Catholic Growth in the United States.
—Were it not for the prophecy of Revelation 13, the phenomenal growth of Catholicism in this country would be incomprehensible, for this extraordinary gain in numbers and consequent influence means a corresponding waning of Protestant influence. The chancellor of the archdiocese of Chicago reports for the past year an increase of 200,000 in church membership. The whole Catholic population is estimated at 1,000,000. There are 370 places of worship in the archdiocese, 153 of which are in the city proper. There are 566 priests. The pupils and students in church educational institutions number 92,000. Roman Catholics have made a special effort to capture the large cities, and they have had remarkable success; and this means control of city politics and the great daily newspapers, most of which are already at the beck and call of Rome. And the control of the large cities and their daily press means at least the balance of power in State and national politics. Rome gains much, if not most, of her influence by political intrigue and by looking after the children. In this latter respect Protestants are weak, for the reason that so much of what they teach the children in the way of religion is in the wake of Roman ceremonialism. It requires heart religion and individual piety to be a true Protestant; but the glitter of church festivals and man-made holy days and the traditions of men can produce only followers of Rome, or of the “image” of Rome, which is virtually the same. The result is that the more forceful tactics of Rome are turning it all to her purpose.