Year: 1877

Six years ago Rev. Michael p. Stack, the
parish priest or missionary Of the Church OF
the Annunciation at Williamsport, Pa, was
removed by the Right Rev. WilliSm OHara,
Bishop of the diocese of Scranton, and
transferred to the Catholic Church at Athens,
in the same State. No cause was given for
the removal, but Father Stack attributed it
to the fact that he had written newspaper
article denying the authority OF the Pope
in political matters at the time the Fenian
organizations Of Ireland and America were
placed under the BAN He refused to obey
the orders Of the Bishop. claiming that under
the canon law of the Catholic Church he
could not, as parish priest, be removed
except for cause or without trial, and car
ried the case into the Court of Common
Pleas of Lycoming county, where it has
been in litigation ever since. Yesterday
Judge Gamble, acting as Chancellor in the
Court, gave judgment against the power ex-
ercised by the Bishop, first, as being unwar-
ranted by the canon law, and next rs being
contrary to the law Of the land and prejudi-
cial to the rights of citizenship. The Court
declares the removal of Father Stack and
the prohibition forbidding him to exercise
lawful, but refuses to make a decree OF res
toration on the ground that it might be
injudicious to disturb the present state of
things in the congregation.


The right Of removal exercised by the
Bishop is in accordance with the DEGREES IF
xLa r,f Rolt
bled in 1929, which gives the bishops such
power and which expressly declares that
in using the names parochial right, parish,
and parish priest. 1--WE by no means mean
to grant to the rector OF any church the
right of immovability, as it is called, or to
take away or in any manner diminish that
power which the Bishop has from the ac-
knowledged discipline in these provinces
Of depriving any priest of his Office
or charge, or of transferring him
to another" This is the rule of
the Church here, because, rs q matter Of
fact, the canon law of the Catholic Church
is not in force in America, which is a mis-
sion, with the exception OF the French
Catholics Of Now Orleans, among whom the
canon law has been in force ever since Lou
isiana was ceded to the United States. The
opinion Of Judge Gamble that the removal
OF Father Stack by the Bishop without
trial, is 'unwarranted by the canon law"
cannot be accepted as sound, because the
canon law is not in operation here and the
discipline of the Church is guided by the
Plenary Council of Baltimore, which di-
rectly confers such power on the bishops.


But this may be good reason why the
Judgment of the Court that the removal and
prohibition of Father Stack is contrary to
the law of the land and prejudicial to the
rights Of citizenship" is all the more sound
If the canon law prevailed no such re-
moval could have been made without stated
cause and fair trial. In the absence Of this
just safeguard against tyranny and injus-
tice why should not citizen find protec-
tion in the civil law Of the land The
case is remarkable and interesting one
and the point made most clear in its prog
ress and its result is the wisdom and, in
deed, the necessity Of taking America out Of
the category Of missions and bringing her
Catholic people under the operation Of the
canon law of the Church.