Ten Decades of Alms by Theodore Roemer, O. F. M. Cap. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 325 fourth chapters of the book are as perfect an X-ray picture of the diseased organism as can be found anywhere. But while fully appreciating the serious­ ness of the situation, he refuses to be pessimistic — the darkness is that of the hour before dawn. For in the crisis itself, he sees the factors that make for restoration and true progress — a spiritual renaissance. "In the first place, Christian culture is inviolable in its ideology and magnificently vital in its inexhaustible dynamism. In the second place, far from obstructing the vic­ tory of Christian culture, materialistic culture itself is paving the way for it.” The book is "must” reading for all those who would understand the times and who are interested in seeing the world move forward to a brighter day. V ictor M il l s , O. F. M. St. Bonaventure College, St. Bonaventure, N. Y. Ten Decades of Alms. By Theodore Roemer, O. F. M. Cap. (St. Louis: B. Herder Co. Pp. vii+322. $2.75.) The story unfolded in the pages of this book will come as a complete sur­ prise to the majority of American Catholics. The present generation of Cath­ olics, justly proud of the flourishing condition of the Church and her char­ itable and educational institutions, and justly proud of its own generous share in the support of the Church and her works, is not generally aware that up to the beginning of the present century the rapid expansion of the Church in this country was made possible by financial aid from Europe. Between the years 1822 and 1921, three European societies gave $7,970,840.53 to the Catholic Church in America. These societies were the French Society for the Propagation of the Faith with headquarters in Lyons (later in Paris), founded to aid foreign missions and, in 1922, made the uni­ versal organization for all mission endeavor; the Austrian society known as the Leopoldinen-Stiftung, founded for the express purpose of aiding the Church in North America; and the Bavarian Ludwig-Missionsverein with headquarters in Munich. The founding of these societies was due wholly or in part to constant appeals made by American bishops and missionaries to the generosity of European Catholics. After their foundation, the American "Beggars,” as Father Roemer calls them in his opening chapter, unhesitatingly placed the needs of their flocks before the boards of the societies and invariably received a share of the available funds. Most of the money was naturally placed in the hands of the bishops for allocation, but religious orders of men were given directly the sum of $980,198.55 during the century. Of this amount the Friars Minor received $20,438.50, the Friars Minor Capuchin $23,156.72 and the Friars Minor Conventual $8,400.00. The charge has sometimes been made that the societies were narrowly nationalistic in their donations, restricting their gifts to bishops and missions serving their own countrymen. It has even been said that the moneys were disbursed with the sinister objective of obtaining national control over sec­ tions of the American church. Father Roemer disposes of these charges in the chapter called "the Spirit of the Donors,” in which appears a most inter­ 326 FRANCISCAN STUDIES esting and valuable table showing the amounts allotted to the various dio­ ceses over the century and proving conclusively that the three societies were motivated by a truly Catholic mission spirit. Foe the chapter entitled "The Historical Deposits,” Father Roemer merits the lasting gratitude of all students of American church history. Though brief, the chapter describes the sources which the author himself studied in preparing the work and which will inevitably become the basis for many Studies of hitherto unexplored fields. Besidôs. a logical arrangement and masterful treatment of matter, the book also contains a valuable bibliography, two appendices — one giving the dates of establishment of American dioceses, the other, the statutes of the three societies — and a thorough index. V icto r M il l s , O. F. M . St. Bonaventure College St. Bonaventure, N. Y. Books Received T h e C o l l e g e o f St . T h o m a...