The Catholics and Carranza

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 20, 1916

The Catholics and Carranza

For months some in the Catholic Church have waged a very earnest controversy against the recognition of the Carranza government in Mexico, on the ground that Carranza and his followers stand bitterly opposed to the Catholic Church. Much dissatisfaction has been expressed over the recognition of Carranza by the United States government and by some of the Latin American governments.

President Wilson’s private secretary, Mr. Tumulty, himself a Catholic, recently issued a statement, the ostensible object of which was to justify the step taken by the United States in giving to the Carranza faction governmental recognition. In this statement he expresses grave doubts as to the reliability of reports of outrages against nuns which have been attributed to Carranza and his followers. Mr. Tumulty declares that while there has been any number of reports, yet “none of our consuls or special agents who have diligently investigated reported cases has been able to verify them. It was said that at Zacatecas a great many of the nuns had been outraged. Our special agent who was sent there to make inquiries, after a thorough investigation, covering two weeks, reported that he had not been able to confirm the report.” Mr. Tumulty adds: “It is proper to observe here that perhaps some nuns may have been assaulted, as might have occurred in any other country under the conditions of wild disorder which then prevailed in Mexico, and especially when it is considered that the laws of Mexico prohibit a nun from wearing any garb or any other insignia to indicate her calling, so that she would be in no way distinguishable from others of her sex.”

There has appeared to be a revolt on the part of the Mexican revolutionists against the Catholic Church. This was only natural. When the church gets out of her place, as she has repeatedly done in Catholic countries, and seeks to control civil as well as religious affairs, times of stress and revolution, when men are fighting for their liberties, have caused a reaction from this régime. And it is probable that in this reaction which has occurred in Mexico license has often been mistaken for liberty. But we must conclude from the investigation which has been made, according to Mr. Tumulty, that these great abuses which the Catholics allege have been suffered by that church in Mexico have been greatly exaggerated. The Catholic Church should receive precisely the same privileges in Mexico and in every other country as every other church; and if it were content to be satisfied with this, it would be better for all concerned,—better for the church and better for the state.