Cardinal MacRory Pleads For Peace
Speaking at the Derry Guildhall on the eve of the consecration of the new Bishop, Cardinal MacRory reviewed. the international situation.
"We are living through an anxious time, a time for prayer rather than for speeches," said His Eminence. "It is a time for earnest prayer to Almighty God that He may have mercy on His warring peoples. War clouds overhang the sky, and God alone knows what hangs behind them.
"It is the duty of all good Christians to pray that the war be brought speedily to an end, followed by a just peace,"
THE DIFFICULTY OF POLAND The Cardinal then referred to Poland's sad plight.
"Poor Poland's sad plight," the Cardinal said, " is a great difficulty to peace at the moment, but it will be almost as great a difficulty in three or four years, hence there seems to be more hope for a just peace now than if the war were fought to a finish, because then it would in all probability be a victor's peace."
BOLSHEVIK DANGER A prolonged war, the Cardinal argued, would smoothe the path for Russian Communism.
" No Christian can contemplate calmly the prospect of a war for three or four years, the prospect of Christians on both sides slaughtering one another and so smoothing the path for Russian Communism.
"There are 40 or 50 millions of Christians in Germany," the Cardinal added, " and millions of Christians in Britain and France. That is what I think is the danger if the war is continued. Knowing her numbers as you know them, you know that Russia is waiting to step in at the finish and trample on them ail.
"I hope and pray that very soon negotiations will be tried, and that it will result in a just peace. I say just peace, for without justice enduring peace is impossible."
NO FRATRICIDAL STRIFE In another section of his address Cardinal MacRory referred to the partition of Ireland. While expressing his belief that it would end, he pleaded that Irishmen would not add to the eufferings of war by " fratricidal strife."
"Unless democracy in these islands is a sham," His Eminence said, " your time will come before long, and then there will be another relief of Derry.
" Meantime, my advice to you is trust in God and try to entertain sincere feelings of Christian charity for all fellowcitizens.
".r have no good reason for believing such a thing, but I hope and pray that no section of Irishmen, North or South, will do anything in these critical times to endanger the peace of our country and involve it in fratricidal strife.
"It is bad enough to suffer from war, but that suffering would be nothing to what it would be If we had internal strife. We an know how easy it can be at such times of tension to light a spark that would start a conflagration. 1 feel very deeply about the peace of our country and about this matter. While war is going on abroad, if anything happened now to Interfere with the peace of our country it would be a disaster."
[Consecration of the Bishop of Derry, Page 2.]