The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-03

received communtcat signed by three Protestant ministers, support ing the Irish speaker and declaring that his status in the church had been falsified. The Protestant clergy linen, who identified themselves as members of the North American committee to Aid Spanish Demo- cracy, which arranged for Father OFlanagan to speak here, are Rev. Alson J. Smith, of the Grace Meth odist- Episcopal Church, Waterville; Rev. Wayne White, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Naugatuck; and Rev., Edgar J. Jackson of the Con- .gregational Church, Thomaston.
 If supporters Of the spanish Loy- laliStS must bring speaker to Wa terbury, says Father Cryne, then l''let him De man who is not sail- ing under false colors." Bringing into this city as a speaker "a man discredited by his church" will be "nothing short of an insult" to local Catholics"
 In addition to the cablegram, Father Cryne today cites articles in several publications and furnishes 8 report from the Knights of Co., lumbus on Father O'Flanagan. The Irish speaker, according to the in- formation, has been several times discredited. In Montreal, it is claim ed, he became so enmeshed in con- ltradictions when questioned by members of the audience that he left the lecture platform.
 Father Crynefs communication follows:
 June 2, 1887. Dear Editor:-
 In my letter of May 28 regarding the scheduled appearance of the Rev. Michael O'Flanagan, suspended priest of the diocese of Elphin, Ire- land, stated that it would be i1- {, teresting to know the personnel of the local committee sponsoring his appearance. It was indeed most in- teresting and enlightening to learn since then that the appearance of the suspended priest in our midst is being sponsored by committee which, up to now, in print, is repre- Sented by three Protestant ministers, the identity of the committee as 8 whole still being yelled.
 The writers of the letter seem to take great deal for granted. For example, the letter states that it seems that Rev. Cryne has unwit- tingly passed on to your paper through his clipping information that is not accurate" I would no more pass on to the press any in- formation "unwittingly" than I would unwittingly give credence to either of Father O'Flanagan's tele- grams embodied in the letter to which this is a reply.
 Evidently Father O'Flanagan was aware that he was telegraphing to people not conversant with the mer- est fundamentals of the Canons of the Catholic church otherwise he would not attempt to cloud the is- sue by endeavoring to make it ap- pear that the term Bishop" and Ordinary" do not mean one and the same person. For the secular clergy there is no distinction be- tween the two other than it might be said to be distinction without a difference. A bishop who is head of a diocese is at one and the same time the ordinary of that diocese. Further than that consider tele- gram from the one under fire in these premises absolutely worthless. What could be expected from Father O'Flanagan other than 8 denial to printed reports from many parts of the country that he is 8 suspended priest? He has denied 1t before as can be gleaned from the following news dispatch from the Catholic Register, Denver, Colorado, of May l6:
 Priest Suspended, Bishop Certifies"
 Washington, D. C.-Recently, the Dublin correspondent of the Ma tional Catholic Welfare Council News Service said that Father Michael O'Flanagan of Ireland, who is in the United States to speak for the Spanish leftists cause, is a sus- i pended priest. This dispatch upon its publication was challenged. The N. c. w. c. News Service thereupon cabled to the bishop of Elphin, Ire land, asking a direct statement on the matter. The following cable gram has just been received direct from the bishop of Elphin:
 "All diocesan faculties withdrawn from Father OFlanagan, April 1925 by bishop of Elphin. These facul- ties never since restored to him by bishop" Evidently this is the tele- gram Father OFlanagan refers to in his attempt to confuse the issue by playing on the words Bishop" and Ordinary. But in order to clarify the matter I am adding hereto N. c. w. c. News Service dispatch which appeared in the Catholic News of New York last Saturday, May %:
 Bishop Declares Father O'Flanagan
 Is Suspended Priest"
 Baltimore, May 2l.-Fresh and au- thoritative evidence that the Rev. Michael O'Flanagan, now in this country speaking for the Spanish leftists. is 8 suspended priest, has now been made available in 8 cable from from the Most Rev. Edward R. Doorly, bishop of Elphin, Ireland, received by the Most Rev. Michael J. Curley, archbishop of Baltimore. and published today in the Catholic Review.
 The text of the cablegram is as follows:
 Father O'Flanagan suspended April, 1925. Faculties not restored"
 News stories previously sent out by the N. c. w. c. News Service attest ed that Father O'Flanagan was a suspended priest and that his dio- cesan faculties had been withdrawn. This fresh and conclusive evidence from the bishop himself is now added"
 1 The representatives of the com- s,nitfaa feel sire that in hrin0in0