The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 4, 1926, Page 8

History of the Catholic Church in Mexico By MANUEL GOMEZ. CHAPTER III, The Church and Political Progress. AST week I made it clear that the catholic church in Mexico has al- ways been a political institution. In the present chapter we shall see what the political role of the church has been in the historic forward move- ments of the Mexican people. “Revolutionary Fathers” Excommunl- cated. The struggle for national independ- ence from Spain may be said to date from the year 1810. On midnight of September 10, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo, everywhere known as the father of Mexican independence, issued the fa- mous “grito de Dolores” from the little church where he was parish priest. Hidalgo gathered a fervent band of revolutionists about him and led a pro- longed struggle for independence. The revolt was finally put down. Hidalgo was executed. The catholic church, which was tied hand and glove to the forces of Spanish privilege in Mexico, co-operated with Spain by excommuni- cating this great leader, who is today revered by the entire Mexican people. Hidalgo was not the only revolu- tionary leader excommunicated by the ehurch. Another of the fathers o! Mexican liberty who met the same fate was the warrior priest, Jose Maria Morelos. Thus we see in the very beginning of Mexico’s struggles what afterwards became, a. choracteric!i7. foatnrs of them: thé l6weér clergy—poor priests, exploited by the upper strata of the catholic hierarchy—aligned with the people against the church, revealing deep divisions within catholicism which must assist the process of eventual decentralization and destruc- tion of the entire hierarchical organi- zation, Mexico finally achieved its independ- ence in 1821. An important factor in the success of the revolution was the defection of Iturbide; commander of the Spanish forces, who had his own ulterior motives for going over to the Mexican side. One must understand this to appreciate the role of the chrreh e+ thet period and in the pe- A tremendous upheaval had taken Pa..v at DpuiD., King Ferdinand had veen pushed aside by the triumphant liberal congress, wich immediately put thru a series of reforms in Spanish law. Immediately the reactionary forces in Mexico, and in other Spanish colo- nies, began to look with considerable favor on the idea of separtion from Spain. The new movement in Mexico gathered great momentum, now as- sisted with particular zeal by religions orders whose suppression had been de creed thruout the Spanish empire by the liberal congress of Spain. In Mex- | ico City the very backbone of the revo- lutionary conspiracy was the Order of: Jesuits; while in VeraCruz Father Fra Jose de San Ignacio exhibited extraordinary activity in organizing all the influential people in his dis- trict under the banner of the revolu- tion, in obtaining supplies of money, and in lauding Iturbide as the “savior of religion and liberator of the father- land.” “Red, Green and White.” The church joined the revolution belatedly in order to win a new strong- hold. No thought of republicanigm entered its mind, It proceeded with a definite conscious program aimed to strangle the new republic at its very birth. On February 24, 1821, Iturbide, with the sanction of his clerical sycophants, issued a manifesto, known in Mexican history as the “Plan de Iguala,” which proclaimed the following principles: 1. Establishment of the Roman catholic apostolic religion as the na tional religion, without toleration for any other. : 2. Absolute independence for Mex- ico. 3. Establishment of a monarchical form of government, “tempered by a constitution suitable to the coun- try.” 4. Summoning of Ferdinand VII, or some member of his family, or of some other royal family, to the throne of Mexico, to reign as em- Peror and establish a dynasty. 5. Establishment of a Junta to carry on the government untij the meeting of the Cortez. 6. Said Junta to rule in virtue of an oath of allegiance to the king until the duties of the government should be assumed by the monarch in person, . + ae . . 8. That in the event of Ferdinand Vil being unwilling to accept the throne of Mexico, the Junta to con- tinue the functions of government until such time as a suitable ruler be chosen. 9. The government to support and maintain the “three warrantees”: independence, unity, religion, sym- bolized in the national flag, by the colors, red, green and white. * . *. * * 13. Maintenance of the present in- stitution of property. 14. Endorsement and protection of all ecclesiastical “fueros,” privileges and possessions. — : In addition to the articles quoted, there were a number dealing with the constitution of the army and judi- ciary, but I have sufficiently indicated the drift of the document. The semi- feudal despotism of church and big land owners is affirmed as the domi- nant force of the nation. The First Mexican Empire. The church did not succeed in find- ing a European monarch for Mexico. Whereupon it gave support to the overweening aspirations of Iturbide. On the night of August 18, 1922, the new-born republic received a mortal stab in the back. By a well-planned coup d'etat, Iturbide was suddenly proclaimed emperor, and a sergeant of the army was sent with his company parading thru the streets of Mexico City shouting: “Long Live Augustin I, Emperor of Mexico!” Iturbide, the arch-traitor—who betrayed first his own Spanish employer, and then the Mexican republic, which he had helped to establish—was solemnly crowned by the representative of the pope in Mexico. Shortly thereafter congress was dissolved. Thruout the succeeding years the struggle raged between liberals and conservatives—the latter, the party of the big land owners, being consist- ently supported by the church. Itur- bide’s ephemeral empire had fallen before the end of 1822, but the strug- gle against reaction was rooted deep in the economics of Mexico’s social system, and could not be ended so simply. The Church and “la Reforma.” After the establishment of Mexican independence, the next great up- heaval that marked the forward march of Mexico was the so-called Ayutla revolution, sometimes known as the war of the Reform, Here again we see the church standing squarely in the roadway of progress, pushing the other way. Just as Hidalgo is the great hero of Mexico’s independence struggle, so Benito Juarez is the hero of the “la Reforma,” the first modern revolution to sweep aside the semi-foudal privi- leges standing in the Why of capital- ism. No other figure in Mexican: his- tory, not even Hidalgo, is revered in the republic south of the Rio Grande as universally as Jaurez. Hig statue A PEEK EACH WEEK AT MOTION PICTURES MARE NOSTRUM ERE is “another of those things.” A picture splendidly acted, -beau- tifully photographed, most capably di- capably wasted his ability as director on ft. ; To convince yourself how -motion pictures are chosen to herd the work rected—all for a story that is so/er into slaughter, or to see how it is damnably punk it is an insult to even the intelligence of a jack-rabbit. And more, it comes a whole eight years too late for its purpose.’ We advise every worker to see it (showing at the Roosevelt Theatre in Chicago) for its many good features and to see what hysterical war propaganda real- ly looks like in normal times. “Mare Nostrum” is a rank propa- ganda story written by that rank pro- pagandist Blasco Ibanez, for the Allies during the world war. And a vicious bit of propaganda it is. The “sacred cause” of the Great Powers is glori- fied, and the Germans vilified and pictured ag head-shaven brutes. The story deals with a sea captain in the Mediterranean and his love for a beautiful spy, espionage, and subma- rines. The brutality of submarine warfare impresses one quite vividly and dramatically and of course is pic- tured at the expense of the Germans only. On this one theme are wasted all the splendid things we mentioned. Antonio Moreno gives a most credit- able preformance very ably assisted by Alice Terry, who is not only a blond but very much an actress. Three hundred pound Hughie Mack occupies a prominent role and a lot of space. The balance of the cast is composed entirely of foreign actors (including Germans whom it villifies) speaking volumes for the “foreign invasion” of American films, a subject deserving of special notice. Read these names of the cast: Fernand Mailly, Mlle. Kith- nou, Michael Brantford, Frederick Mariotti, Mme, Paquerette, Andre von Engelman, Rosita Ramirez, Uni Apol- lon, Alex Nova, and Kada-Abd-el Ka- der. On seeing this picture one cannot avoid a comparison with “The Big Parade,” another “war picture.” The former is at least an approach to an honest portrayal of war, brilliantly done, artistically satisfying; “Marc Nostrum” is a dishonest bit of fak« for gullibles tho most ably done. Why such a medium was chosen for the lavish expenditure of both money and talent, at this time particularly, is in- deed a mystery (After all the Ger- mans may not be “our” next “enemy”). Rex Ingram who has many notable productions to his credit has also most done if you are already convinced— see this picture. The lesson and many good features it has of the picture are worth the price of admission, eo) WC. CHICAGO'S PAUL ASH— A MUSICAL BARNUM ype! you imagine a crowd that will wind around a theater for two blocks, patiently waiting for an hour and a half “to see the show?” For three days in succession thig sight greeted us at the Oriental Theater as early in the evening as 6 p. m., and it took exactly four attempts on our part to see the performance without wait- ing. And we had to miss supper to do it! It wasn’t the movie. “Senor Dare- devil,” the picture showing last week would never pass the censorship of the most gullible galoot who goes to the theater. Paul Ash does it! Paul Ash of the waving, long hair and the flare of Barnum, There is something quite remarkable about this self-styled “Rajah of Jazz.” He has contrived to weld a performance that gets down to his audience, that gets under its skin and that becomes a habit that brings them back week after week with clock-like regularity and in in- creasing numbers, His performance is often vulgar. A downright, broad and “common” vul- garity that is reminiscent of the old burlesque show. He resorts to the rankest kind of sob stuff and slap- stick. He monopolizes the stage. Even when another performer is doing his or her “specialty” Paul has his own little spot-light. He dominates and is part of every move that is made at all times and everything that “goes: over” only adds to Paul’s particular glory. Paul Ash is all these things and more—and I know it! And I’m hanged if I don’t make an effort each week to crash the gate to get in before the half-mile line that gathers every even- ing to pay tribute to his low-down genius. With the intelligence of the born showman, Paul Ash has com- bined the music of his excellent jazz orchestra with scenery, variety and surprises. And the usually mediocre performers who fill his bill really look to good advantage. Not that Paul does not include occasional really good “bits.” On the program, which is changed every week, a dancer, 4 singer, or perhaps a member of his own orchestra will surprise you with something that is truly clever. That's part of a Paul Ash show. But that’s not all. The secret of this musical Barnum is not pure charlatanry, nor even abil- ity. Paul Ash has discovered the secret of making the audience take part in his show. He’s personal. When he talks to his audience—it’s to an old acquaintance. When he tells them something new—it’s something “special” for his audience. They sing with him and for him. They meet every Sunday morning in a Paul Ash Club to get acquainted. He lets them laugh at his hair. He lets hig per- formers poke fun at him on the stage —within limits that don’t endanger his prestige. He laughs, he sings, he dances and he plays—and they pay to see Paul Ash—the one and only Paul Ash—and his performers who are styled the “Little Hot Ashes.” They sure are. And so’s their old man! Ww. Cc. is in every city. A full-blooded Zapo- tec Indian by birth, he personified the essentially native character of the rev- olutionary movement, During all the years of his promi- nence Juarez was anathemetized by the catholic church. The church helped to raise armies against him and stopped at nothing, not even foreign intervention, to strike at the cause of which he was ea l revolution Bas clfleat dicta tor-president, Santa Ana—that arch- fiend of Mexican history—undertook “to scatter the sacreligious enemies of the Lord,” but he was forced to flee the country, nevermore to return, The three years of bitter war led to the presidency of Juarez. The re- form laws and the constitution of 1857 were the signposts of the new era. (To be continued in the next issue of this Magazine.)