MEXICO: YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND TO-MORROW

New Zealand Tablet, 10 April 1919, Page 9

MEXICO: YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND TO-MORROW

(Concluded from last week.) It is impossible to tell the whole story. Robbery, murder, and lust, stalked over the land; and, most, horrible of all, innocent nuns suffered the supreme martyrdom. The story of the suffering of the nuns is unprintable. No one knows where many of the unfortunate Sisters of Mexican origin have gone. Some reached the United States, and some, went to Spain. Some found the way into maternity hospitals in Mexico City : but others were forced to follow the soldiers in the army. A Lutheran gentleman, named Martin Stacker, testified under oath that he knew “of forty Sisters of Charity who have been violated, of which number four are known to me, and one of those has become demented.” In the beginning every attempt was made to deny these outrages. At the date of the general election in the United States, the majority of American Catholics refused to believe that such horrible things had been done. Everyone now knows the truth. When the Constitutionalists found there was no hope of suppressing the facts, they acknowledged many ;of the outrages, but immediately charged against the clergy that they had favored Huerta, and had assisted him with money ; that the exiled bishops organised American Catholics against Carranza. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The clergy had nothing to do with the Huerta movement, and American Catholics acted entirely on their own responsibility. The Church" Extension Society raised money to take car© of the refugees, and two prominent Catholic publications, the tension Magazine and America , took up the cause of the persecuted Church in Mexico. American Catholics demanded that no Mexican Government be recognised by the United States that failed to give a pledge of religious liberty. President Wilson agreed that this was reasonable. He demanded the pledge of Carranza. Carranza gave it: but insisted that the “Laws of Reform” could not be abrogated. This satisfied President Wilson, who was looking for some way out of the trouble. Carranza never kept his promise. To justify himself he caused the arrest of a number of the priests in Mexico City, headed by the Vicar-General Carranza had insisted on nominating. They were taken as prisoners to Vera Cruz. Here, in prison, they were forced to sign a statement whitewashing the revolutionists, and accusing the refugees in the United States. This document was forwarded to the State Department in Washington but the Secretary of State, Mr. Bryan, had been informed of the circumstances, and refused to publish it then. Later it was given to the press. The revolutionary government set up. a press-bureau in the United States. They subsidised writers and filled the mails with calumnies against the Church, and they are still doing it. Correspondents, sent to Mexico to get the truth, were taken under the wing, of the revolutionary government and shown only what the Carranza officials wanted them to see. Perhaps • never in the history of the world, in such a short time, has the Church suffered from such venomous attacks. AntiCatholic organisations in the United States were called upon to help. Unfortunately, politics there divided the Catholic people; but to-day they are becoming in their opposition to persecution. The present battle-ground for the religious liberty of Mexico is really, being fought on American territory.

