The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-10-08
RoE RUSSIA G0TERNs POLAND.


Ruasia of late affects to be the refuge
aud defender of the oppressed, and we are
given to understand that from sentiments
of the purest humanity she may fiOd herself
obliged to take up arms in defence of the
oppressed people of the revolted provinces
of Turkey. 1t would be supposed from
this that Russia can have no remorse on this
ecore. The following details taken from
the Gern.antr of the III July serve to show
how Russia respects at home the rights of
those under her sway, to whom religious
and social liberty has been secured by no
less than three international treaties also
how she has fulfilled that article of the
treaty which obliged her to respect the re-
| ligi0us liberty of her Polish provinces, and
to leave the Catholics of both rites abso
| lutely in the free exercise of their religious
| worship aud discipline, and never to use her
sovereignty to the detriment CT the Roman
Catholic religion.
| Russia has never kept her word. She
| began at once to annihilate the Catholics
of the Greek Rite. Even before the parti-
ton of Poland, Russia instigeted the mas
sacre of human beings, in which 200, 900
Catholics of the Greek and Latin Rites
! persisted. Further back stl}, Catherine,
with unheard of cruelty, forced 8 000 600 of
Greek Catholics to embrace schism, to
| whom belonged BIG (sie) parish churches
and JAS BasilIan mon asteries. Nicholas, in
his turn, treated with eqnal harharity the
United Greeks of Litbuania and Ruthenia,
while Alexander has completed the dec
trnction OF the Unlted Greek Church in
Poland with imprsonments, fines, aud
exile, which, during tie iaet two years es-
peeiatIy, cry to heaven for vrDgeaUca.
That Russla aims ct ,ia destruction OF Tie
| Catholic Church in Poland is evident How
| does Russia respect the rights of the Holy
Father, of bishops, o. PRIESTS Sue traH.-
| pies them unCer foot, and with one strok
| OF rtue pon has suppressed Catholic do
7
| given them into the hands of excnmmuni-
Gated persons, forb!dding any coLamuu MICA
| ton with tte Catholic EpiscOpate OF Russia,
estab ilshIDE so.celled Catholic college,
composed OF sCbisDIRtics, and creatures of
the Government to govern them. The 2u
t6ority of this college is placed in The hands
OF the PTocErator, who by law must be
schismatlcf The bishops of there dioceees
are In The meantime exiIed to Siberia. The
mum Der OF priests, not including those Of
Chelma, who have been exiled since 1853
up to the present time is 400, many of
WHOM died of hardships on the road, while
others peTished from the rigorous climate
and the priVatjoEs they had to endure
The Catholic lay man may, perchance, OBJ
tain the favor of being exi&ed from Russia,
but to priest TINS grace 10 never accorded
All children born of mixed marriages,
contrary to- tho Wills of the parents are
forced to attend schsmatic schools. Con
version to Catholicism is punished AS o
heinUuS crime. All the semiuaries ore
under the immediate control of tue Govern
ment, aud not of the bishops from when ce
it follows tht the masters are so many spIes
on the faithful. The Polish language has
been abolished and the Russian Introduced
in it's place. No Catholic priest can go be-
yond the limits of his own parish without
passport nor can he preach a sermon
without having previously submitted the
manuscript for inspection to Government
official. All benehces are confscated by
the Government. This is the protection
Russia extends to her Catholic subjects in
Poland But it is not only in matters of
religion that these unhappy people have so
M UGH to suffer. Their national and political
rights are trampled uudcr foot. The kingdom
of Poland has not even 80 much as its name
left; it is only Russian province. All Poles
have been turned out of the pubic offices,
and replaced by Russians pur sang. The
use of the Russian language Is obligatory in
all schools, high and low, secular or Teli-
gious. In Lithuania, POdOlia, and Vaipia
even shop signs are forbidden to be written
in Polish also to keep accounts or direct
letters in that language In unlawful, end
liable to severe fines. Every effort is made
to suppress the native tongue iu this un-