hanging and
whipping or loading with chains a man simply because he is an
Infidel. They are willing to leave all this with God, knowing that
a being of infinite goodness will inflict all these horrors and
tortures upon an honest man who differs with the church.

In case Dr. McGlynn is deprived of his priestly functions, it is
hard to say what effect it will have upon his church and the labor
party in the country.

So long as a man believes that a church has eternal joy in store
for him, so long as he believes that a church holds within its hand
the keys of heaven and hell, it will be hard to make him trade off
the hope of everlasting happiness for a few good clothes and a
little good food and higher wages here. He finally thinks that,
after all, he had better work for less and go a little hungry, and
be an angel forever.

I hope, however, that a good many people who have been supporting
the Catholic Church by giving tithes of the wages of weariness will
see, and clearly see, that Catholicism is not their friend; that
the church cannot and will not support them; that, on the contrary,
they must support the church. I hope they will see that all the
prayers have to be paid for, although not one has ever been answered.
I hope they will perceive that the church is on the side of wealth
and power, that the mitre is the friend of the crown, that the
altar is the sworn brother of the throne. I hope they will finally
know that the church cares infinitely more for the money of the
millionaire than for the souls of the poor.

Of course, there are thousands of individual exceptions. I am
speaking of the church as an institution, as a corporation--and
when I say the church, I include all churches. It is said of
corporations in general, that they have no soul, and it may truthfully
be said of the church that it has less than any other. It lives
on alms. It gives nothing for what it gets. It has no sympathy.
Beggars never weep over the misfortunes of other beggars.

Nothing could give me more pleasure than to see the Catholic Church
on the side of human freedom; nothing more pleasure than to see
the Catholics of the world--those who work and weep and toil--
sensible enough to know that all the money paid for superstition
is worse than lost. I wish they could see that the counting of
beads, and the saying of prayers and celebrating of masses, and
all the kneelings and censer-swingings and fastings and bell-ringing,
a