Mexico herself lies prostrate. Carranza holds most of the large cities, but the little- towns and villages have their own governments. Villa, the former bandit, is now at the head of an army said to comprise 20,000 men, well equipped with guns and ammunition captured from Carranza. He holds a great part of the country districts of the north,* and raids the cities constantly to secure more supplies. An independent revolutionist holds nearly all of the State of Vera Cruz except the capital and the rail-road line. Other independent revolutionists operate around the districts of Tampico and Tuxpan, from which the British Navy largely draws its supply of oil. The Governor of Lower California, Cantu,' is practically the Dictator of his State, where there is comparative peace and a certain degree of prosperity. General Robles, former Federalist, has a serious revolution in progress, centreing in the State of Oaxaca. In the State of Chiapas and throughout the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the forces of Felix Diaz, nephew of the old Dictator, are occupying large sections of territory. Carranza can scarcely hold his own. The country is devastated. ' It has become almost impossible to raise money through taxes. : The people are in a state of semi-starvation, and epidemics constantly break out in the cities. The American expedition, sent to capture Villa, who made a raid on American territory after his supposed fall and at the beginning of his rehabilitation, was withdrawn to the American border. Villa promptly occupied the territory thus vacated, and without a fight. There is no government anywhere except the military dictatorships of the different chiefs. Carranza is chief in name only; for his government is held together nominally, for effect on the outside world. His chiefs are watching one another; which fact is Carranza’s leave to live. President Wilson has at last permitted his Ambassador to go to Mexico City. It seems to be his last effort to encourage Carranza to bring order out of chaos; for all hope of coming to a working agreement with him failed with the failure of the Mexican Commission. The members of the Commission agreed amongst themselves ; but Carranza refused to ratify. It is common talk that the American Administration is disgusted with the whole Carranzista farce of government. V. What of the future? No one can tell. A combination may be arrived at amongst the different revolutionists opposed to Carranza, and in that way he may fall. If he does, even a more difficult problem will result, the problem of satisfying every leader in a scheme of unity. At present there is a strong effort being made to unite in the support of Dr. Vasquez Gomez, who is in exile in San Antonio, Texas. Vasquez Gomez is a man of ability, and was a member of the Madero Cabinet at one time. Such a combination, however, would be dominated to a certain extent by the Liberals, who will still hold to the persecuting “Laws of Reform,’’ without, however, intending to enforce them strictly. Diaz may prove successful. Though he does not represent the element that supported his uncle during his long Dictatorship, he would give Mexico about the same kind of government as that his uncle gave, at least until a working Democracy might seem possible. General Robles stands in about the same position as General Diaz. Villa wants the downfall of Carranza, and does not think any further than that at present. There is always the possibility of intervention by the United States. - -England, France, Germany, Spain, as well as the United States, have enormous claims for indemnities through the destruction of property, and the murder of-citizens. After the European war, any of these nations may demand intervention by the United States, and, if the demand is not granted, intervene themselves". Had it not been for the European war, the Mexican problem would have been settled long ago. The" war has been Carranza’s opportunity. The latest proof that the Carranza faction intended the destruction of religion from the very beginning is shown by the additional anti-religious laws ; of - their new Constitution, adopted at Queretaro.. These laws

justify every, criticism and opinion about Mexico that I have written in this article. The new legislation is at once made constitutional, though enacted by- only a small handful of armed revolutionists ‘ and ■ not submitted to the people. So much for the liberty of Mexicans. The new laws provide for the confiscation of all religious property not already confiscated by the old Laws of Reform” ; and it makes any. religious denomination incapable of holding property or endowment. The Government declares confiscated alb such property or endowment now existing, and invites citizens to inform officials of even their suspicions ; for a presumption that property is held by private parties for a religious body is to be considered sufficient evidence upon which the authorities may act. Thus any person’s private property may be seized on a presumption that he holds it for the benefit of a church. The fact that he has religious leanings would be presumptive proof. There can be no seminaries, orphan asylums, schools, colleges, or hospitals; nor can the Church provide even i esidences for her bishops and priests. When religious or presumed religious property is seized, it cannot even be rented to the religious denomination which owned it; for, again, it is provided that “it shall be used exclusively for the public service of the Federation or of the States. -I o trial by jury shall ever he granted for the infraction ’of this provision. No religious denomination may have a school in which religion is taught. No clergyman may teach in school. The religious press is not free. The State fixes the number of clergymen allowed in each city, and has “exclusive power to exercise such intervention as the law allows, in matters of religious worship and outward ecclesiastical forms.’’ No clergyman may exercise his functions unless he is of Mexican birth. Each church which the Government permits to be opened must have a municipal official to see that the laws are obeyed therein. In other words, the Government acts as the head of that church. To dedicate a building for church uses requires the permission of the Secretary of the Interior. Clergymen, even as individuals, may not inherit anything except from blood relatives. So goes on" the horrible farce. j ' What is behind it all ? The thing that sane men qannot understanda constant, subsidised, planned and world-wide fight against religion, especially against the Catholic Church. The present condition of Mexico is understandable only when this is understood. We know that man fighting against man often becomes a sort of human brute ; but quite often, too, becomes more merciful and humane than the onlookers. In Mexico, home of the most ghastly war-spectacle of all times, it it not man who fights against man. It is man who fights against God, against all that religion means to a people. In Mexico is the fight of Hell against Heaven.