USA > Indiana > History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume I > Part 55
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It is true that many secret societies are opposed by the church, and a few are condemned, but this opposition or condemnation is not owing to their secrecy, but to their practices, aims, and the ends they endeavor to attain.
There are many secret societies, both in and out of the church,
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that have on their roster the names of eminent practical Catholics, and the fact that such societies are secret does not debar Catholics from joining them as Catholics. While the church discourages secret societies, she does not absolutely prohibit them because of secrecy. There are many non-secret societies that Catholics are not permitted to join, where their aim and purpose is contrary to law or morality. We are all prone to seek after that which is hid- den, and many societies maintain a large membership owing to this fact.
Many Catholic young men have been lost to the church simply because of secret societies. It was principally owing to this fact that the order of the American Sons of Columbus was organized. The Hon. P. S. O'Rouke, now deceased, took a lively interest in all matters pertaining to the church. He was broad-minded and devoted to the interests of his fellow-man. He thought that the loss to the church was many times the accession, as he attributed it chiefly, to outside secret societies. He maintained that, as man is a social creature, he will seek that element of society which suits him best; and that, owing to man's desire to attain that which is exclusive, his investigating nature will drive him to some secret society. The average young man, as soon as he becomes a mem- ber of a secret society, relaxes little by little his religious teach- ings and finally, having associated with non-Catholics, marries out of the faith and in many instances is lost to the church forever.
Mr. O'Rourke thought a secret society, composed entirely of Catholics, would be a means of benefit to the church. To add to his conviction, one evening, while attending the council of Balti- more, he was present at a gathering and heard a prominent Cath- olic remark that "the way to contend against secret societies at variance with the church was to have secret societies among Cath- olics themselves, in harmony with the church." This nurtured the thought he himself had so long entertained.
After returning home Mr. O'Rourke matured a plan and ritual for a secret society and submitted them to his bishop, the Right Rev. Joseph Dwenger. The bishop gave him his endorsement, and in 1892 he organized, at Fort Wayne, colony No. I, American Sons of Columbus, and one year later he organized the ladies' (642)
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auxiliary, the Daughters of Isabella. The society is secret, but is open to the investigation and inspection of the ordinary of the dio- cese in which a colony exists; and the reverend clergy are admitted as honorary visitors, a courtesy which is extended to no other per- son. The ritual is in harmony with the doctrines of the church, and it, together with the objects and aims of the organization, were approved by Mgr. Satolli.
Having secured the endorsement of his bishop and the Pope's personal representative in this country, Mr. O'Rourke felt assured that the Catholic young men could join a secret society of their own which was in harmony with, and recognized by, the authori- ties of the church.
The objects of the American Sons of Columbus are to give Catholic gentlemen a secret society that is in consonance with their religion; to create a fraternal feeling among its members; to- aid one another, when assistance is wanted; to help the poor and. needy; to meet at their hall or homes in social enjoyment, and to foster that spirit of religion and love of country all intelligent Catholics possess. The social feature was adopted for the benefit of the younger members, not only in the American Sons of Colum- bus, but in the auxiliary. The founder believed that a close social relation among Catholics would largely prevent mixed marriages.
The non-Catholic churches have their societies where young people meet and mingle, and the lack of Catholic sociability is. largely responsible for so many non-Catholic marriages. The American Sons of Columbus has in many places created Catholic society and has provided a place where young people can meet in social pleasure. But the social feature does not predominate. Literature, music, organized charity -- all secure close attention, and in many cities where colonies exist, the uplifting tendencies of the Sons are felt. There is an insurance feature connected with the society, but it has never been prominently urged, owing to the multiplicity of fraternal insurance societies.
In giving a name to the organization, Mr. O'Rourke thought " the American Catholics ought to do something for Columbus, who was the first white American," and concluded, therefore, that the name "American Sons of Columbus " would combine all that
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the American Catholics could desire. It couples our country with the discoverer of it, and we are his sons. He seems to combine all in section 3 of the constitution, which he drafted, explaining eligibility to membership; it says:
Sec. 3. To enable all good and well disposed laymen of reasonable health, without regard to nationality or worldly wealth, to become united fraternally as a band of brothers under the cross of our Savior, the flag of our country, and the ban- ner of Columbus.
