FROM THE ARCHIVES:The Ne Temere decree by Pope Pius X a hundred years ago – which required children of mixed marriages to be brought up as Catholic – had some unintended consequences, to judge by this letter to the editor. –
JOE JOYCE
SIR, A Catholic that refuses acceptance and submission to this Decree ceases to be a Catholic, and, in common with every member of the Church known to me, I accept it absolutely. If I present some considerations that question its expediency at the present time, let it not be supposed that I do not yield complete submission to it.
I have spoken with, or, more accurately, been spoken to by, two priests holding very responsible positions, on the subject. Each of them volunteered their doubt as to its expediency and probable effects. A lay friend of mine, a man of education and intelligence, and a faithful, practical Catholic, tells me that when the Decree came out, four or five priests expressed to him their strong doubt as to the advisability of its application to Ireland, and their fear that it would lead to unsatisfactory results.
What I fear is this: that it will in many instances prove injurious to Catholicism in Ireland. I yield to no one, Catholic or Protestant, in my dislike of mixed marriages; but in Ireland they are inevitable. Human motives are unconquerable.
Catholic girls, poor and middle class, find it very difficult to get Catholic husbands in the artisan world and in the sphere of commerce and business able to support a wife and family. This is a fact of daily experience, and this is not the place to inquire the causes.
Protestant suitors come forward, prepared to allow the children to be brought up in the Catholic Church, and engaged in active, prosperous pursuits, and they are accepted. In most parts of Ireland the Church refuses to celebrate the marriage, and tells the parties that, if they want to get married by a priest, they must cross to certain places in England. The poorer class and many of the middle class cannot afford to do this, and get married by a Protestant clergyman. The wife goes, after an interval, to confession. Henceforth she will be told, very fairly and properly, that she is not married in the eyes of the Church, and that her life, if she continues to live with her legal husband, is mere concubinage. She will be warned that the continuance of such a life will place her outside the Sacraments and the ministrations of her Church. In many instances she will either give up religious observances or become a member of the Church that recognises her marriage and allow her children to be brought up in it.
I wish I could venture to write my name under this letter. It only reveals thoughts that are present to many Catholics. But I am afraid to do so. If I did, I should be hailed by certain Protestants and attacked by certain Catholics as an enemy of the Church. I know in my heart I am nothing of the kind, and that I am quite entitled to sign myself.
Yours, etc,
A Staunch Catholic