THE PERSECUTION IN PRUSSIA EXPLAINED

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 40, 31 January 1874, Page 12

THE PERSECUTION IN PRUSSIA EXPLAINED

(Geemaic Coebespondeht of the ' London Tablet. 1 ) myßtebittm iniquitatis. You are not expecting me to furnish you with a detailed account of the latest measures taken with reference to the Church in Germany. Your readers -will have become familiar with them from what has been published in the newspapers. It will be my object in this «ommunication to coll your attention to the prime mover of the inconceivable persecution now raging, and to lay bare before your eyes the real springs by which the Imperial machinery is set afc-work. We Germans have been asking ourselves ever since the termination of the w ar which was so fatal to Fiance and to the Catholic Church, liow it has come to pass that at a moment of unusual awakening of patriotic feeling, aa well as of unmistakable need of internal harmony^ an opportunity has been seized of introducing confusion into a nation that lias so lately secured union, and of alienating the minds of at least fifteen millions of loyal Catholic subjects. This wondrous and mysterious political faux pas of B smarck is indeed an enigma, and all the more so because when lie was entering upon his 60th year he said out as plainly aa words can speak : " I am no longer a young man, but were the theories of the enemies of the Church to gain the' ascendant, I should be glad that my life were prolonged until the ' ship of fools,' freighted nith modern theorists, was dashed to pieces upon the rock of the Church." Yst this is the very man, who has ended by making himself the wildest champion of the most extravagant modern theories. This is the man whose great political ability no°one can call in question, that has thrown the fearful torch of discord — a discord of creeds — into the fabric of German unity which has just been completed. This is the mau who used to acknowledge that Cataolics were the most loyal of subjects, who even complimented them upon the fact, and now makes a war of exteimination upon the Church, having no other excuse than (lie miserable one of its fancied opposition to the State Aud all this ara time when at any given moment he may take it into his head to invoh eus in a new war! How then is this liddle to be solved? Let me try to throw some light upon this " mystery of iniquity " through the nudiums of some facts which partly came to my knows ledge as early as. December IbTO, at a time, that is-, when we Catholicin Germany weie building our hopes upon Prussia, with more confix dence as the squel shows, than wisdom.

jN'o sooner had the quondam Pomeranian Baron Bismarck who filled an nibi<>n:fieant post in the Federal Diet of Frankfort, set sail upon Ins diplomatic career, then the Baron 7on Linde recognized in ihe poor county gentleman the clilTon which the ancient and historic German Constitution was to be stranded at no very distant period. Biiinurtk attempted no concealment about his enthusiasm for Piussimi supremacy in Germany ; his d.uing character urging him ever en to new designs, in which the downfall oi Austria and the°union of Germany under Piussian mle played an important part. Scarcely had he been placed at the head of the Ministry, when he pushed that nylitary despotism, nuclei- which the people had already winced to its last extremity, liis project was rejected by the Chambers year after year, but this did l.ot prtvent him from levying the tuxes on his own respomilnlity. ISraMiig the national discontent, the term of three years niintaiy seniec was enforced by law, and he proceeded to erect a number of new and costly L-arracLs, all of which were placed, so to speak, ou a war looting. The Prussian army was not only to be' equal i« magnitude and ciliciencj' to that of Austria, bub was to bo its superior in lhco»y and practice. Scarce was the Schleswig-llolstein vnir— in whieli the Austnans fought with morn valour and success than the Prussians— brought to a close, than a rupture threatened between the two great German powers. The impending quarrel, thanks to the treaty oi Gnstein, was ior the moment a\erted ; Prussia was seen to be too weak to compote single-Landed with the Austrian Empire : it was forced to stieiigthcn itseli by union with another power, and it effected v union With July bound haaid and foot to the Freemasons. This alliance betv.tvn Bismarck nnd the Lodges took place in the birlna of !gISG. b

