Catholic Problems in Western Canada

by George Thomas Daly

The Catholic Church has always been the teacher and guardian of that natural moral law which stands as the foundation and buttress of the social edifice. Her plans of Reconstruction rest on the eternal principles of equity which God has engraved on the human conscience and which the teachings of Christ have sanctioned and perfected. In the light of Catholic doctrine moral laws are definite and unchanging, for they are the deliberate expression of the necessary and fundamental relations upon which rests human nature. They are the living, free expression of man's place in creation. The most elaborate schemes and powerful organizations are soulless without these basic principles of morality and have but an ephemeral existence.

Is it not, therefore, a great act of patriotism to try to throw into the scales of the nation's destinies the mighty weight of indestructible and tried principles? A growing respect is to be found for the soundness, the wisdom and the justice of Catholic social principles, even in circles where our beliefs have not yet found acceptance. True statesmen have always recognized the influence of the Catholic Church's doctrine in social matters, although they may not believe in the truth of her teachings. They always looked upon her principles of social life as the ballast that steadies the ship on heaving seas. To make the Church a spiritual ally, to recognize her moral power and her far-reaching influence has always been considered good diplomacy and clear-sighted statesmanship.

Catholic's Patriotism in Public Life

Reconstruction is the great work of the hour; co-operation is a duty every Catholic owes to Church and country. What definite and concrete form of co-operation will that responsibility assume? There is the problem. Our first duty, in the matter, lies, we believe, in a greater participation in public life. Too long have we stood aloof from movements that aim at the social welfare of the community. A false timidity and an erroneous conception of our responsibilities have estranged us, to a great extent, from the various activities of national life. This isolation has been most prejudicial to our Catholic laity, for it has fostered in their ranks disinterestedness and often apathy. "With regard to the necessity of Catholics to obtain positions on public bodies, Cardinal Bourne stated that very often Catholics were urged to take part in public affairs, by becoming elected to public bodies in order that they might safeguard Catholic principles. That was a great good—a very laudable object—but it was not the highest object. The great object was that out of the fulness of their Faith they might give to their fellow-countrymen the principles that flowed from that Faith, so that little by little there might be built up in the consciousness of the nation that belief in and use of those sound principles of the Catholic Faith which contained the only solution of the difficulties with which they were faced."

"Too long have Catholics lived in isolation, allowing others to think and act for them. It is indeed, high time that they felt the pulse of life that beats in the real statesman, as distinct from mere politician. Duty demands that Catholics add their power of intellect and will to the similar power of other citizens anxious to help the commonwealth. We are not aliens in this land, not aliens by birth or principle. As to the latter, I may say with all truth, that no one has given clearer expression to the basic principles of democracy than the Catholic theologians, Suarez and Bellarmine." [2]

This attitude of aloofness, during the coming period of reconstruction especially, would be profoundly un-Catholic. Our active participation in public life will give us occasion to dispel prejudice, to offset subversive doctrines, to advocate in spite of failures and bigotry the principles of Christian sociology. We are firm believers in the prevailing strength of ideas. They are indestructible; they rule sooner or later. They may take time to crystalize into convictions, but the force of mental gravitation must ultimately prevail. And after all, Reconstruction, as Dr. J. J. Walsh stated, is more a question of remaking the map of man's mind than that of remodelling the map of Europe.

The Catholics of England give us, in this matter as in many others, a beautiful example to follow. During the war they formed a "British Catholic Information Society," having at its service "the Catholic War News Office." The result of their aggressive policy is the public recognition of the value of the Catholic Church by the English people in the national work of Reconstruction. We would here refer the reader to Father Plater's letter on "Catholics and Reconstruction" for further details in this interesting matter. Like our Catholic brothers of England, let us also take our place boldly in the broad daylight of public life. We have ideas to give to the Nation, let us give them. Canadian liberty, without doubt, exists for our doctrines as it does for the subversive theories of State-Socialism. We have no apology to make for our ideas. They stand on their own merits and have been vindicated by the great acid test of time. Yes, we possess the great curative and creative forces for social Reconstruction; We have only to call them into play.

The Catholic Solution

In season and out of season, in the press and on the platform, in private gatherings and public meetings, through every medium of social control, let the people hear the Catholic solution of the problems now facing the nations of the world. We have a message to deliver. That message, if it comes to the people shining like a steel blade, sounding like the blare of a trumpet, if it wells up from a fiery heart and drops from burning lips—that message will be heard. In this period of strain and suffering the public mind is keyed to its highest pitch, ready to snap at any moment. Strong feeling has generated in many minds intellectual hysteria. "In war time," says E. H. Griggs, "there is a curious paradox of widening radicalism of thought, with constantly decreasing freedom of action and expression. When the discrepancy becomes too great, you have the explosion,—a revolution." Therefore in this time of intellectual ferment, the continued affirmation of truth, and the persistent statement of principles are in themselves a highly valuable service, which we are bound to give to the world. The thought of the human mind, like rays of sun-light, focused on one point, acquires the burning power of conviction.

Participation in public life develops conviction; conviction repeatedly asserts itself; continued assertion creates opinion; and public opinion is without doubt one of the most universal powers at work in the world. In every sphere of life you can feel the constant pressure of this tremendous influence. It may well be named the "current" of public opinion. Draining to its profit the latent and loitering powers of the individual thinker, silently, irresistibly it moves on; checked, it becomes an angry whirlpool of confused and gyrating waters; harnessed to the wheels of national life, it will transform its energies into light, heat and power.