The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-02-14
Results of the Ecclesiastical Legislation in Germany

The following letter from q correspon-
dent in Germany was read at a recent
meeting of the Catholic Union of Great
Britain, and published in the London Times
by the request of the Duke of Norfolk. In
it the actual results of the late ecclesiasti-
cal legislation in Germany are summed up,
and important facts, not generally known,
are stated regarding the financial relations
between the Church and the Prussian Gov
eminent: -
December 80, 1874.
"You will, 1 hope, kindly excuse me for
keeping you waiting such a long time tor
an answer to your questions. In the begin
ming had not all the information at hand
l wanted, but now l am too happy to com
ply with your wishes by putting you in
possession of the following facts =
81. Five Bishops have been imprisoned
the Archbishop of Cologne I'm March), the
Bishop of Treves On Ma'ch). the
Bishop Coadiutor o. Posep, aud the Bishop
of Paderborn. The Arch bishop of Cologne
has been released about two months ago,
but will have to go into prison in short
time.
"2. Fines have been imposed upon all
the above named Bishops and upon the
Bishops of Munster, Hildersheim, Breslau,
Culm, FINLAND, Lmburg-i. e., all the
Bishops of Prussia, except the Bishop of
Osnabruck. The See of Fulda is vacant.
Domestic visits from the police or the off,
GERS who sold their furniture have been
received by those of Cologne, Treves, Nun
ster, Hildersheim, Breslau, Culm, Posen,
Limburg.
SO. How many priests there are in pri-
son at this date cannot say, but up to the
Bird of December-since the beginning of
the Falck Laws-1, 400 priests of Prussia
have either been sent to prison or fined on
account of these laws about 100 have been
driven out of their country, or several
counties have been forbidden for them !;
and some few who persisted in returning
| to their focks after they had been driven
| by the police over their frontier have been
banished to the Isle of Rugen. In most of
the prisons they are treated decently, just
| like political prisoners, but 10 some places
for instance at Dusseldorf and Ceve-
they were kept in the same room with
criminals, and treated like them in a man
ner of which no German Catholic paper
dares give a description, as this would
make the situation of the poor priests still
woree. But in the Prussian Chamber of
Deputies which will begin in the middle of
next month, the Catholic members are
| going to lay the details before the House
and the astonIshed country.
~ Not the head magistrate of each
town, hut the County Courts, have power
to punish priest acting according to his
| conscience against the Infamous laws, but
bow differently they judge yon may see
| from his fact. The Bishop of Paderborn
| ordered a Pastoral to be read, which treat.
ed, among other points, of the behavior of
the old Catholics. Now all those priests
| of his diocese who have read it have been
summoned before the courts, some have
been sent for this horrible crime to the
fortress (Festung) for four weeks, some for
three, two, and one week, some for only
one day some have been discharged.
nf " hpan
| 'geSperrf is about the same as that of those
/ who have been imprisoned or fined. In
one diocese with which am well acquaint.
ed only sixteen priests have been 'gespert',
but seventeen head priests who have died
| have, as yet, no successors, as they would
be 'gcSperrt' at once. A priest who is 'ges
pert is not allowed to cay Mass or to per-
form any kind of sacerdotal functions, and
has to leave his own country, if he does SO,
iill the sentence of the Court has been de-
cided upon.
"6. OF course it is true that private
houses of the laity are liable to the visits
of the police, aud their drawers to be
searched. 10 Prussia my house is not my
castle the State is omuipotent, and has,
therefore, power over my house.
Il. do not know how many instances
there are of gentlemen being put into
prison for speaking according to their con-
sciences, but certain it is that there are
more than the one known to you. 1t is not
possible to say or to write anything dis
pleasing to Bismarck without being called
before the Court. On the 10th of Decem
Der a member of the German Parliament,
Jew and Democrat, Herr Sonnemann, OF
Frankfort, took all by surprise by saying
in the presence of Bismarck that he (Bis
marck) had within short time ordered not
less than 7s4 persons to be summoned be-
fore the judge to be punished for having
offended him, chiefly in Catholic news
papers a few days ago he summoned q
poor needlewoman (Nathern) for some in.
cautious word, although she had begged
pardon in a letter to him. Aud you have
no idea how many things he considers
offences against his person. For instance,
a Jewish paper of Vienna, the Ncue Freie
Presse, had said that Bismarck has kept
back some letters of the Austrian Imperial
Family to Queen Augusta of Prussia in
1866, which could have avoided the war
between Prussia and Austria. This state
ment was cited by Catholic paper of
Prussia, together with the remark, cit