The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-03-14
After the saddlers Now.
CHURCH AND STATE SCHOOLS.

Father Corrigan Defines His Position
and the Law of the Church.
Father Corrigan of Hoboken requests
the publication Of the following
To the Editor of The JERSEY CITY Neegs:-
Within the past three weeks the news
papers of the country have been coupling
my name with that of Bishop Wigger in
reference to alleged want of harmony be-
tween US in regard to the Interpretation
of the avs of the Church on the question
of education. and my alleged refusal, in
consequence. to publish in my church his
circular commanding the withdrawal of
Catholic children from the public schools.
Disloyality to the Church on q question
so vital and INSTRUMENTATION to local
spiritual authority are among the erayest
charges that can be made against o
priest.
lido not wish to defend mys elf by APP
pearing to offend others, and vet the re-
lations of bishop and priest, and especially
those of the same diocese, are so delicate
that it is very difficult for a priest to de-
fend himself in certain cases without hav-
ing his action construed into a public
criticism of his superior. 1t was this ex-
treme regularity of my position that on
strained me to wait in the hope of a few
lines from the Bishop that would set the
public right n relieve my own embarras-
1nent.
lean hardly afford to waitmucn longer,
especially as | was the victim'a few years
ago Of charges of this same character
made to Rome. The present reports, If
left unchallenged, could easily be for
Warded to Rome by a person so disposed,
as virtual confessions of my guilt. The
Pope has no more loyal subject than your
humble servant, and no other priest in
The United States could have manifested
more absolute submission to his Bishop
than / did when, d few years ago, under
the charge of contempt of episcopal
authority, in connection with the publ
cation OF a certain pamphlet, made by
Bishop Wigger and his ecclesiastical
counsel, the Rev. DR.. S. Smith, author OF
works on canon law, | was suspended
without form OF law. l denied any con
tempt, formal or even material, and de-
manded a trial. The Church in all parts
of the world never refuses a trial to the
worst criminal, but, though one Of the
most prominent priests of the diocese, and
one whose character had ever been above
reproach, was told that / could have no
trial, no appeal to higher authority, not
even to the Pope; and in order to frus-
trate all appeal / must be condemned as a
notorious criminal. | submitted. under
protest, however, to this extraordinary
conclusion Of the Bishop and the reverend
~canonist. and after my suspension / wrote
him that 1 pardoned him and the doctor
for the strange proceeding. Icould easily
afford to do SO, for 1 knew that my pam
phlet advocated a change in the manner
of electing bishops hat the Pope himself
desired ana that the Council at Baltimore
has since made the law Of the United
States.
lrecall this to show how g~roundiess is
the charge of my refusal to read any or
der that the Bishop may send me. There
as no greater friend of parochial schools
and higher education in this diocese than
myself. l induced the Jesuits to come to
Jersey City and to build a college there
by giving them st. Peters Church. then
the finest in the diocese. Imade the par
1sh school free when | was pastor there; /
nave done the same IN my present parish,
where 1 doubled the number of pupils
in my first year. For nearly thirty years
] have labored in Hudson county, which
contains more than half the Catholic
population Of the diocese of Newark.
know the condition of the schools and the
temper OF the Catholic as we'll as the non
Catholic population of the county. / must
say that there is not a solitary public
school in this county where 4 teacher
would dare to utter a word against the
Catholic Church save at the risk of sum-
mary dismissal.
When the Bishop, on the occasion re-
ferred TO In the papers, informed the as
sembled clergy that they must refuse ab.
solution to the parents who send their
children to the public schools without his
special permission, l was n of several
who asked II his order referred to cases
where the grade of our classes was not
high enough for advanced pupils. The.
answer Of the Bishop was TO the effect
that our parish schools were equal, if
not superior to the public schools. /
said ! did not question the character
OF our academies and the Chris
tian Brothers schools, but thar we
could not cur the Brothers and only
the rich could attend the academies; that
the fact of establishing such pay schools
in the same parish with the free school
was not only creating caste and handi-
rapping the free school. but an open CON
fession of its inferiority. / suggested
that under the present condition OF most
Of our schools, which have not the grades
for advanced pupils, my own among
them, the same liberty be given the pas
tors as was given by Bishops Bayley and
Corrigan, than whom no greater patrons
of parochial schools ever lived. by which
we tolerated what it was morally lmpes-
Bibie 70 remedy and simply connfved at
the attendance Of some OF our grown boys