and reckless projects of revolution or open resistance to authority; and it has been suggested that Ireland should renounce her obedience to the Church, in order to assert her independence." The Archbishop says: "Associations promoting the revolutionary spirit, or preaching doctrines contrary to the obedience taught us in the Scripture, cannot produce good effects."
In 1884, Archbishop Cullen, in terms which seem applicable. mutatis mutandis, to the Philadelphia Convention of 1883, denounced "the smiled Fenians or Brothers of St. Patrick." He says:—"Such societies are only calculated to sow discord in the country, and to weaken it, turning away the people's minds from every useful undertaking, and directing them to schemes of armed resistance and violence, and to utopian projects, which never can be realized. The promoters of such societies, and those who recommended them in the public press, are {also friends, agents of evil, who come among you in sheep's clothing, under the pretence of being children of St. Patrick." He exposes the weakness of the excuse that "the societies referred to are not secret, as they are publicly known to exist, and hold their meet. ings under the eyes of the world." He adds that "the late Archbishop of Baltimore, a great ornament of Church, expressed his disapprobation of the Fenian organization in the strongest terms, and the Bishops of Chicago and Philadelphia, and other prelates, have admonished their flocks in the most solemn manner against the dangers of these brotherhoods." "I need scarcely remind you," continues Archbishop Cullen, "that the Archbishop: and Bishops of Ireland also reprobated and condemned all such associations, in their meeting of last August." He urgently exhorts the faithful of his diocese of Dublin "to avoid all connexion with the aforesaid societies and brotherhoods, and not to frequent their meetings or to read their newspapers, and he calls on those who have had the misfortune to join them, to abandon them immediately, to make reparation to those whom they may have scandalized or led away by their example, to do penance for the past and be reconciled to the Church of God."
To this pastoral of Dr. Cullen were added, in an appendix, a letter of the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Dr. Wood, and a copy of the Fenian declaration. In the letter of Archbishop Wood is the following passage:—"To say nothing of the 'Masons,’ 'Odd Fellows,' 'Sons of Temperance,' etc., about whose condemnation no doubt can exist, these societies are known by various other appellations; such, for example, as the 'National Brotherhood,' lately condemned by the Bishop of Ireland; the 'Fenian Brotherhood,' whose efforts to aggregate members to their association in this country are unscrupulous and unceasing, and, in addition to these, the ‘Molly Maguires,' ‘'Buckshots,’ and others, whose spirit is equally objectionable, and whose name seems to be selected rather to conceal than to indicate the object of their association." The Fenian declaration, to be taken by every member, was given "in the authentic account of the proceedings of the first National Convention of the Fenian Brotherhood, held in Chicago, in November, 1863, and published by J amss Gibbons, printer, Philadelphia." and is as follows: "I, N. N. solemnly pledge my word of honour as a truthful and honest man, that I will labour with earnest zeal for the liberation of Ireland from the yoke of England, and for the establishment of a free and independent government on Irish soil. That I, N. N. will implicitly obey the commands of my superior officers in the Fenian Brotherhood, etc., etc., and that I will foster, defend, and propagate the aforesaid Fenian Brotherhood to the utmost of my power."
"The sixth rule, page 35, of the Brotherhood, is a protest against episcopal and papal authority—against those who may claim to represent, or to receive instructions from any foreign potentate or foreign official whatever. The words of this rule appear to be copied from the Protestant oath of allegiance, formerly introduced for the purpose of preventing the exercise of the power of Christ‘s Vicar in England. To illustrate the character of the Fenians we"—so writes Archbishop Cullen—"give the following extract from the Liberator, an organ of the party published in London:—
