Reverend no. 22's story (Crowley, Romanism a menace to the nation, 50th thousand,1912)

Text: "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women..." Daniel 11:37 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry..." 1 Timothy 4:1-3

Quote:

Rev. No. 22.—A Seductionist.

   He began his ministry in a large city. He was constantly found in brothels. He was sent into the country as pastor, and was finally promoted to a very desirable rectorship in an inland city, where he seduced a beautiful girl. Her father before his death wanted religious consolation, and his trusted pastor came to him and gave him the last rites of the Church. The dying man, tortured by the fear of leaving unprotected his beautiful daughters, turned to his pastor and said: "Father, protect and save them from all harm." The priest said: "I will." The man died. The pastor had already seduced one of the daughters. During her absence from home, preceding her father's death, the pastor wrote to her the following love letter:

Aug. 24th, 1894.

My Dearest:

   Your most affectionate and long expected letter reached me yesterday morning, and its arrival and the reading of its contents pleased me more than any language of mine could adequately express. With your letter also came one from your father. After reading them, especially yours, which I read more than twenty times, I called over to your home and read them to your mother (of course leaving out the love part of it). Your mother is of course lonesome, but she is happy and encouraged under the circumstances to know that your own dear self is improving in health.

   Dearest, believe me when I say that you can form no idea of the pleasure which your letter afforded me when you stated that you were having a real swell time on your much needed vacation and your wishes to have me with you have often been the same as mine. But when impossibilities prevent us as at present from meeting and enjoying each other it thus affords me exquisite pleasure to do the next best thing, to write to you and to assure you that you are not forgotten, and that the old adage "Out of sight, out of mind" does not and never will hold good in our case. Had grateful thoughts been letters you would have received one hundred a day, but opportunities for letter writing have been few since the distance between us is so great.

   When I stated the positive truth to you in my last letter concerning my interview with —— I paused before committing my thoughts to paper for fear that they may annoy you on your pleasure trip but as I have never deceived you in the past I was not going to deceive you now. I have always tried to be honest and frank in everything I said or promised to you and I want to be so in this instance. I am glad that it has not annoyed you. I felt and know now that you are a good sensible girl and that the truth, no matter how unpleasant it might be, were better known, for I could not allow you to be humbugged by any man living. You ask, while I stay by you, what need you care; and you need not care about the deceptions of man or woman. The world is full of deception and the older you and I get the more we realize that fact. I have seen a great deal of it and often from those I least suspected. Honey talk and sweet smiles are cheap and for that reason they abound in the world, and the true friend, like the true diamond, is a rare jewel to find.

   Fear not, my dearest love, for I will stay by you through thick and thin, in joy and in sorrow. There is none on earth I love and cherish so much as I do you, my dearest. It makes my very heart bleed when I am compelled to say anything to you but words of tenderness and love.

   I have seen some joys and some sorrow since my advent here. I have labored hard and during the constant responsibilities of my ministry I have made many friends, but none so kind, none so true, none to whom I feel so grateful as I do to you, and I sincerely hope that you and I will continue always to love each other as we do to-day, and that nothing will ever break the golden chain of love that unites us so closely together.

   I made $58.30 on the concert. I will make it $75.00 and distribute that amount among the choir; $10.00 is for my dearest when she returns from rural visits.

   With kind remembrance to all and my best love to your own dearest, sweetest self, I remain, as ever,

Lovingly yours,

   The young lady returned from this trip; her father died, and she found herself in delicate health. She went to Rev. No. 22 and he frightened her into doing just as he bade by declaring that all of her money was forfeited by her misdeed, and that she would be in the poor house unless she depended upon him. He then got a young man to shoulder the disgrace and to marry her for her money. Rev. No. 22 and this fellow hurried down town and procured a marriage license; but her mother arrived at the hospital before the two villains got back, and then the daughter refused to be married, and violently denounced the priest, who thereupon departed.

   His church was crowded the following Sunday morning; and just as he, with acolytes and incense bearers, was stepping within the altar railing, a wild, shrill scream sounded above the tones of the organ. Instantly everything stopped. There at the altar stood the poor girl's mother, and pointing her finger in scorn at the priest she screamed: "Keep down! you shall not hold service. You ruined my beautiful daughter, and no such false-hearted man can step into that sacred place." The white-haired mother was taken away by a policeman, and Rev. No 22 told the people that he was being blackmailed. The scandal was on everybody's tongue in the town. Rev. No. 22 was arrested for bastardy, and stood convicted before the people. He went to the press and tried to have the story suppressed, but his love letter made that impossible.

   Through the lust of this parochial school principal a promising life was ruined, several young women were crushed by a sister's shame, a mother's heart was broken, the confidence of a dead man was betrayed, and the escutcheon of our Holy Church was so stained that Catholics in that town hang their heads to-day in shame. Yet this scoundrel, instead of being driven by ecclesiastical authority from our sacred altars, was simply transferred to another parish where he now has the spiritual direction of immortal souls.

CHARGES A PRIEST WITH HER RUIN.

Miss Cummings, of Aurora, Ill., Causes a Profound Sensation.

   Aurora, Ill., Feb. 21.—A warrant was sworn out to-day by Estasia Cummings, of this city, for the arrest of Rev. T. F. Leyden, pastor of St Mary's Catholic Church, charging him with causing her ruin. The warrant will not be served until morning unless the priest makes an attempt to escape. Current rumor has linked the names of these two people together for some time, even before the condition of Miss Cummings became known, but recent developments have been decidedly sensational. Last Sunday Mrs. Cummings, the girl's stepmother, who is very bitter against the priest, took possession of the space in front of the church altar before the morning service began for the purpose of denouncing Leyden. The latter, however, did not appear until a policeman had led the woman away. Leyden then made a brief statement to his congregation to the effect that the scandal which had arisen within the church would be settled by the marriage to the girl of the young man who caused the mischief.

   The youth referred to is Joseph English. English went to Chicago with the priest, obtained a special dispensation from the bishop and a marriage license. Then the girl's mother prevailed upon her to refuse to marry him. In proof of his position Rev. Father Leyden has a statement signed by the girl, charging her ruin to English, dating from July 1, 1893, in Chicago; also the marriage license. English has practically admitted the truth of this statement. To-day the girl came out from Chicago, where she has been staying, and swore out the warrant referred to. Miss Cummings is a very pretty girl, about 18 years old, daughter of the late Pierce Cummings, a well-to-do saloon-keeper. Rev. Father Leyden is 48 years old.

ILLEGITIMATELY REPLENISHING THE EARTH.

   Rev. Leyden's assistant at the time of this love affair, and now a pastor in Chicago, assured me that he knew of his pastor's misconduct with this young girl during her visits at the priest's house.

Crowley, Jeremiah J., Romanism a menace to the nation (a new and original work) together with my former book "The parochial school, a curse to the church, a menace to the nation" (two books in one): a searchlight on the papal system startling charges against individuals in the hierarchy made and filed by the author and a score of prominent priests—with photographic proofs and illustrations, 50th thousand, Aurora, Missouri: The Menace Publishing Co. [, c1912], pp. 437-441.

Online Source: archive.org/details/romanismmenaceto00crowiala

Book Images: