The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-01-22
CATHOLICS UP In ARMS.
Bishop Wigger's Action
in Bayonne the
Cause.
FATHER KILLEEN HAS PROTESTED
So Have Some of His Parishioners,
But Uselessly = Troubled
Waters That Needed
Oil.
FATHER kIlLEEN HAS PROTESTED

Within the past two days new features
have developed in the trouble that arose
| from the conflict of interest among the
Roman Catholic churches of Bayonne,
| and intense excitement has been aroused
among the SIX thousand Catholics OF that
city. Yesterday afternoon all sorts of
rumors concerning the matter were be-
ing circulated about the city. During
| the evening the following facts OF the
affair were ascertained:-
| Late Wednesday afternoon the Rev.
Father Thomas M. Killeen, rector of st.
| Mary's Star of the Sea r. G. Church, re-
ceived a letter from Bishop Wigger, no.
| tifying him that his curate. the Rev.
| Father Andrew M. Egan. was to be re-
moved from the parish; that ST. Thomas's
| r. G. Church recently erected on west
| Thirtieth street by the Rev. Fatners
| Killeen and Egan, was to be abandoned as
| a place of worship and converted into
parochial school and public hall; that
a German priest from Texas had been
appointed to the pastorate of st. HenrY's
| (German) r. G. Church. from which the
Rev. Joseph Graf was recently removed
for disobedience of orders; that he was
| empowered to use both German and
| English during the services he conducted
and that West and East Twenty-fourth
| streets were designated as the dlvldlne
line of the two parishes
| Although confined to his bed by sick
| ness, Father Killeen arose and wrote
| Bishop W1gger stern letter OF protest
| against the proposed changes. He also
| had q number of his prominent parish
ioners notified of the matter, and when
they called at the rectory held a long con-
| ference with them.
VISIT TO BISHOP wIGGER.
The result of the conference was that a
delegation of the parishioners of St.
| Mary's Church visited Bishop Wiggerr
| Yesterday afternoon for the purpose OF
| trying to prevail upon him to reconsider
the proposed changes, and in the event OF
his refusal to demand the return 10 st;
| Mary's parish of the Sc 600 raised to build
st. Thomas Church. The mission o + the
delegation was futile, and they returned to
Bayonne last evening greatly disap-
pointed.
It is understood that Bishop Wi gger
| told the delegation the proposed changes
| were absolutely imperative for several
| reasons. He said that his diocese was In
a very demoralized condition because the
number of priests under his charge has
| been considerably depleted by death with
in the past month. The pastorates ana cur
| vacant, and he was unable TO meet the
demand for priests because in the spring
only four of The students at Seton Hall
College will be admitted to the priest
hood.
In consequence of these facts and the
fact that Father Egan was not very popu-
lar in the parish of st. Mary'S, where he
has been curaJe for about ten years, the
Bishop said he had decided to transfer
Father Egan to another parish. AS the
transfer would leave Father killeen with
the Rev. Father George Brown as his
only assistant, the Bishop said
he had decided to close st.
Thomass Church after the coming Sun
day and to appoint the Rev. Father
Ahrens, of Texas, to the vacant pastorate
of ST. Henry's Church, and, in order to
prevent any further conflict of parish in
terests, had decided to designate two dis
tinct parishes in the city.
THE DELEGATION SILENT,
None of the delegation which visited
Bishop Wigger would furnish any 1nfor-
nation concerning the interview, put
they did not deny the facts mentioned. A
visit was paid to the rectory of St.
Mary's Church, but Father Killeen
was too sick to be interviewed.
Father Egan was absent and Father
Brown said that having been away two
days he knew very little. if anything.
| about the affair. 1t was intimated by
one of the parishioners that Father Kill
leen expects to receive in response to his
letter of renaonstrance scathing rebuke
from Bishop Wigger, and in the event of
! the Bishops refusal i'll writing to recon-
| slider the proposed changes, Father Xii
leen intends to appeal the matter to Arch
| bishop Corrlgan.
While the Catholics of Bayonne are
divided upon the matter OF the Bishops
proposed changes, the majority of them
are of the opinion that Bishop Wigger is
entirely responsible for the trouble over
the parishes. 1t is claimed that when
Father KilIeen established the par
ish of St. Mary's about twenty
years ago he was. guaranteed freedom
When the Hungarian Catholics at Con-
stable Hook became so numerous that
e tbey could support church of their own.
Fathers Kllleen and Egan aided consider
ably in establishing st. Stephens Church
for that nationality.
few months later number of Ger
man Catholics asked Bishop Wigger to
authorize the establishment of church
for their nationality. Fathers Killeen
and Egan strenuouslv objected, but
Bishop WiPger disregarded their wishes.
| They, however, induced him to stipulate
that only German should be used in ST..
Henry's Church, that the priest in charge
of St. Henry's should not interfere with
the English speaking, Catholics,
and that they sho9id be 9s per, per,
Church. Father Alois Heller. the priest
: first assigned to st. Henry's Church,
} found that the Germans would not SUP
} port the church, and that a number of
Father Killeen's dissatisfied parishioners
were attending his services. He violated
the Bishops orders regarding the nom
use of English and was dismissed. His
: successor, Father Graf had a similar ex-
perience and was likewise dismissed.
The DEVELOPMENTS indicate that Bishop
Wigger has resolved to put an end to the
complications which have arisen since
the erection of ST. Mary's Church, and at
the same time settle to his own satisfac-
tion other exigencies which have cropped