, 1864-11-21
"A 1AVAAO1AG VKkEkAAIE~
Thanksgiving Proclamation OF Arch.
Bishop Purcell of Ohio.

The President of the United States and tht
Governor Of the State Of Ohio, having, in con
formity with most proper and time-hon
ored practice, appointed the fourth Thursday
Of November as day Of devout Thanksgiving
to the Almighty God for Ills mercies; Of hu.
peace We hereby ordain thnt the Catholic
congregations Of this diocese be earnestly "c1-
hOrted By their pastors to meet in their re-
spectiye churches on the day above specified,
and assist in becoming sentiments Of graft
tude, penitcnce and pr yer, at the great Eu-
chaIistie, e1Piatory and inpetratory Sacrifice
We, Catholics, hare largely shared in the
blessings Of health, abundant harrests and
exemption from the ravages OF war, whi:h
God has granted to the people Of the North.
Our sins have as largely mefited the cuas.isc-
ment which has overtaken our erring bseth-
rem of the South, and which has cost the life
blood Of eo many thousands Of our Own
brave soldiers, who left their pleasant homes
to cheek the advance of the foe and conf1ne
the deadly strife to the battle-delds on which
1t madly originated. Our hopes Of future hap
plncss on Garth are vain II the peace,
the prosperity, the progress IN arts, sciences
among the nations Of the earth for four
score and eight years, and which, under the
divine blessing, arc mainly attributable to our
Constitution and the Union, be not continued
by the maintenance of that Union and the
elimination Of those defects which Christian
civilization and our own experience have
shown Us the Constitution contained. It
therefore becomes our solemn duty to OBJ
serve, with no ordinary ferTor, the national
holiday; and rs We cannot enjoy, and should
not desire, peace, happiness and Independence,
exccptsin the society Of our fellow citizens,
We should pray for and promote, BY every
means in our power, their welfare Is well as
our own.
We confess that it has greatly panied rs to
hear that certain rash, frreVerent and thought-
less men of our communion have denounced
and cursed the Government, the Admfnistra-
ton and their abettors. Now, God commands
us to bless, and curse not. And when bad
men cursed the supporters Of the Government
did they not reflect that they cursed the more
tban hundreds Of thousands of Catholic voters
and Catholic soldiers Of our army who defend
that Government in the. fe1d2 Did they not
reflect that its downfall would be hailed with
acclamation by our own hereditary opprcssors
across the ocean? Did they not reflect that
ifpolitical salvation is cyer to reach a far dis
from these United States which they would
eever?
Where is no justifying cause or reason to
curse the Government or the Administration.
They did not commence this war. They
could scarcely bring themselves to believe
forts had fallen and the blood Of our people
When as9 haa 70 6e fePslea ~
: to be drafted to raise the blockade Of our rfv-
cts md stem the tide Of aggression, what
more did our Government do than Was done
in the souths Where in the North was the
draft, the conscr1ption, enforced as ruthlessly
There was the citizens' property confs-
Gated without compensation, for the alleged
uses Of the Government, as It Was IN the
South? We hare conyersed with Irish Cath
olic refugees from Georgia,, from Arkansas,
from Alabama and other Southern States, and
we knoE hoW they we're stripped Of their
money and their clothes, and cast into pris-
on when they refused to 60 into the ranks Of
the Confederate army. Many an Irish laboreE
told us In the hospitals, here and elsewhere,
that when the war broke ont In the South,
and the pnblicc works were suspended, they
were either violently consc1ipted, or had to
enlist, or starye.
We do not adducc these facts to excite IN.
kind feelings against the South, but to put to
shame the Journalists Of the North, especially
the E4eenan's Journal and Metropolitan Record
of New York, who instigated our too .conhd-
people Themselves who patrontzed such jour
nalists, md were duped and deceived by their
malignity.
It fs time. therefore, now that the election
is past, that all should return to their sober
second thought, and that We should rally
ers" which the apostle commands us to obey,
and thue presenting an undivided front to the
enemy, re-establish the Union, without which
there can be no panacca; present or prospec-
tive, for the ills we suffer.
The South beholding us thus Of one mind
will, we deyoutly trust, hasten to make
peace, and We, On our lie, will show them
that Vr nre readY and willing tn make rreater