We knew beforehand, the proposition which was to be put before us. It was to build a palace for our bishop, worthy of the great Illinois State, the cost of which would be about $100,000.
Though every one of us felt that this was most extravagant in such a young and poor diocese, nobody dared to raise his voice against that act of pride and supreme folly. Every one promised to do all in his power to raise that sum, and to show our good will, we raised among ourselves, at once, $7,000, which we gave in cash or in promissory notes.
After this act of liberality, we were blessed and dismissed by our bishop.
I was but a few steps from the University, when an Irish priest, unknown to me, ran after me to say: “My lord O’Regan wants to see you immediately.” And, five minutes later, I was alone with my bishop, who, without any preface, told me:
“Mr. Chiniquy, I hear very strange and damaging things about you, from every quarter. But the worst of all is, that you are a secret Protestant emissary; that, instead of preaching the true doctrines of our holy church, about the immaculate conception, purgatory, the respect and obedience due to their superiors by the people, auricular confession, etc., etc., you spend a part of your time in distributing Bibles and New Testaments among your emigrants; I want to know from your own lips, if this be true or not.”
I answered: “A part of what the people told you about the matter is not true; the other is true. It is not true that I neglect the preaching of the doctrines of our holy church, about purgatory, immaculate conception of Mary, auricular confession, or the respect due to our superiors. But it is true that I do distribute the Holy Bible and the Gospel of Christ, among my people.”
“And instead of blushing at such unpriestly conduct, you seem to be proud of it,” angrily replied the bishop.
“I do not understand, my lord, why a priest of Christ could blush for distributing the Word of God among his people; as I am bound to preach that Holy Word, it is not only my right, but my duty to give it to them. I am fully persuaded that there is no preaching so efficacious and powerful as the preaching of God Himself, when speaking to us in His Holy Book.”
“This is sheer Protestantism, Mr. Chiniquy, this is sheer Protestantism,” he answered me, angrily.
“My dear bishop,” I answered calmly, “if to give the Bible to the people and invite them to read and meditate on it, is Protestantism, our holy Pope Pius VI. was a good Protestant, for in his letter to Martini, which is probably in the first pages of the beautiful Bible I see on your lordship’s table, he not only blesses him for having translated that Holy book into Italian, but invites the people to read it.”