What Shall the Layman Do?

...ONE of the most satisfactory things in connection with the establishment of this journal, has been the number, variety, interest and importance of the letters of dissatisfaction which we have received...

...In spiritual and moral matters, of course, the clergy are the sole responsible leaders of the Catholic body...

...What seems to be necessary before such measures can be devised is to determine just what types of work, in the general field of expressing Catholic principles in social and intellectual channels, may be left safely in the hands of laymen, and which types require the active superintendence of the clergy...

...or the great international problems involving the destinies of all mankind...

...William Franklin Sands...

...So it is, it seems to us, in the matter of more effective Catholic social action, and the obtaining of what so maay of the letter-writers to whom we refer have in mind, namely—the encouragement of effective Catb jlic lay leadership in those fields of Catholic action where the layman may properly be active, and the bringing about of a harmonious cooperation between Catholic lay activities and ecclesiastical authority, supervision, and inspiration...

...For believing as we do that hardly any spiritual or mental condition is more deplorable than indifference, every such letter has been a fresh and welcome proof of stimulating and creative concern with, and interest in, our work on the part of our readers...

...and also to inspire and bring about the expression of this nationally united Catholic unity in ways hitherto not attempted, although thoroughly consonant with Catholic traditions and philosophy...

...We beg our readers to continue to cooperate with us in this most practical fashion...

...The Commonweal is not the only journal in which these problems are discussed...

...As Mr...

...Sands passes by the details and particular things dealt with by them in favor of fundamental aspects of the great problem, inseparable from the existence of the Catholic Church in a country like the United States...

...Letters of that kind do reach us, of course, but not from Catholics —only from critical or hostile non-Catholics—usually cranks or fanatics...

...Even if at this time only a faulty or imperfect answer is possible to the question of what is the proper field for Catholic lay activity, it is surely desirable that the laymen should set actively to work and at least clean the windows, so that more light may be let in upon the subject...

...Hughes and the Attorney-General are only two of the most notable of many utterances, repeatedly given forth, year by year, in season and out of season, and that for the most part they deal with general principles upon which all lawabiding and patriotic men and women are in agreement...

...Squeers, the master of Dotheboys Hall, asked his class to spell window, and got the answer "w-i-n-d-e-r," he accepted the answer as being good enough for practical purposes, and said— "All right—now go and clean it...

...But even more important than the letters criticizing The Commonweal, have been the many letters from correspondents throughout the country expressing dissatisfaction, not with The Commonweal, but with conditions and circumstances connected with the Catholic Church itself...

...Heywood Broun remarked in another connection the other day, it is only by the letters an editor or a writer receives, that the effect of the written word can be measured...

...and also in the fact that he proposes the undertaking of a far-reaching and thorough survey of the factors of that problem...

...and to the meeting of Catholic laymen, including members of the executive committee of the National Council of Catholic Men—one of the departments of the National Catholic Welfare Conference...

...The Commonweal is not alone in its hope that the bishops, meeting in council in Washington this week, and the representative laymen also meeting there, can go a long step further than mere agreement on this matter, and that they will begin to clear up the confusion that now exists and to define those ways in which Catholic lay action can become a reality, instead of a vague or merely oratorical phrase...

...It differs from many others, not in the zeal of the writer for the advancement of the true interests of the Faith (for that zeal is shared by all the writers we have in mind) but it differs by reason of the fact that Mr...

...As The Commonweal approaches the end of its first year, the increase of such letters both in number and in value, is a highly gratifying fact...

...Many of these communications we have published —and we propose to publish others from time to time...

...That this work, at least so far as the Catholic laymen are concerned, seems to have reached something like an impasse, must make all sincere Catholics gravely anxious that some practical means be discovered to solve this problem...

...The call to this meeting, from which we have quoted, goes on to say that "a decision in this matter is of such grave importance that it is felt the Catholic lay leaders of the United States ought to be consulted, and if possible, offered an opportunity to express their views in the premises...

