The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-11-13
Excomm ma mic alton Touching Schools
and Trade.

| clSed concerning Vloleut extltioHs Va cSSAS
siastical authority by two priests OF the
Roman Catholic Church, one at Cambridge
port, near Boston, the other at Holyoke, IN
the Connecticut Valley. As interest in
these cases is spreading over the country
and distorted statements of the facts are
multiplying let us condense them as we
understand them to be.
The Cambridgeport priest. Father Scully,
having established a parochial school. has
recently refused the sacraments to parish
toners who suffered their children to attend
the public schools. 1t is alleged, also, that
he has refused them in instances OF unmar-
ried parishioners who neglected to contrib
ute to the expenses of the parochial school,
but this does not distinctly appear.
Further allegations are made of harshness
in his administration of corporal punish
ment to his scholars, and Of the inferiority
of the teaching they receive to what they
might freely obtain elsewhere. He also
denies the right of any other priest to adj
minister the sacraments to the offenders.
There is division among his parishioners
as to the propriety of his conduct, and the
dissentients demonstrated against it few
days ago to the Archbishop of Boston, who
is understood to refuse to interfere. The
chairman of the committee who waited
upon him reported at parish meeting that
they we're satisfied as the result Of their in
terview "that Father Scully's course in the
support of his school met his entire APP
prevail
The Holyoke priests trouble dates back
to 1875, but having resulted in lawsuit
which came to jury trial only last week,
simultaneously with the Cambridgeport ex-
element. the official ascertainment of the
facts and the judges charge upon them
have renewed great attention to the case.
Holyoke is a manufacturing town, with
large number of Canadian factory hands,
mostly Roman Catholics who belong to
parish under the charge of Father
Dufresne. Protestant preacher. who was
q convert from Catholicism, having come
down there from Canada to lecture. Father
Dufresne forbade his people to listen to
him, and denied the sacraments to all
whom he could ascertain defed the pro-
hibition and refused to manifest con-
triton. Among these was livery
stable keeper whose patrons were
mainly in the parish, and special
allusion was made to his offence from
the pulpit by enjoining the congregation
against hiring his hacks or using them, ''on
the pains Of accommodation" and by
giving notice that the Offices Of the Church
would be withheld in any baptism, mar
riage or funeral in which they should be
employed. The hackman thereupon sued
the priest for resulting damages to his BUSH
ness, which being proved on the trial the
| jury returned him verdict for several
thousand dollars under o charge from the
Bench that "our laws do NOT allow any
| ecclesiastical authority to interdict q man
from pursuing his ordinary business or
prevent even the members Of the same de-
nomination from which he has been ex-
communicated to deal with him." with the
Limitation, however. that 'if the defendant
only forbade the customers of this man
from employing him to bring them to
ings and Offices of the Church, then the
plaintiff cannot recover"
The distinction between the two cases is
manifest. Father Scully's anathemas, as
we understand them, arc solely of spiritual
nature. and accordingly, whether pro-
nounced with or without due authority. are
not actionable at law. There have been
times when accommodation was attended
with serious temporal Inconvenience, which
might afford foundation for an action, but
those exist no longer in the United States
of America, if they ever did exist in any
part Of our national domain. Anciently in
England the spiritual reprobste was even
liable to o writ by which the Sheriff was d.
rected to imprison him in the county jail
until he was reconciled to the Church, but
this writ never struggled across the At
lantic. If we may be pardoned political
comparison, the law in this country treats
mere spiritual Curse like what Mr..
Evarts lately styled "voting in the air.
something ineficacious of civil results.
| But Father Dufresne's anathema against
the hack driver passed this limit and
containing injunctions of a temporal IA
ture, designed to injure the man in his
trade, he was justly indicted in dam
ages. Indeed, it may be queried whether
common sense justifies the judges excep-
ton Of hack driving to baptisms, marriages
and funerals from consideration In their
assessment. The case goes up for review
of questions Of law, but there cannot be
much doubt that the verdict will be held
by the plaintiff Neither can there be
much doubt thnt the free exercise of public
discussion, in which Father Scully's
parishioners seem to be indulging, will
adjust the questions touching his parochial
school correctly without getting up a re-
ligious rumpus between Catholicism and
Professionalism. II q parochial school does
not furnish so good instruction as the pub-