Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (1 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)Hurlbert, William Henry
History
Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (1 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)
Hurlbert, William Henry
Ireland -- Description and travel; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901
Dr. Corrigan, as I have said, had become the Archbishop of New York in
October 1885. The Irish-American Convention met at Chicago, Mr. Davitt
dominating its proceedings by his courageous and outspoken support of
his defeated Parliamentary allies in England. The candidacy of Mr. Henry
George had not yet been announced in New York. But Dr. M'Glynn resumed
his practice of addressing public meetings in support of the doctrines
of Mr. Davitt and of Henry George. The Archbishop's duty was plain. It
was not pleasant. A Catholic prelate of Irish blood living in New York
might have been pardoned for avoiding, if he could, an open intervention
at such a moment, to prevent an able and popular priest from disobeying
his ecclesiastical superiors in his zeal for a doctrine hostile to
"landlordism," and cordially approved by the most influential of the
Irish leaders.
But on the 21st August 1886, while all the Irishmen in New York were
wild with excitement over the proceedings at Chicago, Archbishop
Corrigan did his duty, and admonished Dr. M'Glynn to restrain his
political ardour. The admonition was thrown away. A month later, the
canvass of Mr. Henry George being then fully opened, Dr. M'Glynn sent
Mr. George himself to wait upon the Archbishop with a note of
introduction as his "very dear and valued friend," in the hope of
inducing the Archbishop to withdraw his inhibition and allow him to
speak at a great meeting, then about to be held, of the supporters of
Mr. George.
The Archbishop replied in a firm but friendly note, forbidding Dr.
M'Glynn "in the most positive manner" to attend the meeting referred to,
or "any other political meeting whatever."
Dr. M'Glynn deliberately disobeyed this order, attended the meeting, and
threw himself with ever increasing heat into the war against
landlordism. On the 2d of October 1886, therefore, he was formally
"suspended" from his priestly functions--nor has he ever since been
permitted to resume them. Another priest presides over the great church
of St. Stephen, of which he was the rector. More than once the door of
repentance and return has been opened to him; but, I believe, he is
still waging war in his own way, and beyond the precincts of the
priesthood, both upon the right of private property in land and upon the
Pope.
He is a man of vigorous intellect; and he has defined the issue between
himself and the Church in language so terse and clear that I reproduce
it here. It defines also the real issue of to-day between the Church
speaking through the Papal Decree of April 20, 1888, and the National
League of Ireland acting through the "Plan of Campaign."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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