The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-01-14
A CLOSED INCIDENT.

f
In the January issue Of the North
American Review, Archbishop Ireland
closes the controversy which has been
carried on for some months in the
pages of that magazine regarding the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Ameri-
ca in Italy.
In this number he sums up his argu-
ments and shows how his adversaries
Right Rev. Wm Burt, Bishop of the
American Methodist Church in Euro
pean countries, and Rev. S. M. Vernon,
of delphia-failed to give an ade-
quate answer to a single one of them;
but have gone off at tangents in order
to vilify the teaching of the Catholic
Church and hurl insults at the Pope.
The Archbishop vindicates himself
from the charges of unfairness and
unreliability by showing:
1. That the omission of a paragraph
from the message of the Board of
Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal
Church was unimportant in as much
as it was not one of "the pertinent
points" bearing on Methodism in Italy.
2. That the sources from which he
quoted to substantiate his charges
against the Methodist propaganda in
Rome, namely LA Nazione," "L'Evan-
gelista," "Cenni Storici," as well as the
writings of Dr. Stackpole and Rev. P.
G. Mandate, S. j., are reliable and that
their statements against the Metho-
dists has not been disproved by those
who took up the cudgels in behalf of
Italian Methodism.
8. That it is absolutely false to as
sert that he received from the Vatican
any order or intimation to the effect
that he was to reply to the Methodist
attack, much less as to what he should
say.
Continuing the Archbishop says:
"And now to the question which first
prompted me to take issue with
Italian Methodism, which, necessarily,
remained through the discussion the
central and chief issue: Was the
Vatican justified in it's attitude
towards Italian ethodism-towards
those whose patronage Italian Metho-.
dism would fain have turned it it's
profit?
The Vatican declared it could not
receive in audience visitors to Rome,
however worthy personally of esteem
and respect, who were ready to give
countenance to the Methodist Mission,
or who might have been led into do
ing so, were they not forewarned of the
peril that confronted them. Was not
the Vatican in the right when putting
itself in this attitude towards the
Methodist Mission? In justification
of the Vatican I recall the occur
ances, such as they were, from first
to last in the Methodist Mission to
Italy during forty years; in it's further
justification I recall the recent articles
of Bishop Burt and DR.. Vernon in the
North American Review and of Dr.
Cooke in the Methodist Review"
Bishop Burt, DR.. Vernon and DR.. Cooke
Mission to Italy-and what is the at
towards the Catholic Church and the
suit, of rabid hatred, of undying war
fare. Bishop Burt, DR.. Vernon, DR..
Cooke may presume they have argu-
ment to support their words and acts.
Be it so: if so minded, let them hurl
| daily and hourly missiles of fiery
wrath against the Vatican, against all
that the Vatican stands for. But doing
this, shall they be privileged to COM
mand the Vatican into servitude to
their whims, to compel it to deal out
it's honors to themselves and to their
friends, to adopt policy tantamount
to recognition of their warfare and it's
methods, to proclamation that their
warfare and their methods are viewed
by the chieftain of the Catholic Church
as things permissible and pardonable?
No, thousand times no. The Sover-
eign Pontiff-so gracious to those who
come to him in decency and with
proper respect, however much or little
they differ from his Catholic faith
must, under penalty of self-stultifca-
ton, bid the Methodist Mission stay
far away from the portals of his
palace.
Both DR.. Cooke and Bishop Burt are
unwilling to admit that Italian Metho-
dism was anything more than a pre-
text to cover up other and more hid.
den motives in the Vatican's recent re.
fusals of audiences. The Methodists
forsooth, were so innocuous, so be.
nign, so well-behaved, that the Vati.
can could not have had them in mind
when adopting it's rules of exclusion
Well, I assure Bishop Burt and DR.
Cooke that the rules adopted by the
Vatican were due solely and entirely
to the manner of acting of the Metho
dists-to that and to nothing else.
DIR. Cooke reminds us that Roman
Freemasonry is no less an enemy tC
the Papacy than Methodism, and init
mates that if the intention were to
resent insults Freemasonry too, should
have been chosen as victim of Vati
can rulings. That Roman Freemason
ry is an enemy of the Papacy, as it is
of all forms of religion, we very freely
admit; and further, we avow that pub
lie recognition given to Roman Free
masonry would have led to refusal
of audiences, no less than public recog
milton given to Roman Methodism. But
as things happened, Methodism was
in the foreground and Methodism was
smitten."
The Archbishop processes his will
ingness to answer the attacks of his
opponents on the Church and hel
doctrines at anv time. h11t he wichos