Duties of Catholic Women (1928)

[7] MOST REVEREND JOHN T. McNICHOLAS, Archbishop of Cincinnati, sounded the keynote of the Eighth Annual Convention for the National Council of Catholic Women when, in a sermon delivered at the Solemn Pontifical Mass at St. John's Cathedral, Cleveland, he stressed the present day need of trained leadership in all fields which Catholic women have entered, urgently insisted that Catholic women should be mindful of their civic obligations and urged constructive work in behalf of an endangered youth and the promotion of womanly modesty.

At the very beginning of his sermon, Archbishop McNicholas emphasized that the Convention has no political significance, but would be "an example of that dignity, liberality and tolerance, and that freedom from any tendency to use the organization of your Church as a political instrument, which should characterize Catholic women."

After calling attention to the fact that the day chosen for the opening of the Convention was the Feast of our Blessed Mother, under one of her most endearing titles—"Queen of the Holy Rosary," Archbishop McNicholas asked: "What are the special lessons we should learn from Mary—those that will aid in giving us the help and the inspiration to meet the conditions of our times?"

ONE of the greatest works awaiting Catholic women, he declared, is to make their influence felt upon youth. He pointed to the "incredible change" which has taken place among youth in modern times, characterized by indifference to religion and a distorted view of liberty. Liberty in its true sense, he insisted, does not mean merely a restriction which enables one to escape the penalty of the law," but "a perfecting, not a demoralizing power—a gift of God, a gift which neither the Church nor the State has the right to take away but rather has the obligation to safeguard." Much of the law-making today shows a tendency not to protect this God-given liberty of individuals, he said, but rather to exercise compulsion. He declared it the duty of mothers to teach their children a true concept of liberty—that it is not license.

"Under this false concept of liberty," His Grace continued, "the public virtue of modesty is considered as something hampering the development of young women." Christian mothers, he warned, must not leave wholly to the schools the combating of this trend.

"We must face the fact," continued the Archbishop, "that the daily press, the ephemeral literature, the sensational and too frequently suggestive moving picture, the general tone of the conversation of youth, the abuses brought about by the automobile, the immodest manner of dress now in vogue among women, the weakening of home ties and the lessening of home influence, the rejection of the wisdom and experience of the older generation, not perhaps by disrespect but by regarding it as an outworn philosophy of life not applicable to our modern times—all these necessarily make their impress on the mind and character of youth and tend to lower the ideals inculcated during their school years. Youth must be in fashion, and unfortunately at the present time pagans are dictating the fashions, not only in the matter of dress but of conduct as well. And this is the precise state of affairs which offers to Catholic women today a field in which there are exceptional opportunities of achievement.

"THERE is no doubt that women can exert a much greater influence over youth than men, but it must be wisely exercised. Mere fault-finding does no good whatever, but simply alienates those whom we wish to influence. It makes them feel that there is no sympathy for them on the part of the older generation, nor any understanding of their youthful problems. Who so well as our Catholic women, who hold our Blessed Mother as their model, can help to reestablish the sense of Christian modesty and bring about the observances of those delicacies and refinements of life—not to speak of the ordinary decencies of life—which are too little appreciated today?"

"OUR Catholic women," continued Archbishop McNicholas, "must study Mary especially as a mother. The lives of our Catholic women must be a manifest challenge to the women of the whole world with regard to the sacred obligations of marriage, and especially of Christian motherhood.

[8] "Marriage today outside the Catholic Church is reduced practically to the level of a business contract, to be terminated whenever it proves unsatisfactory to the contracting parties. The marvel is, with divorce so readily accepted in principle in our country, that public opinion has not brought about the abrogation of all official procedure leading to it. One trembles at the thought of the consequences to society when this comes about. And come it must unless Catholic women and Catholic principles are able to stem the tide of divorce, the cause of which, however much we may try to disguise the fact, is in its true analysis sensuality.

"IT is not surprising under these circumstances that the home should lose almost entirely its influence; that it should be no longer the center of true family life, where Christian virtues bear fruit, but merely a place to eat and sleep."

"Other things that are undermining the stability of the home," the Archbishop pointed out, "are the immoderate pursuit of temporal goods and the craze for pleasure. The modern world is frankly engrossed in material things, eager for power and place and for all the advantages and pleasures that go with them. There is no wish to discourage a laudable ambition to rise in the world. It is the right of every human being to acquire by industry and the proper use of God's gifts a share of all that the world has to offer, provided things be held in their true proportion, and that in the pursuit of temporal prosperity the spiritual life be not choked and deadened.

"IT is possible to acquire even great wealth and yet remain poor in spirit, recognizing ever and always that wealth means a stewardship, to be strictly accounted for, rather than personal ownership and the unrestrained indulgence of luxurious tastes. If the home is to be restored to its proper place and to exercise its divine influence, it must be through our women. Catholic women must be the leaders in this restoration. They are not called upon in an heroic degree to emulate Mary, who with the sublimest vocation ever given to a creature lived in extreme poverty in her little home in Nazareth, but they are required at least to take her as the model in the home."

WORK in which diocesan councils could well engage, with the approval of their Bishops, said His Grace, is the training of a number of Catholic young women for leadership, "and this in all fields where women are active today." Here he made a practical suggestion: That intellectual women of fine character who have completed their college course, or even girls of promise who have finished high school, be selected and given additional opportunities for study in university centers. A group of women in the diocese might unite to finance such a project, he said. After emphasizing that they should have the advantage of Catholic philosophy and the sane direction of the Church, he exclaimed:

"Who can measure what ten outstanding women who would command the attention of the whole country would mean to the Church if we had them at the present moment! What a simple task it would be for the Church, through groups of women of means in many of the principal centers, to give opportunities to intelligent, sensible, laudably ambitious Catholic women to attain eminence in the professions and in public life!"

"GREAT praise," said His Grace, "is due to the National Council of Catholic Women for the establishment of the School of Social Service at Washington. Generous patrons have helped to support it, but it deserves also the interest of every Catholic woman and the encouragement of every society of Catholic women throughout the country." [emphasis original]

In concluding his sermon, Archbishop McNicholas referred to the persecution of the Church in Mexico as follows:

"We have within recent years given our Blessed Mother the beautiful title, 'Queen of Peace.' During the World War we fervently invoked her intercession to bring about a cessation of hostilities. Shall we not now with equal fervor implore her good offices to restore to the afflicted Church of Mexico the rights of which a tyrannical government has deprived her and to deliver her from the cruel persecution from which she has long suffered. Resolve today to join the women of Mexico, your sisters in the South, in imploring the Queen of the Rosary to obtain for their unhappy country the blessings of peace and religious liberty."

When Archbishop McNicholas had concluded his sermon, Bishop Schrembs, before resuming the Mass, thanked him and declared: "You have spoken with fine poise the watchword of the Convention."

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Source: "Archbishop McNicholas Calls for Catholic Leadership: Outlines Duties of Catholic Women in Forceful Sermon at Opening of Cleveland Convention," National Catholic Welfare Council Bulletin 10, no. 6 (November 1928): 7–8.