The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-09-11

VII, he became a Protestant, his re-
cantation being read at Clonmel, Au-
gust 10, 1857. He married in 1887 at
the age of nearly seventy, -
daughter of Theobald. He died --,
aged abouty eighty, devising the Dun
boyne estate for the purpose of tine
education of Irish Roman Catholics at
Maynooth College" While he was a
Protestant, so the story goes, Lord
DunbOyne was once being driven by
his coaChman, a Catholic, along a long,
lonely road, far away from any vii
lage. The man was suddenly taken
seriously i'll. Both he and his master
believed that he was at Deaths door.
The Bishop, forgetting his Protestant
ism, besought the man to make his con-
fession, so that he might absolve him.
The cOachman stubbornly refused on
the ground that he was an apostate. The
former Bishop assured him that even an
apostate in time of such dire necessity
had full power given him by the Church
to grant absOlution. But the man died
unShriven saying that he would rather
trust to the mercy of God than receive
absolutiOn at the hands of a renegade.
The Bishops horror at the man dying
without absolution, when priest was
at hand, was so great that he forthwith
became reconciled to the Catholic
Church"
THE story thus told by the Man.
chester Guardian also recalls a famous
historical case on this side of the At
lantic, some of the details of which
have curious parallel interest,
Charles Renry Wharton, a native of
Maryland, and d relative of Archbishop
Carroll was a member of the Society
.TRGn-
Pope. He was then acting as chap
lain to a congregation in Worcester,
England. In 1888 he resigned and re-
turned to Maryland where he did not
however, attempt to exercise any of
the offices of his priesthood. The fol-
lowing year the little Catholic commu-
nifty was shocked and mortified to find
in circulation a skilfully written PAM
phlet by Wharton, printed in Phila-
delphia in which he attacked the
Church and announced his abandon
ment of the faith. The title was A
Letter TO the Roman Catholics of the
City of Worcester from the late Chap
vain of that society stating the mo-
tVes which induced him to relinquish
their communion and become a mem
Der of the Protestant Church
The pamphlet at once drew a reply
4 II.
An Address to the Roman Catholics
of the United States of America by
Catholic Clergyman" 1t was printed
at Annapolis, 1874, making a volume
of JIG pages, and in addition to being
a splendid REPUTATION of Wharton's So
phistries, it had the distinction of be-
ing the first Catholic book written by
a native and printed in the United
States. The subsequent literature of
the Wharton controversy makes long
list in our Americana. Wharton then
went to Burlington, n. J., where he be-
came pastor of st. Mary's EpiscOpalion
Church, which office he held for thirty
five years, and was married twice.
During his stay in Burlington an
Irish girl. a Catholic, employed as
domestic in his household. was taken
sick and died. She cried for a priest
but there was none nearer than Phil
adelphia, and no time to send there
for one. So when she was near the
end Wharton came to her and said:
Although L am a Protestant minister,
[ am still a Catholic priest, and can
give absolution in your case The
girl accepted his ministrations, made
a confession and he gave her absolu-
ton. This story is related by one
of his friends, and the Episcolapion
Bishop White in his memories of Whar-
ton tells that although controverting the
doctrines of the Church, he never spoke
harshly or allowed any one to do so
in his hearing of his former Jesuit
bretheren."