II.—­What?

The “raison d’etre,” the definite function of a field-secretary is organization.  This work implies the double duty to spread, by an intelligent and well thought-out propaganda, the knowledge of the Home and Foreign Missions and of the responsibility it entails, and to found and maintain efficient the various societies established to promote and help their great work.

1. Vision.  The effective presentation of the case of Catholic Missions, both to the clergy and to the laity, is the field-secretary’s first and important duty.  Nothing indeed can be hoped for, nothing can be accomplished until the Catholic people fully grasp and intensely feel what their help and co-operation—­however little it may be—­mean to the Church, to the salvation of souls, to the honour of our Blessed Lord, to the glory of God. Fac ut videant!  The clear, broad and deep vision of these great possibilities in the mission fields will alone overcome selfishness and apathy, awaken interest, stimulate energy.

The field-secretary is the official expert in mission-matters.  He will be able to accumulate strong evidence, sum up striking statistics and draw burning comparisons for the effective presentation of his case.  An enthusiastic advocate, he will plead with thrilling appeals, the great cause placed in his hands.

During his absence from the field of action, the vision he pointed to, will be kept bright by the recurrence, at stated intervals, of the printed message.  Missionary literature receives its life, vigour and impulse from the field-organizer and continues his work in his absence.

2. Action.  To realize that vision and incarnate it in work for the Home and Foreign Missions, the Field-secretary will take the diocese as a unit of his organization.  In each diocese, with the permission, authority, and co-operation of the Ordinary, he will establish the Societies recommended by our Holy Father in his Apostolic Letter, and others that have been created to meet the specific needs of the country or to favour certain particular missionary work.  Therefore:—­

(a) Among the Clergy will be founded “The Missionary Union of the Clergy”, which our Holy Father desires to see established in every diocese.  For loving sons and faithful priests of the Church of God the desire of the Sovereign Pontiff is a command.  This, we think, could be easily done by the field-organizer when he visits each parish for the purpose of organizing missionary parochial units, as we shall see later.

The beautiful programme of action which is so easily combined with the ordinary work of the priest in the parish, the facility of his moral and material co-operation in this great work of missions, the spiritual favours and wonderful privileges which the “Union” grants to its members, together with the explicit desire of the Holy See, these are so many motives and incentives, which should induce all the members of the clergy to enter the ranks of the “Missionary Union” and assure to the Church their co-operation in the great mission work, both at Home and in the Field-Afar.