CHURCH AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2635, 4 December 1915, Page 2

CHURCH AND WAR

1 IRELAND'S DOMESTIC j TROUBLES i i i SOFTENINC OF ASPERITIES. , \ 1 — ) In fclio course of an eloquent address | to the Synod of the Dioceso of Ossory, , the Bishop (Dr. Bernard) observed thai | democracy was on its trial. Ho did , not take upon himself to advocate con- < scription. He did not know whether , any such far-reaching cliango in our j Constitution could bo safely carried out j amid tho distractions and perplexities . of war. He did not think that compulsory service represented as high an j ideal as that of voluntary service. But , he felt sure that it was well for. us all , to face tho fact that the Empire to which wo belong required at this mo- j inent the service of all her sons. If ! it was hot given freely—as it would bo ] given in an ideal democracy—then it , must be enforced _ with -'aji unflinching j and severe impartiality, in the highest j interests of the land wc love. , After tho war the democracy might . be tried by a test which would call for . even greater qualities than those which ] were now demanded;— ( "No man,". Dr. Bernard continued, | "can foresee what the political condi- , tion of Ireland will be when tho war is , over. No reasonable man supposes that ( it trill be unaffected by the war. How could it be so ? North and South blood ' has been poured out freely in the com- \ inon causa of K.ing and country and , freedom. The Northern regiments \ and the Irish Guards, the Dnblins and , the Munsters and the Inniskilliugs have j died in tho same trenches for us and for ( each other. The same grass grows . over their graves in far-off fields. Wo ' make no distinction between them—no ! distinction between Unionist and Nil- \ tionalist, Roman Catholic and Presbyterian and Churchman—when we speak, ; with pride through .our tears, of the brave deeds, of which our children's \ children shall tell their children in the ; days to come. . . . Wo Irish i Church clergy do not forgot that the ' first Irish chaplain to be killed in the ; war was the Roman Catholic Chaplain of tho Dublin Fusiliers, who went' to his death like the Bravo man ho was because he would not be separated in action from those to whom, he was sent to minister. We shall nover forget ! these things, and the memory of them ■ must and ought to soften the hitter- : ness of political antagonisms by and by. I db not mean that, on the 0110 \ side or the other, wo shall suddenly \ abandon our old. convictions or yield , weakly to what our better judgment refuses to approve. But I mean this i —and it is best to say it plainly—that it has become to me unthinkable that Irishman should'draw sword against 1 Irishman because of political differences when the war is-over. We shall contend by all lawful means for what wo believe to be politically wise, but I pray that w,e may never settle our difference? by the cruel arbitrament of war." Tho "Freeman's Journal" makes some sympathetic comments 011 the Bishop's address. It says that- Irishmen of. all creeds and classes will rejoice that Dr. Bernard dealt with a great test, which awaits tho democracy, of this country when the war is at an end. If it should omerge , from the trial stronger and moro worthy,, sentiment such as animated this address must assuredly ho counted among the influences that worked for understanding and peaca among the people of Ireland. Tho Bishop foresees, as we all do, an Ireland that has undergone some chango as a result of the war; That is simply inevitable. In what way will the change ' affect the relations of parties? Will not tho common sacrifice in tlie common cause equally dear to all make for the softening of asperitios and the disappearance oij- misunderstanding f The article proceeds 'as follows:~ "Elsewhere we print in full these references to Ireland and tho war. They are in spirit, and practically- in form*, identical with thope in speeches delivered by Mr. Redmond and his colleagues in every province, and probably in most of the counties of Ireland, sinco tho outbreak of tho war. The declaration issued by Mr. Redmond on behalf of the Irish. Party a little wore than' twelve months ago embodies tho appeal that is half a prayer uttered by -Dr. Bernard. 'In conclusion, I would oppeal to our countrymen of a different creed and of opposite political opinions to accept the friendship wo have so consistently offered them, to allow this groat war, as to which their opinions and ours are the same, and our action will also be the same, to swallow, up all the small issues in the domestic government of Ireland which'now»divide us; that as our soldiers are going to fight, to 6hed their blood, and to die at each other's sido, in tho same army, against the 6aine enemy, and for the same high purpose, their union ,in the field way ead to a union in their home, and that their blood may be the seal that will bring all Ireland together in one nation, and in liberties equal and common to all.' In Wexford, last October, Mr. Redmond prayed that out of all the welter of blood N an<l misery one blessed result might come to Ireland, and that is, that tlie blood shed side by side on tho field of battle by Catholics and Protestants, by North or Ireland Irishman and South of Ireland Irishmen, may prove to be the seal of the future amity of our Irish nation.' At a meeting in Belfast in the . same month Mr. Redmond reiterated his hope. But.it has animated every utterance of his sinoe tlio outbreak of the war, and Ireland will rejoic-o at every fresh proof that the spirit of it, the gentle spirit of Davis's ideal, is spreading and grow-' ' ing stronger."-, ARCHBISHOP'S CALL TO SERVICE. PERSONAL CHOICE OR STATE DIRECTION. | The Archbishop of York (Dr. Cosmo . Lang)) in a letter to his diocese, says:— _ "We aro told that it may depend upon . tho efforts and sacrifices which the na- . tion is willing to mako jn tho next I l three months whether or not wo shall bo found worthy of winning the war and of securing for ourselves and for [ Europo freedom and peace. The truth is out; wo now know how critical tho situation is. The recent speeches of the Prime Minister and Lord Kitchener, and tlio already familiar 'Preface' of : Mr. Lloyd Georgo, leave 110 room for doubt. . 'Nothing but our best can pull ' us through.' The facts as we know them do not justify elation; neither do they justify dopression. ' They aro . simply a trumpet-call to the'nation to f give its best and do its utmost. The ' other day I saw some words of Edmund Burke applied to our present situation— | 'Our circumstances are indeed critical, 1 but theyaarte t the critical circumstances ' of a great and mighty ration.' That is the temper of mind with which to meet tha crisis. It is solemn, and ought to be inspiring to know that what we aro - and think and do during the next few months may determine the verdict of history upon tho worth of the generation to which you and I belong, j "National service at such a. time—in the sense that every man and woman |i in the nation must havo and hold a 0 place in tlio great struggle—is, of course, not a matter of opinion. It- is 0 a more duty. What may be a matter of > opinion is whether this "national servico e should bo organised on the basis of in- ® dividual choico or. of Government direction. So long as this question is open— r. and I think it has teen left open far too long—opinions may be expressed, whether by individuals or Trade Union >0 tkiißww imwtwttauh But. after »li, Ju&gxe is safe m rel#. M&JW

