true Catholic leaders. Leaders in a Catholic Community, who are not thoroughly Catholic in their training, who have false notions, warped views, biassed conceptions of vital questions, are most detrimental to the cause of Catholicity. Distorted and confused ideas, in religious matters particularly, always lead to a compromise. After school days they fail to find their Catholic faith correlated with the problems and experiences which never troubled them before, and which now, lack of higher education will not allow them to solve and to face. Have we not indeed in Western Canada to guard ourselves against latitudinarianism in our Catholic life? Material prosperity, success in business or in farming, associations with men and women who have practically no belief whatever, erroneous conceptions of broadmindedness in religious matters, absence of traditions, lack of Catholic education, all these causes and many others have created especially in our cities, where such a large floating population is to be found, and in our country places where there is no resident priest, a compromising Catholicism, apologetic Catholics. How many Catholics in the West are always ready to cringe in presence of those who are not of our belief and to apologize for their faith. To react against this abiding danger we need all through the country well instructed and thoroughly educated Catholic leaders who will be in our world of agnosticism and irreligion, the protagonists and apologists of Catholicism. The fearless proclamation of the truth combined with a good moral public life is in itself a tremendous power. Indeed, we need in all the avenues of life men whose university training will give them influence in public life. But let it never be forgotten those captains of industry, those brilliant and successful professional men, those progressive farmers—valuable as they all may be—must count more as leaders of Catholic thought than as money-makers. If not, they will be found wanting when the Church needs them the most. We emphasize this point, for in the plea for higher education very often our attention seems to be more on the successful business man than on the Catholic thinker.
Love of Church and country will therefore inspire us with a high sense of duty in relation to the establishment of a seat of higher education in this promising part of our great Dominion. And this duty, let us not forget it, is urgent. Every decade means a new generation that should have passed from the halls of our university to the commanding heights of the country's leadership. Our hesitancy means a further postponement of the triumph of the Catholic Cause.
This high conception of an urgent duty gives the vision. From the clearness, breadth and depth of that vision will spring the conquering spirit of co-operation. Co-operation to be efficient and persevering demands a united plan of action and an authoritative leadership.
The Catholic population of Western Canada is yet very limited. We cannot afford to scatter our forces and multiply our institutions. One university for all Western Canada would be sufficient to meet the present requirements. The multiplication of inefficient universities is a calamity for genuine higher education. This has been the contention of "Catholic" in a recent series of brilliant articles in the "Casket." The policy would therefore be for all to agree on one college as the non-Catholics have done in the different Western Provinces. This naturally requires the sacrifice of parochialism and provincialism. But if the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists have each agreed on the establishment of one educational centre for their students, surely the Catholics can also sacrifice local interests to the welfare of the cause. How many efforts our bigoted provincialism has neutralized in the past!
Authoritative leadership only can unite our efforts on this unity of plan of action. Nothing in this matter can be done without the direction and support of the Hierarchy of the West. The division among Bishops was, according to Newman, one of the main causes that made the Dublin Catholic University scheme a failure. Naturally this problem of higher education is one that overflows diocesan boundaries and remains common to all. "Boundaries of jurisdiction, as wrote so advisedly, Archbishop McNeil, of Toronto, are conveniences and means to an end." Beyond the responsibilities of each separate diocese there are other responsibilities which affect the Church of Canada as a whole. Let one man with vision, judgment, energy, and action, make the creation of the Catholic University in the West the work and ambition of his life, let him have the sincere approbation and efficient co-operation of all the Hierarchy . . . that man, we claim, will rally the Catholic forces around him and will give to the West and its rising generation the blessing so much needed of Catholic university training. Newman was fond of repeating that it is only individuals who do great things.
And what will, this Catholic university mean to Catholic life in Western Canada? Well established upon the highest academic level by its success in the competitive field of learning, it will stand out as the embodiment of Catholic intellectual life and the centre of Catholic activities. It will be the counter-ideal to the ideal of agnosticism and materialism so fostered and so prevalent in our neutral universities. Just as the cathedrals are the expression of the Catholic faith in Christ's abiding presence in the Sacrament of His love, so is a Catholic university the embodiment and accomplishment of the Church's ideal in education. By its extension work, summer courses, circulating libraries, correspondence courses, lectures, etc., the university would unite our activities, eliminate waste of energy and direct our combined efforts. Cardinal Newman believed that a Catholic university was essential for thorough health and efficiency in the Catholic body at large. To realize all that a Catholic university would mean one has only to know what Washington stands for in the life of the Church in the United States. In his beautiful letter to the American Hierarchy, Benedict XV said of it: "The University, we trust, will be the attractive centre about which will gather all who love the teachings of Catholicism."
What is the Conclusion?
We may summarize our argumentation in favour of our contention in the following statements: