A NOVEL PROPOSITION by G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 11.

A NOVEL PROPOSITION.

By G.

THAT “the end justifies the means” is a recognized doctrine of the Roman Church, and an instance of its indorsement is found in a letter to the Catholic Mirror from a missionary priest in Ecuador, South America. He writes of the Gayapas Indians, a tribe of fine physical appearance, but very degraded habits, and seemingly impervious to civilization. He says the children are “comely to an interesting degree,” but their intelligence “is soon vitiated by the atrocious teachings of their parents, who early addict them to drinking brandy and smoking tobacco.” But the remedy suggested by the correspondent is striking. He says:—

It has often occurred to me that it would give me great pleasure to kidnap four or five of these young Indians, and have them sent to the College of the Propaganda Fide in Rome, for I am certain that they would hold their own among the various types at that institution gathered from all parts of the world. Last year a proposition was actually made to the government to seize by force some of these promising youths in order to try what civilization might do for them. A few agents of the police tried to entice them from their surroundings, but the plan failed utterly. If I possessed the necessary pecuniary means, I am certain that I could succeed in this enterprise.

This missionary priest—an Italian, by the way—is very much in earnest concerning his proposition, and adds:—

“If my poor words are unable to inspire compassion for my poor children, the Gayapas, in this indifferent

country, I am not without hope that they will find an echo in the north among some good Catholics who have at heart the propagation of the faith.”

To say nothing of the results of such a ruse to the poor victims themselves, what would be the effect upon the parents and others in the tribe? Such schemes indicate to what length men will go in the name of religion, when they depart from the simplicity of Gospel persuasion, and resort to human devices for making nominal Christians of the heathen. The Master says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Kidnapping children can not be classed as a “good work.” Altho we would by no means discount the crying need for real Gospel effort to relieve these deluded Indians from their superstitious degradation, they would still need the Gospel if every one of them were brought under the influence of the Propaganda Fide in Rome.