final. It is tlie opinion of the Government, 'which: alone knows all the facts, and lias the tremendous responsibility laid upon it of deciding oil that knowledge what the necessities of the State demand. When that opinion is given it must he accepted, whether, we think it right or wrong. The unity of the nation is the one thing indispensable. "But whatovor the mode of organising national service may be, the duty of national service remains. Whether tho iorin of service is to bo self-chosen .or directed by the State, whether it is to be fulfilled in tho navy or army, or the workshop or the farm, or the parish or the household, every man—yes, nnd every woman—must ba ablo to say: 'Hero is my bit of servico. I will pilt my whole heart into it for my country's sake.' That is the only way 'critical circumstances' can be met by 'a great and mighty nation.' ''The truth is that in this battle for freedom wo aro learning a true, and unlearning a false, ideal of what freedom is. Too long in the; days of peaco a false ideal has been deluding and ensnaring our habits of thought and life —the notion that freedom means the liberty of every man to go as he pleases and do what lie likes. Even when the individual lias got beyond this notion lor himself ho lias been apt to transfer it to his class, his trade, his party. "What wo have lacked ip loyalty to the two supremo authorities— Ood and country. Now in the ordeal of war wo aro learning that tho only freedom worth having is the freedom which fulfils itself in service—the service of God and tho community in which God has placed ns. • . ■ - "There aro two wars in Which we are now engaged. We aro fighting not/ only against Germany but against ourselves—against the habits and instincts of self-assertion, self-indulgence, selfwill, which have sprung up around a false ideal of freedom. On this war depends the issue of the other. Wo must conquer ourselves before wo can conquer tho Germans. The thoroughness of that self-conquest is the supreme need of the present time. We know what is keeping us back. Disputes and strikes are only ono proof of it. If we look on these things simply as hindrances to our success, we shall only blame one another. Ltet-le holp will come that way. • But if we look 0:1 .them as sins, in which we all have our share, wo shall begin to get better. "That is why we arc called not only to national service, but also to national penitence. Self-confidence,. has been our weakness; self-huinbling will make us strong. /We do not want to be humbled before our enemies; therefore let us the more sincerely humble ourslves before God. .If we do so quietly and courageously the spirit of the nation will be purified, therefore powerful. The work of the Church is to deepen and strengthen this spirit. ' To us, its members, this sphere of national service is entrusted. Here at least 1 there can be no doubts, no conflicts of duty."