The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1895-01-18
Catholic wife Of an Odd Fellow.


sea coast Echo,
In his usual rounds about town,
our representative interviewed Il
member of the order to ascertain the
effect of the church's cdlct in secret
societies circles. The following was
the result OF his inquiry: well" an
swered the gentleman, look upon the
matter as being one Of public inter-
est and | must say that no one re-
grets TO be accommodated more
than me although | am not a strict
follower OF my religion objectionable
negligence, admit am neverthe-
less "A firm believer in what | term its
reasonable dogmas and | would to-day
hail with sincere pleasure, the an
nouncement that the 'edict' had been
countermanded by the Pope. AS a
brotherhood only do We desire to be
recognized also as unSectarian chris
tians, free to exercise III religious
beliefs which our obligations in the
Order leave us unfcttered in that re-
Spect. Honor and self-resp ect now
hold us and ii | were inclined to hui
NOR the church by resigning, | would
uNNlioN l''iSN Suill w WV "bh'N VI
which | am innocent and as there Is
no alternative but to bear with pa
thence the charge made against our
fraternity and hope that the church
will soon discover that "fOr once" II
has failed in wisdom, and will revoke
what c consider, an unjust decree"
What effect do you surnlise 1t vii
have on the home cirelppn
dangerous, | predict: homes ar
liable tn be broken if the husband ant
wife disagree and if only n cast
should happen, it would be n mis-
take that could never be remediet
and recalled. even if this world LASTED
e%tcrnally. My dear sir, however grea'
| acknowledge the wisdom Of our spir
itual leaders, | connOt refrain from
saying, that they are stepping OF
dangerous ground. they are riskins
too much the peace and happiness o
our homes and this measure wliicl
they are enforcing, is without one lot
of foundation upon which to stand"
"llow did the decree afflict you
homer"
II will answer that question. first
for the good OF our church, and next
for the good and guidance of our Catl
Ollie Odd Fellows. When the subjec
was discussed in my home, and m
wife asserted that, being a member O
the order, | certainly should know
better than those who only could sur
mise and that she believed nc i'm
plicitly and as | had been eXpellel
from u church, and no%twithstand
ing that she believed firmly in her re
ligiOn, she was in duty bound, as wei
as our children, to go with me in this
my moment of religious adversely
and to retain only as Il consolation
the hope that very Don we could z
back to the fold in which we wer
born, married and in which we hop
to die, leaving this world when tn
time arrives with those consolation
that our mother church knows so wei
how to administer. | desire to clos
this interview, and in doing so, al
Catholic Odd Fellows commit tn
matter and appeal FOR redress to hi
Eminencc, Cardinal Gibbsons, tn
great American Prclatc, the intellec
tual peer of the spiritual giants o
the Roman Catholic Church."
1t would be well that more wivc
and mothers Of that kind existed
Such women give to their cOuntr,
boys that when they attain manhoo
cam be depended upon by those VIII
are under their protection. Wive
and mothers of that kind are guide
by their heads and reason and not b,
idle words which the world uses S
generously; they are ornaments OF tn
churches of which they are members
and when their mission is fulf1lle'
and the masters summons" come
there Is Il vacant place on this cart
that can only be filed by the daugl
tiers they leave behind, monuments t
the memory of those truthful, homes
and GOd-lOving mothers.