Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-08-21
ABOUT .ESCAPED' NUNS.
Father Crowley Takes Exception to Certain Newspaper Stories

Father Crowley Takes Exception to
 Certain Newspaper Stories.
 Editor Democrat:
 In your edition of Wednesday even- ing is 9 telegraphic communication which I think will bear a little criti- cism I refer to the article which tells of the return of certain Mrs Andrew to the faith. One of the headlines reads, Escaped Nun," etc. Now, think there is room for criti- cism in that word Escaped" It inn plies that the woman in question was held ''in durance vile'' by force. The idea of estRping implies the idea of not being at liberty to depart when she wished, and it is just such errone- osps ideas that have given so many non-C Catholics their false opinion about convent life. The days of Maria Monk have gone by, it is true, and a vast amount of the harm she did by her bold mendacfy has been corrected. Non-C Catholics have met our Sisters in the schools, in hospitals in the cham Der of the sick. at the bed of the dy- ing, on the battlefield, and have learn. ed to respect and admire their mercy and charity and the spirit of self-Sacr1- flee that prompted them to give their lives to the service of God and their feFlowmen. Yet despite all this there is the lingering notion in many minds that there is something of mystery about a convent and the old bogie no- tion of innocent maids being immured is more prevalent than perhaps would be credited in this twentieth century.
 Now, venture to assert that the woman in question never needed to escape from the convent. If she had tired of the religious life there were certain formalities to be compiled with before she could have in the eyes of the church been released from the vows that every religious takes But if she could not restrain her impatienee long enough to await these necessary formadities, l am positive that there was neither bar nor bolt to keep her within convent walls against her own wishes. so that the word "escape'' is certainly not applicable, while on the other hand those who are not &C., quainted with actual facts receive q false impression.
 Tn calling your attention to this have no wish to criticise the Democrat nor any of the other papers in which this article appeared. am aware that it was a telegTaphic communica- tjon which was printed as sent out My purpose is to call attention to the misuse of the word escape" and through your columns make an appeal to the newspaper fraternity to be a little more exact when speaking of af- fairs pertaining to the Catholic church. The mistakes sometimes made are extremely ridiculous and do much to place the church and her priests in false light. while at times too much haste in ventiIating Catholic afdaHhs is exHhemaly ,Tnjuat-an i'm stance of which we had in our city within the past week when clergy man was falsely accused of a crime that had no foundation save in the malicious or hysteTical outburst of a woman who has been forced to re tract her charges.
 I might also cite the case of the Boston Herald during the days when the body of Leo XIII lay in state From cultured Boston one might ex- pect the best in the newspaper line but the ludicrous description given of some of the ceremonies marked that journal as utterly incompetent to deal with the subject. To cite one in stance: Atbsolution and ablution are widely different things Yet the Her aid pictured the cardinals as giving the "ablution" over the remains o1 the deceased pontiff This was bud one of the many inaccuracies of whicf it was guilty and which must have 1 made those ceremonies appear to its non-C Catholic readers as something very funny to say the least, while ir themselves they were replefe with 6 beautiful and sublime magnificence. I am not posing as the "censor de putatus' Of the newspaper world, but I simply wish to enter a respectful 1 protest against the common practice of writing up Catholic matters in the 1 careless way that creates erroneous 1 impressions of things sacred to the Catholic heart and distorts into the lu dicrous what in the meaning of the church is most ennobling and su- blime.
 T. M. CROWLEY.