GERMAN OUTRAGES ON BELGIAN PRIESTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2355, 11 January 1915, Page 5

GERMAN OUTRAGES ON BELGIAN PRIESTS

THE CARDINAL MERCIES INCIDENT "ONE OF THOSE CLUMSY BRUTAL ACTS'; The Vatican' lias been iiiormed by tie German authorities thaVfteymeraly addressed Cardinal Mercier a moßt deferential request to abstain from any attitude calculated to interfere in the delicate and difficult task of maintaining order; and convincing a hostile population of a sincere desire for their cood. ihe message also intended to fulfil a Christian principle to avoid bloodshed! ana,- if possible, to result in, the suppression of tumults. INCIDENT REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN SETTLED. '?■ . Amsterdam, January 8. Aarices from Berlin state that the Cardinarl Mercier incident has been peacefully settled. , The publisher of the Roman Catholic newspaper "De Tijd," which printed Cardinal Mercier's Pastoral Letter, has been fined 500 marks, with the alternative of fifty days' imprisonment. (Rec. January 9, 5.5 p.m. London, January 8. Mr. T. P. O'Connor describes the arrest of Cardinal Mercier as "one of those clumsy, brutal acts of German policy which recoil on her own head." MALTREATMENT OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY ■ ■ k OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS OF GERMAN BRUTALITY; ■ im. t> i • • • London, January 8. Ine Belgian Legation nas issued a record of the maltreatment of the Roman Catholic clergy in Belgium, including the invalid octogenarian at Bueohen, who was tortured. He was accused of firing at the Germans, and was thrown in a ditch, and then dragged through the streets by the legs and shot. A priest at Gelrode was beaten with a rifle-butt until tile blood dripped. He was then shot and thrown into a river. Twenty-six innocent priests were killed in the Malines diocese, ten 'at Liege, twenty at Namur, and three at Tournai. . An Amsterdam message' reports that the Germans imprisoned the printer of Cardinal Mercier s Pastoral Letter, dispatched couriers in motor-cars and interrupted the reading of the Pastoral during Mass, and removed priests from the sacristy and the confessional. The "Het Niews vaa den Dag'| declares that it should not be astonished if. the Germans did not dare to maintain the arrest of Cardinal Mercier, which' will cause a formidable movement in the Catholic world. "Militarism, like'a' bee, stings in its rage." t (Rec. January 9, 5.5 p.m.) London, January 8. The Press Bureau details some of the atrooities in the Belgian churches. "Religious houses_ were destroyed and profaned in almost every village. The majority of the edificos were utilised as stables and prisons." CARDINAL'S PASTORAL ENDORSED AT ROME. (Reo. January 10, 3 p.m). ' . ' London, January 9. The "Daily Chronicle's". Milan correspondent says that the Pope was personally acquainted with Cardinal Meroiors Pastoral prior to its publication, and has since expressed his unreserved approval. ' ' . ROitib, January 9. "The Kaiser has telegraphed the Pope denying Cardinal Mercier's arrest. The Germans merely warned him to discontinue anti-German propaganda, which the Kaiser was sure the Pope would disapprove of.' ' ' Amsterdam, January 9. The newspaper "Tjid" says that the contradiction about Cardinal Mercier's arrest is untrue. The Cardinal was not allowed to leave Malines, and several priests were imprisoned for a day or two. T hey are prepared to contra-' diet , the denial.