Note and Comment by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 18, 1912

Note and Comment

By Editor

Rome's Publicity Campaign

IN the active propaganda upon which the Roman Catholic Church has now entered, no agency will be left unused that will contribute to the accomplishment of her purpose. One of the latest methods she is employing, and that, too, with far-reaching and rapidly accelerating success, is that of the Publicity Bureau. Speaking of the purpose of this bureau and the work which it seeks to do, the editor of the Christian Herald, of June 12, says:—

It is organized and controlled in the interest of the Roman Catholic Church, and it sends out regularly a service of considerable volume to a large number of publications, mainly secular newspapers. Its work is skilfully done so that it may not give offense to the general public, and that their suspicions may not be awakened to the real purpose. It is a well-planned campaign for the education of the American people in the religion of Rome. This is a wholly new line of tactics in the great campaign which Rome is now conducting with the ultimate object of securing religious and political ascendancy in the United States.

Of the great advantage the Roman Catholic Church has in its fight for supremacy, as compared with Protestantism, and of its far-seeing policy, the Herald continues:—

Protestantism has its struggling factions and its rival denominations, with their varying and ofttimes conflicting interests, while the Roman Church has the tremendous advantage of solidarity, the whole body working as a unit for a single purpose. Moreover, Rome plans its campaigns not to last for a week or a month, but to extend over a period of years. It is willing to plod patiently and persistently, knowing that in the end the constant attrition will smooth down opposition and bring about the desired result.

Of the methods that the church employs in advancing its claims, the editor states:—

First, it means to familiarize the millions of American non-Catholic readers with its version of contemporary history from the Roman point of view; next, to impress them with the power and dignity of the princes of the church, who, it has openly claimed, are entitled to outrank all save sovereigns. It presents in deferential yet positive phrases the ancient claim of Rome's priority and spiritual supremacy. It gets the average mind accustomed to reading the descriptions of gorgeous ceremonials, of impressive masses, and of the pomp and splendor of the church in America; and thus it is steadily sowing in the minds of old and young the seed which is trusted to bring a harvest of popular toleration and appreciation. It hopes in time to bring our people to the point of accepting the idea of an American pontiff.

The Herald raises the question as to what plans the great Protestant churches of America have to counteract this new agency. It wonders how the Men and Religion Forward Movement proposes to meet the situation. It believes the time has come that "American Protestantism must unite its forces, and its denominations must stand shoulder to shoulder, if it means to maintain its integrity and retain its hold upon the faith, the confidence, and the support of the people." It concludes its strong arraignment of this great religious menace as follows:—

Neither the creed of Rome nor the personality of its leaders is now in question. It is the Romanist campaign for political and religious supremacy in the nation that must be considered as a whole. That there are many Catholics who take little or no interest in such a plan, and who may even mildly disapprove, is not to the point. The plan exists; it is already working; and it will continue to work practically without opposition, until Protestantism is awakened to the seriousness of the situation.