vv\ e 'T, ) ^THe^*American Church Missionary Society^N^ LATIN- AMERICAN MISSIONS. CHURCH MISSIONS HOUSE, 281 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. Latin-American Missions, A few years ago when this Church began its Latin-American Missionary work there was developed a decided objection to the inauguration of any such enterprise, and from time to time nowadays there is heard a similar remonstrance. Then, as now, this antagonism was developed from a hypothetical basis. The motive which induced the expression was unques- tionably a fair one and, if the truth of its foundation had been established, it should have had success. It was declared that, however widely we might differ from the Church of Rome, both in theology and practice, yet the Church of Rome was presenting to the people of these countries the religion and truth of Christ, and offering them opportunity for righteous life, and, therefore, our energies should be directed in other lands and localities where this truth and opportunity had in no sense been offered. But the foundation of the objection was not true. The Church of Rome was not presenting the Gospel of our Lord to these people, nor giv- ing them wholesome example, nor affording them opportunity through her teaching, or in any way, for moral improvement in life. The priests them- selves were depraved, and in large numbers ; the Bible was rarely in their hands, nor accessible to the people. The balancing of its accounts after four centuries of domination found nothing to its credit. A fearful reaction had come. The cultured had for the most part drawn away from the Church, and sought some satisfaction in infidelity, skepticism and agnosti- cism, and the lower classes in the same revolution had been flung into a state of entire moral wreck. The influence of the Church was gone, the Parish Church deserted in many instances, the Mass neglected, the clergy despised, the truth unknown, forgotten, and if mentioned, questioned. The Church in these countries had become bad, the people worse. If a reforma- tion had been necessary in England and Europe in the i6th century, it was a hundred-fold more necessary in these countries then and now. The same violated law and the same abused truth which called for it then called for it in these later years. Really the mOrai condition of the general population was little, if any, 3 perhaps it was worse, than that of people who have never had the Gospel preached to them. The continued fall from a high estate touches a lower depth than that from which the individual was raised. In their civilization there were no ideals, no inspiration, no hope. To leave them longer was neglect, was sin. Imperative duty, that to one’s neighbor, demanded that some one, and that some one could be no other than this Church, should help them along the God-intended way, and point them to His appointed destiny. Therefore, there were those who believed themselves called to minister to the destitute in Latin-American countries, and those who felt it their duty to send them there. They went, and in another pamphlet some bit of record of their accomplishments is made. In this brief notice of this very large subject no details of testimony have been adduced to establish the declarations, but it is worthy of note, if one would gather some tangible idea of the moral condition of the Church, which was responsible for the loss of morals and ideals in this otherwise attractive and picturesque civilization, that in their report to the Council held in Rome last year, enough was said by the South American Bishops to justify all that appears in this article. We quote in a free translation from the January, 1900, number of La Luz, Madrid, which is discussing editorially this Council, convened with a special view to the correction of the consequences of the spread of the apocryphal encyclical authorizing the marriage of the South American clergy. La Luz says the South American Bishops did not hesitate to present to the Pope the demoralization of their inferior clergy. Without equivoca- tion they declared that of the i8,ooo clergy in South America, 3,000 lived in open, public concubinage, with acknowledged mistresses and children ; 4,000 lived in secret concubinage, and 1,500 sustained illicit relations in secret. But, it adds, of these last it would be difficult to estimate the correct number. This it will be borne in mind is the confessed condition of the religious teachers of the Church of Rome in South America. How much worse it probably is may not even be guessed at. It is worse than this, if that be possible, in Cuba, We need not know more. If such are the priests, the teachers, the taught must be in wretched case indeed. But those who will take the trouble to investigate, as other details and testimony, easily had, expose the sad plight, they will find themselves unhappily abundantly shown the 4 terrible need of these people for God’s truth and Christian inspiration. In spite of this sad fact there is a rich opportunity for rapid Christian work. American tropical and sub-tropical civilizations are fascinating in their one long doled far niente, and romantic, natural refinement, which, though without ideals and inspiration, is ready for both. These things are all they lack. The body is there, a fair body, the soul is in it, uninstructed. It has been simply waiting, and when God’s truth is received, it produces result. With this introduction, in a fashion of, perhaps, unnecessary apolo getics, the reader of this leaflet is asked to study the story of Brazil and Cuba, as it is told in the results of this Church’s Missionary enterprise.