I am well »v arc that gome ascribe the date of this secret treaty to an earlier epoch., miaidy, to the \ery commencement of the above

named year (the Monde January 29 30, 1872) ; nnd a foundation for this view is offered in the proclamation issued by the Chief Lod»e of Berlin, in which document the "Brothers" were invited to put themselves in communication with the Government at the very time when the political conflict was at its-height. But I think that this foundatidn is more apparent than real. For the tempest raised by the smaller Lodges against thoproclamation was so terrible that the Chief Lodge was obliged to withdraw it ; while, on the other hand, the party of progress, under the direction of the most notorious of the Freemawns, went to euch lengths in their attacks upon the Prussian Premier that no one could possibly have suspected the existence of a secret understanding between himself and th« Sect. And further, the Prussian Minister put forward on every occasion, with such prominence, his Christian and mediaeval Conservative principles that moderu Liberalism and its Masonic organization could scarcely hare thought of a bond of union between itself and the man of vihom it stood in' dread. But higher than Christianity, higher than sound political government and G-ermany, in the estimation of the country Pomeranian squirt, stood the elevation of Prussia. To this idea he was ready to sacrifice any and everything. The hour of this sacrißce struck in the early part of 1866, when the war with Austria had been planned out. From this time a complete transformation took place in the principles of Prussian statesmanship. Let me explain my meaning. The Chiistian portion of the Prussian people were thoroughly opposed to a war with their brothers of Austria j including Catholics, Lutherans of the Old School, Conservatives, such members of tLfc Evangelical Established Church as held to a»y positive doctrine, the " Junker " school, and even all those upon whom the mighty man who held the helm had been- accustomed to lean. But-the people, with »he exception of the scum floating on the surface of the seething capital, would hear nothing of an unjustifiable attack upon pence-loving Austria ; indeed here and there- a • menooing attitude was assumed towards the war. The danger was no slight one that the Landwehr, if called out, would refuse to fight against the Austrains. Now ib would not have suited the pur-pose of the war-loving Premier to oppose the popular feeling : this would have entailed the loss, not only to his war* plan, but even of his own personal reputation ; and to levy the income tax independently of, nay in opposition to, the vot» of the Diet, (from which for three long years he had met with so much opposition) would have been a breach of the Constitution. In this quandary he grasped greedily at the only available support; he allied himself with the Freemasons. Immediately they placed at his disposal many trustworthy members, scattered over various portions of Germany, and further threw into the scale the whole weight of their moral influence, by means of which he was to be enabled to execute his plan of Prussianizing the whole of Germany, as well as in due time to carry out their own secret designs. Here we have the whole of the problem.' Bismarck is* the servant of the Freemasons, but at the-sarae time he is their master : so long that is, aa.he keeps his word to them. The Secret Brotherhood will do his bidding to constitute a Prussian Universal Empire ; but they will tuke a terrible revenge if he plays them false. • In the month ol May, 1866,. what went by the name of public opinion in Germany experienced a sudden and unexpected change: From the tone of the newspapers and the Liberals — these for the most part members of the three symbolical grades of the Sec**— we should hare been led to suppose that no fundamental ofcjectian could" be raised to the war, since nothing short of an appeal to arms could suffice to settle tLo feud between Prussia and the rest of Germany Austria included. The Sect of- the Freemasons, whose very life is war with the Church, had to be held together with fair promises. So tba Chancellor undermined and in part overturned the petty thrones' around : a tusk which he found not 60 very difficult. He had made himself lr aster of the diplomatic secrets of almost every Court in Europe Things happened during the Campaign of 1&36, and above all in that part of it which wa9 entrusted to the armee corps of Bavaria and Baden, that cannot be accounted for on any supposition short of • a secret understanding with the enemy. No 6ooner was the battleof Sadowa lost, and the Peace of Prague Bigued, than the Freemasons received an unparalleled acquisition of fresh force iv both North and South, the first fruits of their labors. It the north of Europe, Austria, prostrated by her Lite reverses, and in despair at the prospect opened - out before her, gave free scope within her territory to Liberalism and PVeeroasonei-y, -violated the Concordat entered into with the Holy See, drove the Church out of the Bchools, persecuted the Clergy, and, in a word, severed herself from ail 'that remained to her of tlie venerable • traditions of her Catholic forefathers. Thus the Church and the Papacy , were deprived of their strongest and firmest support. The Secret ' Society in the fair plains of the JMnube were beside themselves wit.i joy, and hailed the disaster of Sadowa as a victory for their party • whilst they pjtf-ed out a torrent of foul and unfounded accusations ugainst everything Christian, whether in the Government or in society at largo. To any one unacquainted with the jargon of the Lodges it was not dilficult 1 to penetrate behind the scenes and to see what was really going on. Iv the south of Europe the Sect had gained a groat step towards it* end when the temporal power of the Pope was taken from him. We must not suppose that the busyboJies who scoured Italy, had in their heart of hearts the realization of their watchword - " national uui'y.'' War with the Church has ever been, and is now' tiio real aim of all their actions. The plea of nationality wag a mere mask— a trap in which to catch the simple — a bright colored my meaut to light up a deed of darkness. Defeated on sea and on land Piedmont was still able to get possession of Venice "free, gratis, and for nothing" and by this acquisition advanced many miles nearer to the walls°of Home. Let the French garrison now be ousted from the Eternal city nothing more will stand in the way of accomplishment of the secret programme. Hero again the plans of Bismarck were as one with the desires of the Brotherhood. Prussia had to condense her strength ; the newly annexed provinces were to be united to the old territory und»r. one organization ; the Southern States of Gormany were to be reduced i to a state of vassalage; then would come the time to rid the world of I the last remaining Catholic nation — Franco. Here we have the reason I why the Prussian Catholics were treated with the greatest respect, and

