The Hawaiian gazette., 1879-04-23
Archbishop Purcell's Financial
Difficulties.


For some fine the newspapers of the United
States have been teeming with accounts of the
financial difficulties Of Archbishop Purcell, of
Cincinnati, and the accounts have differed SO
much in details that one is puzzled to gather
from them anything like true statement OF
the Bishops financial affairs, or to speak more
properly, the financial affairs of the diocese
over which the venerable Archbishop presides.
The position occupied by Bishop Purcell, as
high dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church,
in the United States, and the interest that nat
urally centers in anything pertaining to the
secular as we'll as the ecclesiastical relations
of the church, warrant the publication of any
authentic information explanatory of those re-
lations, and as Bishop Purcell has given the
real facts to the public through the newspa-
pers of Cincinnati, where he resides, the re-
publication of his own statement should be
sufficient to satisfy the most prurient curiosity.
The following article published in Cincin-
matt paper under date of March 20, gives the
most complete and satisfactory statement of
the financial affairs of the Archbishop as fur
nished by himself:
letter from Archbishop Purcell, published this
morning after recting the struggles of his early ife
his removal to the Cincinnati diocese the necessity of
going into debt to provide for the wants of the do
cese. etc. dwes on his present financial troubles
He states that it be safely said that not more
than $500 900 was money deposited. The rest is the
result of compound interest. As proof be cites an
instance which occurred recently where the creditor
called with Claim of 81 100 In presenting it he
admitted that it was interest, and expressed viii
lnguess to accept $500, the amount Of the original
deposit. He claims that hundreds of the same
nature. The indebtedness of the diocese in equity
does amount to than 81 900 900, to place it
at the highest figure. He says, further, that for
twenty years no general collection has been taken
up for the support of the Seminary the entire burden
of the education of priests falling upon the Arch
bishop. He paid the salaries of the Professors and
fed, clothed and educated seminaries. He also paid
the expenses during the period for ecclesiasti-
cal students at Mount St. Mary's, Emmetsburg, in
France and Rome. In twenty years these expenses,
which in justice the whole diocese should have borne,
amounted to a vast sum. While in Europe be bought
a library of 16. 900 volumes, with phiosophic appa-
ratus. ETC., which required large expenditure,
which with the sum spent in building an Orphan
Asylum, Cathedral and other buildings, finally
swamped him. The Archbishop then rehearses the
situation, declaring that, but for the generous
pathy of Catholics and Prntestants alike, he would
have sunk under the weight of his troubles. He
then appeals to B Catholics and others, who feel for
From the foregoing We gather the fact, that
the Archbishop's difficulties are the result of
an honest endeavor on his part to do more
than one man should undertake without having
ample funds to draw from independent of the
individual contributions of the members of
the churches in single diocese as well as
to deficient business capacity to manage 80
in the work he undertook. The appeal which
the Archbishop makes to the Catholic people
of the United States for aid we feel satisfied
will be promptly and literally responded to,
and that in a short time any deficit that exists
will be made up, and the affairs of the church
adjusted to the satisfaction of all persons con-
cerned The Roman Catholic church in the
United States is power that cannot be ig-
nored, and therefore, it is fair to presume that
it will come mp to the aid of the Archbishop
as requested by him in his appeal.