CATHOLIC SOLDIERS

NZ Truth, Issue 685, 27 July 1918, Page 1

CATHOLIC SOLDIERS

Fighting m the Ulster Division It would be well for those who are spending so much of their time m the stirring up of religious strife among their fellow -citizens to know at least one fact; and this fact is that, not only are many Catholics fighting for Britain m places where one might expect to find them, but that, even m the division raised from Protestant Ulster, there are many Catholics. This is not particularly valuable m view of the fact that there are very many Catholics m Ulster itself; but, it is also accounted for by the further fact that, m order to fill up gaps m the Ulster Division, Catholics have been recruited m Dublin and elsewhere, and drafted into the Ulster Division. A correspondent sends us the following cutting from the Birmingham "Catholic Press" published m April of this year: CATHOLICS IN ULSTER DIVISION. MEN FROM SOUTH FILLING UP THE GAPS. Those who were under the lmpretsion that the Ulster Division was entirely composed of Ulster Protestants will be interested to learn from a letter written from Franco by Fr. H. V. Gill, S.J., Senior Catholic Chaplain with the division m France, that "before this last attack the Catholics of this 'division numbered between 2000 and 8000. "It is right," adds Fr. Gill, "that this fact should be widely known so that all may participate m the praise which the division has so well merited. Though many -of this division come from the North of Ireland, there were a largo number from Dublin and other places." Even recent drafts sent to fill up the gaps m the so-called Ulster Division have contained a large percentage of Catholics from the South of Ireland. There ai'e many lessons to be learned from the facts stated m the paragraph above. One is that the British military authorities have, apparently, much better sense than some of the pretended "Loyalists" who are constantly making trouble about the alleged "disloyalty" of v .Catholics, and. knot only readily avalj: themselves of Sfhe fighting service#^;£atholics, but, gin spite,/. of the J&lsei&Jaft&ed. intolerance Vof Catholics,, do'ndphesltate . to ; Jinco)rpb>atef^tfq&3ands of them ■•iii'^a,-''divisloTi*'-thatiis9tt;ainly Prot«s%iVps^- ; other':fact-is;\;tlii r j'''the-militar^.'ab«idr4 : ?'. -ties<doTnot.cl;!3bßLnd a' divisidn^bej&use' it .cloba.-nQt'hap*pen to be coriyenieVt to fill "up the gaps m it with men from the same county, or province, as that from which most of the men m that division came. Consequently, we find an Ulster division with numerous 'men m its ranks who came from "Dublin and other places." This paragraph also shows that men from the North and South of Ireland : can associate freely, and m strong friendship, even m a war to the death — providing that they are not set at one another's throats by professional strife-mongers. In view of the success with which that Ulster Division combines both Protestants and Catholics, there can be little ioubt that the people of all provinces

of Ireland would easily unite into one nation if it were not for the fact that there are certain persons who think it to their interest to keep them disunited.