The Irish standard., 1891-01-03
PRIESTS I'm POLITICS.

The active part taken by the Irish
priests in the Kilkenny election is se-
vcrely Condemned by the followers Of
Mr. Pn1nei. Vincent Scully, the de
ieuted candidate, has threatened TO con
test the validity Of the els clion on tho
ground THAI the priests used undue
means to influence the voters. Michael
Dav,t, Hail, coulxndicls the charge and
says tue priests SIMPLY performed their
duty. The priests III Ireland Tor many
Years back have been quite IA force in
IRISH puille,. They huvo o,gunlz ii
land leagues and fought side 10y side
with the people against British IT, ustice.
they have suffered Imprisonment like
comluOu mAIeluolurs ut the hands Of
Baifuur's mulons. Without thelr CO.
Operations the Purucll movement wonld
have loug slnce collapsed. Why then
should non The prlesls tnke an active in
,esest III tho kukenuy eli. clion against
lhe cuuuldAtu Of the nun who hna
Ntuught the Irish calso to the brink of
1uln? Had they remained Inactive
would not the world say that they cou-
duneu Tho ulouse against Christian NOR
ullty ut Winch Parnell was found guilty
III IN H. g1leil d.vulco Gour,? The Irish
bishops huu spoken to the people
ti,.. Il ~
Of the litter to obey the Instructions ct
helr eupenorh LII every period Of Irish
history lhe priests were oonsp'cuuus by
Their PATRIOTISM. LII 9S and 48 the
prlests suffered in tho catlso Of their
country us me, have done dnrlAg the
Huruell equation.
Az tho munster meeting recently hold
III Chicago, Hon. John Il Fiuerty, an
out-nnu- out rev3lulionist, rnld the FOL-
loving tribute TO the irish priests:
Il Say iearleesiy aud above board that
the rank aud Gie Of the 1rlsh priesthood
are us patriotic as you or [. They have
shown 1t too. Some of them led the
charges Of our ri 20 men not yet one
hundred years ago, and displayed quail
ties Of geIerulsh,p which extorted ap-
pluuse trou. even the generals Of the
English forces. But while we acknowl-
edge all THAI, while we respect them and
ree poet all ecclesiAslics in their proper
sphere, the American people ought to
know, aid The American people shall
know, that in political matters the Irish
man 10 the most selflespectiug man on
.he top Of Gods earth and when they
say We are priest ridden. point to their
churches Our priests in this country
never 90 INTO tho pulpit to preach po-
hllcul sermon aud l. cannot say AZ much
for tue ministers of other denominations,
although at certain period, 1t IN gut be
true that here aud there by personal ln-
hueLce al Irish vote might be changed,
Snll, tins Is true that tho American peo-
pie, Protestant as they are-and / say it
with all due respect-nre more nt1u-
enced by their priests in politics than
we are by ours. 1t is we'll that We
should talk plainly on these subjects.
Men must not coufound the profound
religious reverence which the Irish
Catholic people have for their priests
with political servllity. Nothing can be
further removed. 1t is only natural
that the Irish people should love and
trust the pilest. From the cradle to the
grave.hc is wAh'rbens.: lie is thb1hem
a, tbvlap,s~,::.' .Asis::%:th3i 3';aii !hen
!be. bishop c.p!army them. :He: is w,s!.
THEN OF :,hp .siarris gs day.: Hs3s with
tbth' al tit; dying ned. He IS Wiilliihemi
even though they are smilten with the
most deadly pestilence. For this We
honor hlm For this we love him. For
this we respect him. But in political
matters we are neither Romans nor
Engllehmen--we are Irlshmen.