Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-27
WANT THEIR OWN POPE.
CONFERENCE ON THE DEMANDS OF THE
GREEK CATHOLICS.

The Latin Bishops VIII Vigorously Oppose
Any More Privileges and Insist on Con-
formation to the Rules of the Church
The Points of Difference.
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.t
WILKEsBARRE, October 26.-An impor-
tant conference of the clergy of the United
Greek Catholic Church of the United States
will be held in Wilkesbarre October 90. The
conference will be attended by priests from
Pittsburg, Minneapolis, Jersey City, Shen-
andoah, Freeland, Hazleton, Kingston, st.
Paul, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati and other
cities. The conference will be in session
several DAYS and the most important busi-
ness to be transacted will be the formation
of union of all the Greek Catholic
Churches of the United States under one
head. In other words, the Greek-Catholies
of the United States want Pope of their
own whose residence will be the United
States. 1t is doubtful, however, if the Vati-
can will consent to any such scheme.
The United Greek Catholics in the United
States are now under the jurisdiction of the
Bishops of the various dioceses. There is
not Bishop in the United States, however,
who has any special desire for ruling over
the Greeks. The Bishops say they are the
mOSL CldoS Oi
people they have to deal with.
The Greek Catholics have petitioned Car
dinal Simor, primate of Hungary, to inter-
est himself in their behalf and to petition
the Vatican to appoint Vicar Apostle for
the Greek Catholics of the United States.
The Bishops of the United States will op-
pose the granting OF any such concessions to
their Greek parshoners. They claim that
the Greeks have already too many privil-
eges. In the first place, many of their
priests have wives and children. This is a
right conceded to them by Rome, providing
the priests were married before being or
dained. Another right is that the Greek
priest has the power to administer the sacra-
ment of confirmation at the baptismal fount.
Then again the Greek Catholics receive
holy communion in an entirely different
way from the great BODY of Roman Cath
olics Instead of wafer, as used in the
Irish and German Catholic churches, the
Greeks receive the sacrament from sacred
vessel, and consists of bread and wine,
which is taken into the mouth by spoon.
Some of the reasons given the Greek
Catholics for their refusal to be governed by
the Latin Bishops are as follows:
First-The American Bishops with but
few exceptions cannot speak or read the
Greek language.
Second-We are opposed to placing our
property in the hands of the Latin Bishops.
The failure of Archbishop Purcell, of Gin
cinnati, convinces us that the members of
the American hierarchy are not always the
best financiers. The other grievances COM
planned of are of minor character.
The American Bishops will protest
against the organization of any secret union
or societies at the conference. They will
also insist that in accordance with lnstruc-
fiouc Iata rennived frnm the PropaUanda
the Greeks will have to conform to the laws
of the church in America. The bishops will
also insist on many reforms in the Greek
Church, one of which will be that two per-
sons who differ in religion cannot be mar
ried in the church.