to
make up the mental atmosphere of the uneducated mass. When that
atmosphere disappears these poor people are exposed to all pernicious
influences. We are therefore responsible to the Church to build around
them the protective wall of Catholic life. The initiation to their
Canadian life should not be at the price of their Catholic life.

This is the situation. What can be done? Naturally, to quote Lord
Morley: "A settlement of foolscap sheet, independent of facts, of local
circumstances and feeling, and passion, and finance, and other
appurtenances of human nature" . . . will lead nowhere. To do
effective work along the lines suggested in this chapter we must take
facts and circumstances as they are, and work into them the idea, and
then work the idea into the people. The LANGUAGE, the SCHOOL, the
COMMUNITY LIFE are the THREE GREAT FACTORS that the enemies of the
Ruthenian's faith unscrupulously exploit in their nefarious work. We
must meet the enemy on this common ground and beat him with his own
weapons.

_Language_.--The right of a man to his language is an incontestable
right; the free use of it is a primary human liberty. The Church has
always respected this right as one of the most elementary laws of
nature. In the evangelization of nations She has always accommodated
Herself to the ways and language of the people. In this, She is
faithful to the illuminating lesson the Master gave to Her on Her
birthday, Pentecost Sunday, when the Apostles were heard each speaking
his own language. "They began to speak with divers tongues according
as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak . . . _Every man heard them speak
in his own tongue_." Since that day the true Apostle of Christ has
respected the language of the people he evangelized.

The theory of compelling a nation to learn a certain language as if it
were the only vehicle of the "Great Message of Christ" or of waiting
until the people know the missionary's own language . . . is not
Catholic. The Church of Christ is not a nationalistic Church. No one
has to deny his race nor to give up his language to become or to remain
Her faithful child.

But, facts are facts and one must face them and take from them one's
bearings. They stand as the tossing buoy on the drifting waters of our
ordinary life. To ignore them often spells disaster. Now, the fact of
paramount importance is that the English language is fast gaining
ground among the Ruthenians. The rece