EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT A CHURCH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2165, 19 February 1891, Page 4

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT A CHURCH.

On Sunday, November 23rd, at the 10 o’clock mass at the Italian Church, Hatton Garden, which was crowded, there was an extraordinary: scene After the reading of the Gospel, the Rev. Joseph Peter Bannin, the Rector of the Church and General of the Pious Society of Missions, ascended the pulpit, and said that the subject of his discourse that morning would be a painful one. Ireland was one of the poorest countries on the: face of earth, but she had always been singularly free from crime, especially crime of au immoral kind. There had been exposed during the w : eek in the law courts a niost scandalbus case of immorality connected with an Irishman who had been up to the present a leader amongst his people. Irishmen owed'a great deal to this man, but, as a teacher of morality, he must insist that one of the greatest qualifications which a man should possess as the leader of a people was morality, When first charged this man protested that he was innocent, and that he had a complete answer to the charge ; but when the time of his trial came, when he could answer the charges, he was ' silent, and so landed the Irish people into a quagmire of immorality. At this point some few ot the congregation got up and walked out, and a man stood up in an excited manner and shouted at the priest, “Mind your own business ” The rey. gentleman retorted that his business was to teach morality. Then the same ,mao, quivering with excitement, again shouted, “ Don’t interfere with politics.” The verger and another man moved up the aisle of the church to forcibly expel the disturber, when the rev. gentleman said “ Let the man alone; do not touch him; ho has a right to speak.” There was great excitement at this point, numbers of the congregation standing up and remonstrating with the man. The rev. gentleman, continuing, said he was not speaking politics ; it was a question of morality. This man, the leader of the people, had debauched the wife of a man who was his friend, and brought ruin upon his family. (Here there was restrained applause and a little disturbance, and one of the men on duty in the church found it necessary to seiae a woman and put her out of the sacred edifice.) "When the mass was over two young men outside called for “ Cheers for Parnell,” and cheers and groans were given. Two policemen came to the church door to escort the “ brawler” home, but notwithstanding the police he was attacked and struck ; he attempted to address the excited crowd, but they groaned and hooted him, and the police got him away with great difficulty.