 The Galveston Daily News Monday, May 5, 1890 pg.2 TROUBLE AT A CEMETERY A Catholic Priest Protests Against the Entrance of a Funeral Party Sherman, Texas, May 4 - An exciting and sensational scene occurred at the gate of St. Mary's Catholic cemetery this aternoon. When the funeral procession attending the burial of the infant daughter of John Gaudin reached the place, the gates were found nailed and fastened against their entrance. Mr. Gaudin was forbidden by the local priest, Father Moore, to enter. Gaudin proceeded to tear down a small gate, and effected an entrance through that way, and instead of vehicles driving in as usual it was found necessary to carry the coffin to the grave by hand. This all took place over the protests of Father Moore, who could not be seen this evening, but a communicant and a regular attendant at St. Mary's said: "Father Moore acted in accordance with the church tenets, which forbid a protestant ceremony in our cemeteries. This funeral procession was accompanied by a protestant minister who not only held services at the house but announced there he would finish at the grave. The objection was not to the burial of the child, whose parents are Catholics, but to the holding of protestant services in the cemetery." Mr. Gaudin said tonight: When my child died, I tried three times to get Father Moore to attend to the last duty. This he repeatedly refused to do, saying it was unnecessary. I purchased a lot from him and paid the sexton to prepare the grave. I could not stand to see my child buried without Christian respect, and as a final resort, though a Catholic, I got Dr. Fitzptrick of St. Stephen Episcopal Church to officiate. He accompanied us to the cemetery, which I found was barred against our engrance. Father Moore forbade me to enter and said I had no lot in the cemetery, and I understood he had ordered the sexton to fill up the grave before we arrived. I was enraged and told Father Moore that I intended to bury my child if I had to do so in blood. He protested against the entrace of Dr. Fitzparick, but I asked him to come with me and he did so and held services a the grave where she is lying to-night. I tried my best to give my child a Catholic burial, but could not do so.: The affair has created much talk. The Sunday Gazetteer Sunday, May 11, 1890 pg. 3 DEFYING THE CHURCH The lengths to which a hunger for religious services will carry men was rather forcibly illustrated in Sherman last Sunday. The infant daughter of Mr. John Gaudin died and Father Moore of St. Joseph's was asked to perform funeral services. He stated, tha in the case of infants, it was unusual to hold such services and as it was considered by the church unnecessary it would be establishing a bad precedent to begin with the case of this child. The faher of the child, however, does not seem to have been satisfied with this reading of the church regulations, for, after purchasing a lot in the Catholic Cemetery, he immediately repaired to the resident of Rev. Mr. Fitzpatrick, the Episcopal minister, and secured his consent to conduct religious services. When, hoever, the funeral procession reached the cemetery, the gates were found locked while Father Moore was present to forbid religious services of a protestant character taking place in the cemetery. In defiance of this pronunciamento, however, Mr. Gaudin tore the pickets off the fence and marched the funeral cortege in, taking the protestant clergyman with him. The Church of England burial service was held over the remains and the child buried, and now the courts will be called upon to decide whether or not the Catholic Church has a right to say what kind of services shall be held in its cemeteries. It would have been vastly better, no doubt, for all concerned, if Mr. Gaudin had taken the money he paid for his cemetery lot and bought one in some other cemetery, and if he had to have religious services over his child, contrary to the customs and usages of the Catholic Church, it would have been infinitely nicer to have had them occur where they would not have been objectionable. A man who cannot be saisfied with the tenets and practices of a creed has no business clinging to tha creed, especially in this day when creeds are so plentiful. St. Mary's Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |
