The Pope Did It?

[L Verge]

(01-12-2016 11:13 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Paul, this may be difficult to answer briefly, but what is the major difference between your new book and a similar book written by Burke McCarthy in 1922
https://archive.org/details/suppressedtrutha02mcca

and one written by Thomas Harris in 1882
https://archive.org/details/romesresponsibil00harr

And please comment on Emmett McLoughlin's Inquiry... ca. 1963. He was a former Franciscan.

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(01-12-2016 09:50 AM)L Verge Wrote:  I believe I'm correct in saying that James O. Hall (and possibly others) did search the records of St. Mary's Church, Bryantown, where Booth met Mudd (when Mudd came from his home church, St. Peter's, that Sunday). St. Aloysius and St. Patrick's in D.C. would be logical guesses also. We would also have to check to see when the Archdiocese of Washington was created out of the Archdiocese of Maryland. I think it was during the Civil War. Somewhere Bishop Spalding fits into the history.

One of my original points was when did Booth have the time to train for confirmation/conversion? He traveled so much plying his trade as well as planning his exploits. If he took the classes - or even was allowed to do it as a private "student" - it could have been in any city or town along the East Coast or further inward. Why do I not see Booth worrying about what denomination he was from 1863 on? Why do I see him not even going to church during this time?

I think what irritates me the most with some of the postings here and in another thread in these last few weeks is that they seem to denounce previous expert historians for failing to do their homework and to find answers to some of these spurious subjects. Did it ever occur to some that the experts did research things thoroughly and dismiss a great deal of speculation, etc. as useless and without proof? Just in our generation, we have the likes of Hall, Kauffman, Hanchett, Steers, Loux, Chamlee, Alford, Roscoe, and others who did fantastic work. And now, we have a new generation making strides in the field.

Ignore my misstatement about the Archdiocese of D.C. being created during the Civil War - it was not formed until after WWII. However, Bishop Spalding came to the Archdiocese of Baltimore (the oldest in the U.S.) in 1864, and was a supporter of the Confederacy: QUOTE FROM WIKI: At the beginning of the American Civil War, Spalding ordered all churches in the diocese to pray for peace.[1] Although he sought to avoid "angry political discussions",[4] he published a piece on the war in L'Osservatore Romano that clearly demonstrated his sympathy laid with the Confederacy.[8] He even secretly denounced Archbishop Purcell, a staunch supporter of the Union, to his superiors in Rome.[8] He recognized slavery as "a great social evil", but asked, "But how can we free ourselves of [slavery] without ruining our country and causing injury to the poor slaves themselves?"[10] He also remarked that "those who are in such a way liberated ordinarily become miserable vagabonds, drunkards and thieves".[10] In 1861, he closed St. Joseph's College and converted its facilities into a hospital for soldiers.[1]


Baltimore[edit]
Following the death of Bishop Francis Kenrick (who had been transferred to the Archdiocese of Baltimore from Philadelphia in 1851[11]), Spalding was appointed the seventh Archbishop of Baltimore on May 3, 1864.[7] His installation took place at the Cathedral of the Assumption on the following July 31.[7] As head of the oldest diocese in the United States, he held a right of precedence over all other archbishops and bishops in the country.

After founding the House of the Good Shepherd, Spalding conducted a visitation of the archdiocese, during which he administered Confirmation to 8,000 people.[2] He established more parishes and institutions per year and introduced more religious orders than any other Archbishop of Baltimore.[8] One of the institutions he founded was St. Mary's Industrial School, a home for wayward boys.[8] He recruited priests from All Hallows College near Dublin and from the American College at Louvain.[1] He also organized the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as well as the Association of St. Joseph, a society dedicated to the care of destitute girls.[3] In 1865, he issued a defense of Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors, which many Americans viewed as a condemnation of the basic principles of their system of government.[1] For instance, he declared, "Freedom of worship is condemned when it implies a right not given by Christ, and insists on the right of introducing false religion into a country where it does not exist. It is not only not censurable, but commendable, and the only thing practicable in countries like ours."[2] He also spoke out forcefully against intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants ("alliances so fraught with evil") and Freemasonry ("a human substitute for a divine religion").[2]

Following the end of the Civil War, Spalding made an emotional appeal for financial aid to the defeated South, posing the question, "Can we be held blameless before God if our brethren, whom we are solemnly commanded to love even as ourselves, should perish through our coldness and neglect?"[2] In response, the Catholics of Baltimore donated a total of $10,000 to relief efforts in the South.[2] He also took a special interest in the spiritual welfare of newly freed African Americans. Writing to Archbishop John McCloskey, he said, "Four million of these unfortunates are thrown on our charity, and they silently but eloquently appeal to us for help."[8] He invited Rev. Herbert Vaughan and the Mill Hill Fathers from England to minister exclusively among freedmen.[3] In October 1866, he presided over the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore.[3] END QUOTE