Colman J. BarryCritiques

Interesting episodes lithe known in American history

1765 The Catholic Church and German Americans, by Colman J. Barry, O.S.B. (read 15 Feb 1983) Ever since I read the fascinating book The Great Crisis in American Catholic History 1895-1900, by Thomas T. McAvoy, C.S.C. (read 30 Sep 1961) (Book of the Year) I have had a great interest in late 19th century American Catholic history. This book does not put Archbishop Ireland and Cardinal Gibbons in as good a light as the books I read in 1961. It concentrates on the work of Peter Paul Cahensky and the controversy engendered by some things he and persons associated with him did. It is clear that Cahensky was a good German intensely interested in helping preserve the Faith in emigrants. In this regard he sought German priests and bishops for the U.S., leading Archbishop Ireland and others to think he was seeking to Germanize the Catholic Church in the US. While the Germans in the controversy occasionally used unfortunate language, they were more right than their opponents. I wish I knew German. Would that my parents had heard and heeded the words of Bishop Horstmann of Cleveland in 1907 when he said: "I must truly wonder at our German parents, who themselves speak German, for not preserving the German language as precious in their families. They rather speak English to their children. Such parents sin against flesh and blood, they rob their children of the opportunity, given to them as to no one else, of having intercourse with their professional associates. How easily and effortlessly, how playfully the child learns German when his parents insist that in the family circle only German will be spoken. The children learn English by themselves, they pick it up in the street, and it is taught to them in school. But they will never be able to master the German language if they do not learn it from childhood, if it is not spoken in the family."

I really enjoyed Barry's book, The Catholic Church and German-Americans, but this book was usually a bore. He zips through Cardinal Muench's career from birth to Bishop of Fargo in one long chapter, and then in no particular order talks unendingly of time Muench spent in Germany. Very poorly organized book.½