Government Officials and Thanksgiving Mass
A CUSTOM has grown up in Washington, D. C., to have a “Pan-American Thanksgiving mass” in St. Patrick’s Church. It is now customary for the service to be attended by the president, members of his cabinet, justices of the supreme court, the diplomatic corps, and other official dignitaries. It is said that President Wilson has accepted an invitation to attend this year. Because of this, Dr. P. H. McKim, former president of the Episcopal House of Deputies, formulated some resolutions condemning the practise. These resolutions have been passed by Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, and Disciples of Christ clergy, and other denominations are considering them. The resolutions that are being adopted are the following: “The attendance of our chief magistrate and members of his cabinet, year after year, has been used to give color to the Roman claim that the service is the official celebration of Thanksgiving day in our national capital. This fact has been understood in the United States and abroad to give the Roman Catholic Church a prestige and preeminence over all other churches. Every effort is being made by the Roman hierarchy to give this Roman mass the color of an official function. “We protest against the attempt to convert our national Thanksgiving day into a Roman Catholic festival in a service entirely out of harmony with the history of the genius of our country and the spirit and purpose of the day. “We desire to give voice to the wide-spread feeling of indignation among millions of Protestants of America against the efforts of the Roman press and the Roman hierarchy to exploit the presence of our chief magistrate and some of his cabinet (which we are convinced has only been intended as an act of courtesy and good will) for the purpose of glorifying the Roman Catholic Church and giving this service an official characterization it does not and can not possess.” There is a big struggle on in the world between true Protestantism and Catholicism. There are still strong men in all the Protestant churches who are Protestant at heart, and who are beginning to feel alarmed over the activities and the aggressions of the papacy. This is manifested in the circulation of much anti-Catholic literature, and many expressions from the pulpit and the rostrum. Because of this, the superficial observer may be led to think that the ecclesiastical power of the papacy will never again be allowed to manifest itself. But just as surely as the whole Protestant church has been right in its interpretations of the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, just so surely may we know that ere a great while the world again will be worshiping at the shrine of papal power. This is not a time for us to say, No, this can never be; but it is a time for us to study these prophecies, and think, and watch. And it is just as important for our Catholic friends to study these things, as it is for the Protestants; for God is on the side of fulfilling prophecy, and it is always safe to stand with Him.