The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-07-04
Methodism on the Foreign Clergy,

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/ The Christian Aduocqte, Of this city, a
Methodist organ, lately came out in ram
bling attack upon the foreign clergy of this
country, suggested by tie occurrence which
has recently caused sueh1an cutlery on the
part of the Presbgterias newspaper. It
t1eammences by repeating the garbled state
nent of that paper as to the details of that
teveRt, but we leaxe- tho whole controversy
in the handsof Rev. Father Jeremiah Moy
nihan, who is amply able to meet his assail-
ants in the arena which they have chosen.
But the Christian ADVOCATE merely makes
use of this occurrence as the text for a
most virulent attack upon the foreign
clergy of the United States. In terrifying
this attack it makes an extraordinary num-
Der of erroneous statements of facts, 80
gross and transparent, in their incorrect
ness that it is hard to class them as mere
error. s,T 7n .,s., -:
The first is in attempting to show that
the foreign priest is not in sympathy with
this people because his religion is not
adapted" to- them, To show that, it
asserts that the Church has " scarcely a
single American priests
d. F.. o. ~
"By the by, why is it that after being an
hundred years in America the Roman Catholic
Church can show scarcely a single American
priest' Why has til still to import all its cler
gy, nuns, and brothersp Is not this church
adapted to purely American population ?"
How is it possible to excuse any person
who can read and write, from the charge of
deliberate misstatement in such para
graph Scarcely single American priesti
Without looking at the listof simple priests,
the hierarchy of our clergy shows large
American element. The Primate of Amer
lea, Archbishop Spalding,S himself is ma
tive of Kentucky. descended of an old
Maryland family Bishop Elder, of our
neighboring diocese of Natchez, is a native
of Maryland, of an old family. Bishop
McGill, of Richmond, is an American.
Archbishop McCloskey, of New York, and
the Right Rev. Bishops Bacon, of Portland,
Bayley, of Newark, Grace, of ST. Paul,
McCloskey, of Louisville, Rosecrans, of
Columbus, Williams, of Boston, and Wood,
of Philadelphia, are native citizens to our
knowledge, while there are many other
Bishops whose nativity we do not know.
Among mere priests, has not the-Advo-
cate ever heard of Father Hecker, whose
publications and disC0urses are SO fatal to
Professionalism throughout the North Has
it never heard the names of Baker, Wal
worth and Hewitt In truth, that paper
mnst have gotten its glimmering of informa-
ton from the condition of things in this
city, where alarge portion of the population
speaks French, and where nearly All other
HN-,sI
descendants Will the Aduocate insist on
native priests for n foreign population
Certainly not, unless it considers the duty
of a priest to include the teaching of poll
tics, like that of political parsons. i
If the 4drdcate would send an agent to
Tennessee, Maryland, Missouri, |
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other
States, where there is an old Catholic popu
lation, it will ascertain the fact that such |
have many American priests, i
many American nuns, Sisters of Charity |
and Brothers.
But few more prominent errors:
This foreign origin sufficiently accounts 81
the dissatisfaction of the Catholic clergy with /
everything that is peculiarly American; They |
in its efiort5 to diffuse education among the |
people g3.'s @'tt
The Catholic clergy are not at war, as
stated. They do not want the State to in
terfere with the edncaties4eG GetAeIie ell chill III
dren, and what is more, they won't permit
it, though they. should be driven into the
swamps and morasses,, starved and muir
dered for it, sas was the case in Ireland
during generations for the same cause.
3 " o.
They clamor for the public money for all |
their church institutions.
Again, no. They have some institutions
Of public charity, whereby the State is re-
ieved of Q heavy, burden, and for these
hey ask and get such aid. ill-: i-Ill-ly
They insist ON qbaing paid by The. State for |,
The training of every child they may pick up, |.
in Roman Catholic ideas, and hope to force the
people of Louisiana to do it, I d /
Not SO. They will be delighted if the
State viii merely cease taxing Catholics to
rain children in anti Catholic ideas. They