The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-02-19
THENEw BISHOP OF WHEELING.

The following brief sketch OF Father
Kain, the newly appointed Bishop Of tins
diocese, is from the Baltimore Sun, and
will be read with interest, not only by
bis own church people, but all others
The announcement was made yester-
dav, on the authority of cable dispatch
from Rome to the Freemdns J0@THdt
that one of seven new Bishops appointed
bv the Holy Father for the United States,
was Rev. j. J. Kain, Of Harper's Ferry,
IN the diocese of Virginia, to the nitro OF
the late Bishop Whelan, Of Wheeling,
West Virginia. As the pastor of Har-
per- Ferry Catholic Church, Father
hain has been, for nearly nine years,
laboring in jefferson and Berkeley coan-
ties, West Virginia, and adjoining coun-
ties of Virginia He is q man of sterling
character and general popularity. The
incident in his life Enthusiastically
indicative Of his force of char
acter, and which entitled him
to almost every mans c0nsldera-
ton, was the energetic way in which he
pursued SANDER against him and
brought it to head, August Il, 1874, fore
ing a retraction from his slandcrcr, and
mailing the lie down 50 tightly that 1t
could never rise again. This SANDER had
been circulated by storekceper in
Martin burg, damaging to the character
of Father Kahn rs a gentlemen. rs
u christian. and priest Father Kahn
procured written statement of the
slanderous accusations, and then by letter
demanded their denial under threat Of
legal consequences. His demand that the
acctscr should meet the issue, and at once,
was 80 firm and square and SO dctcrmin-
edlv put that he did not dare to avoid 1t,
and having no grounds for the false
hoods, made an absolute rctractlon. Al
forwards public opinion was 50 strong
against the author Of the SANDER, 1t l.
learned, that he was forced to break up
his business and remove to another To-
cality. Inpublishing the correspondence
at the time in the San, occasion was taken
to contrast the behaviour of this church
man with ministers who have figured III
scandal statements, and 10 say that
Fathcr Kahn case affords correct and
manful exhibition of the right course for
an innocent man to pursue, especially
minister of the gospel or other public
teacher. when "outragcou>ly slandcrcd,
and that it furnishes Il hcathiul example
for all under similar circumstances.
Father Kahn is native Of Murtinsbufg
,,.l,r, l. r.,,tl r.-t,l.
He is not much over thirty-tour year, of
age He is graduate of -. Charles
College near Ellicott City, Mary land,
md studied theology and philosophy AT
st. Murv's in Baltimore. He was or
iained in Baltimore ab"nt ten wears ago,
and hat always labored in the field from
which he has been translated to the mi
re. Besides being man Of sterling
,haractrr. he j. i'm excellent admiui>tra-
cor, Us evidenced by what he has accom-
plished in IN impoverished country, raw
aged by the war for nearly four years.
lie rebuilt the church ut Harper Ferry,
West Virginia, which was bad
" damaged hy the war.
He built handsome church at Martins
burg, W est Virginia, with the exception
Of the foundation, which was laid before
1861. At Winchester, Va, he took
charge Of Il very small membership after
the war, their church having been lev
cled to the ground. BY his energy lot
Of ground, more centrally located, was
purchased. upon which has been erected
one of the hand>omcst church editicea
in the Shenandoah Valley, costing some
thing like $4,000. Under his admins
tratiOn also the congregation, from a
very small one, has grown to be large
and fiourishing. He is now, when the
news reaches him that he is II Bishop
organize congregation at Front Royal,
Va. where he Is making arrangements
to build another church.