...And what all these journals publish is only a fragment of what is being said by men and women who do not write letters to the papers, but who are greatly concerned that the Faith, which to them is the guiding light of their individual lives, shall be enabled, through effective organized means, to shine forth for the benefit of the whole community—for non-Catholics as well as for Catholics...

...We hasten to add that of course we do not mean letters expressing dissatisfaction or discontent with the religion of the Catholic Church, or with its moral and spiritual discipline...

...In the joint pastoral letter of the American bishops, issued when the Catholic War Council became the National Catholic Welfare Conference, these high hopes and great aims were fully and authoritatively expressed...

...It is, we think it safe to say, a matter of general knowledge that of all departments of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, the National Council of Catholic Men has been the least satisfactory in bringing about results commensurate with the high hopes with which the council was founded and the lofty ideals set before it...

...Charles Evans Hughes and Attorney-General Sargent, concerning the reform of our present deplorable situation in the field of law enforcement, makes remarks which are highly pertinent if applied to the subject under discussion now...

...What we do mean is that many letters reach us, calling attention to what the writers deem to be deficiencies or omissions in the methods or instrumentalities by means of which the influence of the Church is spread abroad among its members and throughout society in general...

...One hundred representative Catholic laymen have been invited to attend this meeting, the direct purpose of which "is to discuss the advisability and feasibility of continuing the effort to effect the organization of the Catholic laity of this country...

...It would perhaps seem to follow from this that all forms of Catholic social and intellectual organized effort should, therefore, be directed and governed by the clergy...

...But such utterances rarely propose practicable measures by means of which the desired reforms may be effected...

...The aims and purposes of the National Council of Catholic Men differ from those of other organizations among the Catholic laity—such as the Knights of Columbus, for example —in that these aims and purposes are directly supervised and guided by the bishops themselves, through delegated authority, and were meant to secure a more thoroughly unified action among Catholic organizations than seemed feasible through any other means...

...They were laid before the various Catholic organizations, whether grouped within the National Welfare Conference or pursuing their own work in their own way, as the compass, and also the chart, of their multitudinous activities...

...We refer in a special way to the annual meeting of the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States in connection with the affairs of the National Catholic Welfare Conference...

...All social and intellectual activities necessarily stem from, and are only to be safely guided by, the spiritual and moral principles held and guarded by the ecclesiastical authority of the Church...

...We are of the opinion that both the clergy and intelligent laymen concur in giving an affirmative answer to this question...

...Several letters of the type to which we are referring are printed in this issue of The Commonweal...

...It is because these writers are true Catholics, loyal, and zealous, and desire nothing more ardently than the extension and strengthening of the socially beneficial forces of Catholicity, that they write the kind of letters to which we refer...

...It hoped Catholic laymen would take a more active part in the study and solution of the great social problems of our times—such problems as the unnecessary yet increasingly bitter struggle between capitalistic wealth and class-conscious labor...

...All the leading Catholic periodicals are dealing with this matter, and were doing so long before The Commonweal came into the field...

...If this be true, the fact nevertheless reflects no discredit upon those who have been entrusted with the guidance of the National Council of Catholic Men...

...Max Steuer, one of the leading lawyers of New York, when asked by the New York World to express his opinion of the speeches made by Mr...

...This week there will be held in Washington several important conferences where this problem will, we feel sure, receive that sort of consideration which will tend towards its solution...

...But are there not many forms of social and intellectual work in which laymen, fully accepting spiritual and moral guidance, are (simply because they are laymen, and hence have forms of experience only partially, if at all, open to the clergy) much better fitted to devise and direct the practical means and ways by which these principles may be fruitfully expressed...

...but it does indicate that the difficulties which the council has encountered in its effort to organize and direct the activities of Catholic laymen, are of the most serious nature...

...Readers of Nicholas Nickleby may remember that when Mr...

...We call the attention of our readers particularly to the 462 THE COMMONWEAL September 23, 1925 letter of Mr...

...He calls attention to the fact that the speeches of Mr...

...Some are sent to us, not for publication, but for our guidance, instruction, or to throw light upon some condition to which the writers desire this journal to turn its attention...

...or the ever deepening menace of pagan principles and customs as they affect family life, art, literature, and legislation...