This is Catholic and patriotic. The emblem of our faith! our country's flag! and the banner held aloft by Columbus when, on his knees on American soil, he gave thanks to God for the land he had discovered! For a society of Catholics no sentiment can be more fitting and no name more honored than American Sons of Columbus.
The first colony was organized in Fort Wayne, and the order . has now extended over several states. The society is accomplish- ing the ends its organizer had in mind. The work and the field is a peculiar one to work in, being confined to a few-the better class of Catholics. Those whose minds have been broadened by exten- sive reading and contact with their fellow-man can see that the founding of this organization could have been accomplished only by such a man as P. S. O'Rourke; that its growth must depend largely on such exertions and energies as he could and would lend it, but, once thoroughly built up and understood, it would be a power for good. The reverend clergy in many cases give it a fos- tering care, and, with the assistance of more of them, a colony of the Americon Sons of Columbus would exist in every parish and the order be as numerous as the Y. M. C. A. and a power for as much good.
We cannot refrain from giving a letter written by Right Rev. Otto Zardetti, bishop of St. Cloud, Minn., after his return from Rome, in 1892.
ST. CLOUD, Minn., Dec. 1, 1892. To the Hon. C. F. McDonald, Noble Admiral of the Colony of the Sons of Colum- bus in St. Cloud:
The first official public letter which I write since my return from abroad I desire to direct to my dear Sons of Columbus. Since the idea of starting such a colony in St. Cloud took shape I have looked with increasing interest upon it as
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my favorite society, destined to unite, in mutual love, friendship and assistance, the good young men of our prospering city. And, no doubt, it was a good augury that the colony was started in the great Columbian year. Whenever I spoke of start- ing such a society I always added that eventually they should make it a point to meet, if possible and opportunity would suggest, in banquets, entertainments, etc. I am delighted to see to-day for the first time, from No. 23 of the Daily Times, that. such a banquet took place on the great and memorable day of October 22. I can- not refrain from giving expression to my pleasure at this fact and to compliment you on its success. I, furthermore, am desirous to extend my gratitude to the noble Sons of Columbus for the initiative steps they took in giving me a cordial welcome home. May the day not be too far distant that will see realized the hopes of your noble admiral (upon whose noble sentiments and able direction I wish to congratu- late the whole colony), in saying: " I hope it to grow and to increase until it could have its own hall, reception rooms, reading rooms and places of enjoyment."
Believe me yours sincerely, TOTTO, Bishop of St. Cloud.
The sentiments expressed in this letter were gratifying to all Sons of Columbus, and to none more than to Hon. P. S. O'Rourke. The reverend clergy in many cases encouraged young men to join. The charitable work of the order and its auxiliary, the Daughters of Isabella, has made many a lonely hearth-stone glad with their bounteous contributions, and many a home that has been visited by the death angel has derived consolation in its bereavement through the instrumentality of the American Sons of Columbus. As there are orders and orders whose alleged object is the same, so there are methods and methods by which these objects are attained. As the Sons of Columbus and its auxiliary are among the newest and most recent thought in this field of organization, so it can be justly claimed for it as embodying the best and ripest experience of all; profiting by them-avoiding questionable or un- practicable methods, and appropriating, without costly and danger- ous experiments, all that is of genuine worth in the others. As an order founded on the sublime idea and principle of fraternal brotherhood, it presents a completeness that few other societies. have attained or even approximated. Its boundaries are broad, generous and comprehensive, and are a fitting and faithful expression of the heart and life of its founder.
[For the above sketch of the American Sons of Columbus the publishers are indebted to W. S. O'Rourke, of Fort Wayne. }
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THE CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT LEGION.
