Evening star., 1937-02-12
CATHOLIC REBELS
GET CONCESSION.
Governor of Vera Cruz Tells
Orizaba Faithful "Some"
Churches Will Open.
RACKGROUND-

BACKGROUND
Deadlock betpeen Catholic
Church and state tn MEXICO started
Uith laWs OF 1889 torbiddin1
n1ondstic orders and ndtionnlizino
all church properties. In constitu-
ton OF 1917 and later in Gales
regime enforcement stirred clergy
and masses. Churches tDere closed
when priests protested ldrs re-
quiring registration and public OBJ
seruance OF all rites.
By the Associated Press.
ORIzABA, Vera Cruz State. Mexico,
February IA signed proclamation
from the Governor Of Vera Cruz in
formed the determined Catholics OF
Orizaba today that some churches"
would be permitted to reopen.
The Governor. Miguel Aleman, re-
turned to Orizaba during the night to
issue the statement. At the same
time he warned that no new religious
demonstrations" would be permitted.
His decision came while the peace
full rebellion Of Orizaba's Catholics
against tight church restrictions
spread through the State of Vera Cruz
At Cordoba, among other cities, $4,000
persons paraded the streets, broke
into long-closed churches, rang the
bells exultantly.
The rebellion began on Tuesday,
when OriZaba Catholics threw open
the doors of IA churches which had
been dark for decade.
Pilgrims from surrounding villages.
including many Indians, poured in
steadily to join the fight.
The churches here were closed
again unexpectedly yesterday by police
who had watched without interfering
when the enraged crowds first broke
into them. Four hours later a mass
attack reopened the four most promi-
nently located churches a second time,
without opposition from police and
soldiers.
The aroused Catholics hopes for
release from the anti-church laws
more rigidly enforced in this state
than almost anywhere else in Mex
tco-were buoyed by handbills which
indicated President Lazaro Cardenas
was considering lifting the ban on re-
fgious services by turning over the
edifices to 'laymen's committees"
They sent this telegram to the
treasury department:
After comforting with the Governor
OF Vera Cruz, Miguel Aleman, here,
we respectfully beg you to send tele-
graphic orders to the local office Of
the treasury department to turn over
the churches to 'laymen's commit
tees to bring about their reopening
and calm the excitement of the
people"
The treasury department, under a
law nationalizing church property. is
its custodian. Similar procedure has
been used in many states to relax
anti-church laws under agreements
continuing government ownership of
the property over the management Of
such committees.
Municipal Authorities Anxious.
The widely circulated handbills, de-
claring all Is settled" and intimating
freedom of worship would be restored
soon, were unsigned, but were credited
generally to municipal authorities anx-
tous for peace.
& They came after day-long demon
strations for religious liberty in which
marching thousands sang the national
anthem, shouted imprecations on "offi-
cial communism" closed stores and
brought traffic to standstill.
Gov. Aleman. who slipped away
from city hall just before the throng
of Catholics broke through police lines
in an effort to talk to him, said the
feopening of the churches was being
considered.
He warned, however, "the authori-
ties cannot permit new manifestations
which might bring about violation of
laws or disturb the public peace"
Under his orders, four men. among
them Chief Efrain Moreno of the
judicial police, were under arrest for
the fatal shooting Sunday of 14-year-
old Leonor Sanchez during a police
raid of supposedly clandestine services.
It was this raid which aroused the
Catholics to mass action.