The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-12
A SALTY DOCUMENT.
The Late Archbishop Purcell's Creditors Pay
Their Respects to the Church Authorities.

| Their Respects to the Church Authorities.
| The Cincinnati papers of yesterday published
the following report. made by committee to
the creditors Of the late Archbishop Purcell,
and by them adopted by unanimous vote. 1t
is certainly document of an unusually salty
character:
Ladies AID Gentlemen-The committee TO
whom you have intrusted the conduct of your
affairs have watched your interests with con-
slant solicituda, and after a hard struggle with
| law and roguery. succeeded in exposing some of
the tricks of the clerical trade and their bench
man, Mannix.
| 1t was difficult job to draw the rascal from
his sacred hole and bring him up for public JUS
| tice. He sat long in the first pew in st.
| Xavier's Church, frequenting and desecrating
| the sacraments, with such holy JUNCTION in his
| acts of devotion, that he deceived the public,
| and most of the creditors could not bring them
| selves to believe that so sanity character
could DO any wrong in their behalf Or turn aside
| from the paths of virtue. He was unearthed,
| however and we all know now that he was but
| playing the game of the clergy who wished, and
| did actually defraud you.
Hypocrisy is trade adopted for personal gain,
and outward sanctity is the cloak put on to COW
| er the trader. Mannix was brought up in the
| proper school, and, seeing his tonsured teachers
successful in the role followed in the holy foot
| steps of the men of God.
tween the creditors and the assignee, Archbishop
| Elder frowned upon every effort at compromise.
| He knew that he had the right man in the right
place, and the reverend members of his cabinet,
who advised him to repudiate the debt, swal-
| lowed their cocktails with the utmost non
chalance at their Sixth-street barrel house.
where the saints most do congregate in the back
room.
Our Metropolitan is at Rome, where he
placed at the feet of the 'Holy Father large
| sum of money, said to be given him by Mannix
for that holy purpose This is not, however,
| the first time that a large percentage of your
earnings went to the Vicar of Christ" and
doubtless invoked his prayers in your behalf
| that you might, with all the grace showered on
you from the throne of the Vatican. be the bet
ter able to stand the robbery. It's an old game
| of bishops to run to Rome with the offerings of
''the faithful" to secure the blessings of the
"Holy Father" and promotion at the same time
1t is within the recollections of all, except the
very young among us, that the venerable pre-
| late who caused all our sorrow was inspired to
visit the "Holy See" some years ago, and with
the view Of making a suitable Offering" to
heaven, who seemed in want of cash at that
time, and as the rchbishop had none of his own
to Offer he piously fell back upon your
pile, out of which he had built ship of gold
which, from stem to stern, from lower hold to
quarterback, was composed of the solid aurif-
erous article Every mast, ard SPAR and SAIL
from the jib to the top gallant and even the
donkey" were all of the same material. This
ship the Arch bishop had loaded to the gunwales
with double eagles aud proceeded to lay this
precious gift at the feet of the Holy Father"
While this mode of disposing of your funds must
DO very pleasing in the sight of heaven we stint
ed our families IN order to add to our earnings
against the necessities of the proverbial rainy
day" until all went up into chaos, among Papal
benedictions and magnificent temples erected to
the glory or 1.-The living God"
Doubtless the golden ship and its contents
were solid part of the SIS, 900, 900 which Pho
Mon nftt ccn6 rnr. bad
family, not leaving cent to church or charity
of any kind.
The present prisoner of the Vatican who
has just received another offering" from your
treasury lives in such perjury in his palace of
1900 rooms. with his 500 gorgeously-liveried
servants, that ne needs some assistance from the
working women, the laborers and mechanics of
Cincinnati whom his predecessor helped to rob.
In his great necessities he contrived to present
to Prince Bismarck very poor man., of course
"a jewel pin of priceless value, and this within
| the last week. A year ago he presented to an
Austrian archduchess another bauble valued at
over ST. 000, 900. You can see by this show the
money goes, and what worthy poor people re-
ceive largesses from the ''Holy Father
That the church system to rob the poor and
make the rich richer is perfect. single example
that occurred in our own case will be sufficient
| to illustrate
Soon after the failure of the Archbishop
| meeting of clergymen was held in the basement
| of the Cathedral to devise ways and means of
meeting the obligation. All were agreed that
the obligation was diocesan; but one priest who
stood high with the old Archbishop, and some
times stands in the shoes Of the new one, was
louder in his declarations to the honesty of
the debt, and the obligation that rested upon the
diocese to pay it, than any of the others. While
the old Archbishop was in command this gentle
man continued the loud advocate of devoting
every piece of church property in the old arch
diocese TO the payment of the debt, but as soon
as the old star Of Bethlehem had vanished from
Az. 1oly~~
had arisen, this anointed doctor of divinity
made moral somersault over the dividing fence
of honesty and theft, and landed on the other
| side.
Ever since he has been the bitter foe of the
! creditors, though he was educated for the altar
out of their money. Can heaven need the min
| istrations of such an migrate this? The only
effort he make to justify his desertion of the
creditors cause, is by constantly repeating Lin
coins lie, that we deposited there to avoid the
] tax gatherer. He was not ashamed to accept an
education. clothing and food from the poor
women and men he now ISLANDERS, and DO made a
gentleman of III outward appearance but all the
money stolen from us could net make him one
| in reality, because he lacks the instinct.
Contrast this man with another of the same
calling in religion. Father Goetz of Dayton,
devised a plan for the payment of the debt,
and by his single exertlons collected over SILL
900 for the fund. He was also educated by the
old Arch bishop but he did not lose his gratitude
nor his honesty. He toiled to repair the mis-
fortune and save faithful Catholics from utter
ruin. He supposed he was doing the work Of
Him he served. He was eonsecrated by the
same hand and holy JUNCTION as our Cincinnati
traducer Which appears to day in the better
light before the public, the repudiator or the
honest debtora
In the case of Father Goetz the ne-man power
came into play, and his benefcent efforts were
| suddenly stamped out by Archbishop Elder.
If we have few dishonest priests who sur
| round the Archbishop. and seem to shape his
| plans and policy. there are many more like
Father Goetz who desire the debt paid. but
whose mouths are closed by the tyranny of the
| Cathedral Every priest who wrote or spoke of
| the honesty of paying the debt was not only
muzzled but exiled to the Siberia OF the diocese
| or sent to pastorate In other sheepfolds
| We hope that the new assignees will probe to
| the bottom the influences that surrounded Man.
| nix and trace the connection of the Cathedral