The Catholic World, Vol. 17, April, 1873 to September, 1873: A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and ScienceVarious
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 17, April, 1873 to September, 1873: A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and Science
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
“It is a noticeable fact that, among all the cases cited, there does
not appear to be one in which Protestant missionaries are charged
with violating treaty, law, or custom. So far as I can ascertain,
your complaints are chiefly against the action and attitude of the
missionaries of the Roman Catholic faith, and, as these are under
the exclusive protection and control of the government of France, I
might with great propriety decline to discuss _a matter with which the
government of the United States has no direct interest or concern_,
for the reason that none of its citizens are charged with violating
treaty or local law, and thus causing trouble.”
And again, with equal truthfulness and appositeness, he adds:
“Whenever cases occur in which the missionaries overstep the bounds
of decorum, or interfere in matters with which they have no proper
concern, let each case be reported promptly to the minister of the
country to which it belongs. Such isolated instances should not
produce prejudice or engender hatred against those who observe their
obligations, nor should sweeping complaints be made against all on
this account. Those from the United States sincerely desire the
reformation of those whom they teach, and to do this they urge the
examination of the Holy Scriptures, wherein the great doctrines of the
present and a future state, and also the resurrection of the soul, are
set forth, with the obligation of repentance, belief in the Saviour,
and the duties of man to himself and others. It is owing, in a great
degree, to the prevalence of a belief in the truth of the Scriptures
that Western nations have attained their power and prosperity.”
Having thus, as he thought, directed the prejudice and hostility of the
authorities against the Catholics exclusively, and put in a good word
for the evangelizers; and assured them that, as far as the former were
concerned, the United States had no concern whatever, and by inference
that they might maltreat and murder as many of them as they pleased
without let or hindrance from us, Mr. Low next proceeds to mislead his
government in a manner which may be diplomatic, but is certainly far
from honorable.
In transmitting to the Department of State a translation of the rules
alluded to, he remarks:
“A careful reading of the memorandum clearly proves that the great, if
not only, cause of complaint against the missionaries comes from the
action of the Roman Catholic priests and the native Christians of that
faith; although the rules proposed for the government of missionaries
apply equally to Protestants and Catholics.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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