The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 4

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4 5 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Low Moral Standards.

Speaking in a general way, we may say that
the morals of the people of South America are very
low. Untruthfulness is a common vice; gambling,
cock-fighting, bull-fighting, and horse-racing are
just as common. Drunkenness is met with every-

A Rancher’s Hut in Paraguay.
This is one of the better class.

where, from the Isthmus down to Cape Horn:
There are cities in which a saloon may -be found
for every twenty to thirty men! Drink has wiped
out the native Indians entirely in some localities,
and it is playing havoc with the whites. Unchastity
is so prevalent that it is-claimed that male chastity
is almost unknown among ‘the Latin Americans.
The number of children having no legitimate
fathers is incredibly great, according to some
authorities reaching almost half of the total births!
. Unchastity has become so common that apparently
no shame any longer attaches to it. Individual
morality is ridiculed, and the sanctity of the home
is no longer recognized.

And who is most to blame for these deplorable
conditions? Without hesitation we must lay the
blame at the door of the Roman Catholic Church,

which for four centuries had full freedom of action -

over the whole South American continent and even
the assistance of the political powers of the state.
' She had in every way the best possible opportunity
morally and spiritually to uplift the people. If
ever a Church.had a chance to show what she could
do, the Roman Church had that chance in’South
‘America. But, alas! how sadly she failed in taking
advantage of her glorious opportunities! Instead
. of uplifting the people, she demoralized them; in-
stead of enlightening her members, she steeped
them more and more in the darkness of supersti-

tion; instead of furthering education, she lent all

her powers to hold the people in densest ignorance.
She opposed freedom in whatever form it showed

itself; she tortured and burned those who dared
to oppose her and persecuted those who sold,
bought, or read God’s Word. She encouraged
gambling, and her priests set the pace for the laity
in drinking and immorality. The common opinion
of the people throughout South America is that
the Roman priesthood is morally corrupt.
Facts that appear incontrovertible go to show
that with a great proportion of the priesthood
the vow of purity is a broken vow, and thou-
sands of the illegitimate children in South
‘American countries have priests for their
fathers. “As immoral as a priest” has become
a common and accepted proverb in South
America. F. J. 1.

How We Came to South America.

-Brazil was discovered in 1500 by a Portu-

guese navigator, Pedro Alvarez Cabral. In
15381 the first European immigrants came to Brazil.
These being from Portugal, the official language of
Brazil became the Portuguese language. All our
missionaries in Brazil learn to speak this language,
as the greater part of them work more or less in this
tongue. Brazil is about the size of the United
States, if we exclude the outlying possessions. The
greater part of Brazil is in the torrid zone; only
the three most southern states, Santa Catharina,
Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul, are in the south
temperate zone. The climate is quite unlike that °

A Farmhouse in Brazil.

-of our country. Brazilians, for example, celebrate

Christmas at a temperature of 110 to 115 degrees.
In June and July the people of Southern Brazil
have their winter, or rather their rainy season. In
Rio Grande do Sul, the state where most of the
work of our men is done, there never is any snow,