Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1919-07-19
NAVY YARD
Military Field Mass Celebrated I'm
der Auspices of Knights
of Columbus.
Right Rev. William Il. Russell Held
Attention of the Vast
Audience.
Declaration of Independence, the
League of Nations and Ire
lands Freedom.
NAVAL CHOIR SANG THE MASS.

At the Victory Fete field mass al
the Charleston navy yard, celebrated
under the suspieces of the Knights
of Columbus. the Rev. e. A. Brod-
man. chaplain, o. S. NJ, acted as
| celebrant Of the mass, assisted by
Rev. Father Hyland and Rev. Father
Mackin, while Rev. ]. j. May was
master OF ceremonies. Present in
the sanctuary were Bishop Russell,
Rev. II. McElroy and Rev NJ. j.
Reddin. Right Rev. William T
Russell held the attention of the
audience while he delivered power
full address on the Declaration of
Independence, the League of Nations
and Ireland's freedom. The navy
yard choir rendered a beautiful mass
in f under the able direction of
spoke as follows:
Today we commemorate the oc-
casion when our forefathers, flinging
off the shackles of Great Britain, de-
clared these United States a separate
nation. 1t was an event fraught
with the most far-reaching conse-
quences not only for the people of
the United States. but for the whole
world This was due to the fact
that their act was not merely a re-
volt against tyranny but because
their declara lions of the reasons inn
polling them embodies the funda-
mentals of all just government. Two
hundred years before the discovery
of America these principles of our
Declaration of Independence were
upheld as essential Catholic doctrine
by our greatest theologian, st.
Thomas of Acquin. For this reason
take the principles enunciated in
that declaration as my text. Brief
ly today l shall endeavor to accent
uate two of the leading ideas in
that declaration of independence and
conclude with recommendation of
our duty in the present crisis of our
national existence. The fathers of
our country declare in this docu-
ment of independence that they hold
as self-evident the truth that all
men are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights; that
among these are fife, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. That to secure
these rights governments are in
stituted among men. deriving their
just powers from the consent of
the governed.
My friends. we are drifting from
these sound principles. There is
decided tendency today to consider
the government as the creator of
these rights. Many of our people
carried along by the swift current
towards Capitalization of all power
seem to forget that the government
of the United States does not create
the right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. God alone is
the author of these rights. He has
bestowed them upon each individual.
No man or any number of men, how
ever large. can justly claim to create
these rights or abolish them. This
like all other govern
ments, must have for its sole OBJ
ject to safeguard the God-given
rights of its citizens. To curtail the
God-given rights of any citizen ex-
cept in so far as is necessary to
prevent him from infringing upon
The equal rights of others. or to pre-
vent the exercise of his rights I'M
demand it, would be tyranny today |
rs it was in 1776. The second idea |
IF the declaration we are honoring |
oday which I wish to emphacize is |
hat governments derive their just |
powers from the consent of the gov
.rned. That, whenever any form !
II government becomes destructive
# these ends, it is the right Of the
,eople to alter or to abolish 1t.
md to institute new government"
his is what we call In these times