"Community life has become wearisome to me, and, therefore, it interferes with the saving of my soul. I am convinced that it is best for me to return to the world."
I returned to the room where the two sisters were and handed them the document, informing them that I could not sign it, as it did not contain the reasons for my leaving the order, as I had never been weary a day in my life. I told them that they both knew the reasons for which I left, and, if they did not, they could find them in my letter to the community which was written when I left the order. "Such lies!" I said, "Why can't you be honest? I can send my own reasons to Rome and get dispensation for myself when I get ready."
Two days later, "Father" Carti came to see me for the second time, with practically the same message as before, viz., to return to the community and in regards to settlement of my claims against them.
The next day, Thursday, April 25th, "Father" Carti telephoned to me and asked me to come to the Gonzaga College, so we could talk further in regard to the settlement and if possible, come to some agreement.
Mrs. Kearney accompanied me to the college, and when "Father" Carti saw that I had a witness, he asked, "Do you want this woman to hear what we have to say?" I answered, "Yes, I want her to hear whatever is said." He hinted that there would be no business transacted in her company, so we left.
From the college I called on my attorney, whom I had retained as my adviser, and he advised me to give them till the first of May to settle for two thousand dollars. On returning home, I telephoned to "Father" Carti, and informed him that I had been to see my attorney since I left the college and that I would give them (the community) until the first of May to settle for the two thousand dollars I originally asked; and that in the future all business was to be transacted through my attorney, as I was not physically able to attend to it myself, being on the verge of nervous collapse. He was very angry, saying that I was wrong and had no business to go to secular law (meaning a secular attorney) and that we could have settled it ourselves.
I had been out of the sisterhood nearly four weeks, and had attended church only once, so now I thought I would take up my religion again and attend mass and church service. So, on Sunday, April 28th, I again went to Hilyard and heard the Latin mass and the priest preach. During the sermon I was looking at the statues and other religious show in the church, and then and there, in that house, being used for so-called religious services, God revealed Himself to me. The whole show really was nauseating to me, and before the sermon was finished I retired as quietly as I could. I had heard of the idols and images of the Chinese Joss-house, and that is just as it appeared to me that day. When I arrived home, I told Mrs. Kearney to not awaken me again for mass, unless I told her to do so.
The following week, Mrs. Kearney came to me and told me that "Father" Carti had told her to put me out of her house, that by keeping me there it would hurt her with the sisters, the priests and the Roman Catholics. My answer was that I had left the sisterhood because of the wrongs and oppressive, tyrannical treatment; now I see that there is something wrong with that religion, too. If they are going to follow and hound and down me, I am through with them, and I do not want anything further to do with any of them. I also told her that if anything happened me, or if I got sick, to call the first Protestant minister she could find.
This instance, together with the persecutions that had been going on since I had been out of the sisterhood, caused me to decide conclusively in my own mind that I did not want anything to do with them.
I had been a Roman Catholic up to that moment, and had given them no cause to treat me in that manner, other than having left the sisterhood, as many sisters do, but now they did not care what became of me. Mrs. Kearney was the only friend I had in Spokane to whom I could go and this was probably the last subterfuge of the Hierarchy to force me back to their clutches.