The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-03
FIVE YEARS OF PERSECUTION.
ITS RESULTS IN TWO D1ocEsEs OF PRUSSIA.
London Tablet, Jan. t2.

year with a review of the results during tn,
last five years of the Culturkampf in tn,
united dioceses of Gnesen and Poseu. 1
| is a terrible picture, setting before us viv
idly the extent and bitter intensity Of thu
persecution under which our Catholic
brethren are suffering in Prussia. The
bare catalogue of acts of religious oppres
sion which it records is appalling, and
! worth any amount of argument. We ccn
not quote it i'll full but the Information s &C
valuable that we think it i'm portsnt to place
before our readers a summary of it's cbiei
| contents.
| The writer might have gone back to 1871
when the fret change took place in the
attitude of the Prlssian Government to-
wards the Catholic Church, and the ca
croachments upon the rights of the Polish
| subjects of the monarchy commenced. Or
he might have begun with 1872, the year
when the Jesuits and "kindred Orders''
were banished. But he has wisely chosen
| to start from 1873, the year when iegisIa-
| ton was first formally directed against the
organization aud discipline of the Church,
and the rights secured to her under Con-
cordats and solemn declarations and
pledges of the Kings of Prussia, and even
by the Constitution itself. Since that
time every year has seen new addition to
the prosecuting code, each aiming in somo
fresh way to overtnTn the authority of the
Church, to force her children to withdraw
themselves from obedience to her, to de-
privo them Of the means of practizing
their rellg glnn, 10 pnt an end to the sRcces-
sion of leeitimateiy commissioned ecclesi
astics, and thas put an end to the Church
herself.
During those five years, 1873 Il, since
the May Laws and kindred enactments
came into operation, the reviewer tells US
that the following establishments have
been suppressed and closed in virtue of
this Legislation The two ecclesiastical
seminaries at Gnesen and Posen, the nstitu-
tlcn for worn-out priests at Storchnest, the
Jesuit college at Schrimn, the mon asteries
OF Reformed Franciscans at Goruski,
Poeen, and Wronke the house of the Ora
torians at Gostyn, and the houses of the
Dominicans ard Lazarists at Poseu. The
following convents of nuns have been
suppressed: That of the nnns of tho
Sacred Heart of Jesns, on the Wilda, near
Posen; of the franciscan nuns at Gnesen,
of the Carme!ite nuns at Posen,. Of the
Ursulines at Gnesen and Poeen, and sew
eral houses of the Servants of the Blessed
Virgin, while crowd OF orphanages and
aud refugees for children have been |
withdrawn from the care of the Sisters of |
Charity. It is we'll to bear in mind that |
all the members of the suppressed religions |
priests as we'll as nuns, have |
been obliged to leave the country. Two
canonries are vacant in the Cathedral |
Chapter of Gnesen Through the death of |
Mgr. Zienliewicz and Canon Wcjcechow-
ski,) and six in that of the Posen (through !
the death of Canon Brzezinski and Mgr.
Ven Kozmian, the "depositon" of the !
Bishop, Mgr. Jauiszewski, and
Of Canon Kurowski, and through the
death of two honorary canons, Herr Gebek,
parish priest of Uech, and Herr Habisz, the !
parish priest of Deutsch- Krone. There are
IS parishes in the diocese of Gnesen and
IL in that of Posen, or altogether rs
parishes vacant, either through the death
If the incumbent, or his banishment, or
lis incarable illness, or simply his arbitra-
y removal by a despotlc act of authority.
Jf these &c parishes, six are Gou ubie-that
9 to say, in the case of six of them the
1srish priests were administering a second
parish. Thus the real number of vacant
parishes is 80. In l8 of these vacancies the
tolerate tue spiritual admins
.ratloD of "vicars," that is, of clergymen
who, before 1873. were acting as assistants
20 the parish priests of the respective
parishes. The remaining GA are utterly
destitute of spiritual assistance. Three
'ural deaneries in the diocese of Gnesen
and one in that OF Posen can still chow no
gaps in the ranks of their clergy.
There have been "deposed" by sen-
:ence of the civil tribunal: the Archbish-
op, Cardinal Ledochowski (whose Danish
nent is voluntarily shared by his chaplain
and secretary, Mgr. Meezezynski) the
Auxiliary Bishop, Mgr. Janiezewski; Can
on Kurowski, and the Rural Dean and
Parish Priest Rzezniewski. The following
have been deprived of their former posit-
ons: Two directors of seminaries, six
lecturers of religion in training colleges,
six professors 10 gymnssiums and Real
schulen, one bursar of the semnasies,
three clergymen formerly employed in the
office Of the Vicar General, one prison
chaplain, besides under various pretcxts,
twenty two assistant clergynen who had
been ordained previous to 1873, twenty
three ordained in that year, and three
,lergymen belonging to religious orders.
To these must be added ffty priests or
tained since 1873, who have never been
appointed to any mission or position be-
cause, since the deposition" of Cardinal
Lecochowski, there is no authority at pre-
sent recognised by the law competent to
appoint them and, further their ordina-
ion was itseIf, nnder the May Laws, an IL
egat act. The Huryer Po=anski sets down
the number of victims TO the Cultur-
lempf in the ranks Of the secular clergy
At I2G.
In twelve csees the Government, acting