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Show STATUS OF CATHOLICS IN IRELAND. IRE-LAND. (Written for The Intermountain Catholic.) Some letters have appeared in public pub-lic press recently in which very divergent di-vergent views have been expressed upon up-on the subject of religious disabilities in Ireland. Perhaps I might be permitted permit-ted to shed a little light upon the discussion. dis-cussion. It is undoubtedly true that during the last quarter of a century most of the important government oftl-ces oftl-ces have been thrown open to Catholics, Catho-lics, but as yet no Catholic can hold the post of lord lieutenant of Ireland. While the penal laws against Catholics Catho-lics have been repealed, the government authorities practically exclude members mem-bers of that faith from any fair proportion pro-portion of recognition in the distribution distribu-tion of official favors. Nearly all the higher offices are in the hands of Protestants, Prot-estants, notwithstanding the fact that Ireland is three-fourths Catholic. The Archbishops and Bishops of the Roman faith are permitted to exercise their sacred functions merely by sufferance of the government. Within the last few years the Catholic majority in Ireland Ire-land has been refused . a university, while the small Protestant majority has entire control of the university and the higher education of the country. Only sixteen out of fifty-six of the queen's counsel are Catholics, and only three of the eighteen judges of the higher courts of judicature. As an eviden.ee of the conditions prevailing pre-vailing in Ireland at the present time I cite the case of a young Irishman, a ward of court, who recently expressed a wish to enter the Jesuit order as a novice. The lord chancellor was about to make a minute confirming his wish when his attention was drawn to a clause in the Catholic Emancipation act of 1820, rendering the status of Jesuit and other religious orders illegal. It appears from this unrepealed provision that any one becoming a Jesuit in the United Kingdom or any Jesuit coming to the United Kingdom from abroad is liable to banishment, and on his return re-turn to the kingdom is liable to penal servitude for life. Under the law, the court refused to sanction the young man entering the Jesuit novitiate. During Dur-ing the last session of parliament the Catholic members "of the house of commons com-mons endeavored to secure the repeal of these iniquitous statutes, but the enlightened and tolerant government of England blocked the way. ,'' The local government board, which I practically governs Ireland, is j now composed of four Protestants, Protest-ants, under the presidency of Mr. Balfour, the English representative representa-tive of Leeds. Notwithstanding the fact that Queen Victoria has millions of Catholic subjects, her majesty and her successors are obliged to take an oath denouncing the Catholic faith and declaring that its fundamental tenets are false and idolatrous. Great Britain, therefore, should be the last nower in the world to protest against religious disabilities In another country. Let me say one word about the South African war. I think that in future times this most discreditable chapter of Britisn nistory will not be without its humorous side. In the first place we find the government, which during the last fifty years has always constantly opposed the extension of the franchise to the people of the United Kingdom, sending out 250,000 men, very few of whom have the franchise themselves, nominally to obtain the franchise for a handful of people In South Africa who do not want it. There is. Indeed, something Intensely ludicrous in noticing notic-ing the grown-up boobies howling for the franchise for foreigners in the Transvaal when they cannot obtain it for themselves at home. Out of a population popu-lation of over 40,000,000 in the British islands, the number of enfranchised is about 6,500,000 that is to say, there are some 4,000,000 of capable citizens who are British outlanders. T. ST. JOHN GAFFNEY. New York, June 13, 1900. |