The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-01-10
The Expulsion Of the sistsrs Of Charity from
Mexico.
IN, Y. World

IN. Y. world.l
The news which comes to us from Mexico,
that the Mexican Congress has solemnly
voted to expel the Sisters of Charity from
the territory of the Republic, is not
pleasant piece of information in itself, nor
is it likely to enhance the reputation OF
the Mexican people on either side of the
For the daughters of st. Vim
cent" are known and EoDored of all men,
of whatever creed, who are capable OF ap-
preciating unselfish devotion, uutiring be-
nevolence, and that most intelligible of all
forms of the love of God which expresses /
itself in loving service to the poorest and
most miserable of all his creatures. Ihat |
the legislature of q considerable civilized
country should deliberately refuse to an asso- |
Grated and set apart to the works of charity
the right to exercise their sacred vocation,
NAV we'll seem to other nations such piece
of stolid bigotry as is hardly reconciiaoie
with any rational faith in the future OF
such country. It ia but simple justice,
therefore, to Mexico and the Mexicans that
80 extraordinary an act should not be mis-
represented, nor the steps by which the
Mexican Congress reached it lost sight OF.
On the 2Ist Of May last four members OF
the Mexican Congress laid before that
body a "projeet of constitutional reform"
The nineteenth and twentieth articles OF
this project were aimed at the monastic
orders in Mexico, the first named article
absolutely prohibiting the existence OF
such orders in the republic, and the last
named article defining, as monastic orders
within the scope of article 10, all religious
societies the members OF which nve unoer
certain rules Of their own in fulflment OF
temporary or permanent vows and prom
ises, and under subsection to one or more
superiors; even if the members OF the
order thus formed should have different
and seperate dwelling places" or course
under such an article it would be impos
sible for such a body as our Ameri-
can "Shakers," or as the Oneida Commu-
nifty, OF as the Mormons, to exist in Mexico,
| and if the article was to have any virtue
| or vitality, at all, those who proposed the
| "plan of reform" of which it 10 part
were fatally bound to admit that it incin-
ded in its purview the benign and saintiike
women to whom it has finally, after
sharp debate, been decided that it must
apply. In the course of this debate, one
or two of the most distinguished men In
Mexico, and particularly Senior haiae'
Martinez de la Tore, the brilliant ana &C
complished Mexican lawyer who played 30
honoroble part in the defence Of the EN-,
peror Macmillan before the court-martlal
| which condemned that unhappy prince TO
death, pleaded the cause of the Sisters OF
CHARITY with rare and touching eloquence.
The simple record of the life and work OF
the Sisters of Charity in Mexico plea9eeo .e'
order of the Sisters Of Charity has been
established now in Mexico for thirty years.
} The number of Sisters against whom the
hand of the Government has now been
lifted is 4I0, of whom no fewer than 3oS
are native daughters of Mexico. OF the
others 30 are of French, 25 of Spanish, and
one of Irish birth. No fewer than 4a
charitable establishments in different parts
of the republic are under their charge, 2e
of which have been founded and are sup
ported through their influence by private
benevoience exclusively. In these esta6-
lishments 2l,l45 poor people are as5 actually NY
receiving succor, medical care, and the
tender help which they can hope to find
nowhere else. To expel the Sisters oi
Charity from Mexico is to close these es-
tablishments, and to close these establish
ments is to throw all the sufferers now
+ relieved in them upon the casual charity
!, of a country in which neither charity mol
any other form of modern social activity
can now be truly said to be organized upon
; a scale or q manner wholly worthy OF tne
, present age. These considerations were
potent enough to array 81 votes in behalf
of the threatened Sisters, against !l3 des'
parately logical Liberals who refused to
exempt them from the sweeping prohibit.
ion enacted by the new "pleject of reform
against all "monastic orders" For when
| it is stated that the new law expels the
Sisters from Mexico it is only fair to DC e1,
, act about its operation ana TO say InaC !.
; attains this result not by directly ano
specifically ordering them or the members
of any order to leave the republic, as the
Jesuits, for example, were recently ordered
by the German Government to remove out
of the empire, but by forbiddiBg them t9
recognize the authority of their rules and
their superiors, or to wear In Puollc ., tnet,
distinctive dress. OF course, this amounte
to the same thing 80 far as the Sisters are
concerned. Bot it is not quite 30 barbarous
and pig. headed a thing 80 far as the major
ity of the Mexican Congress are concerned
Statistics Of the Church.