Rev. T. Connellan, to his dearly beloved brethren, the Roman Catholics of the diocese of Elphin
Date: 2021-10-04T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Catholic Church -- Controversial literature; Catholic ex-priests -- Ireland

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rev. T. Connellan, to his dearly beloved brethren, the Roman Catholics of the diocese of Elphin

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Rev. T. Connellan, to his dearly beloved brethren, the Roman Catholics of the diocese of Elphin

Author: Thomas Connellan

Release date: October 4, 2021 [eBook #66467]
Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66467

Credits: Transcribed from the [c1889] edition printed by J. T. Drought by David Price

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REV. T. CONNELLAN, TO HIS DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN, THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF THE DIOCESE OF ELPHIN ***

Transcribed from the [c1889] edition printed by J. T. Drought by David Price.

REV. T. CONNELLAN,
TO HIS
Dearly Beloved Brethren,
THE ROMAN CATHOLICS
OF THE
DIOCESE OF ELPHIN.

Dublin: Printed by J. T. Drought, 6, Bachelor’s-walk.

A LETTER,
ETC.

Beloved Brethren,—

For seven years and three months I laboured among you.  Thousands of you knew me in the Confessional; almost all of you have heard my voice from the pulpit; I have baptized not a few among you.  I have laboured in the four most populous centres in your diocese—Sligo, Strokestown, Roscommon, and Athlone—and from the day on which I entered upon my work to the day of my departure from the diocese, there has never been a word of disagreement between us.  I resided but four months in the parish of Strokestown, yet, at my departure, my flock presented me with a purse of sovereigns.  Most of you have read the comments in the local journals when I left the diocese, and I leave them to speak for themselves.

I am returning to live and die among you if you will permit me, and I know the question that will naturally be asked by every one of you.  You will say—“Yes, we remember Father Connellan very well.  He preached in our chapel, and we used to call him ‘the fair-haired priest.’  But wasn’t he drowned in Lough Ree a couple of years ago?  Is it his ghost that is coming among us?”

Well, my clear friends, I am thankful to say I was not drowned in Lough Ree.  I left the diocese, put off my clerical garb, and worked on the Press in London for eighteen months.  It was rather a curious thing for a “fair-haired priest” to do, arid I am going to give you my reasons for the step in as few words as possible.

I was not more than two years a priest when I began to have conscientious scruples.  I shall tell you the causes of these scruples and troubles, not in the order in which they arose, for that would be impossible in a short sketch like the present, and if you cannot master the difficulties yourselves, you can ask your parish priest to explain them for you.

1.  We have all a great love for St. Patrick, and I used to read everything I could lay my hands on concerning him when I was a Roman Catholic priest.  Now, St. Patrick left some writings in manuscript, and one of these is called “St. Patrick’s Confession.”  All agree in believing this the genuine work of St. Patrick.  Now, the following are the opening words of St. Patrick’s Confession:—“I, Patrick, a sinner, the rudest and the least of all the faithful, and most contemptible to very many, had for my father Calpurnius, a deacon, a son of Potitus a presbyter, who dwelt in the village of Bannavem Taberniae.”  Presbyter, I may tell you, is the old word for priest, so we find that St. Patrick’s father was a deacon, and his grandfather a priest.  If a Roman Catholic deacon or priest were to marry now, he would at once be suspended; and don’t you think the priests and deacons living only three centuries after Christ were more likely to be right than those of the nineteenth century?

Again, in none of the works of St. Patrick is there a single word about devotion to the Blessed Virgin, the Sacrifice of the Mass, Purgatory, Invocation of Saints, or the like.  St. Patrick always prays to God alone, and Joceline, an early Roman Catholic historian, says of him—“He used to read the Bible to the people, and explain it to them for days and nights together.”

