The Demands of Rome: Her Own Story of Thirty-One Years as a Sister of Charity in the Order of the Sisters of Charity of Providence of the Roman Catholic ChurchSchoffen, Elizabeth
Religion
The Demands of Rome: Her Own Story of Thirty-One Years as a Sister of Charity in the Order of the Sisters of Charity of Providence of the Roman Catholic Church
Schoffen, Elizabeth
Ex-nuns -- United States -- Biography; Monastic and religious life of women
Miss Schoffen, more widely known as "Sister Lucretia," is a
plain featured woman about 55. For the last few weeks she has
been delivering afternoon lectures "for women only." Several
Protestant ministers have extended to her the hospitality of
their churches. Among the churches in which she has spoken are
the First Methodist Church, the Woodlawn Christian Church, the
Sunnyside Methodist Church, the Brentwood Methodist Church and
the Sellwood Christian Church. She was billed to speak at the
White Temple (Baptist) last Tuesday afternoon to women only,
but the strong disapproval of the trustees of that church
resulted in the cancellation of her engagement.
Miss Schoffen is a studious disseminator of malicious
inuendoes, suggestions and hints. She is careful to say nothing
that would render her liable to prosecution for criminal libel
or defamation of character. She has much to say on the divided
allegiances of Catholics, on the "military activity" of the
Knights of Columbus and on the deep, dark Roman dungeons. She
is no orator. Her discourse is full of inconsistencies and is
couched at times in the language of the gutter. She adduces no
evidence in support of her insinuations and declines to answer
questions during or after the "lecture." The stage is well set.
The proceedings generally open with a prayer! This is often
followed by the singing of "America," in which the audience
joins. Her manager then drapes the American flag over Miss
Schoffen's shoulder, saying as he does so: "This is to show
that during her lecture Miss Schoffen is under the protection
of the Stars and Stripes!" These words never fail to elicit
tremendous applause.
... Her lectures have become so obnoxious that the Knights of
Columbus have decided to take action and to that end have
appointed the following committee: J. W. Kelly, W. J.
Prendergast, Roger B. Sinnot, James Clarkson, J. N. Casey, D.
J. Malarkey, M. G. Munley, R. J. O'Neil, Joseph Jacobberger, H.
V. Stahl, John F. Daly.
I do not care to take space here to comment on this article at length;
there is a great deal of truth in it and then there is a great deal that
is not true. I will say that the time spoken of when the White Temple
turned me down, there were about three thousand women that congregated
to hear my message, and I delivered it to them, but not in the White
Temple; I hired an automobile and we went to the Plaza, where I talked
from the machine. The above article speaks of the "strong disapproval of
the trustees of the church." It took them quite a long time to give out
the announcement, for the lecture had been advertised for two weeks. Any
American can guess why this building was closed at the eleventh hour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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