The Catholic Benevolent legion is designed to afford Roman Catholics all the advantages offered by the popular fraternal societies and best regulated co-operative assessment life insurance associations. The supreme council was incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, September 5, 1881, and authorized to transact life insurance business upon the assessment plan. This body is composed of its charter members and representatives from state councils; it has power to make its own constitution, and formulate rules of discipline and laws for the government of the entire order. Its members belong to various subordinate councils, where they must pay dues and assessments, and abide by the laws in the same manner as the humblest, their membership in the supreme council being dependent upon their remaining in good standing in their respective subordinate councils.
Subordinate councils constitute the real groundwork of the organization and contain all the members of the supreme and state councils. A subordinate council is desired in every congregation. The objects of the legion are :
To unite fraternally for social, benevolent and intellectual improvement, only male Roman Catholics, personally acceptable, of sound bodily health, between the ages of eighteen and fifty-five years at the time of admission; to afford moral and material aid to its members and their dependents by establishing a fund for the relief of its sick and distressed members; to establish a benefit fund from which, on the satisfactory evidence of the death of a member who shall have complied with all its lawful requirements, a sum not exceeding $5,000 shall be paid to his family or depend- ents, as such member may have directed. And from which benefit fund a sum not exceeding $2,500 may be paid to a member who shall have become permanently disabled from attending to business or gaining a livelihood, and who, having complied with all its law- ful requirements, has arrived at the age of expectancy, as fixed by the printed tables in the laws of the legion.
Prior to September 5, 1881, when the legion was instituted in the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., Catholics sought in vain for an associa- (646)
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tion which could measure up to their several requirements-the essentials being a healthful and congenial companionship, perme- ated by a broad spirit of fraternity, and a system of protection for the Catholic household, with foundation so securely laid as to dis- arm all assaults upon its ability and integrity and with cost so reasonable as to be within the reach of all who might desire to throw the mantle of protection around their hitherto neglected homes. The legion fulfills each of these stipulations with rigid exactness, and membership in the order bestows innumerable benefits and blessings previously unknown to our people. Although at times social ostracism and personal estrangement have hung like a drooping pall over some of our Catholic communities, the legion supplies the silken cord which binds them together with the utmost fidelity and imprints upon them the enduring seal of Catholic love and unity.
But reprehensible as this social disorder may have been, it was insignificant in its consequences, as compared to the fell vice of improvidence which existed so conspicuously in our midst, and which seemed to have descended to our people, as a pestilential inheritance of former generations. Were proof required to demon- strate the prevalence of the evil amongst us, we have but to point to our overflowing orphan asylums, as mute testimonials to the Catholic father's improvidence, as dread censors of his faithless- ness to those innocent ones whom God has entrusted to his care. Or, with equal accuracy, we might indicate the numerous penal institutions, which deface every quarter of our common country, as most suggestive monuments which the Catholic fathers of the past have reared to their stupidity and improvidence.
But what in the past was merely a vice of improvidence, becomes to-day, in the face of the extraordinary opportunities and inducements offered by the legion, a positive crime of neglect, for which only severest censure and reproach can survive in the hearts of those against whom it is practiced.
All the ills above enumerated may be averted or materially alleviated by membership in this admirable order, and its doors are ever open to receive all worthy applicants. None are excluded who possess the requisites of health and moral acceptability, and
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all are eligible to its ranks, without regard to nationality or the conditions of life. Hence, none should fail to heed the invitation ·to become members of the legion, for none can safely afford to do so. The poor man has no other hope or expectation of providing for the future of his family, for the meager wages prevailing now will not admit of any effective fund being accumulated, according to the established processes of saving, and hence to him the legion is indispensable. Those who are wealthy should not spurn the proffered hand of protection, for the opulent of to-day may be the mendicants of to-morrow. Reverses may come to the best of us. Riches are proverbially fleeting, and a storm at sea, a destructive fire, the failure of others, the reversal of the channels of trade, or the shrinkage of commercial values, may either be the stepping- stone from affluence to want. Therefore, let none pamper them- selves with the false idea that they are above the benisons of mutual insurance.
THE YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTE.
