The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-01-19
OLD STORY OF HUMAN HATE Is
REPEATED IN SOUTHERN RE-
PUBLIC PRIESTS ARRESTED
AND oUTRAGED-AGED CLERGY
MEN ExILED-MoRALITY AT
LOWEST EBB DISHONESTY
EVERYWHERE RAMPANT.

History repeats itself In the great
theater of the world many scenes are
enacted from time to time. The place
and the players alone are changed
The theme is the same. In the fourth
and fifth of the Acts of the Apostles,
one may read that the Disciples OF
Our Lord were imprisoned because the
officer of the temple and the Sad
ducees could not bear to hear them
preaching in the name Of Jesus. Nine
teen centuries have passed since that
time, but there was similar scene en-
acted, however, last October, in the
City of Merida, the capital of the State
OF Yucatan, Mexico. Let witness,
however, recount the story:
stOn October 25, six priests of Merida
received the following summons: The
citizen N. musttappear Immediately be,
fore this military commander for some
investigations which are to be made.i
This summons was signed by the mill
tary commander Of Merida, A. Vii
laneuva. All attended as soon as they
received this citation, but they had to
wait three hours. before the military
commander gave them hearing.
When the priests arrived at the mil
itary commanders Office, they were
told by the secretary that they should
not be afraid, because the purpose OF
the summons was only to regulate the
worship, according to the prescription
of the new constitution. Later on,
when the military commandant told
them that he had received an order
of the Governor that they should stay
and sleep at the police station, because
not all had attended, one of the priests
objected, saying that the Governor
should bear in mind the great dis.
tances and lack of communications
Which prevented all the priests of the
state from assembling on the same day.
Then the military commander replied
that the order did not concern all the
priests of the state, but those only who
had returned to Yucatan without per
mission from the government. This
was a plain and open lie, because out
of those six priests who were present
only two had left Mexico, and when
they left they had not yet been or
dained priests. In spite of all, the six
priests who had been called for an in
vestigation (?)S remained imprisoned
at the police station. Z
More Priests Arrested.
The following day two other priests
were arrested and taken to the same
place. In the evening the eight pris-
oners were separated from one anotf-
er and called. one by one, before the
judge. They were asked when and at
what time they had preached their last
sermon. ii. what church it, had been de-
livered and on what theme? They
were told by thesjudge that there was
an accusation for a sermon preached
the preceding Sunday in the Cathe-
dral stirring up the people against the
government. Anybody will understand
how ridiculous was this falsehood, be-
cause had it been true that such a
sermon had been preached, why should
eight priests be arrested for a sermon
preached by one man? At the most,
the preacher alone Should have been
imprisoned and this would have been
easy to do as only two priests had
preached the preceding Sunday at the
Cathedral.
"On the morning of October % the
eight prisoners were taken to the yard
of the police station, and guarded by
an escort, of twenty soldiers, conduct
ed to the Governors palace. To go
there the priests were obliged to pass
through the public park or plaza,
where the music band, according to
custom, was playing Thus the priests
were exhibited before the throngs of
people in the park as if they had been
criminals
While this was going on the rest
of the clergy of the diocese, eighteen
in number, had been called that same
morning by the Governor for meet