CHURCH AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2687, 5 February 1916, Page 9

CHURCH AND WAR

CARDINAL BOURNE INTERVIEWED UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE IN VICTORY. The Milan paper "L'ltalia" publishes an interview of its Rome correspondent with Cardinal Bourne, who was in Home for tlio recent Consistory. The correspondent first alluded to the Cardinal's recent address to the Irish soldiers about to depart for the front. Tiio Cardinal spoke with pleasure of his experience, and also gave particulars of his visit to the front at the beginning of the year. Ha paid, due homage (says the correspondent) to the British Government for the broad-minded manner in which it favours religious" services in the Army. Ho had visited the wholo front in his quality both of delegate of the Holy See and of Ecclesiastical Superior of the Catholic chaplains m the Army and in the Fleet. "Does your Eminence believe in the final victory of the Mies?" "I have unshakable confidence in it, based upon considerations which to my mind are irrestiblc," Cardinal Bourne replied. "The Allies are only just beginning to feel their own efficiency. So far they have been preparing for tho definite effort. Their forces are growing any by day. Take England, for example. When this European conflict broke out we. had some hundred thousand soldiers; to-day there are 3,000,000, and a fourth million is in preparation. It is necessary to keep before our mind this state of things' in order to understand the position of the Allies. They, will go jusqu'au bout, you may be quite sure." The Cardinal then went on to speak of the British Fleet, which has become more powerful than ever, and of the general conviction that the final victory cannot fail. ''Belgium, Serbia, and Poland, suffering 011 the Calvary which they liavo had to ascend, aro a living warning that we cannot yield until their resurrection has been assured." "Are the Irish Nationalists also of this opinion?" . ■ ■ .' 'Completely so. The leader of tile Irish Nationalists, Mr. Redmond, has clearly expressed tho feeling of Ireland on this war. I am ab'e to repeat to jou what I said when I saw you some time ago on 'the oxasion of the Conclave. Germany by means of the war has united our Empire. The union is to-day closer than ever. This may appear strango to you, but the fact is explained if .you reflect on wlwvt happens 111 the case of two sisters quarrelling ber tween themselves. It is sufficient for a third party to intervene against one of them for both to unite against the third party. The Germans did everything possible to incite their Irish prisoners against England. They were checkmated along the whole line. . The Irishmen replied with an energetic and united refusal." "This will doubtless have consequences after the war. May we say that Home Rule is an accomplished fact?" "You may take it as that Home Rule, is an accomplished fact. It is only a question of its application after the war. For the moment all energies are concentrated 011 the\ preparation for victory.'-'' ','How was the adhesion of Italy to the Declaration of London received in England)?" "It could not have been welcomed more cordially. There has always been great cordiality between Italy, aiid England. Englishmen understood and appreciated perfectly, the attitude of Italy at the beginning of the war, and also when she entered the arena for the realisation of her national aspirations. There has never been the shadow of a doubt of her loyalty. But, on account of the suspicions which our adversaries had spread 011 the principle of divide et impera, the- adhesion of Italy to the Declaration of London, dissipating as it does the possibility of any misrepresentation, was ; saluted with particular satisfaction."-'

SOME SERIOUS DELUSIONS. SPIRITUAL ISSUES RAISED BY THE WAR. In a recent sermon at Sefton Park Church, Liverpool, the Rev. Thomas Yates said there, were many who saw in the events of to-day a grave challenge to the idea of the Divine working in human history. People were' talking as though, in these days, something had emerged of which religious ■ faith had never before had to take account. But the v moral and spiritual issues rawed by the war were not new. They belonged to an order of questions with which devout minds, bad always been occupied. It was 110 part of revelation to present us with a simple and easy view of things. The Book that presented men with the Cross of Christ was not a Book that made a bid for shallow minds. It was no part of religion to ignore the hard facts of history and experience. What was it that liad suffered violence in these .days? Simply an amiable belief in the progress and development of human history. ' We bad. been carrying up the doctrine of evolution into human affairs, and it liad encouraged some serious delusions. It had led to an uncritical acceptance of every new development as if it were real progress, which meant that we had accepted material standards. Germany had a fierce pride in her social and industrial development, but Germany was engaged in showing- that progress was about tile last word that could ever be applied to development of that kind. Whatever else people might say of Christianity, it had fairly faced the central tragedy of things. Its first word was that the world needed and could do with nothing less than- a redemption. Was there any other point'o'f view'that'led anywhere except to hopeless despair? THE NEW ENGLAND. A GRAND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE church; The Dean of St. Paul's (Dr. Inge), preaching, in York Minster at the consecration of the Bishop of Newcastle; said': "I shall, I hops, be pardoned if I ask yon, to share the feelings with which I stand for the first .time in the pjulpit of this great church, which for the first fourteen years of my life I saw every day from my home on Crayke Hill, 12 miles away, rising out of the broad plain like a ship at, sea. These massive towers, which broke the level horrizon with- their grand outlines, seemed the very symbol of those tilings which cannot be shaken. 'They dreamt not of a perishable home Wlio thus could build.' "And yet, in returning this autumn to the scenes of my childhood,. the ominous shadow of change seems to rest upon them as upon all other parts of our country. We cannot tell what is coining. We only know that the new England will be, must be, very different from the old. i Tho day has come which must try every man's work of what sort it is. All our national institutions, religious and secular alike, must pass through tho fire. All unsound work will be found out—walls daubed with untempered mortar; wood, bay, and stubble brought to the-hold-ing in plnce of solid materials; all tlio life's work of dishonest men, of merely ambitious men, of time-servers, and men-plensers, all the jerry-buildings of men in a hurry, will come crashing down: "Those plausible, clever people who always contrivo to exploit the honest enthusiasms of others and turn them Jo ..theit own, advautace.^will;^Q c thei£j,

