Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-17
A TEMPEST In A TEAPOT.
EXCITEMENT IN ECCLEsIASTICAL
CIRCLES IN ROME.
An American Layman's Letter Has Gre
ated a Sensation-The Cahensly Move
ment Revived in a New Form-The
Worlds Catholic Congress.

ROME, Feb. 16.--At Catholic confer
ence in Baltimore in 1889 committee of
pielates and laymen was appointed to
make arrangements for Catholic con-
gress to be held in connection with the
worlds Columbian exposition, and
charged with preparing a programme.
Among the laymen was Judge E. F.
Dunno of Ohio. Under date OF Decem-
ber 10th Dunno wrote personal letter
to Editor Pallen of the Church Progress
and Catholic World, of st. Louis, giving
his views in regard to certain decisions
OF this committee. This letter in some
way came into the hands of Rev. G.
Kuhlman, who sympathized with the
views expressed therein and had the
letter put in print and sent copies to all
the cardinals. The letter was received
in Rome q Few days ago and has created
| a considerable sensation III ecclesias-
tical circles.
Kuhlman prefaces Dunne's letter with
a statement over his own name, to the
effect that the decisions reached by the
American prelates were displeasing to
himself, Pallen, Dunno and many other
Catholics, and invoked Rome to over
rule these decisions. Dunno, in his let
ter reviews the work of the committee
in arranging a programme, etc., and
says it was making harmonious progress
until, at an inauspicious moment it was
decided to submit the decision for ap-
proval to the archbishops and bishops
who should be assembled at st. Louis,
December LIST, last. In the proposed
programme, Dunno asserted as
questions of vital Importance, tenn
poral power and the question of Gath
olic education. The archbishops who
were presided over by Cardinal Glib
bons, changed the whole plan and took
the congress into their hands, recogniz-
ing the laymen as auxiliaries only.
Dunno criticises this as a usurpation of
authority; complains chiefly against
Archbishops Ireland, Williams and Fe-
han; asserts that Onahan, OF Chicago,
and O'Brien, of Detroit. abandoned their
fellow laymen and played into the
hands Of the prelates.
Early in December, says Dunno, a
meeting was held at Judge O'Rrien's
chambers in New York for the purpose
Of making public protest, but it was
decided that nothing should be said.
Dunno says he now breaks silence be-
cause he read in the papers that the
programme would be devoted to social
questions.
The sending of the correspondence to
Rome is regarded as a continuation of
the Cahensly movement. Since last
year hundreds of documents have been
circulated in Rome declaring that the
Catholic church would die if the process
of Americanizing it, in which Cardinal
Gibbons and Archbishops Ireland and
Williams and the leaders, is allowed to
proceed. The authorities at the Vatican
deny that the question of temporal pow
er and Catholic education are to be
omitted from the programme.
CHICAGO, Feb. lev. J. Onahan, one
OF the members of the committee on the
organization of tine Catholic congress,
when shown the dispatch from Rome to-
night, said the whole thing is tempest
in a teapot. There was not sufficient
ground for assuming that there had
been clerical dictation in preparing the
way for the congress.
He sees no warrant at all for the views
put forward by Judge Dunno, and said
in regard to them: s'They seem to be
the result of disappointment and of fail
ure to control and mold the plans OF the
congress according to his own views"