The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-07-15

lie church. In letter to the Duke OF
Norfolk, another English tory OF the
Catholic faith, the Cardinal said that the
flags of the United States and Great
Britain guaranteed freedom to all, and
therefore, unfettered liberty to the
action of the Catholic church. He.
is not strictly correct in his statement.
If he looks to ireland, where the British
flag has hoated as an emblem of oppres-.
sion for seven long centuries, he. will
find that the Catholic church has not
had anything like 'unfettered liberty"
Though IS per cent Of the Irish peo-
pie are Catholics to the core, the Tory
party to which his eminence belongs re-
fuses them Catholic university for the
education of their children; and we have
no recollection that Cardinal Vaughan
has ever lifted his voice for religious
liberty in the island. Neither has he
raised his voice for civil liberty. In the
days OF the repeal agitation, Daniel
O'Connell encountered the greatest OPP
position from the aristocratic Catholics
of England, and he upbraided them with
ingratitude, for to him they were in
debted for their seats in the British
parliament and for other privileges of
which they were deprived since the
Reformation period.
The Cardinal is mistaken in saying
that the United States flag guarantees
"unfettered liberty" to the action of the
Catholic church in the recent Span
ish possessions, and especially
in the Philippines. Had he
been better informed he would
have modified his statement consider
ably. There is abundant evidence to
show that under the military rule of
General Otis the Catholics of the Philip
pines have had their religious feelings
outraged beyond measure The soldiers
of the United States have displayed the
utmost contempt for the religion OF the
Filipinos They themselves admit this
in the uncensored letters received from
them in this country. Writing to the
Marshall (Minn.) Leader, Private Chas.
E. Bates, non-Catholic, says:
"There is perhaps in this world no
sadder sight than desecrated church,
and here the sight is before our eyes.
The affairs are overturned, the images of
the saints shattered and scattered, and
every particle OF value stripped from the
sacred edifce. AS we came in a sailor
was beheading John the Baptist with
handsaw, while another tried to sepa-
rate the head of cherub from group
of the holy family. Besides these shat
tered figures of the saints there was
nothing in the church. Even the con-
fessionals had been stripped OF their
carvings. The very paving had been
torn from the floor beneath and searched
for hidden treasures"
Another soldier, who is a Catholic,
gives the following description, in
letter published in the Philadelphia
North American, of what he witnessed:
Zone church presented scene such
as I have never before heard of. The
volunteers found the church just as the
priest left, and So when these devils got
in they completely demolished every
thing. They broke to pieces the statue
of the Blessed Virgin, besides the stat
ues of saints. After this was done they
broke UP the tabernacle, where they
seized the chalice and the Blessed Sacra-
ment, which they threw upon the floor.
Not satisfied with that, they trampled
upon them. Then they put on the
priests vestments and marched into
camp in knocking manner. They went
into the vaults of the church, and, after
breaking them open, threw the bodies in
all directions in their search for jewelry
and other valuables."
Such deeds as these were never done
by the "unspeakable Turks" in Armenia.
Surely, his eminence will not approve of
flag of the United States. 1t is almost
as horrible as the barbarity exhibited by
Kitchener and his butchers at the tomb
of the Mahdi. Is that kind OF rufian-
ism conducive to the spread of "true
Christian civilization" The cardinal
may be pardoned for looking at things
through English spectacles, but he GER
tainly will not endorse such proceed
ings. He has splendid field in Eng
land for missionary work among his
own benighted and degraded country
men. Let him try his Anglo-Saxon
civilization at home instead of inf1icting
it upon the poor people Of Asia and
Africa, and let him attend more to the
affairs of religion and less to the affairs
of state
Goodwin Smith. professor of history