The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-11-30
ALLIED VICTORY AND THE CHURCH

better served by their remaining un-
der the rule of the Hapsburgs. 1t
can never be the interest of the
Church that any race should lack
| liberty.
Gain No. 8-The Catholic Maronite
| Syrians of the Lebanon, at present
decimated by artificial famine, will be
| free forever from the blithing tyranny
of the Turk. Referring to the liberia
tion of the Holy Places by British
troops, the Cardinal Secretary of
State, the Pope's official mouthpieee in
| diplomatic matters, has written: "On
| several occasions l have stated that
| England would inspire confidence, by
her respect for vested rights, and her
zeal for progress in the Holy Places" I"
Gain No. 9-Latin Jacobinism, so
prevalent before the war. will be
seriously undermined at least by the
unseltish and heroic patriotism of the
priests and of the practical Catholics
of France, Italy and Portugal, which
has contributed essentially to victory.
The greater France, and the greater
Italy, there is every reason to believe,
will return to more friendly relations
to the great society, which was the
chief factor in their progress and the
chief glory in their history, the Cath.
Ollie Church.
Gain No. -English-speaking Prot
estants of Great Britain and America,
having allied themselves, not with
the Protestant nations of Europe, not
one of which was on their side, but
with France, Italy, Belgium, and
Portugal, the peoples, if not all the
Governments, of WHICH are So per cent
Catholic; having fought for liberty in
Catholic lands from Ostend to Venice,
will, in a much greater measure than
in the past, form a truer idea of the
world position and world mission of
the Catholic Church
On the, other side of the balance
against these ten certain gains are on
ly two dangers. The first danger is
that the Catholics of Alsace-Lorraine
will have their churches, seminaries,
and monasteries seized, and their
monks and nuns exiled by icing in
corporated in France Even if this
great injustice were to occur; the net
gain to the Catholic Church from the
allied victory would still be enormous.
1t is for the French Republic, how
ever, to guarantee that this persecu.
ton will not happen; and a declara-
ton to that effect is in order.
Sensible Frenchmen have long ago
conceded this point; and the inhabit-
ants of Alsace-LorraiIie will doubtless
prevent such an injustice, if it be
threatened.
The second and only other danger
is that, since the Holy See, owing to
Italy's fear of an international consid-
Grafton of the Roman question, may
not be represented at the Peace Con.
gress, adequate international safe
guards may not be given to secure
complete religious liberty in all coun-
tries. To overcome this disadvantage,
it is the duty of the Catholic public,
from now till the peace treaty is
signed, to agitate for an international
guarantee of religious liberty to all
races and to all creeds. Let us not.
be guilty of that pusillanimous form
of patriotism, which would not strive
for the greatest of all liberty-relig-
ious hberty-for fear of inconvenience
ing some British or allied statesman
1t will be our fault, if we Catholics,
who have contributed the majority of
the soldiers of the allied armies, do
not enjoy proportionate influence at
the Peace Congress. While it is idle
to imagine that we can inaugurate the
millennium, we are much to blame, if
we do not close the era of religious
persecution.