Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-06-15

tions.
Chicago, June 14-At a meeting of
the Methodist ministers this morning
the Rev. John Lee, chairman of the
committee on religious llbertt for
Protestants in South Africa, submit
ted report Bishop Vincent, he said,
had been asked if the precise infor-
nation given by the apostolic dele
gate for the republics of Peru, Bolivia,
and Ecuador, to the papal secretary of
! state was correct. The bishop replied
by inclosing statement of the Rev.
DR.. Thomas B. Wood, of Callao, who
was said Ito know all about" the situ-
alton in that republic. Dr.. Wood took
the letter of Cardinal Rampollo to
Archbishop Gibbons, based on infor-
nation furnished Lin by the papal del
egate and answered it thus:
Protestants far from being re-
StllVlCu III tlc liCt SAtl ~lSS VI LuSlL
worship The constitution forbidc us
publicity for our orship. '-he clerical
organs applaud unlawful ortrages com
mitted on us and preachers enthuse
their audiences with the cry Death
to Protestants.' These facts should
have modified the statemen: of the
papal delegate to Rampollo, SO that the
latter would not have reported that we
are far from being restricted in the
free exercise of our worship
'Protestants are rather accorded a
larger degree of liberation than Is com
patible with a strict construction of the
political constitution of these coun-
tries The present constitution dates
from 1860 and found Protestant wor-
ship tolerated in the land, took for
granted its existence and restricted its
publicity without defining the limits Of
the restriction. The constitution says
No one can be compelled to do what
is not required by law nor hindered
from doing what is not prohibited by
law 1t is false to say that we use
more liberty than strict construction
allows.
at is doubly false to set forth as
the two foregoing quotations do, that
we are acting in defiance of law under
tolerant leniency from the Roman Cath
olic Church. The truth is, we are care
fully and conscientiousIy acting within
the limits Of the law as interpreted by
lawful authority and all our difficulty
grows out of the unlawful tolerance or
the Roman Catholic clergy. The papal
| delegate in Lima must have known this
and ought to have so reported to his
superior in Rome. Rampolla does not
report Macchi's words, so we cannot
tell which of them is to blame for the
attempt to throw the blame of our dis
tresses on the politicians of Peru and
give credit to the clergy for the tolera-
ton we enjoy.
"'The constitution of Peru recognizes
no other form of marriage as valid than
that prescribed by the Council of
Trent False. The constitution says
nothing about marriage and makes no
reference whatever to the council of
Trent. Here the blame rests on Macchi,
as Rampolla states that the delegate
informs him to that effect. The dele
gate must have known better.
Since the coming of the delegate
to Peru we have been falling under a
series of new restrictions, beginning
in December 1898, with a local decision
excluding our marriage from civil reg
listers: and ending in November, 1895,
with a supreme executive decree, out
lawing them sweepingly and declaring
/ that their previous legal recognition
had been contrary to the constitution
without stating in what respect. The
decision of 1893 specifically named the
Methodist Episcopal Church as having
its marriage excluded from civil regis
try with no need of such specific men
tion as the decision was made to cover
all marriages not solemnized by Ro-
man Catholic priest.
"After | had started our work in
Lima the archbishop wrote officially to
the executive asking that my operations
he stopped. His ground was not a
charge that was violating any law, but
the sweeping pretensions that my prop
aqanda was from the nature of it hos
file 70 the State religion and therefore
hostile to the State. The executive
nassed the case down to the prefect OF
Lima he TO the sub-prefect. he to the
nolice who watched us without our
knowledge. observed how people went
in and out of our chapel, noted what
we did. entered and observed within as
we'll as without until the sub-prefect
was satisfied and drew up a report to
The effect that we were not violating
anv law or regulation within the COM
mass of the police. The prefect in
dorssd it as his report to the supreme
evecutiye The record remains in the
ministry of worship and justice"
Mr. Lee said that the crusade inaug-
"a ~, the Methodist ministers more