Church Opposition
The party was overwhelmingly, almost exclusively Protestant, and was accused of having links with the Orange Order. As a consequence, it was distrusted by Roman Catholic voters, and vigorously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, who opposed the union not only for its alleged Orange links, but also for its trade unionism and class-based politics. Archbishop M.F. Howley of St. John's, objected to the FPU as he was concerned that the secular union might undermine the church's authority among Catholics living in Newfoundland's outports. Howley's successor, Archbishop Roche, was even more opposed to the union, particularly when it moved towards political activity. The church's hostility to the union impeded its ability to recruit members in Catholic areas such as the southern Avalon Peninsula and in Conception Bay.
Read more about this topic: Fishermen's Protective Union
Famous quotes containing the words church and/or opposition:
“Among twelve apostles there must always be one who is as hard as stone, so that the new church may be built upon him.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A man with your experience in affairs must have seen cause to appreciate the futility of opposition to the moral sentiment. However feeble the sufferer and however great the oppressor, it is in the nature of things that the blow should recoil upon the aggressor. For God is in the sentiment, and it cannot be withstood.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)