Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-09-10
CATHOLIC CHURCH AFFAIRS
FATHER F4LLON TO 40 TO SAINT
MARY's.
The Bishop will Not Receive the
Committee, and the Decree il
Final.

! Committee, and the Decree
Final.
/ There is an unprecedentedly straine
+ condition of affairs existing between IL
congregation of st. Mary's Church an
D Bishop Becker. The church is in ope
opposition to the bishop and is loud i
its denunciation of his recent actiol
:: which they are determined to have r,
/: versed, by the bishop himself if they cal
by higher power if he will not graz
their request. st. Mary's Church, eve
since it was built, has been under th
pastorate of Father Reilly, the oldes
priest and the longest in th
service in Wilmington, that the Catholi
Church had. None of the members o
the congregation ever knew any othe
pastor since they come to this city or, i
the younger members, since they wer,
born. Owing to the age aud services o.
Father Reilly the parish had always beer
on more independent footing than any
other IN the city, aud was less interfered
with in the management of its own affairs
These were so well managed that the parish
owes not u cent of debt. The church was
conseerated the day its erection was com.
pieted, and that is u ceremony that can
not be performed so long us there is a
penny of debt upon building. The
congregation has been living in immunity
from the troubles and annoyances of u
parish in which debt exists, and is un-
used to changes of pastors from time to
time, as has been the experience of
its younger sister parishes. 1t has
never known the unpleasantness of exist
ence with an unsatisfactory leader and
| upon this, the occasion of the first change
in its pastorate, its spirit of independence
is aroused and it begins struggle for its
old customs and for q pastor who is in
harmony with its people.
On Tuesday week at the celebration of
the months mind for the repose of Father
Reilly's soul Bishop Becker was severe in
his structures upon Father Reilly's failure
to remember the church in his last will.
This action aroused a strong feeling
among the dead prelate's parishioners,
and they became incensed at the Bishops
expressions concerning one who was so
greatly beloved by them. During the
past two years of his life Father Reilly
had become too feeble to perform all the
duties of his charge without assistance,
and he was assigned as an assistant the
Rev. Dennis j. Flynn. Father Flynn is
"a years of age and came here from
Louisville, Ky. He is talented and
energetic man, and in the two years he
has been at st. Mary's, during which time
he has done most of the preaching and
performed nearly all the parish duties,
the people have learned to have high
regard for him. They express the
opinion that he is finer preacher than
any other Catholic Clergyman in the city.
AS one member put it, she can preach
around the bishop himself" The
congregation does not like Father Fallon.
They say he cannot preach, and that he
is an arbitrary man. He is looked upon
In the light of an enemy to st. Mary's
parish, and some members of the congre-
CATION during the past week have been
hunting up statements and publishing
writings emanating from him in the hope
OF proving that he has been unfriendly to
the parish. These three things are more
than st. Mary's people can bear with
patience-the censure of their old and be-
loved pastor; the taking away of the as
sistant whom they had learned to respect
and esteem almost as highly rs his prin-
cipal aud the substitution as pastor of a
man who is disliked, and who is believed
to have been unfriendly to the parish.
member of the church Thursday
said that meeting was to be held ''to
take action concerning the bishops con-
duct in taking away priest that we all
love and respect. We want none but
Father Flynn, and we will not support
any other he sends there. He has n
grudge against St. Mary's parish, and he
takes this chance of showing it. He for
gets st. Mary's always treated him with
respect. We know now what it is to be
without Father Reilly"
A meeting was called for 7.30 O'Clock
Thursday night. 1t was named by some an
indignation meeting, but its action went
beyond that. II was held in the basement
of st. Mary's Church. BY Z o'clock
groups began to gather about the corner
of Sixth and Pine streets and talk quietly
about the situation. By 7.30 the corner
was crowded, and when the meeting was
called at 8 o'clock there were 300 men
in the basement of the church.
The proceedings were conducted
in order and eight or ten speeches were
made, somewhat varying in tone. Most |
of the speakers were i'll favor of making |
every orderly effort to secure change in |
the appointment and the retention of |
Father Flynn, or to compromise the mat |
ter in some way SO that they might get a |
more satisfactory appointment than
Father Fallon is TO them. Several, how
ever, We're radical in their declarations in
favor of holding out, not only
for more satisfactory appointment but
for full recognition of their demands
and for Father Flynn. Among the
speakers were William McMenamin,
Michael Whelan, John Spallane, Messrs. |
Clark, Daley, Ferry, McDonough and
others. II was finally decided to appoint
n committe to wait ON the bishop and ask
him to revoke the appointment of Father
Fallon and appoint Flynn in his place, the
to report at meeting to be
held last Friday at the same place. After
some delay the committee, consisting of
five pew owners and two trustees, was
us follows: William McMen-
amin, John Spallane, William H.Stewart,
James Ferry and John McDonough, and
Trustees William A. Bleyer and Peter
Horty.
A member of the church who did not
attend the meeting said never in his life
had he known anything of this kind in
the Catholic Church, and he had lived 40
years. He had never known a church to
rebel against the action of the bishop as
this was doing. Another in the same
group thought the bishop would tell the
to go about its business and
would give it no answer at all. A third
declared that the calling and the action of
the meeting was contrary to the doctrine
Of the Catholic Church, and that the
bishops appointment would stand.
The meeting that was to have been held
N st. Mary's Catholic Church Friday
lihgt, to hear the report of the committee
appointed to wait on the bishop, was
The committee did not make
he call nor did it present any statement
1f its wishes. Bishop Becker was waited
IN by gentleman who asked whether he
would receive the committee, and he told
lim that he could not do SO. After that
t was not considered worth while to 90
further in that direction, and the COM
nittee remained passive. There being no
'eport TO make, the meeting that was to
nave been held was not called to order,
Bishop Becker Friday said to
newspaper representative that his decree
vas final, and all there was to do was to
'bey it, He in his capacity must hold
himself i'll readiness for transfer or reno
'al whenever it pleased the ruling powers
o order it. He said he might be trans
erred to the see of Savannah within n
ew days. II so, even though he did not
consider it promotion, he would obey
he mandate without protest, as mat
er of duty. Father Fallon, he said, dis
liked leaving st. Patrick's parish, but he :
YOuld ODey and do what the bisbo,, |