Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-21
REGRETS SPREAD
OF ENGLISH IDEAS
BISHOP OF LIMERICK SAYS IRE"
LAND is LOSING MUCH
BRITISH LITERATURE, HABITS
AND CUSTOMS CREEPING IN
other Prelates, in Lenten Pastorals,
Oenounce Secret Societies
and Dissertation of
the Sabbath

DUBLIN, March 20.--For students of
irish affairs there is much interesting
and instructive reading in the Lenten
pastorals of the Roman Catholic bish-
OPS. These weghty deiverance5 on
moral and religious topics provide some
Illuminating glimpses OF social ana
economic conditions. Hardly any OF
the writer's touch, even indirectly, on
political affairs in general, or on the
many remarkable incidents of the re-
cent electoral contest between the rival
Nationalist parties. The bishop of
Limerick is an exception; lie protests
against the relations. continually
growing closer, between Irish Cathollc
members Of parliament and EnSnsl
politicians, many of whom are aVoNed
atheists and Socialists
Bishop O'DWyer is not content with
coudemning political alliances. His
letter seems to imply that the whole
influence of England on Ireland is
pernicious cur close, too close union
with England" he says, lis a great and
growing danger. England's literature,
whether periodical or newspaper, or in
more permanent form, is steadily drift
ing away from revealed religion. Al
It's best it is Protestant, and bitterly
apti-Catholic: at its worst, it is ag-
nostic and impartial in its hostility to
all religion.
Mental Attitude Changing
"The extent to which that literature,
irrcigious at bottom, and largely sens
ual and corrupt, is telling on the NINA
of the country is hardly reallzed; IN
many ways ties are being formed be
tween England and this country that
are silently but effectually Influencing
orr mental attitude toward the most
vital questions. Practically all the so
cieties of the working classes are now
merely branches of English trade or
ganizations. and are subject in the
most absolute manner TO the DONNA
ton of officials in English cities.
"rhen one has only to open the dallN
newspapers. even those that are loud
est i'm the profession of nationality
and to consider the amount of space
which they devote TO reporting Enslsn
snorts horse races and such things, 10
feel how quickly we are drifting INTO
tbe nosition of an English province. IL
is the same evil that is gaining on an
sides. , 17.or1isb
"The tide of English opinion, Engllsh
feeling. English habits is flowing INTO
a,,ort, nook and crevice of Irish life,
and the pcople who think that thal
nrocess can go on from top to pot
to,n of the country without hurt 10
lis own traditional thoughts and sem
tinents must be living in fooIs par
adise. and will yet be Wotully dlsll-
lusioned.'
Denounces Secret Societies
Dr O'Dea. bishop of Galway, strong
lv denounces secret societies, OF WhoSe
doings so much was heard during the
election. To Join or remain in sucn
"A hody is, he says, mortal SIN ol d
most dangerous and mischleVous type
and he counsels young men not 10 pe
drawn into these organizations on any
pretext -
"The fruits of secret societies in Ire
land have oftentimes been MURDER
outrages. cowardly shooting at others
from behind hedges. tyranny 1of prl-
vate and selfish ends, spying ana pc
travail of comrades, the coWarulce anu
hvnocrisy of leaders keeping thehl III
the background and forcing innocent
and brave young men INTO ll,,d uanseI
and the utter destruction of personal
freedom of security and property ana
of religious authority
Several bishops deal with the evils
of drunkenness, the spread OF op-
iectionable literature, and the grow
ing PROCLAMATION Of Sunday ON tne
last subject Cardinal Logue remarks
that many now devote Sundays nam
" To proccssions, political meetings
ana
mo one can reasonably object to
Young people of the same nelghpor-
hood after they have complied win
the duties of the day. coming together
for a game of football or other ath-
Iotic sport. What is Objectionable and
a real PROCLAMATION of the Sunday are
those fixtures. as they are called, with
their accompaniment of long Journeys
beer barrels and bettering men. They
lead to drunkenness, quarreling ano
that passion for gambling when Is
now working such havoc among all
classes of the people
The bishop of Meath appeals to lrlsh-
men to free their country from the
vice of drunkenness. He points out
that there are 23.256 vendors Of tntoX-
fcating liquor for four and a half mil
lions of people, and that every year
S65 600 600 is spent on drink,
The bishop of Ossory notes an IN
creasing tendency to marry relatives!
sometimes as near as first cousins and
announces his intention of discourag-
ing this growing abuse, which has
been fraught with very serious and
undesirable consequences