The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-05-13
THE PERSECUTION IN TRETES.
tI.ondon Tablet, April Ii.I

The liet of priests and others in the dio
cess of Treves, who have recently suffered
persecution, published by US this week,
naturally calls for some remark. The
the severity of their punishment is 80 great
| in proportion TO the pettinees of the Of
| fences, that we cannot bat see ia the pro-
ceedings a resolute determination on the
part of the Government TO cripple in
| every way the action Of the Catholic
Church. But that which hlls us with as
| tonishment Ia not merely that clergymen
and others are fined, imp isonsd, banshed,
their goods seized, their turniture sold by
public auction, the salary owing to them
| eequestered, and their hearts broken and
lives cut shoIt by worry and imprison
ment, but that the courts OF Europe, Ca
thoiic as well as Protestant, look on with
perfect Indifference, and offer not by means
of their Ambassadors, ono word of remons-
trance. If the case were reversed, nay, if
Catholics in any country in Europe per
secuted Protestants with one, tenth of
the bitter Injustice now exercised in Ger
many, there would arise one universal cry
of indignation from Cabinets, the Press,
public meetings, and every other organ by
which public opinion is expressed. Not only
| were the Falk Laws in themselves Odious
and iDtOerable, tut the execution of them
is carried out with systematic cruelty. 1t
is enough that "a priest should ffend the
magistrates or the Old Catholics" that
he should express his mind in a sermcn on
the legislation of the day, that he should
allow another priest or curate TO say Mass
if he happens to be out of favor with the
authorities. or that layman should cry
hurrah !" when his pastor is liberated
from prisOn, or should write an article in
a newspaper which the officials of Prince
Bismark consider adverse to bis policy-it
is enough that these trivial transgressions
ha nnT mi faN ~ q n
ing torn from his home, his family, his
profession, and immuFed in his damp and
windy hole, where his soul bits the dust,
and his body pines and withers away with
disease. Should this state of things
continue some years more, it is evident
that the Catholic religion will be nigh ex
tirpated from the Empire of Germany. Ooe
BISHOPS see after another will become va
cant, and one parish after another Will be
deprived Of its pastor youpg men will not
devote themselves to the priesthood uuder
the tSTHuDica! conditions imposed by the
present Government; secnlarlsm will per
vert macy Catholics aud seduce them from
their allegiance to Tie Church by spco'ous
promise Of prom otion and rewards of ON
pluN luent in tho civil and military admILlS-
lrai!ou; colleges, sChouls, and uulveT stiles
viii be moro and moro lnf, 81 ed b. inhdel
professors and the vast snccessurs of
German arms AID Imperial sway will, like
IUS ttlunpib uuu SpIShoul W NSuSS'i A>'lHb
beth'a reign, cooperate powerfully in &C
compiishipg the work OF apostRsy. spur
ious form of Catholicism is at hand to
second the policy of the Government and
to preach the popular doctrine OF submis.
siou, even in ecclesiastical matters, to the
will of the State. The ehelr-apparent to tie
throne is said to be animated by the free
thinking principles which marked the
character Of Frederic the Great, aud this
may, or may not, dispose him to N Cdify
the policy of persecution which his father
has sanctioned. But though invested With
the Imperial purple, he will probably have
no more real power in the State than
constitutional king, for the Government of
Germany, though more monarchical than
that of England, is nevertheless parlia-
mentarian, and the majority of the electors
must prevail in every vital question.
Tie example held out by Germany is, with
out any doubt, encouraging to the Cabinet of
Victor Emmanuel, in it's war against reli-
gioD, and Germany and Italy mutually sup-
port one another In fierce opposition to the
Holy See. If we were in Berlin instead of in
London We should not dare to write as we
are now writing, for within Q few hours
after the publication of our article we
should certainly be arrested. Brave hearts
there are among the Catholics of Prussia,
but bravery itself is often cowed by the
hopelessness of resistance 20 n we'll organ
ICED and gigantic power. The ruthless
coua usrers of humiliated France will brook
no opposition to their iniquitous laws.
Whatever sympathy they and the rest OF
Europe have shown of late with the cause
of oppressed Christians has been displayed
not towards the Catholics who constitute
fourteen millions of the subjects of TIE
Emperor, but towards the schismatical
g Greeks under the rule of Turkey. But
though these are subjected, no doubt, to
occasional outbreaks, and violence of a
severe character, we may safely Gft1 rm that
they enjoy much more freedom than the
Catholics of Germany in the exercise of
their religion.
The assault made on the Catholic religion
in the Teuton provinces is the more deadly
in consequence of the highly intellectual
cheracter of the German people. 1t springs
from a deeper design and u more set pur.
pose. It is aided from without by a Liberal
Press aud by numberless publications issu-
ing from learned, thoughtful, and, unfortu-
ateiy, free. thinking minds. Nowhere has
nidelity cast deeper roots than in German
soil, ana this makes the compulsory atteu-
dance of Catholic students for the priest
hood at the public Universities the more
dangerous to their faith and morals.