The Pope Did It?

[Paul Serup]

(01-08-2016 07:14 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 08:45 AM)Dave Taylor Wrote:  Though I don't believe that there was any Catholic conspiracy involved in Lincoln's assassination, I will say that my own research has led me to lean more toward the idea that John Wilkes was likely a Catholic convert. At the very least, Asia Booth was convinced that he was a Catholic, but I doubt he was ever as devout as she was.

What has brought you to sway in that direction? How familiar are you with the tenets of both the Episcopal and Catholic faiths that would cause him to make the effort to jump across that very fine line that separates the two?

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Mr. Serup,

Boy, getting a little testy are we when our thoughts and/or research are called into question...?

Don't challenge my friendships with Dr. Head and Dr. Alford since you know absolutely nothing about it. Both Constance and Terry were/are good friends, but that does not mean that I discuss(ed) minute details on Booth and the assassination and Booth's choice of religion with them. I agree with Terry that Asia is probably the only person who truly understood her brother, but we don't know whether Booth told her the truth if he said he was Catholic - was he just pacifying her?

What I posted here were my thoughts on Booth's chances of converting, and I probably said much the same thing to them -- after forty plus years of discussing the Lincoln assassination with probably 25 authors and more wanna-be authors on the subject, I have no idea what I have argued with whom. I'm a used history teacher with an insane addiction to the assassination story. A trained teacher throws out questions to make other people think. I also try to use common sense to determine if things were possible. I detect that you do not appreciate my approach/technique.

Your last paragraph puzzles me because I had just mentioned the religious medal on Booth (could have been either Catholic or Episcopal) and the church bazaar, which was at St. Aloysius, a church that Mary and Anna Surratt sometimes supported.

I seem to touch more raw nerves with you than other posters on this thread have done, so I will back off with my common sense questions. You won't convince me, and I won't convince you.

Greetings,
I am testy, really? Are you sure I am the one that might be testy? I have not accused anyone of challenging friendships. I really don’t see where you get this from as I don’t have a problem with anyone examining my research and views.
Is it common sense, or more like ridiculous, to assert that I was challenging, for instance, your friendship with Terry Alford, when, as you correctly stated, I know nothing about any friendship you may have him or really anyone? I asked you if you agreed with statements made in Alford’s book. How is that challenging any friendship you may have with him? I am friends with people and we have significant differences on things and we are still friends. You say you take a common sense approach but I would respectfully question whether this makes much sense at all.

At the end of your latest post, you stated: “You won't convince me, and I won't convince you”. Well without evidence you certainly won’t convince me. I will not speak for you but if you are saying that I am ideologically stuck in a single position and I cannot change, you are absolutely wrong. I am happy to believe that John Wilkes Booth was not a Roman Catholic and the Roman Catholic Church had nothing to do with the Lincoln assassination but I am only happy to do so if that is what the evidence shows.

You said that my last paragraph puzzled you. I don’t know why it would as you asked, “Do we have records from any church that he even visited? Did any of his many friends mention attending any church with him?” I was providing evidence concerning his religion, as I said, “Regarding other proof of Booth’s Catholicism, I also reported….”

Regarding what he told his sister about his religion, unless you have more information regarding the context in which he said what he did to Asia Booth Clarke, his relationship with her, for instance, are you not just speculating? Ultimately, John Wilkes Booth professed to be a Roman Catholic. His sister believed that he was a Roman Catholic and so did Constance Head, who had that published. I hope you don’t think I would be challenging your friendship with her but I think you would agree that Ms. Head knew more about the 16th President's assassin’s religion than you do at this point. I hope you do not detect any “testiness” in this post, I ask people things directly at times but that is not because I have any problems with, or am upset with them, I assure you.