ABSTRACT
Everyone acquainted at all with the history of Catholic schools in the United States knows that the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore was a major milestone in their development. The best known action taken by the Council in 1884 was to shift from the language of exhortation in respect to parochial schools to that of command. Concern for clerical education also led to the momentous decision to establish a superior-grade national seminary that would in time become a full-fledged university. More than the spiritual welfare of the individuals was at stake; solid religious education was essential for the future of civilization itself. The pastoral made its case by calling attention to the brutalizing consequences of a naturalistic view of life. Religion as such was not the only factor in these controversies, but it was most basic. The public schools had intimate links with the evangelical Protestantism that permeated American culture and strongly reflected a pan-Protestant mentality.
