The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-12-12
but as you say that you intend to publish
the correspondence, / prefer that they

There is another point. You quote
me as speaking of protestant families
and of Catholic servants" Had l
known how to pronounce the word
protestant" so as to have made your
informant to understand that ! meant
to commence it with capital p, |
should have done so. This. more for
an ecclesiastical, than for an orthograph-
ical reason. He understood me, it
seems, in my pronunciation Of "Catho-
lic." As l meant a capital letter, please
30 print. With these corrections, /
think that you may accept the report of
my remarks without any fear that l
/ shall deny having made them.
Permit me to say that ] recognize
and fully reciprocate the courteous tone
OF your note. Truly yours,
HENRY G. WEsTwooD.
To this communication was appended
a note merely giving my reason for the
delay in sending it.
The Bishop says that he declined
publishing the correspondence because
Of "the length of DR.. Westwoods letter
and the irrelevance of much Of it to
the subject Of my (his) inquiry" AS
wish the public to k,,o,o what l said to
Bishop 'Whelan, and also to judge Of
the "irrelevance" of my note, | have
given the correspondence.
Only word or two in reply.
/. ! made no attack upon the labor
ing classes of Bishop Whelan's Church,
nor did l wish to- injure them. No
man respects them more highly than l
do. The occasion for my remark is the
misfortune not the fault Of thousands Of
the deserving poor of the Romish
Church. Born and reared in that
church, and thoroughly loyal to its gov
eminent, / doubt not that they are sim
cere in their adherence to it, without
any thought Of the dangerous tendencies
of its political character, l respect them
accordingly, although may not endorse
what | may think erroneous in their
faith. From my knowledge Of the
members OF that church, among whom
are some Of my relatives, and many Of
my very dear friends, | believe that
there are hundreds of thousands belong
ing toits communion who are eminently
deserving Of consideration, affection
and support. And | am happy to be-
lieve that Of the number Of the citizens
Of Wheeling, embraced within its pale,
with whom | have the pleasure of per.
sonal acquaintance, there are many
who will sustain my previously formed
opinion. In my pulpit, in preachers
meetings and in private conversation, l
have always Disseminated between
Roman Catholics as religionists and
Catholic Romanists as upholders OF
temporal power, which, exempting the
clergy from secular authority, would
subject the nation to its dominion.
Father" Hecker in the Catholic World
for July, 1870, in his article on "The
Catholic of the nineteenth century so
we'll gives the programme that | am al
most inclined to quote il entire ] name
one or two points.
]. The American Catholic is TO WELD
his vote for the purpose OF securing
Catholic ascendancy in this country.
2. Legislation must be governed by
the will of God unerringly indicated by
the Pope.
3. Education must be controlled by
Catholic authorities; and, under educa-
ton, the opinions of the individual and
the utterances of the press are included,
and wrong opinions are to be punished
by the secular arm under authority of
the church, even to the extent OF war
and bloodshed.
This Father Hecker' is well known,
and the periodical alluded to is espe-
cially endorsed by the Pope,
To secure the full play of the tempo
raj power, complete system of espion-
age is absolutely necessary. And, with
out any fault on the part OF the deserv-
ing classes so warmly defended by the
Bishop, the Confessional can be, and /
firmly believe has been and is employed
to-this end. l think that / am fully
understood here, and so will pass on.
:. ii. Bishop Whelan says that my state
Meek is false. He repudiates it, and
declares that he is willing to confirm
his Reputation by the solemnity of an
oath. 1t strikes me that my venerable
friend is a little too ready to take an
oath, especially as every Christians
word is supposed to be as good as his
oath.
While may be willing to accept any
assurance from Mr.. r. V. Whelan,
whom / have heard OF as being a very
polite and agreeable gentleman, and
from DR.. r. V. Whelan, who is repre- |
scented to be a faithful Bishop in the
Roman branch Of the one true Catholic |
Church, Richard Vincent Whelan,
Bishop of Wheeling" as an ambas-
sador Of the Pope, will excuse me if
remind him that the Council of Con-
stance decrced against keeping faith
with heretics.
Again, the Bishop says that the priest
is bound to retain all the secrets Of the
confessional-hence the falsity OF my
implied charge. He will further ex-
cuse me if | call his attention to a
recognized principle of his church,
viz: THE superior, as the vicar Of God,
in place Of God, RENTS to man, the
debt of a plighted promise" So that if
need be, the Pope, or his legate, may
dissolve the obligation Of any VOW
even that which is supposed to bind the
confessor to the confessed. And Bel
larmine has said that, if treason be
known 70 a priest in confession, he may
in general words give notice 10 pious
and Catholic Prince, but not to here
tic. think that this little statement
will help the public the more accurately
to weigh the Bishops statement and
the more certainly to determine its
force
III. What the Bishop says about me,
does not amount to much fancy that
his manner of saying it will blunt the
Mint p,pterially | have no controversy