MARRIAGES IN BULK

Hokitika Guardian, 25 September 1926, Page 1

MARRIAGES IN BULK

RACE WITH I IMF IN MEXICO. NEW YORK, August 1. The suspension of worship in the Roman Catholic churches throughout Mexico is reported to-day to bo complete. Everywhere priests have abandoned their duties as a protest against the regulations of President talk's Ooveremoni. These non deei iv , which have now come into force, order the abolition of religious education in the schools, the dissolution of religious bodies, ami the handing-over to the State of all church property wltidll includes worth many millions. The custody of f’e churches is in the hands of committees of citizens appointed by the civil aiiti’.orines. I he transference was el,*.; tc.l a and an atmosphere oi most inlcmc emotion. 11l Mexico City, crowds outside several churches attacked officials With stones and other ml *.i!es.. At a churen in the poorer quarter ol the* capita! shots were lired at police ami a sacris tan and r ree bystanders were killed. Firemen | turned hoses on the crowd and dispersed them. At one church a number of women seized a statue of Christ, and were carrying it in a procession wlien the police closed the church. Seventeen were wounded in the struggle which ensued. POLICE STONED. At another the congregation refused to leave w''en the priest announced tho (he edifice must he closed. They remained praving until the arrival ol the pclice. when they climbed on to the roofs oi surrounding houses and bom-

barded the police with, stones. Firemen attempted t’o disperse the crowds with water, hut their hoses were cut. The swaying of the cross on the spire of another church was hailed by devout multitudes as n miracle. Men climbed the roof, thinking the spire was loose, but they found'it and the cross immovable by hand. Throughout the night crowds watched the swaying cross with awe. Before the hour when religious services ceased priests toiled desperately hearing confessions, baptising children, and solemnizing marriages. In the cathedral 8,000 were confirmed and 3 'i:;o baptised. 27 MARRIAGES AT ONCE. In one church the priest was obliged to perform marriage ceremonies in bulk, uniting 27 couples simultaneously. A bishop at Tampico fainted from exhaustion after many hours of baptisms. He was revived and continued the ceremonies until mid-night when tlie chief of police assumed charge of the cathedral. The trade boycott of Protestants by Roman Catholics is already severely felt. Two thousand motor-ear owners of Mexico (‘itv'have notified the muni-

cipal authorities that they "ill not renew their licenses. An ice-cream palace where society congregates nightly has a deserted appearance. Business houses report their trade reduced by a third. FLIGHT TO TEXAS. A number of arrests lias been made. The Government also ordered the expulsion of Mgr. Tito C'respi, an American citizen in eliargo of Apostolic Delegation. Roman Catholics are pouring over the United States border into Texas. Four hundred nuns, many of them in disguise arrived at San Antonio (Texas) yesterday. President C'alles, in a telegram to the New York “ Times,” defends his regulations, declaring that they will not interfere with the proper exercise of religious duties by the priests hut arc aimed at preventing the continuance of political activities by the i huYch. Last night the police of -Mexico City announced the discovery ol a plot against the President’s life. Several arrests were made.