Muzzling The Public Press
Dr. McGinnis also spoke of their plans regarding the daily papers. He said: “We may consider briefly the program of the International Catholic Truth Society in reference to two great agencies in the formation of the minds and hearts of the great American people, - the press and the public libraries.FAFA 249.3
“Our daily press ... moulds the thought and influences the will of the country .... We do demand that the great Catholic Church, in her saving doctrines and in her marvelous activities, should be brought more prominently before the American public.” Id., p. 419.FAFA 249.4
Dr. McGinnis further stated that arrangements had been made with the Vatican for Catholic reporters all over the world to furnish material for the “Truth Society” to be used in the daily press, and then he says:FAFA 250.1
“With a membership of two or three thousand scholarly, zealous priests and laymen, and the headquarters of the Society acting as a clearing house, calumnies would not remain unanswered, misstatements of doctrines would be corrected.” — Id., pp. 420,421.
“We realize, moreover, that refutations and corrections, valuable though they be, are not sufficient. We want to carry the campaign a little farther. We want to make of the press of this country a positive agency in the dissemination of Catholic ideas.... We are now furnishing on the first and third Sundays of each month one column or a column and a half of positive Catholic matter to daily papers.... But the ‘Notes and Comments’ ... deal with such topics as the conversion of some distinguished scholar, the life work of a recently deceased Catholic who was eminent in the domain of physical science, archeological discoveries bearing upon Christian doctrine, important congresses abroad.... If the demands of our people prove that the new feature is appreciated, the ‘service’ will become weekly, and it will bring light and sympathy for things Catholic to many millions of readers.” — Id., pp. 421, 422.FAFA 250.2
“The demands” must have proved successful, for instead of this “new feature” appearing weekly, articles and notes seem to appear almost daily. Though it is legitimate for religious denominations to make use of the public press, for them to muzzle the freedom of the press is not legitimate! When large religious organizations parade their great number of adherents and bring pressure to bear on the press, threatening non support if the other side appears in its columns, while they monopolies them with their own propaganda, such organizations lose the respect of thinking people.FAFA 250.3