How the Catholic Views It
THE Western Watchman of October 14, predicting the defeat of Judge Gaynor in New York by the Catholic vote, says: “Protestants think that it is possible for an honest man to change his religion. Catholics believe so also, provided the change is from one Protestant sect to another, or from a Protestant sect to the Catholic Church. But Catholics not only believe, but know, with a knowledge as firm as the rock of Gibraltar, that the man who apostatizes from the Catholic Church is an unmitigated scoundrel, a renegade to every honest and honorable principle.” Our Catholic friend goes further: “People may call that bigotry. It matters not what it is called; there is not a Catholic in this world who would not prefer to see his mother or sister dead than turned Protestant. Speaking for ourselves we would rather see a relation of ours hanged than a renegade from his religion. . . . A Catholic apostate, if he dies in his apostasy, is damned as sure as Dives or Judas was damned. . . . As between a Catholic apostate and Beelzebub, give us Beelzebub every time for any office or employment.” It is worth while to know how men stand.