Der Nordstern. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1874-1931, 1916-02-17
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Bishop of Kerry's Protest.
My Dear Brethren-I have made il
an invariable rule of my life not to
speak in the Church of purely secular
subjects, and l am not going to de-
part from it today. In drawing your
attention to the public censoring OF
our letters, l feel that I am dealing
with a subject that effects very vital
ly some of our most sacred spiritual
interests. Let me make myself clearly
understood. 1 do not object to the
censoring of private letters in the
critical times through which we are
passing, but that should only be done
under certain well-defined limitations.
If responsible government authorities
have sufficient S to believe that
certain persons are using the post
office to further objects hostile to the
government, I think that no reason
able person can object to the govern
ment if it strives to protect itself
against such people, and opens their
letters. But to assert that a number
of government oficials-SOmetimes
laundering, and l must add 1 fear
sometimes also bigoted-should have
a free hand to open all letters, no
matter to whom they are addressed
this is a proposition to which I shall
never subscribe. AS an example let
me give you my own experience.
Some twelve days ago l found that
a letter, addressed to me, was opened
by the censor. I wrote at once to
the Postmaster-General, enclosing the
censored envelope. By return of post
I got a courteous reply, stating that
he was pleased to refer my letter to
the War Office, which was the De-
partment concerned, and that, doubt
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soon" 1 have waited since without
a reply, and on last Saturday, 1 re-
ceived another censored letter. Now,
brethren considering the sacred Office
I hold as our Bishop, I feel that I
should be gravely wanting in my duty
to it and. to the faithful committed to
my charge, if I did not here, in this
Cathedral, enter a solemn protest
against treatment of this kind. My
relations with the people committed
to my charge are largely of a spiritual
character. Every day brings me let
tiers sacred to the writer's, and sacred
and private with me. If these letters
are liable to be read by every ir-
responsible government official, the
religious relations existing between
a Bishop and his people would be at
an end.
I may say for myself that I am
not going to abdicate my position or
to submit tamely to such action on
the part of the War Office, or, for that
matter, to any other government de-
partment. The anomaly of the situa-
ton is this: that while the Foreign
office has considerably offered safe
conduct of our letters to Rome, our
letters in Ireland are ruthlessly open
ed by irresponsible officials of the War
Office.
Guilty of Grave Blunders.
What a farce! Hitherto, according
to the measure of my lights, the pres
ent government had my sympathy and
support in this dreadful war. Is this
the return they give mt and my Cath
Ollie people? We hear many strange
things of the Germans during this
war, but I have not yet heard that
they are opening the letters addressed
to the German Catholic Bishops. ***
1t has been admitted on all hands that
the officials of the Wal Office have
been guilty of many grave blunders.
Are they going to add n more to
the number by violating the sacred
privacy of the letters of the Bishops
of Ireland? Let me tell these officials
that in tackling this question they are
undertaking responsibilities grave and
serious. 54.
Nuns Letters Ruthlessly Censored.
Again, brethren, the religious Sis
terhood of our country have made
willing sacrifices of their lives for the
education and nursing of the poor. l
speak from close personal knowledge
of many of our converts and need
not tell you that these sarced sanctu-
aries are not revolutionary centers.
*** It is within my knowledge that
some at least of these converts are
actually and gratuitously engaged in
Red Cross work in making bandages
for the wounded soldiers. We should
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