An Appeal to Truth

Excerpt from An Appeal to Truth: A Letter Addressed by Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines, and the Bishops of Belgium, to the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of Germany, Bavaria, and Austria-Hungary The eyes Of wounded Germans have been gouged out, their ears, noses, fingers, and sexual organs cut off, or their bowels opened. In other cases German soldiers have been p'oisoned, hanged from trees, sprinkled with boiling liquids, and sometimes burnt, so that they have died' in frightful agony. These brutish proceedings of the population not only violate the rules expressly laid down by the Geneva Convention as to the care and attention due to the enemy wounded, but are contrary to'the fundamental principles of the laws of war and of humanity. Put yourselves, for a moment, in our place, dear Brethren in the faith and priesthood. We know that. These shameless accusations of the Imperial Government are calumnies from end to end. We know it, and we swear it. Now, your Government, to justify them, calls evidence which has not been submitted to any cross-examination. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.