The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-07-03
Shameless Laws in Catholic Mexico,

In Mexico constitutions, like we hear
it said of wills, have been made to be
broken and disregarded. What is the
congress in this republic? When was
there an election held in Mexico that de-
serves the name? How and by whom is
congress constituted? We may answer
to this last question that congress was
at times made up by people of influence,
called notables, chosen from every state
sometimes by the governors and at other
times by the president. Often the clubs
in the different cities had much infiu-
ence in the selection of the members,
and noisy speakers and writers and I'M
scrupulous politicians always had the
best chance of seat in that body of
men of influence and power, but con-
gress never was a representative body.
Whenever a semblance of an election
has been held, the notice thereof was
given only by governors and his subal-
terms to those that favored their cause
and of the few votes that were counted,
probably not more than one-half of
them had bee lawfully cast. At least
it may be sal. f Diaz that he is not
hypocrite; he does not pretend to gov
ern according to the constitution. for
there is none and the members of his
congress, named by himself or named
by the governors with his consent, are
only his advisory council. These draw a
monthly salary of $3.50 and they are
paid to do the will of the president
The motto of the president is Let us
have peace and peace he will have at
all cost. This may explain, perhaps,
why Diaz does not care to revive the
constitution of 1857, which is anti-Cath-
Ole, unjust and narrow-minded, and
only suits the most extreme liberals and
infidels, as well as all the enemies of
the church, to which the nearly totally
of the people of the republic belong.
The Catholics of Mexico ask for no
privileges, but they have the right to de-
mand that hatred of their religion shall
not form the basis of the many inquf-
tous laws enacted by the liberals during
the presidency of Comonfort and espe-
cially when that impious Juarez held the
reins of government. Later on we hope
to dwell at length on the unjust laws
that burden the free exercise of the
Catholic religion.
The Juarez laws were shamelessly in
iquitous. When he seized the govern
ment in July 1859, he declared all &c
clesiastical property to be that ~ the
nation. In 1861 he began the spoliation
of the churches, even enriching him
self, his friends and his family with the
thefts of chalices, ciboriums, ostensor-
iunls and other valuables in the treas
ury of cathedrals as well as of poorer
churches. His only honorable virtue
which historians, not biased by hatred
of religion, will forever sing to his praise
is his tenacity in keeping at the head
of the government if not de facto at
least de jure during the time of the
French Intervention and the ephemeral
empire of Macmillan. He will forever
be known by posterity as the prosecu-
tor of religious orders and the spolia-
tor of church property. No wonder
that when he died suddenly in various
parts of the city the following sarcastic
telegram was posted with the supposed
signature of Salazar, a celebrated ban
dit, who had been justly executed for
barbarous crimes: Hell, 1905. Benito
Juarez has just arrived. A tail is now
being adjusted to him. Signed, Sala-
Ear" Juarez died at noon of July IS.
1870, and the dispatch was dated five
minutes later. We hope to be able to
publish later on the true history of the
man, who is upheld by some newspapers
in the United States, and in yearly
speeches as the liberator of his country
and the model of just and liberal law
giver.