The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-03-10
WILL TEST VALIDITY
/. Of vow OF POVERTY
COURT TO PASS ON RIGHT OF
BENEDICTINE ORDER TO
PROPERTY LEFT BY MONK.

NEW YORK. March s.-The va
lidity OF the Vow of Poverty of
the Benedictine monks, whereby they
declare that personal ownership is a
vice and bind themselves to hand
over all their property to the abbot
will be argued in Washington on
Thursday before the United States
Supreme court. The question at issue
Is whether the heirs-at-law Of a monk
may recover his property or whether
the oath may be enforced so as to
deprive monks Of their testamenrary
rights.
The decision will affect not only
the Benedictine order, but a large
number of religious orders IN the
United States. and millions Of dollars
are involved.
The case to be decided relates to
the estate Of Father Augustine Worth,
a Bavarian. who, for ten years was
a member OF the Order Of st. Bene-
dict of New Jersey, and was In their
monastery at Newark. In 1897 he
quarreied with the order and quit
1t to become a secular priest at
Springfield. MINI. He died in 1907,
leaving an estate valued at $4,000,
which he acquired chiefly bysroyai-
ties on books of which he was the
author.
The heirs-at law. a brother, ne
phew, and a niece, all living in Ne
braska City, retained william Hay
ward, now of New York Mty, but at
that time of Hayward 4 Pitzer, of Ne
braska City, to obtain possession OF
the monks property. Mr.. Hayward
applied to the Probate court for the
appointment Of an administrator. AL
bert Steinhauser, OF Nebraska City,
was nominated. and he qualified. gave
bond and took possession OF the
property
MIR. Hayward came TO New York
city and started a suit here against
Benziger Brothers. publishers. for
Father Augustine, for an accounting
An equity defense was set up, in
which it was stated that the Benedfc-
tine Order OF New Jersey were the
true owners Of the property, by rea-
son of the Vow OF Poverty" which
Father Augustine took when he be-
came a monk. A federal judge then
issued an injunction Restraining the
heirs from an action at law. The
'vow of Poverty Is based upon a
regulation of the Benedictine. which
reads:
The vice of personal ownership
must, above all things, be cut off in
the monastery by it's very root. so that
no one may presume to give or re-
ceiye anything without the command
OF the abbot. since monks are allow
ed to have neither their bodies nor
their will in their own power
Everything that is necessary, how
ever, they must look for from the
father of the monastery, and let 1t
not be allowed for any one to have
anything which the abbot does not
II -
The order then brought suit in
the Minnesota Circuit court to compel
the administrator to hand over the
estate on the ground that by the
poverty VOW. Father Augustine had
given all his possessions to his mon
astery. The heirs set up the defense
that the principles Of the vow were
unenforcible In the United States, and
that the vow was invalid. because IT
was inconsistent with the fundamen-
tai principles as expressed In the con-
stitution. The Circuit court declared
in favor Of the order.
Mr.. HAYWARD, for. the heirs, took
an appeal to the Eighth United
States Court of Appeals, who revers-
ed the decision OF the lower court.
In it's decision. handed down on
March 4, 1912, it held that the VOW
OF poverty not only binds the mem
Der in physical and mental servi-
tude to the order for life or until the
head OF the church shall see ht~to
absolve him from its obligation. bat
also surrenders all control OF his Will
to the order" ~
.such an agreement" It cnotin-
uss "is no more enforctble. in the
civil courts at least, than would be
an agreement by one to surrender or
Torfeit IN another his life. In this