V

why the Freemasons did not press any measures against them. It is noticeable that when, in the year 1868, Professor Gneist, Grand Master of the Lodges, and leader of the party of progress, had got ready a bill to be presented to the Diet, for the persecution of Religious Orders, a hint was enough and the bill was suppressed. The time for it had not yet come. Still, in the four years that intervened, Bismarck contrived to render great service, in various places, to the cause of decaiholistizing Europe. The Spanish revolution of 1868 was ejected with Prussian gold : the creation of Bismarck's brain, it -was- carried into execution by a trio of Freemasons, Prim — Serrano — Topete. Poor Isabella 11. had for some time held, nbmi nally, at least, the reins of government ; but she was a Catholic, and had even gone so far as to offer the Holy Father the aid of 20,000 men in case of an assault upon Borne. Accordingly she was to be set aside in the interests of the secret conspiracy against the Church. Bismarck lent his aid to the deposition of the Queen. Tfie •Catholic ournals were in the right w hen, as early as the autumn of 1868, they maintained that the strings of the revolution in Madrid were being pulled in Berlin. But people were incredulous, and little notice of the saying was taken at Ihe lime. When however a Hohenzollern laid claim to the throne of Ferdinand the Catholic, a light was thrown on the events that has just taken place, aud every eye was directed to (he now imminently impending Franco-Prussian war. The thread of the plot had been lost, and the world had ceased to connect cause and effect. The Catholics of Germany were completely hoodwinked — to such an extent indeed, that it was dangerous even in the best-meaning circles to betray any want of confidence in Bismarck and his Government. Men had become so used to blind trust in the revival of the ■base policy of the Lower Greek Empire, that we cannot wonder how Cfitholic soldiers could throw thempelves into the fight with a patriotism no less ardent than that of their Protestant Companions in arms. TBven when, on September 20th 1870, Victor Emmanuel laid his sacrilegious hands on the Patrimony of the Church, the Catholics of Geimanj' looked on with apparent indifference. -T-hose who were at the time full of interest in the fate of Rome felt shocked at the scandalous apathy misplaced confidence of those who had returned home from Northern Italy ; but they consoled themselves with the hope that " as soon as the accursed French rascals were got rid of, our ' King would -help the Pope." But those who were more 'far-sighted ■foreboded the •outbreak of a dreadful persecution, and were of opinion that the sooner it broke out the 'better. Doubt could no longer be entertained that Bismarck had, with servile cunning, first maie and then thrown out his nets to bring, at the proper time and with true Prussian bare"faoedness, the unsuspecting Wishes within the power of the Masonic Empire. Even enlightened Princes of the Church put their trust in this ally of the Secret Societies, As soon as the first flashes had left the heavily charged religious thunder-cloud, one of the most honorable of our Catholic noblemen declared in an assembly of brave sons of the Church, that in matters connected with the faith he stood unreservedly by the infallible Pope, but in political matters by the infallible Emperor. And it is this infallible Emperor, or rather I should say his first Minister, whom such persons are helping and must help to advance modern paganism, and to drive the Church of Christ down into the •Catacombs, of which the breathing vents are to be closed, that so the hated flock may die of suffocation. Thus will be worked out the consummation so devoutly wished, as one of fie poets of the Sect sin<»s in verse :—: — " Humanity shall fresh and beatiteous rise From national decay and from the death Religion brings in its train."