achievements undone. Those false opinions, those national delusions, which cause such a mysterious amount of suffering as the result, of errors rather intellectual than moral, will be rovealed in their unsoundness. More than one popular idol will be broken; more than one catchword will appear ridiculous.- And, alas! much that is good and beautiful may be dragged down, too; revolutions are very blind and clumsy things. "But our true national heritage, the spirit of our race, will live. As Wordsworth says: It is not to be thought of that the Hood of British freedom should ever be lost in shoals and sands. 'We must be .free or dio who sp<ssk the tonguo that Shakespeare spake, the faith and morals hold that Milton held.' Our freedom—yes, and the other qualities which help to make up the spiritual contribution which this "country has made, and makes, to the common goodof mankind, will remain, please God, ai, a perennial spring of living wates, through the coming ages. These are things that are 'not shaken.' "What a grand opportunity all this makes for the Church and the appointed rulers of the Church! What willthe Bishop hear from, and say to, the Northumberland miners, fishermen, farmers, and labourers when they oome back from the front?

; "Assuredly there will be no lack of interest-in the lean years that -willfollow the war. They'will witness, I hope, such a moral and spiritual uplifting of the British people as has never been known before. They may very likely witness an outflow of creative geuius in art, literature, and science, now that- the fountains of the great deep have been opened, and the clogging influence of customs and material comfort relaxed."

A MESSACE TO THE BEREAVED. BY SIR OLIVER LODGE. ■... The amount of mourning and suffer* ing throughout Europe at the present time is something terrible to contemplate. The loss to those who have gono over is not to bo minimised: violent death while young is a serious calamity— a man-mado tragedy with dire consequences—and lamentation is natural and inevitable. But it must be remembered that, from tho point of view of the individuals who have gone i nver, there are many mitigating circumstances. They have done their duty; they havri sacrificed b, useful career hero; they nave given up all they possessed; and it.will be requited to. them. ■ By such a death a burden of sin is lightened; some atonement is made. Good friends aro waiting for them; their help can be utilised, and is much wanted, for their fellows whe are coming over; and they themselves will continue in the jov of service. They would like thoir friends here to recognise that, and not to mourn tliem unduly; above all, not to consider them as gone out of existence as extinguished and no longer real. Sorrow at_ tlieir _ departure is inevitable, but grief which is oxcessive causes them pain.

They did their work here, they will do it there; and in good time reunion, may confidently be looked forward to. If the truth of these matters was only clearly and widely realised, the mourning would be not only more resigned, but actually more hopeful. Death alone is not, to man, the greatest evil, and in some sort they are happy in the opportunity of their death. This ought to be recognised by those who uurvive, and we should not grieve unduly for those who have only gone on before as.

' THE ONLY SAFE PEACE. AMERCAN METHODIST'S VIEWS, Mr. James R. Day, Chancellor of Syracuse University, in the United States, who was the representative of American Methodism to the British Wesleyan. Conference in 3914, was recently asked by Mr. Henry Ford to nominato an undergraduate at'. Syracuse University to accompany tlio "peace mission." This Chancellor Day refused' to do, and he gave some interesting reasons for his refusal. Mr. Day's reply to the offer ran. as follows:— "I have carefully considered Mr. Ford's request that I select a student of iiyiaousr. University to join iiis peace excursion, etc. "It is impossible for me to comply with Mr. Ford's request, for the following reasons:— "1. While I abhor war, I believe that this European War should go on until the monster militarism is destroyed beyond the hope and fear of resurrecThe only safe peace in this contest is • the destruction, of the causea that created it. ! "2. Any effort to stop the present war would encourage that element that should receive no mercy, because it has ; had no mercy, and discourage thousands of men who. are fighting for the cause of.human liberty! .- . "3. Your plan is grotesque'and wilt accomplish nothing but the ridicule of country. Nothing could be more ineffective. tTo introduce schoolboys into your plan is to emphasise its farcical character apparent in all of' its features. "Load your ship with clothes and food for the starving. Poles and Belgians, and with Christmas presents of substantial comfort for the soldiers in the trenches defending .their native lands against tile marauders who covet them, and who are seeking to make conquests of them."

A STORE OF MORAL SPLENDOUR. Professor Sir Henry Jones, speaking at Bangor University, said that the war had discovered to us a store of moral splendour which ■we never expected. "Comfort yourselves with that," said he, "for never, I'believe,.did the world show so much of the- spirit of Christianity as in these times in the lives of the young men who are giving themselves so willingly for their country. Religion, in my opinion, is not a scramble for safety. It is the giving of oneself: There has not been such an enrichment of the moral worth of this country as this giving of themselves by our young men for their country. "It was not hatred of the Germans, nor. was it evil passions, that drove them to enlist. They enlisted for love of. their country and for what tliey think is right. For these things our young men are dying." ■ J