The Rt. Rev. L. M. Fink of Kansas City, submits the following
communication touching the mission work in his diocese. It will be found
interesting.
“The number of colored Catholics has not been notably increased during
the past year. About one-half of the adults baptized since the last
report obtained that grace in _articulo mortis_. Prejudice and ignorance
will, however, be gradually removed, it is hoped, and then the work will
go on more rapidly. Our schools are quite satisfactory, both in point
of attendance and in the progress made by pupils in their studies. The
Guardian Angel Asylum is a very promising institution, and well worthy
of all encouragement. Here colored children, in their tender years,
imbibe the principles and practices of Christianity. Aloof from all
contaminating influences, their dispositions are carefully regulated,
their minds cultivated, in a word, they are wisely prepared to become
faithful Christians and useful members of an enlightened community. The
buildings now occupied are entirely inadequate for the work. Many of
Christ’s little ones must grow up in filth and ignorance and sin, because
they who are otherwise so able and willing to keep them, lack the means
of providing ample accommodations for the helpless and forsaken. One
thousand dollars are needed for the ensuing year to keep up the Sisters’
schools at Leavenworth and Topeka, make an addition to the Colored Orphan
Asylum at Leavenworth, and furnish part of support to one priest.”
From a letter of Bishop Fink, accompanying his report to the Commission,
we quote the following: “Last year I felt very much discouraged; this
year I feel more encouraged. We have again a very good school for colored
children at Leavenworth. We have about twenty-five colored boys in our
orphan asylum. The building being too small, we were unable to take in
any girls. In order to give room to those we have, and to take in a few
more, we have to put an addition to our present accommodations. This
will entail an expense of some $500. I do not dare to ask for more than
a thousand— which will leave a small sum at my disposal to support two
schools, the Colored Sisters and give a fractional salary to the priest,
who is almost exclusively engaged in the colored work at Leavenworth.
We have not recuperated from the loss we sustained at Topeka, by the
Oklahoma exodus, about two years ago. Besides adding a sanctuary to the
school-house, separated by folding doors, so as to give the colored
people divine service on some Sunday evenings, nothing more was done,
except to keep up the colored school. If I could have any hope of
getting for once only, an appropriation of $3000, or $4000, I would feel
encouraged to put the Orphan Asylum for colored children on a firmer
basis. For this purpose I would have to secure a site in the country,
with a sufficient piece of land, to train the children to work and make
the institution self-supporting in the course of a few years. My diocese
is poor; it receives the poor from the eastern cities and towns. For
these we try to do the best we can, but they do not become wealthy or
able to give much help even to their own churches and schools, much less
to the Negro cause. Even if they would like to be generous, as many of
them try to be, still they are unable to contribute much. Thus in other
words, I can expect very little, if any, help from my own diocese. We
have a large Negro population in Kansas City, perhaps some 6000 souls,
among whom there are not over one half dozen Catholics. As soon as our
missions become self-sustaining, a beginning can be made here. I have not
a sufficient number of priests at present for the whites, let alone the
means.”