"The  religious  question  not  only  confronts  the  Latin-
American  peoples  to-day,  emerging  as  a  vital  issue  from
the  experiences  of  the  past;  it  is  discerned  also  as  an  all-
important  element  in  the  future  national  prosperity.  As
religion  is  the  soul  of  history,  the  character  of  the  com-


RELIGIOUS  109

ing  development  of  Latin  civilization  depends  in  supreme
degree  upon  the  quality  of  its  moral  and  spiritual  life.
Only  upon  a  sound  religious  basis  can  the  Latin  charac-
ter and  the  Latin  culture  rise  to  their  full  possibilities
and  fulfil  their  potential  mission  in  the  western  hemi-
sphere.
