“His reason for not putting his name, nor the name of any known person at the bottom of that so-called excommunication is very clear,” I answered: “though our bishop is one of the most accomplished rogues of Illinois, he is still more a coward than a rogue. I had threatened to bring him before the civil court of the country, if he dared to destroy my character by a sentence of interdict or excommunication; and he found that the only way to save himself, in the same time that he was outraging me, was not to sign that paper; he thereby took away from me the power of prosecuting him. For, the first thing I would have to do in a prosecution, in that case, would be to prove the signature of the bishop. Where could I find a witness who would swear that this is his signature? Would you swear it yourself, my dear Desaulnier?”
“Oh! no, for surely, it is not his signature, nor that of his grand vicar or secretary. But without going any further,” added he, “we must confess to you that we have talked to the bishop when passing through Chicago, asking him if he had made any public or private inquest against you, and if he had found you guilty of any crime. As he felt embarrassed by our questions, we told him that it was in our public character as deputies of the bishops and people of Canada towards you, that we were putting to him those questions. That it was necessary for us to know all about your public and private character, when we were coming to press you to reconcile yourself to your bishop.
“He answered that he had never made any inquest about you, though you had requested him, several times, to do it, for the simple reason that he was persuaded that you were one of his best priests. Your only defect, he said, was a spirit of stubbornness, and want of respect and obedience to your superior, and your meddling with the dealings of his diocesans, with which you had no business. He told us also that you refused to go to Kahokia. But his face became so red and his tongue was so strangely lisping when he said that, that I suspected that it was a falsehood; and we have now, before our eyes, that document, signed by four unimpeachable witnesses, that it was more than a falsehood—it was a lie. He proffered another lie, also, we see it now, when he said that he had signed himself, the act of excommunication.
“For, surely, this is not his handwriting. Such conduct from a bishop is very strange. If you would appeal to the Pope, and go to Rome with such documents in hand against that bishop, you would have an easy victory over him. For the canons of the church are clear and unanimous on that subject. A bishop who pronounces such a grave sentence against a priest, and makes use of false signatures to certify his sentences, is himself suspended and excommunicated, ipso facto, for a whole year.”
Mr. Brassard added: “Cannot we confess to Chiniquy that the opinion of the bishops of Canada is, that Bishop O’Regan is a perfect rogue, and that if he (Chiniquy) would submit, at once, under protest, to those unjust sentences, and appeal to the Pope, he would gain his cause, and soon be reinstated by a public decree of his holiness.”
Our discussion about the troubles I had had; and the best way to put an end to them, having kept us up till three o’clock in the morning without being able to come to any satisfactory issue, we adjourned to the next day, and went to take some rest, after a short prayer.
The 25th of November, at 10 A. M., after breakfast and a short walk in our public square, to breathe the pure air and enjoy the fine scenery of our beautiful hill of St. Anne, we shut ourselves up in my study, and resumed the discussion of the best plans of putting an end to the existing difficulties.
To show them my sincere desire of stopping those noisy and scandalous struggles without compromising the sacred principles which had guided me from the beginning of our troubles, I consented to sacrifice my position as pastor of St. Anne, provided Mr. Brassard would be installed in my place. It was decided, however, that I should remain with him, as his vicar, and help in the management of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the colony. The promise was given me that on that condition, the bishop would withdraw his so-called sentence, give back to the French-Canadians of Chicago the church he had taken away from them, put a French-speaking priest at the head of the congregation, and forget and forgive what he might consider our irregular conduct towards him, after we should have signed the following document:
To his Lordship O'Regan, Bishop of Chicago.
My Lord:—As my writings and actions in opposition to your orders have, since a few months, given some scandals, and caused some people to think that I would rather prefer to be separated from our holy church, than to submit to your authority, I hasten to express the regret I feel for such acts and writings. And to show to the world, and to you, my bishop, my firm desire to live and die a Catholic, I hasten to write to your lordship that I submit to your sentence, and that I promise, hereafter, to exercise the holy ministry only with your permission. In consequence, I respectfully request your lordship to withdraw the censures and interdicts you have pronounced against me and those who have had any spiritual communication with me. I am, my lord, your devoted son in Christ.