He Spoke for Himself

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 17, 1889

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 4, No. 13.

He Spoke for Himself.

The following from Mr. D. E. Lindsay, of Baltimore, a close observer of the National Reform movement, and a good friend of the AMERICAN SENTINEL, should be preserved, as it exposes the fallacy of the claim of the leaders of the American Sabbath Union, that Cardinal Gibbons indorsed the Sunday-Rest bill in behalf of the Catholic Church:—

Located as I am near the residence of Cardinal Gibbons, and being a reader of the Catholic News, published at Washington, D. C., and the Catholic Mirror, published in this city (Baltimore, Md.), I have watched for some time with interest the sayings of the different Catholic writers, until I was convinced that the so-called Protestants, in their eagerness to secure the passage of the Sunday law, would forsake the true principles of Protestantism, and run after the very church against which the famous protest was made in 1529, when the emperor had commissioned his brother Ferdinand to announce that the decrees of the former diet, which had allowed liberty of action to all States in matters of religion, were now absolutely annulled by imperial command.

Having this evidence before me from Catholic writers, as well as Protestant, I took the liberty to write the Cardinal a personal letter asking his purpose in signing the petition for the passage of the Blair Sunday bill. In reply the Cardinal forwarded me the following letter by his Chancellor, J. P. Donahue:—

“CARDINAL’S RESIDENCE, 408 NORTH CHARLES ST., Baltimore, Md., Feb. 27, 1889.

“MY DEAR SIR: In reply to your favor dated Feb. 25, 1889, duly received, His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons desires me to write to you, that whatsoever countenance His Eminence has given to the ‘Sunday law’ referred to in your favor, as he had not the authority, so he had not the intention, of binding the archbishops, the bishops, or the Catholic laity of the United States. His Eminence bids me say to you that he was moved to write a letter favoring the passage of the bill, mainly from a consideration of the rest and recreation which would result to our poor overworked fellow-citizens, and of the facility which it would then afford them of observing the Sunday in a religious and decorous way.

“It is incorrect to assume that His Eminence, in the alleged words of Senator Blair set forth in your favor, ‘signed the bill, thus pledging 7,200,000 Catholics as indorsing the bill.’”

“I have the honor to remain, with much respect, yours faithfully, J. P. DONAHUE,

“Chancellor.

“To D. E. Lindsay, Esq., 708 Rayner Avenue, Baltimore, Md.”