In Catholic circles in Indiana, in common with their co-relig- ionists in other states, has been felt the necessity for organization of their young men along the lines of the fraternal societies out- side the church. It has been found that the various organiza- tions known among Catholics, aiming at benevolence; national ties, and other ends, have not been equal to meeting all the requirements of the day. While good in themselves and exhibiting flattering results, they nevertheless fail in their ubiquity and unity which in this generation are demanded.
To meet these requirements, while at the same time affording all the opportunities and advantages held out by the various local Catholic societies, the Young Men's institute was organized, in San Francisco, in 1883. The aims and aspirations of the Young Men's institute, according to its literature, are to provide an order or organization in which every acceptable Catholic man may join and enjoy the benefits of association with, and at the same time the moral and to a degree the material support of his fellow- Catholics.
Beside these things, which are all the outside fraternal organ- (648)
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izations. can hope to afford, the Young Men's institute holds its members steadily in the faith, demands of them the faithful per- formance of all their temporal and spiritual duties; and to these ends ceases not to encourage the practice of sobriety, morality and charity.
Sick benefits are provided for, as also insurance if desired; and the whole tendency of the workings of the organization is to incline the members to willingly perform the corporal works of mercy and thereby lift up the young men of the church to a standing in keep- ing with their faith.
Provision is also made so that each council of the order may have lectures, a library and reading rooms, gymnasium, reading circles, debating societies and all athletic sports within the organi- zation; so that Catholic young men, in indulging their tastes or ambitions, will not have to walk in harm's way while doing so.
The Young Men's institute has thus far met with a measure of success far beyond the fondest hopes of its founders; having received the endorsement of the hierarchy and the clergy of the Catholic church, its progress is now almost a triumphal march among Catholics all over the country.
It invited itself to the state of Indiana in 1894, and it has since then made such progress that at this writing (1898) it has nineteen councils in existence in our midst, with a membership of about 1, 500. Bishop Chatard has endorsed the organization, and to his encouragement and sanction it owes much of its present suc- cess in his diocese. Beside his favoring it in the sense of an endorsement, he has done much more by accepting membership. With him in this respect stand Archbishops Riordan, Feehan, Kain, Elder and Ryan, and also Bishops Maes, O'Hara, Montgom- ery, Byrne, McFaul and Hoban.
As if to leave nothing undone that might encourage the spread of the order, Rev. D. O'Connell, rector of the American college at Rome, by request, secured the endorsement of the Pope, Leo XIII, and sent to the officials of the Young Men's institute the glad news that, "His Holiness imparts the desired benediction to the Young Men's institute." When Archbishop Satolli was apostolic delegate to the United States, on being furnished with information as to the
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objects and workings of the order, he wrote as follows in commen- dation of it:
I have received and read with much pleasure the copy of the constitution and rules of the Young Men's institute which you kindly sent me. I rejoice at the noble purpose for which you are united and have formed this association-purpose so well epitomized in these few words, " Pro Deo, Pro Patria."
I beg you to convey to your society the good wishes which I have for the spread of their organization, and for their continual prosperity, recommending that in all their actions they show that deference for ecclesiastical authorities which becomes good Catholics, and even in their amusements they comply with the rules of the thi d plenary council of Baltimore.
Begging upon you and your whole association the special blessing of God, 1 remain, dear sır,
Yours sincerely in Christ +FRANCIS, ARCHBISHOP SATOLLI, Apostolic Delegate.
The national convention of the Atlantic jurisdiction of the order, as distinct from the Pacific jurisdiction, was held at Indian- apolis in 1895. This was followed by a unification of the working departments of the order in the United States and the establish- ment of local or state jurisdictions. The first and second annual conventions of the Indiana jurisdiction were held also at Indian- polis in the years 1896 and 1897, while the third was held at Terre Haute, in 1898.
The first council of the order organized in the state of Indiana was Marquette council, No. 195, located at Washington, Daviess county. Considering its limited territory it is awarded the palm for the large number of members-almost the entire male portion of the Catholic community-which has been on its roster in good standing from the very first.
