The San Francisco call., 1910-05-01
Church HONORS
negro MARTYRS
BeatifcatiOn Planned for Chris
ions Who Were Prosecuted
by African King

NEW YORK. April So.-The cause of
beatidcauon has been introduced at
Rome Of several negro Christians. who
were martyred for the faith in Uganda,
British East Africa. They will be the
first martyrs OF their race TO receive
This supreme. honor at the hands of the
Catholic. church. The editor of Rome
thus comments upon this remarkable.
TACT:
some time during the present year
The sacred congregation of rites will
make progress with a singularly in
teresting cause of beatihcation belong
ing. TO our own times. II is only 26
= years ago since the king OF Uganda, in
central Africa, began a fierce perse-
cuuop of the Christians.
!. The history Of past prosecutions
wrote Cardinal Laylgerie, the great
apostle Of Africa, presents nothing
more touching or more wonderful than
the events OF this persecution. one of
the leading personages of Uganda. who
had become a Christian, after having
had his hands and feet ferociously am
putaUcd. was left hanging by the hair
over burning Goals and. during his
agony of three days: never uttered d
lament; only toward the end. repeat
Ing the words of. our Savior on the
cross, 4 thirst" Twenty others, hardly
out Of their adolescence, died by being
slowly roasted on gridirons, repeating
as we have breath" Altogether 100
young men suffered death for the faith
while the persecution lasted. At that
time there were only about 1000 Chris
tans in the country, now, in less than
n generation. they number over $4,000
ncophytes and 1850 catechumens; so
that in our own days il continues to
be true that the blood OF the martyrs
In. The seed. Of the church -
-.-- The recent visit of the German chan
cclor. Won Betsmann- -Holweg. to Rome.
and his audience with the pope, have
Called forth the following significant
remarks from the Protestant and inter
mittently .anti-clericaI Temps of Paris:
To-day ii is better for a world power
is make use of Catholicism than to
combat or pcrsccUte it, The Catholic
church is the first in the world in the
order of time; il is the most universal
of alf organized forces; it extends all
over the world: and he who has il on
his+ side holds an instrument Of rule.
For "A long time this instrument was
in fife. Jla nds of France.
= - republicans like Gambetta and
Ferry were anxious TO MAINTAIN this
stare oI things. and succeeded in doing
SO; but the laws against the congrega-
tions, voted by Waldeck- Rousseau,
and applied. under the COmbes mir-
istry, the sepa ia tion of church and
p. state. the breaking of the concordat,
the suppression OF the French en-
-hassy to the holy see have modified the
situation. The rights of France in
.. oriental countries have not been sup
pressed, hut the. exercise Of them has
-Decome difficult. if not impossible"
Th6 History Of the Catholic Church
e. in Western Canada from Lake. Superior
TO the Pacific G659-1S95),' in two vol
umes lis the latest work to issue from
tBc busy pen Of Rev. A. g. Morice, o
H. T. already well known as the au-
thor OF many valuable works con-
nectcd with Canadian history in the
west. These TWO volumes contain much
original matter drawn from unpub-
lished manuscripts or first hand sources
OF Information.
This history is remarkable, among
other things. for its outspOken defense
E Of Lsuis Hielts government of the Red
Z river and gainst the many who have
brandcd him as rebel and his sympa
e. ifzcrS as tile worst enemies of Mani
.'10ba. Father Morice proves by unim-
,. Pcachable testimony that the Riel rule
was legitimate provisional govern
ment, recognized ias such by Sir George
cartier al Ottawa: that, being the only
publicly reco ogniZed government Of the
Rec river, its head had the power o.
-CondemnjHg hardened criminals Il
death: THAI Thomas Scott was an incor
lfSibJe rebel against that government
and that his outbreaks Of violenc'
threatened the stability of that govern
menz; that his. execution was, conse-