"I pray God to bless those brave warriors and to grant peace to the Christian world by the reestablishment of Justice and Right."
What an encouraging contrast! On the one hand, a publicist, with the fury of its resounding organs, so widely used, vowing to eternal damnation, the armed scoundrelism which Canada is forging, with conditions inferior to Teutonic and Turkish barbarism, considering that it has reached the lowest depth of "a degradation unparalleled in any civilized country."
On the other, the Head of the Catholic Church in Canada, Cardinal Begin, blessing in the name of God Almighty our brave warriors who fight so valiantly with those of England, France and Belgium, because they love with true devotion the beauty and the sovereign importance of the great cause to the triumph of which they sacrifice their lives—the protection of the world threatened by Germanism.
On Thursday, October 26, 1916, Archbishop Bruchesi, of Montreal, present at a funeral service, in Notre-Dame Church, attended by many thousands, for the glorious victims of the sacred duty of defending the cause of the Allies, eloquently said in part:—
"They (our heroes) had voluntarily enlisted. Two years ago, they organized their Battalion, the glorious 22nd. They enlisted, conscious that they were defending the most just of all causes, that of Civilization, of Right, of Humanity. They enlisted with the conviction that they would serve the interests of their country, for, when oversea, they knew that they were defending Canada. They were young and strong; one could not see them without admiration.
"They have made their country's name and their own grand. They have for all times immortalized themselves in History, and, by them, Canada has been immortalized.
"The war is not over; it goes on horribly, but our hearts are hopeful. It is impossible that they should triumph the men who, during forty years, have prepared for the greatest war and who, during two years, have torn the world asunder and flooded the earth with blood. Impossible that they should triumph the men who have declared this war without a right to avenge, without a grievance to redress, without being menaced in any way. Impossible that they should triumph those who have torn, like a scrap of paper, a pact upon which the nations relied, having faith in the pledged word. Impossible that they should triumph those who have invaded the territory of valiant Belgium, whose only fault was: TO REMAIN TRUE TO HER HONOUR. They shall not triumph those who, on account of their military service, have made this war a carnage and a butchery without precedent in History. I believe in God of all Justice. Humanity wanted a suffering which purifies, but when mothers shall have wept long enough, God will have His Divine word heard.
"When this great work is accomplished, and when we shall sing the Te Deum of thanksgiving, we will be able to say that Canada, that all the Provinces of Canada, that our Province of Quebec, have deserved their share of glory."
On Tuesday, November 28, 1916, at a funeral service in the Quebec Basilica, addressing the large audience rallied to pray for the dead heroes, Reverend Mr. Camille Roy, one of the most distinguished professors of the Quebec Seminary, said in part:—
"They went, our officers and soldiers, to serve a great cause. Several reasons, perhaps intermingled in their conscience, have inspired their courageous decision....