Brownson council, No. 272, was the first established in the capital city of the state. William J. Mooney was its first presi- dent. For a time it was the largest council in the state, but was finally outstripped in the number of its members by Capital coun- cil, No. 276. Nearly one-half the membership of the order in Indiana at this date, 1898, belongs in the five councils at Indian- apolis. These councils were organized and numbered in the fol- lowing order: Brownson council, No. 272; Weber council, No. 274; Capital council, No. 276; Wayne council, No. 288, and Quig- ley council, No. 439.
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The methods of government practiced by the Young Men's institute need not be detailed here; its aims and the means em- ployed are all that concerns the reader. Its success, however, is a matter for rejoicing over-a success in our midst which dates specially to the establishment of the Indiana jurisdiction in 1896. To more fully set forth that success, the nineteen councils, already referred to, are here tabulated, together with the various locations of the same, and the names of the president and corresponding secretary of each council for the year 1898:
No. Name.
Location.
President.
Cor. Secretary. 195. Marquette.
Washington.
. Mathew Burke .. . John E. Crane.
238. Newman
Vincennes.
J. C. Maloney ..... J. B. Sheefers.
262. Unity New Albany. . Charles Pfeffer ... Fred. Lamke.
271 Americus
Greensburg Hugh Wickens. .. John F. Russell.
272. Brownson
Indianapolis. . J. A. Kebler .Jos. Spellmire.
274. Weber
T. E. Brennan. . James McNulty.
276. Capital
Wm. F. Moore .... C. A. Slinger.
277. Good Will
Terre Haute. G. W. Hoffman ... Wm. Heuer.
279. . St. Lawrence.
. Muncie. M. D. Flaherty .. . Jerry Gallivan.
287. Madison
Madison. J. J. Kasper Chas. Hoffman.
288. Wayne
Indianapolis . . M. J. Dugan. . V. L. Dugan.
292. Seymou .Seymour. P. J. Conrad. V. M. Fettig.
405. Trinity New Albany .J. A. Mathews John A. Cody.
439. Rev. W. F. Quigley .. Indianapolis. J. V. Scanlon. WVm. C. Delaney.
464. St. Martin's Jasper. Henry Pfau. .G. Grammelspacher.
466. Kutassy
Evansville .. .J. F. Schmitz .J. L. Goelzhauser.
467. Columbia Rushville. M. F. Purcell. .J. J. Geraghty.
482. Sondermann Lawrenceb'rg .. C. J. Lang. .C. H. Polking.
497. St. Augustine Huntingburg .. . Win. Mundy.
Anton E. Windholt.
It is safe to assert as a fact, which can not be contradicted, that the Young Men's institute is the only organization established thus far that comes any way near affording adequate means for uniting the Catholic young men of America.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SPANISH INQUISITION NOT A CHURCH INSTITUTION, BUT A STATE COURT-FALSEHOODS AND MISREPRESENTATIONS PUB- LISHED BY SO-CALLED HISTORIANS.
THE probability is that nine-tenths of the readers of profane his- tory, more especially Protestant readers, are laboring under serious misapprehensions and imbued with false ideas in relation to that hideous court of injustice known as the "Spanish Inquisi- tion." It was an affair of state, not of church, and this brief chapter is here interjected in the History of Catholicity in the State of Indiana, not for the reason that it is a component part of this history, but that it is an episode which, it is hoped, will do much toward eradicating from the public mind a wide-pervading preju- dice against the church imbibed through the reading of the works of untruthful, reckless or mercenary writers.
The Inquisition was established in 1478, by Ferdinand and Isabella, then the reigning monarchs of Spain, with the consent, of course, of Pope Sixtus IV, Spain being a Catholic country and the approval of the Pope being necessary for the creation of any trial tribunal in that country-whether civil or ecclesiastical. To quote the language of the Right Rev. Joseph Dwenger, second bishop of the diocese of Fort Wayne, in order "to understand the Inquisi- tion we must know the religion, social and political state of Spain four centuries ago, toward the close of a war of nearly eight hun- dred years against the foreign invaders of the country-against the oppressors of its civil and religious liberty." To further quote from the same reverend author, who had evidently studied the ques- tion with a clear and unbiased mind, and had prepared, but a few years before his lamented death, an exhaustive, yet compendious (652)
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