The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-04-07
RELIGION And PATRIOTISM,
"CURsED THE DAY THAT IRISH PRIESTS AND
PEOPLE TAKE DIFFERENT ROADS,"

| O.P., delivered o lecture to an immense congre-
cation, in St. Dominica Church, San Francisco.
II will prove of great interest to onr city readers
from tho faot'that the lecturer is Dominican
priest who won the hearts OF our people when
here giving mission few years ago. We
| therefore quote literally from our contempo-
| rsry the San Francisco Monitor, which pub
| fishes the lecture in full.
There is no people on earth that so thorough
| ly understand the dignity, the sublime char
| acter of the priesthood, as the Irish. They
know precisely what priest is, that he is the
| "mouthpiece of God" that he is the "coad jutor
! of Jesus Christ" that he 10 the "angel OF the
| Lord Of Hosts." They know that, no matter
what fault he may have as q man, the bril-
lisncy of his priestly character remains forever
undimmed. There 10 q reason for this special
respect which the Irish pay to their priests.
have deserved all the affection and love of the
Irish people, and cursed will be the day when
the Irish priests and people will take different
and true to noble Ireland. They never forgot
to inculcate sound faith, and they were true
patriots. The Irish priests never taught the
people Of Ireland that it was wrong to
LOVE IRELAND NEXT TO THEIR RELIGION,
NOR that it was wrong to shake off the CALLING
yoke Of England that was placed on her noble
| neck by treaohery, cbicsnery and duplioity; NO
nor did the Irish priests forbid their people
to chop, off the leg of the tyrant when his ao-
OuEocU u6ci Whe on our nOGn6E D nODl0 DF66eG-
They only ssid-beloved people, you know We
are your friends, nay, more, your fathers in
God do not resist the tyrant now if you at
tempt it you will be all bntohered. Abide your
time hope of success will yet beam upon your
just cause, and when that time comes, we,
your priests. will lead you to victory. and not
| to death. The Irish people have, indeed, rea-
| son to revere their priests, for those prieste
guarded them from and admonished them of
| danger. When had the Irish people reason to
| regret following their advicef Never But,
| them, The priests Of Ireland, as o body, were
always a most learned class ofmen-they were
well verssd in the topics of the dsy-they were
generally posted on all the obapoes of success
the people had, and the terrible evils that
would falloW-in- case Of failaEe ia their under
| taking. They weighed these two sides well
before God, aud they gave their children the
benefit OF their knowledge. There is nothing
more sickening than to hear illiterate people,
and young ~ould be smart fcps, who actually
| could not give you the outlines of Irish his
| tory, nor the cstechsm Of Ireland's wrongs,
blaming the priests of Ireland for her long sub
jection TO English msrule. Let me tell you,
and tell you with the blazing torch of his
| tory before me, that the
IRISH PRIESTS ARE THE sAvIoRs OF THEIR
PEOPLE,
for, long since would they have been butcher
ed aud exterminAted were it not for the priests.
| The Irish priests knew we'll that there wss not
| q secret society in Ireland at any time since
theic establishment there that did not contain
| English spies who knew every man in the
ganizAtion, and who kept the English Govern
| ment posted on each mans doings. The gov
| ernment allowed these societies to go on with
| their meetings, to mat1re their plans, to some
| timee break out in rebellion, for the sake Of
| accomplishing the devilish work of gibbettipg,
quarteripg, etc. Who know better than the
| prieats the danger these poor men were expos
| ing themselves to without q shadow of hope of
success, and therefore they endeavored to dis
suade the people from attaching themselves to
suoh societies, knowing we'll that their names,
aS soon as they were recorded on the lodge
book, would be forwarded to the Castle. It ia
only the ignorant or malicious that will blame
the priests of Ireland. The would-be smart
ones and the sneering intidel IrishmAn, with
| whom have already warned you to be on
your guard, will pompously exclaim-and while
they are so doing, you would be tempted q
imagine that Solomon must have loaned those
speakers his snnh box since he conld not have
loaned them any more wisdom-"Bnt the Irish
priests are not patriotic; they never go with
the people they are always preaching obedi-
enoe to the most cursed of governments"
THE PRIESTS ARE MEN OF SENSE;
they are not mAdmeni they etudy and see con-
ClusioAs, and wisely tell the people to wait yet
longer, and to keep aloof from unnecessary
'aud wauton danger. Does q man lose his pat.
riotism, his love OF country, his devotion to his
nation, by becoming pIiestf Heaven forbid
such n thought in sny mans mind! Ny own
solemn opinion 10, that q man always becomes
pstriOto in proportion to his religious ooRvio.
tions. lrishmen, II there be ono man that l
warn you against above all others as the enemy
of your race and your creed, and a. the traitor
to your cause in the hour of trial, that man il
he who mocks your priests, who bids you to
pay no attention to them, who lures you to
. forbidden societies, and who ia himself mem,
ber of condemned and secret organizations
Have no fellowship with those of that ilk. Ire.
fAnd's cause is just She has suffered for reii.
, gion and nRtionaiity-WronRs unparalleled in
: history. She need have no fear of being con.
demned by God or the Church 90 long As she
, acts wisely, prudently, aud not under the gni'
dance Of madoaps, who have, unfortunately
! but too often exposed us to ridicule and con-
tempt, and have given England fresh oppor.
tunites to perseoute us Btill moro. Yes, Irish
men, always trust, as you ever have, as a
nation, yonr priests and when the propitlous
moment will come TO settle accounts with old
brutal England, the murderer of your priests
aud of your forefsthers, the meroiless despoileT
of your BanctuAries, the pilfsrer of your poSses
sions, and the cruel hater of our grand old
Roman Catholic faith, 8priests will bless
4 the nRord that You VIII nna that &c may nnt The