THE PROPOSED CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION 359 



practical. The ground to be covered is so vast and the need of 

 exact information so far reaching in many fields, that the ex- 

 pense will be not inconsiderable. But, assuming that the in- 

 terest taken in the movement is sufficient to assure the income 

 needed, the present field of the association can be briefly 

 sketched. 



In order to collect accurate information regarding the pres- 

 ent status of the Church in European countries, correspondents 

 must be stationed at, say, London, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Ber- 

 lin, and above all, at Rome. Foreign newspapers must be taken 

 from nearly every large European city, at all events from every 

 capital and centre of Catholic interest. Facts and exact state- 

 ments concerning the relations of Catholic societies, clergy, 

 schools, teaching, etc., must be ascertained and preserved. 

 Every effort must be made to keep up with the political and 

 social movements throughout the world, and a sufficient library 

 bearing on these subjects must be established. A clipping bu- 

 reau and telegraphic service will be required to facilitate mat- 

 ters. The net results of such researches and investigations 

 must be conveyed to the American press by news items, con- 

 tributed articles, direct corrections of erroneous statements, 

 and by public addresses, or, where necessary, by authoritative 

 statements, so that the general public may be kept correctly in- 

 formed of the progress, attitude and doings of the Catholic 

 Church abroad and at home, and not have to rely on ill-digested 

 and sometimes malevolent scraps of news such as now appear 

 in the papers. Matters of interest to the Church should be fol- 

 lowed up to their conclusion, so that the public may be made 

 aware of the outcome. For instance, we were informed re- 

 cently about Queen Margherita of Italy obtaining land in Rome 

 for the monks by taking it away from the soldiers, but we are 

 not told where the land was, under what circumstances it was 

 taken, whether it originally belonged to the monks, or any of 

 the essential events connected therewith, except just sufficient 

 to put the Church in the role of a usurper. Another instance 

 were the editorials in the "Evening Post" recently, as to the al- 

 leged hostility between the regular and secular clergy in France. 

 With an equipped organization we could correct or explain 

 those matters in time for the next issue of the paper. As it is, 

 we shall have to await the tardy arrival of letters or news- 

 papers from abroad. 



