Roman Catholic Influence.
By Editor
The Catholic Mirror of November 24 has as its leading contributed article, "Our First Explorers Catholics. What They Did to Spread Civilization in America." Of course the writer claims everything, they always do, although he admits that both of the first Catholic attempts at colonization of what is now the United States, were abandoned. But what if a Catholic did discover America first? What has that to do with the right of Roman Catholics to rule or not to rule? The aborigines have a better claim, and therefore their idolatry ought to be predominant! This is the logic of Roman Catholics. The fact is that those who discovered this country did so as men, not as Catholics or Protestants. As to the influence of religion on civilization in this continent, it is only necessary to compare the Roman Catholic republics of Central and South America with this country. This country has made its growth free from religious domination. The governments of South America have been Roman Catholic. We give her the credit of their civilization. It belongs to her solely. In this country it is what it is in spite of her.