The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-02

Bishop Bonacum Judged to Have
Been Actuated by Vindic-
tive Motives.
So He Is Ordered TO Pay the Costs
of Trial and Expenses of
Exonerated Priests.

OOoOQOE, lOWAf Dec. 1.--1ue Jug
ment of the Metropolitan. Ecclesiastical
Court of the Roman Church in the
famous case of Bishop Bonacum of LIN
coin, Nebr., against Fathers Fitzgerald
and Murphy of his diocese was delivered
to-day. The court finds for the priests
against the Bishop on every point in the
appeal, which was ordered by the Propa-
ganda of Rome, after Delegate Satolli had
refused to grant one. The Bishop is
judged to have been actuated by sinister
and vindictive motives, to have published
falsehoods and deceived Cardinal Satolli.
The court declares null and void all the
sentences of the Bishop, Withdrawing the
faculties of the defendant priests, sem
fencing them to do penance in Canada for
contumacy and condemning them gener-
ally.
The Bishop is condemned to pay the ex-
penses of the exonerated priests and the
costs of the trial, to pay Father Fitzgerald
$S75 and Father Murphy 1925. as damages,
and to withdraw the priests he sent to
Tecumseh, Nebr., where Father Murphy
is rector of st. Am brose Church, and to
Auburn, Nebr., where Father Fitzgerald is
rector of st. Joseph's Church. The pay
ments are ordered to be made to the court
within thirty days. There is no appeal
from the sentence pronounced.
The troubles in the diocese of Lincoln
began soon after the conservation of
Bishop Bonacum in Move m Der, 1887. The
Bishops of the province ignored the
priests of the diocese when it was decided
to create a new see, and many OF them re-
garded the appointment of the Bishop as
void. The next clash was between the
Bishop and Father Kennedy of the ca
thedral in Lincoln over erecting a new
ediflce.
Then came bitter resentment on the
part of Hon. Patrick Egan, President
John Fitzgerald and other prominent lay
league leaders against the Bishops at
tempt to stop collection of league funds at
church doors in conformity with an edict
from Rome applicable to Ireland. An
other cause of dissension was the suspen-
sion of Father Walsh, pastor OF the cathe-
dral, because Mrs. Sheedy of Lincoln, ar
rested for completely in her husband's
murder in 1889, had alleged that the priest
uttered scandal about the Bishop, after
Father Walsh testified against Mrs.
Sheedy.
Then 8 battle began between Bishop
and priests, the former bending every
power 20 drive all the priests who OBJ
posed him from his diocese, and the latter
DEFENDING their civil and ecclesiastical
rights vigorously. In 1891 Father. Corbett
OF Palmyra, who subsequently sued the
Bishop for libel, was brought before do
cesar court to answer charges made by
the head. Father William Murphy of Te-
cum sch presided, and the charges against
the Palmyra priest were dismissed.
This made the Bishop furious, but on
appeal the lower court was sustained. In
1893 fifteen priests of the diocese filed a
long bill of charges with Mgr. Satolli
against their Bishop, and the apostolic
delegate came TO Omaha. He decided
that the case should go to the metropoli-
tan of the province. and induced the fight
ing Bishop to sign a truce with the priests,
which the Bishop was accused of break
ing. This led to more trouble and the
Corbett-Bonacum fight in the civil courts.
Father Murphy signed the charges and
Father Fitzgerald became involved by
signing the protest which was sent to
Mgr. Satolli by the priests against the
Bishops alleged violation; of the truce"
and threatening to prove the charges on
trial OF the injunction cases in the civil
courts.
The result of this protest was that i'm
perative orders were sent to Archbishop
Hennessey by the Propaganda and Mgr
Satolli to hear the charges at once.
Fathers Murphy and Fitzgerald main
tanned that the Bishop undertook to de-
stroy them so that the charges against
himself could not be revived. He sent
them letters of expulsion from the do
cese for failure to pay the diocesan tax.
The Bishop went to the civil courts to get
possession of Father Murphy's church,
but was beaten six times, and threatened
accommodation of all persons who at
tended their pastors services.
The Metropolitan court trial began o.
tober % in St. Joseph College here. Arch
bishop Hennessy abdicated as Judge in
favor of Rev. Peter Abhart of Marshall.
Mich, an authority on canonical law.
Bishop Bonacum was present only the
first day. The prosecution was conducted
by Rev. Father Slattery of New Hampton,
Iowa, and the defense by Father Fitzpat-
rick of Dubuque.