The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-09-01
THE CATHOLIC CONTROVERSY.

to the residence of Mrs. A. Thibaut. where
they were entertained during their stay. It
was the understanding Of the members of
the committee that had waited on the
Bishop in New Orleans ten days previously
that his grace would come up on Sunday,
and ample preparations for his reception
and entertainment at the rectory had been
made. His earlier arrival, the unlocked for
coupled with his apparent purpose to avoid
the church premises, which are in posses
sion of the Board of Wardens, threw a
damper on the confident anticipations gem
orally INDUCED that an amicable adjust
ment of the church controversy was about
to be attained, and the opinion began to
gain foothold that there would be no COM
promise effected. Gloomy forebodings of
failure gradually supplanted bright expec-
tations of success in the minds of those who
sought and desired the restoration of peace
i'll the Catholic congregation of our parish.
The transition was fastened when mem
Der of the conference committee waited on
the Bishop to invite him to dine at the rec
tory and learned that his grace had made a
prior engagement to take dinner at Mrs.
Thibaut's,
However, the committees representative
and the Bishop agreed upon the hour of 5
P. NJ. and the presbytery as the time and
place for the conference relative to the ex-
listing complications, and the hour was i'm
patiently awaited The Bishop having ex-
pressed desire at the meeting i'll New Or
leans that the committee should submit
propositions of settlement and that what
ever agreement was reached should be duly
written out and authenticated by the sigma
lures Of the parties, the conference COM
mittee and the wardens met at the Office of
Judge Sims, Sunday noon. and agreed to a
set of resolutions to be submitted to the
Bishop, embodying in substance the fol-
lowing proposals: That the full control and
usufruct of that portion Of the chure Il prop
erty lying between the upper line of the
p1t4lttttlOu t9t- l1iScAU olICOt3
on which the church, rectory, cemetery,
ETC., are situated, be granted the diocesan
authorities forever; that the Board Of War
dens have the administration and control
of the property above st. Vincent street,
obligating themselves to pay from its reve-
nues the diocesan 1.-THE of ten per cent, the
taxes on the property, the necessary expen-
ses of maintaining the curate and vicar, ap-
plying the balance to the construction of
the new church., and after the church is
completed to turn over all the surplus rev.
enues to the diocese; that Fathers Coupons
and Binder be removed and another priest
appointed for this parish.
Bishop Leray and Father Coupons ap-
peared at the rectory at the hour fixed, and
were met by Judge Sims, who escorted them
up stairs, where the members of the con-
ference committee had assembled. About
100 people had gathered down stairs, and
when it was decided to have the meeting
public, there was a rush for the stairway
and the room where the conference took
place was quickly filled with an eager and
anxious crowd, who manifested deep in
terest in the subsequent proceedings. The
resolutions we have just spoken of were
read by Judge Sims, who acted as spokes-
man for the Committee and the wardens,
and g brief but animated discussion ensued,
which ended by declaration from the
Bishop that the proposed terms could not
be accepted, as they contemplated an en-
encroechment upon his ecclesiastical pre-
negatives, demanding much and granting
little. There was some sparring between
Judge Sims and Father Ceuppens during
the conference, and q number Of persons in
the audience took advantage OF the oppor-
tunity to display their approval Of the
Judges caustic arraignment Of the curate.
Reference was made to the communications
of Father Ceuppens published in the CHIEF,
which are claimed to have been provoca-
tive of much bad feeling, but the Bishop
justified the curate's course, claiming that
he had simply defended himself against the
assaults of anonymous correspondents.
Bishop Leray took his departure from
Our town on Monday, leaving the vexatious
church controversy i'll position quite as
bad if not worse than he found it, and all
hopes CT friendly compromise destroyed
by the unexpected result of Sundays con-
ference. Our Catholics must now quietly
await the action of the courts i'll the matter
Of the pending injunction suits, and if this
fails to furnish solution of the unfortu-
nate complication, perhaps method Of ap-
pealing to some higher ecclesiastical au-
Ehority than the Archbishop may be devised
as the only way out of the trouble.
The bitterness Of this campaign augurs no
good fer the Democratic party. If the charge