The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-02-20
GERMAN PRELATE's PASTORAL
EXTRACTS FROM THE WAR PAS
ToRAL OF THE GERMAN EPIS.
COPATE IN WHICH THEY POINT
OUT THE DUTY OF PENANCE
AND ExPIATION..


members of the German Hierarchy is
sued joint pastoral in which they
call attention to the vices that gnaw
1t the heart of the nation and urge
lpon their people the. duty of united
prayer as means of penance and eX-
piation. The pastoral is an excellent
comment on the war from the stand
point of the Church and is most
Christian in tone and sentiment. We
subjoin extracts to show it's tenor:
"The war is a judgment for all
nations afflicted by it, and therefore,
I loud call to penance and expiration.
Time of war is time of penance. Woe
to the nation which even this terrible
chastiser can no longer bring to pen
ance; it is ripe for destruction and
even victory would be for it a defeat.
WAR opens the account-book of ma
tons before all the world and regis
ters the result of it's reckoning in hui
man blood. We do not want to occu-
by ourselves with the account-books
Of other nations, but with our own;
we do not want to examine the con-
sciences of our enemies, but our own.
We are innocent of the outbreak of
he war;. it has been forced upon us;
hat we can testify before God and
he world. Still we do not want to
BOAST of our innocence.
I'm us, too, has the war laid bare
heavy guilt. Our people themselves
have very clearly pronounced judg-
nent thereon; things could not go on
is they were. How often have we
bishops, in the distress of our hearts,
loudly bewailed the decay of the re-
'igious and moral life of religion and
morality. Now has the war restored
religion to it's rights and again incul-
Gated on mankind the commandments
Of God with fire and sword.
What shameful, degrading treat
ment, depreciation, contempt had re-
ligion been obliged to endure openly
10, have we allowed ourselves to en-
dure in our weakness and cowardice!
That is our fault, our most grievous
,ault.
"In Gods war tribunal it has been
made apparent how certain vices
gnaw at the vitals of nation so that
It's strength dries up in the time of
need and it falls to pieces. But with
the deepest confusion we must admit,
we have let it come to pass that even
these vices have also crept in amongst
our people to considerable degree,
that also amongst us marriage has
been desecrated and deprived of its
blessing of children. Our fault, our
grievous fault!
at has been shown in this war that
4 nation can not be more terribly in.
jured than when it's religious life blood
has been drained, But, alas, endeav-
ors to the same effect have not re-
NAMED quite strange to us either
Among us also secret forces have been
working for separation of Church
and State, for the greatest possible
exclusion of Christian spirit and Chris
tan principles from the education of
youth, from public and social life;
their ideal is a maximum of freedom
even for the most dangerous tenden-
cies of the time, but the closest re-
strictiOn and tutelage for the Church
and religious movements.
"The war has cited the modern an
ti-Christian irreligious (mind) culture
before it's tribunal, and has exposed
its worthlessness, it's hollowness and
it's guilt. But, into our
country, too, had this culture already
considerably penetrated, an over
culture, un-Christian, un-German and
in it's whole being, with it's
varnish and it's internal rot
tenness, with it's coarse pursuit of
wealth and pleasure, with it's no less
arrogant than ridiculous supermen,
with its dishonorable imitation of
foreign infected literature and art,
and even of the most shameful ex-
in the fashions of women
This is our peoples, and, therefore,
our own grievous and most grievous
fault. 1t demands penance and expia-
ton. Our soldiers have heard at once
in the call to war call to penance;
and, therefore, their first march was to-
the confessional. Their good example
has been initiated in all classes of the
people; public opinion has changed
about; there breathes in German dis
tricts a different spirit to that of
few months ago.
But it would be fatal mistake to
think that now all guilt has been