The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-03

recognize the authority of another Vicar-Genera1, whose appointment was not made by General Carranza- Antonio J. Paredes is today knocking around Mexico City with. a Revolu- tionary uniform on. It was he who, taken as a nominal prisoner to Vera Cruz with a number of other priests from Mexico City, worked on the poor prisoners to have them~sign a docu- ment favorable to Carranza- This is the sort of an "authority" Anto- nio J. Paredes Is. It is a, matter of interest in this connection to know that MT. Bryan. when he learned about Canon. Paredes did not give his statement to the public press, as he had intended. This fact, of course, must have been known to MT. Tumul- ty-
 <e Surely MT Humility is not innocent enough to really believe that the promises made by Carranza were i'm tended to be kept If they were, how explain the persecution which has broken out since in Morelia and in Yucatan2 How explain that. con Tary to the Constitution, c1ergymen may no longer even hold private prop erty in Mexico mot Catholic clergy 4nen alone, but all clergymen- The very homes that sheltered the poor priests of even the country districts are now to be taken from them by de- cree. C4ergymen are declared inca pablo of holding property. in Morelia, and this not because c1ergymen are rich, but because it is the settled in tention of the Revo1uti onists to drive God out of Mexico.
 This is not a Catholic question, and the interests of the Catholic Church are not alone at stake. It is a ques- ton that concerns the fundam enta1 rN-l- dent Wilson is bound to uphold, as the head of the greatest democracy in the world. If religious liberty falls for Catholics, it falls for Protes- tants- If God is not going to be ad- nitted into Mexico. what about the missions established by Protestant Churches with the expenditure of enormous amounts of money? Car ranza may answer. we are not going to interfere with the Protestant mis- sions'';; but no thoughtful Protestant could accept missions under such cir cumstances, because he would then be accepting the special privileges against which he has constantly rallied, and carry on his work in disobedience of the. law.
 I have constantly pointed out, even to President Wilson himself, the fact that the Church in Mexico is not ask ing for privileges of any kind what ever! The demand is merely for re- 11g1ous liberty as it exists in the United States.
 It is interesting to read, over the signature of the Secretary to the President, that the stLat1n-Amerfcan countries joining in the conferences, and in the recognition are all of them Cath olic countries Perhaps Mr Tumulty will en1ighten us as to wheth- CT or not any representations were made by these countries. and others, as to religious liberty in Mexico. If he does not care to so enhghten the public, perhaps the public will be en- cab1egran from Rome to the Chicago Tribune, this is not a question of persons; it is a question of princi- ples." The Church can live under Carranza or anybody else. and when a lawful government is set up in Mex leo, it is the duty Of the Church, fol- lowing it's principles, to live under it; but the unfortunate people who be- lieve in God in Mexico, have right to religious liberty. That right has been denied them, and is being de- nied them by the de facto govern Haent, supported by the. President of the UEited States.
 The statement by Father TieFney, along the same lines, is as follows: A ESply tO n1I- uA1UAlJ g. 4SLtST WILL appear in the next issue of America, the National Catholic Weekly, of which I am editor. For the present suffice it to say that the points in which I am interested concern the treatment of priests, Brothers and Sisters and the attitude of the Revo- 1utionists toward religion in general MT. Fumu1ty discounts nearly all the reports of outragess but his centen- ton is sustained by no evidence of value. His testimony about the treat ment of Sisters is in every instance. except one, negative and cannot ren- der uncertain the proposition that Sis