The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-12
,Ex-Kaiser ReOiews Religious
Progress Made During Reign;
Worked for Union of Churches

Germany must become the sword of
the Catholic church. / remarked that
the old Roman Empire of the German
nation no longer existed and that con-
ditions had changed. But he stuck to
his words.
Then the Pope went on to say that
he must thank me once more for my
unflagging attention to the welfare of
my Catholic subjects; that he had
heard about this from so many sources
that he was glad to tell me personally
how grateful both he and the German
Catholics were for this attention to
their interests; that he could assure
me that my Catholic subjects would
stand by me, in good and bad times,
with absolute fidelity. Ills resteront
absolument ct infailliblement fideles."
(They will remain absolutely and in
faIlibly faithfully
I rejoiced greatly at these words of
appreciation from such an exalted
source | answered that I considered
it the duty of a Christian sovereign to
care for his subjects to the best of
his ability, irrespective of creed; that
OOu4N SUI MIN lIAcNLB uuA IAlS3 my
reign, everybody could profess his re-
ligion without interference and fulfill
his duties toward his ecclesiastical
overload; that this was fundamental
principle OF my life, from which
could not be swerved.
Because l showed my Catholic fell
low cOuntrymen from the very begin
ming that wished to allow them COM
plete freedom i'll the exercise of their
religion, quieter spirit was engen-
dered in the laid and the aftermath
Of the Kulturkampf disappeared more
and more But l did not conceal from
myself the fact that, despite all po-
| likeness and friendliness, the prelates,
with the sole exception of Cardinal
| Kopp, still continued to look upon me
as the Emperor. and I was compelled
| to take into account that, in the
! Catholic South and West, this idea
would never quite vanish. Grateful
acknowledged has repeatedly been
made to me of the fact that the Cath
| olics were as we'll off, during my
reign, as they could possibly desire;
but the constantly more uncompromis-
| ing attitude of the Church on mixed
marriages, and that of the Centrist
/ Party in politics, were certainly a sign
! that the anti-heretical tendency still
! lived beneath the peaceful surface.
This made all the more intense my
desire for the firm union of the Prot
estant Churches-first, in Prussia,
then in Germany, finally in all Europe.
| My endeavors, in conjunction with the
Chief Ecclesiastical Councillor, the
General Superintendent, and so on, to
find means of effecting this union
were most earnest. I hailed the Els
enach Conference with joy and fol
lowed it's proceedings with interest.
assembled all the General Superin
tendents for the conservation of the
Church at Jerusalem and also was able
to greet invited Populations from
1 Sweden, Norway, and so forth; and
did likewise on the occasion of the con
secration of the Berlin Cathedral
where. among many other Populations
the Church of England was repre-
scented by the Bishop of Ripon CIV
BoydCarpenter), the pastor of Queer
Victoria of England, equally promi
nent as a writer and preacher.
Whenever possible, worked toward
compromise, closer relations anC
union, yet nothing definite resulted
Though church union in Prussia har
been a success, Lutherans and Reform
lists kept apart in other sections o.
I the Fatherland. Many local rulers
kept sharp watch over their rights II
relation TO religions and owing to this
were hostile to a closer union of the
different creeds within their territory
Therefore. despite my endeavors, tn
German Protestant Church was no
able to unite and make common cause
against the elements hostile to it
Only through the emergency brough
on by the revolution was this made
possible. On Ascension Day, 1922, tt
NV srnat inv the German Fyaneelica