New Britain herald., 1918-02-21
DRY NATION MENACE
 TO CATHOLIC FAITH
Priest Says Celebration Of Mass
 May Prove Illegal

New York, Feb. 21.-SpeakinG on Some Startling Vagaries of the Puri- tan Conscience" to the Catholic Li- brary Association, at Delmonico's yesterday afternoon, Rev. Joseph H.. McMahan. pastor of the Roman Cath ollie church Of Our Lady of Lourdes, declared that what he called the in tolerant, narrow minded bigotry of the 'Puritan" conscience was forcing this country into a state of pro- hib1tlOn winch would destroy the right of free will and would mean a strug- gle between the Hbera minded Ro- man Catholics and the Puritans. He also declared that the Puritan" con- science had shown itself inconsistent toward the selectivc draft and towo ~d lying, provided that they were used to win the war. Speaking of the forces at work to pass the prohibition law, Father MMahan said:
 Thev@are going to attempt to make man moral by statute something which not even God has been able to do. There are only 16,00000O Cath olics in this country, but we should clamor for the rights of others by
 
 at the destruction of the individual freedom of man. It will remove the right to decide between good and bad, and will make man a slave. Wine has often been conducive of happi- which did not abuse it.
 Then, there is the denial of jus- tice by prohibitionists to the vested rights of business. The drink inter- ests have grown up with the sanction of the government, but in no state. so far as I know. which has become prohibition has any consideration been given to those engaged in the liquor trade. Prohibition violates the fundamental law of the right of property. But what concerns us most vitaf1y is the jeopardizing of the rights of our religion by prohibit ton. Do you realize that in practi- ca1ly every state where there is pro- hibition it is a violation of the law for a priest to have wine in his pos session to celebrate the mass? If pro- hibition goes into effect throughout the country we will have to face the prospect of abolishing the mass or else of holding it in secret. as in the days of the catacombs"
 Father McMahan said that the Red Cross had shown most active preju- dice against the Catholic church by the publication of a poem by Kipling against the Pope. as we'll as in the selection of some of it's officers.
 In speaking on the selective draft and lying as being sanctioned by the Puritans, Father McMahan said:
 'The Puritan conscience is re- markable for it's inconsistencies. It has always been opposed to all forms ting games of chance to he used for good purposes, and yet the greatest lottery in all history has been held in selecting the members of the draft without single demurring voice to he encountered among the Puritans"
 Tn regard to lying, Father McMa- han said that the Catholic. church has always admitted moral rcserva- tions' as necessary to enable society to exist together. But the Puritans," he said, have always said that all lies are wrong" Father McMahan then said that the Puritans had raised no objection to "camoufage" in the war, winch was nothing but "the art of deceiving" that they did not ex- the whole truth. nor did they pro- test against diplomacy, which was n othing but the polite way of de.