Catholic Problems in Western CanadaDaly, George Thomas
Religion
Catholic Problems in Western Canada
Daly, George Thomas
Catholic Church -- Canada
But, facts are facts and one must face them and take from them one's
bearings. They stand as the tossing buoy on the drifting waters of our
ordinary life. To ignore them often spells disaster. Now, the fact of
paramount importance is that the English language is fast gaining
ground among the Ruthenians. The recent school laws (we do not discuss
here their wisdom)[2], the anti-foreign feeling that has held the
country in its grip during the war, the violent campaign of a certain
element, the general drift of the various annual conventions, the
studied plan of action of Provincial Governments, the eagerness of the
Ruthenian rising generation to know English[3], and above all the
unbounded zeal of non-Catholic denominations who make the learning of
English the trump card of their game, these are facts, and have to be
reckoned with. The sooner our Ruthenians are made to grasp these
conditions, the better will they be equipped for the struggle of
Canadian life and for the preservation of their Catholic faith. Is it
not time, therefore, for some English-speaking priests to go out among
the Ruthenians and share the work with those valiant missionaries who,
the great majority at least, are strangers to our country, and who have
learned the language, embraced the rite and for the last twenty years
have been doing our work for us? Their presence is a stimulating
lesson and an abiding reproach. A dozen or so of young
English-speaking priests would be a great boon to the Ruthenian
mission, particularly in the West with its present mentality.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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