CARDINAL MERCIER SPEAKS AGAIN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2404, 9 March 1915, Page 6

CARDINAL MERCIER SPEAKS AGAIN

THE GERMANS EXPOSED

I THE VATICAN'S FACTS

Amsterdam, January 19. 'A formal' protest against hie treatment at the hands of the German authorities has been made by Cardinal Menoier,;and is published in to-day's "Tijd." It affords ample proof of the .worthlessness of the German, protestations issued officially and 1 semi-officially from .Berlin and Brussels that'"nothing at all had happened." The Cardinal's letter, which is dated January 10, and ,was sent from Malines to ail the priests in his diocese, is as follows: "Without doubt you have seen the communication which the German Gov-ernment-at 1 Brussels has published in •the daily papers, and in which it is declared .that the Cardinal Archbishop of-Malines had been in no wise hindered the exercise of his episcopal "duties" -'/The facts show how far this report. isfrom. : 't'he truth. On the evening of the Ist and the next day soldiers forced their -entry into the residences of t'he cures, seized my pastoral letter, and contrary to my episcor pal, order forbade their reading it to* itheir congregations, threatening them -with the .severest', punishments, which' they said would he inflicted either on the cures themselves or on the parish-. "My own dignity was not spared. On January 2, at six o'clock in the morning, I. received an order •to appear the same morning before the Governor General to answer for my letter to the .priests and their parishioners. IS'ext, day -I was forbidden to attend ser-vice-in the Cathedral at Antwerp. Finally I was not allowed to travel freely in order to visit other'bishops in Belgium.

"Your rights and my own liaee thus •been violated. As a citizen of Belgium, nsjj'our pastor,.and as a member of the Sacred. College, of. Cardinals, I 'strongly protest against it. ■ '~..■'

"However others may interpret, my pastoral letter, ,experience has proved ithat it has caused no danger of rebellion. On the- contrary, it has . been instrumental in calming men's minds and appeasing them. I congratulate you on having done your duty.. The correspondent of the "Tijd" at ißergen-op-Zootp says that 1 the letter, .■which is written in Latin, has made a' deep impression on the clergy. The letter was sent secretly to all parishes in the see of Malines, being conveyed by special carriers.—Reuter.

THE VATICAN'S FACTS, t Rome, January 19. ! Notwithstanding all-the efforts of the ! 'Berlin authorities to stifle the truth as to the arrest of Cardinal Mercier and

the affronts offered to him, it is begin- ;■ jung to, be known at the Vatican, which | -is now actually ' certain : of the Mowing .facts

'1. ThejlGermans seized at the shop of !: 'a printer; at Malines 15,000 copies of : Cardinal Mercier's pastoral letter. 2. 'The. Germans sentenced the'printex ■to a fine of 600 marks.

' 3. The Germans forbade the reading ; 't of the letter;, in a ; great.. number of parishes. ;■. 4. On January 3 three German officers ; arrived .at the Archiepiscopal Palace at i. Malines and compelled the Cardinal to > undergo an interrogation: .

5. On January 3 Cardinal Mercier was prevented from celebrating Mass. -.The t fact was, he had that morning received from General von Bissing a tefegram in- !•' 'viting him not to: proceed to this Service, which was to have been held in Ant-' irerp. 6. On January i Cardinal Mercier was >■■..■ detained" the whole day in' his palace, j On the'morning of that day an aide-de-camp, of General von Bissing arrived at }._■ the palace in;a motor-car, accompanied by soldiersj and presented a letter from General von Bissing, to which he demanded an immediate-reply from the Cardinal.''Tie latter offered to send his

reply the same day to Brussels, but the i aide-de-camp, after having telephoned * from Malines to the Governor-General

in Brussels, informed the Cardinal that

, he had received orders to remain until !, the Cardinal gave him an answer. ■ The F ; aide-de-camp remained: at the palace until, the evening.

. On January 6 the Germans present-' [.■■■fid to Cardinal Mercier a document rei tracting expressions, used in the pastoral ! letter, which the Cardinal was called i lupon to sign. The request was refused. Tho comforting impression produced ,npon the whole of the Belgian people by Cardinal Mercier's admirable pastoral . letter is now also known at the Vatican. , i—Reuter.