— Herkwegii, Yes, the real question is that of the final victory of atheistic humanity over the Crow and over every form of positive religion. At this price ha 9 Prussia become what we now see her; and she must increase and wax etiil more mighty, in order that before the monster Empire of Central Europe, every other Power, whether 'in the heavens above or en the earth below, may be obliged to hold its peace. I often call to mind how, towards the end of the Franco-Prussian war, when every day fresh reports reached us of new victories gained, a Catholic Countess broke out, at a highly aristocratic table .in North' Germany, into the following words : "In every additional victory of ours over the French, I suspect an additional danger for the Church." The lady wa< light. The subjection of France iuvolved nothing less than the annihilation of the last of the Catholic powers. For France ha 3at all times, and especially in her outward action, been a Catholic Power. Napoleon the Third himself was forced into a semblance of Catholic policy ; it was the sole means of making himself and his decayed and effete Cacsarism possible in our age. No sooner was France humbled to the dust after the catastrophe of Sedan than the Piedtmontese cannon thundered outside the walls of Rome. This, however, was but the first instalment paid to the Freemasons. But as soon as France lay prostrate and powerless, a tabula rasa was made of all the CathoHc powers of Europe, and it was time to pay the full salary of Biomarck's secret allies. Amidst the shouts of military triumph could be heard the shrieks of the Sect exulting at the downfall of Romanism and the supremacy of Germatisti' — expressions significative of a religious rather than a political meaniug. These birds of night screamed against Internationalists in black coat?, against the ambition of a Pope who was in prison, against the political danger annexed to Papal infallibility. It was not a little remarkable that the most rabid agitators were notorious Freemasons.* I may mention some leaders of the Sect, Gneist and Bluntchli. Immediately after the year 1850 the Paris and Brussels Grand Lodge set on foot another measure, the removal of the schools from the jurisdiction of the Church. This indeed waa one of the earliest indications of the Empire having become Masonic. Henceforth the State alone and singly was to have superintendence of * The English Freemasons, we are told here are very tolerant, but on the continent the Sect distinguish themselves bj their burning hatred of all positive religion I recommend your readers to make acquaintance with a little work, the titfe of •which ia ' The Silent War of the Freemaaous against the Throne und Altar founded on Documents.' " Der Stillo Krieg der freumauerei gegeu Thron and Altar aus jDokuwcnton." Freiburg: Herder. 1573. '

the schools. The Church and her Ministers were, by the well known law of Pulpit Abuse (Lex Lutziana, or § 1 30 a) amenable to punishment for the free proclamation of the Gospel. The prosecutions, in virtue of this law were soon too numerous to bo counted ; they rained dowa upon the head of the poor Clergy. At the present time many a score of priests are in prison for "80 called seditious preaching, and of course when set at liberty they will be welcomed home by their flocks. It may well be imagined that in consequence of this arbitrary despotism, the Catholics, even of the better classes, are kept in a state of continual excitement, and are afflicted with -troubles that are becoming all but unbearable. Wherever there is a distinguished and therefore ~an influential priest, a telling and popular speaker, an apostolic preacher, there secret agents of the police are sent nt capiant eiin im sormone, that they may catch him in his speech. It is not a matter of any difficulty to pick out a proposition which may be construed into bearing a mischievous meaning : the accusers are the witnesses also for the prosecution ; and thejadge, inspired from above, knows to what decision he must come. The victim is hurietl off to "durance vile," 'under lock and key, while the people are for the time a guide the poorer, but in possession of a grievance aud the object j of an injustice which they will uot casil/ forgive.

(To be continued in our next).