The National tribune., 1883-06-21
The Catholic Church and the G. a. r.

very men whose services they had assembled
to commemorate.
The Catholic Church and the G. a. II.
AS is well known, the Catholic clergy re-
fuse to allow the members of the Grand
Army to attend the funeral of any comrade
of that faith In uniform or wearing the
badge of the Order, and, in one case of re-
cent occurrence, deceased comrade, who
had left special request that he should
be buried by the Order, was not permitted
to be laid ont in bis uniform until the
distinctive buttons and badge had been re-
moved. A few days previous to Memorial
Day committee of Catholic comrades
waited on Archbishop Wood, of Philadel-
phia, and preferred request for the celebra-
ton of a requiem mass in the cathedral on
Decoration Day morning, as well as permis-
sion TO attend the services in uniform, but
their petition was refused absolutely on the
ground that the laws of the Church prohib-
tied its members from connecting themselves
with secret societies.
This attitude of the Catholic Church to-
wsrds the Grand Army is certainly greatly
to be deplored, and it seems to US that
more urgent and direct appeal than has yet
been made should be addressed to It's HER
archy for a modification of the restrictions
which it now imposes ON its members so far
as their relations with the Order are concerned.
We cannot suppose that the clergy are act
ually hostile to the principles and objects of
the Grand Army, and the objections which
they entertain against it on the score Of
secrecy are far from being justified by the
facts III the case. It is true that the Order
possesses distinctive grip, password, and
ritual of its own, and that its meetings are
held with closed doors, but, as a matter of
fact, there is nothing in Its secret work that
might not be diyulged without imperiling
the efficiency of the Order or defeating its
purposes, while the conditions of member
ship and the objects of the organization are
matters Of general knowledge. It's secrecy
Is, indeed, nominal rather than actual, and,
while technically it may come within the
limits of the general inhibition of secret
societies, it cannot be fairly classed with any
of the secret orders against which this in
hibition was originally directed. There is
nothing in its constitution OF workings that
is inimieal TO the Church or inconsistent
with a devout belief in it's doctrines, and if
its secrets are withheld from the confessional,
il is not because they are such as would not
receive the priestly approval.
Under the circumstances, therefore, it is
peculiarly hard that the Order should be
thus unwarrantably antagonized, and it is
a serious question whether the next National
Encampment should not make direct repre-
sensations to the Vatican in regard TO it. 1t
could, if ii chose, put the PapaI power in
the possession of convincing evidence as to
| the innocence and purity of Its motives, and
possibly an exemption might thereby be Sc
cured from the operations of the edict
against secret societies IN general. The
truth is, that in Withholding It's good Offices
from the Grand Army, the Church takes a
position which, however consistent with the
letter of its laws, is wholly at variance with
their spirit, and we do not doubt that the
clergy generally would receive with genuine
satisfaction an authorization from the Yati-
can to admit the Order to the privileges of the
sanctuary. Itwould be cause for profound
regret if q church which was SO faithful in
its ministrations to our soldiers in time Of
war should permanently construe their in
necent association together, in time of peace,
in an organization modelled after that of the
armies in which they fought, as an ofenae
justifying denial of those ministrations
now.