"Stupid Lutherans"—Revengeful Catholics.
By Editor
THE "Western Watchman," the editor of which is called the nestor of the Catholic press of the United States, has an article in its issue of November 19 entitled, "Those Stupid Lutherans." Five times in the article Protestants are called stupid; ignorance, bigotry, and hypocrisy are predicated of them; and they are called fools and knaves. Why?—Because they disagreed with President Roosevelt, who looks favorably upon a future Catholic President. The "Western Watchman" declares that Protestants would disfranchise every Roman Catholic to-day if they dared. Many would, doubtless. But that is not the point at issue. The closing paragraph of the article thus reads: "This insult offered the Catholics of the United States by the Lutherans of the country will not be soon forgotten; and there are tens of thousands of Catholics who will record a vow never to vote for a Lutheran for office if he knows him to be such. And they are perfectly justified. No Lutheran should be allowed to hold office or vote in this country holding to such opinions as are expressed in this letter to Mr. Roosevelt. They are open and avowed enemies of the land and its institutions." Now is not the REVENGEFULNESS of the "Western Watchman" as bad as the "STUPIDITY" it condemns? The matter between both of these classes is religious. Of course they do not agree. If each party is consistent to its faith they can not agree. And the trouble is not that they are disagreed in religion, but that they bring their religion into politics. No one can object to a Catholic or a Lutheran office-holder if he believes in the equal rights of men and leaves his religion outside of his political creed; if he but count all men equal before the law regardless of religion or non-religion. Now if the Lutheran holds to religious liberty he will contend for the same rights for the Catholic which he demands for himself. If the Catholic believes in religious liberty he will contend as strenuously for the rights of his Lutheran neighbor, whatever that neighbor believes, as he will for himself. "Stupidity" and "bigotry" can never be cured by revenge. The "Western Watchman" justifies the Lutherans by its own position. Why not both espouse the cause of true civil and religious liberty?