The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-02-24

are perlgrinating this country, telling
what they don't know about the Con-
CO. says the Catholic Union and Times.
AS matter of course. at the door of
Catholic missionaries. is laid all kinds
Of intrigue; in fact. they are accused
Of downright robbing.
The following article, from special
correspondent of the Liverpool Times,
Is substantial refutation of all the mis-
sionaries have been accused, and should
put to shame the constituencies
mountebunks who make their living by
lying:
The Commission appointed to invcs-
tigate the charges made against the
administration of the government of
the Congo Free State has caused deep
and widespread pain In Belgium in
consequence Of the unjustiflable stric-
lures which it passed on the Catholic
missionaries engaged in the evangeli-
zatiOn and civilization OF that country.
The members of the company OF Jesus
laboring in the Congo have published
in the Revue dcs Missions IL most cir
cumstantinl report. In which they cx-
anime and rcfutc each Of the charges
made by the Commissioners. They
show most conclusively not only that
these charges are absolutely ground
| less, but. what is deplorablc, that the
most elementary precautions to ensure
precision have been neglected. Instead
Of examining the working of tho Cath
olic missions for themselves. or at least
hearing the evidence of the Catholic
missionaries. who have passed years in
the country and are perfectly ac-
quainted with the customs and lam
guage OF the natives. the Commissions
ers persistcntly avoided the priests and
| religious who were most anxious to
give every facility for examining the
facts Of the case. They seem to nave
relied almost exclusively on the ac-
counts furnished by Protestant mis-
sionarics. or on the evidence of some
disaffectcd natives and children. Hence
we find in the report Of the Commis-
sioners complete ignorance Of the leg
islation existing in the Free State and
Of the nature Of the institutions which
they blame. 1t would be useful and In
structive for the English public to read
the entire reply of the Jesuit Fathers,
but the document is very long. must
| conflne myself to giving one instance
of the methods of the Commissioners
IN describing one OF the most useful
social institutions founded by the mis-
sionareis in the Free State. as we'll as
the reply of the Fathers to their
charges.
The report of the Commissioners
gives the following description of the
rural chapels: Not satisfied with re-
tanning in their mission Il considerable
number of young children. who do not
fulfill the conditions required by the
Decree Tin a preceding paragraph the
Revue des Missions has explained that
! this accusation was false, being due to
an error on the part of the Commits
sioncrs. who had confoundcd the con-
ditions necessary for admission into
the State-endowed schools, and those
required for admission into the unen-
dowed free schools held by the mis-
sionaries), the Fathers constitute other
groups of Is or 20 children in villages
surrounded by farms and titled land,
and these establishments. called rural
chapels (Fermes Chapelles), are to be
met with in great number. Now these
rural chapels are in reality missionary
outposts. The Inhabitants of these es-
Establishments are kept by the Fathers
in strict custody; they possess prac-
tically nothing for themselves: their
crops and stock are generally destined
to be delivered up to the mission. They
rarely obtain permission to marry. or
to return to their native villages. The
greater number Of the Inhabitants re-
siding In those rural chapels are
neither orphans nor laborers engaged