Lastly, you have always believed, and so did I for nearly thirty years, that St. Patrick planted the Roman Catholic religion in Ireland in the fifth century.  We know that every part of the Island became Christian, and that Ireland was called “the Island of Saints.”  But if St. Patrick planted the Roman Catholic religion in Ireland in the fifth century, is it not very curious that in the Bull given by Adrian IV. to Henry the Second, in which he permits Henry to conquer Ireland, the Pope expressly states he does it “in order to widen the bounds of the Church.”  The Pope handed over Ireland to Henry the Second on condition “that he would take care that a penny should be annually paid from every house in Ireland to St. Peter,” and his Holiness expressly states that his object is “to widen the bounds of the Church.”  Now, Christianity had been spread into every corner of “the Island of Saints” for seven centuries, and yet the Pope wants to “widen the boundaries of the Church” by introducing his religion into Ireland.  What does it mean?  Well, I give you the facts from Dr. Lanigan, a Roman Catholic historian (vol. iv., 164), and leave you to draw your own conclusion.

2.  When I was a Roman Catholic priest, one of my chief duties was to hear confessions.  It is not a pleasant duty, I can assure you, but it was always a pleasure to me to work for the good-natured Irish peasantry.  Well, the chief argument in support of Confession is taken from the 20th chapter of St. John’s Gospel and the 23rd verse—“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”  Now, to understand the point of my argument, you must read in your Douay Testament from verse 19.  Then turn back to the 24th chapter of St. Luke, and commence at the 33rd verse.  Both Evangelists narrate exactly the same incident; for in both he said, “Peace be to you,” and “He showed them His hands and His side.”  But what do we find?  In St. John, verse 19, we find that it was the “Disciples,” not the eleven Apostles only, who “were gathered together for fear of the Jews.”  In St. Luke, verse 33, we find that it was “the eleven” “and those that were with them” whom Jesus addressed.  Thence it follows that not alone did Jesus give to the eleven Apostles the power of forgiving sins, but He gave it to “those who were with them”—to the whole company of the “Disciples,” and among that company there were certainly some women.  Therefore Christ gave power to women to remit sins in the Confessional.  It follows as a necessary consequence; and I hope you will ask one of your priests to solve the difficulty for you.  My friends, you will find nowhere in the New Testament a record of any of the Apostles having remitted sins in the Confessional.  They remitted them, no doubt, by preaching the Gospel of Christ.  They bound and loosed, as you may see (Acts xv. 28, 29); but there is no record of their having set up the Confessional.  In the 16th chapter of the Acts, when the terrified keeper of the prison fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas, saying, “Masters, what must I do that I may be saved?” we do not read that Paul took out his stole, and asked him to make his confession.  On the contrary, he said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”  Indeed, it can be conclusively proved from history that private confession was introduced by Leo I. in the fifth century.  Public confession always existed.  St. James inculcates it (chap. v. 16), where he says, “Confess therefore your sins one to another,” showing that the priest is just as much bound to confess his sins to you as you are to the priest.

3.  All Roman Catholics try, where they can, to go to Mass every Sunday and holiday, and they believe that Jesus Christ is really and substantially present in the Host.  They believe they receive Him in the Holy Communion also: and many of you are yet living, I have no doubt, to whom I carried the Holy Communion when you were sick.  Now, the carnal presence of Christ in the Eucharist is tried to be proved from the sixth chapter of St. John and from the words of institution.  The words in the sixth chapter of St. John must have been spoken at least thirteen months before the Last Supper, as may be seen by a reference to John vi. 4 and John xii. 1.  The Church of Rome says Christ’s words, both in the Sixth of John, and at the Last Supper, must be taken literally.  Very well.  In the 54th verse of the sixth chapter of St. John, Christ says, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.”  Therefore all who do not receive the Holy Communion must perish, and baptized infants, for example, are eternally damned, I say the conclusion is inevitable, if the doctrine of the Church of Rome be true.  But the same Church of Rome holds that baptized infants, when they die go straight to God.  Again, in the 55th verse, Christ says, “He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.”  Therefore all communicants are saved.  In fact, you are landed in absurdities to no end unless you take Christ’s own interpretation in the 64th verse, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”  Jesus gives the key also in the 35th verse, where He said, “He that cometh to me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.”  It is by believing in Jesus, and coming to Him, that we are to have eternal life.  But the Roman Catholic Church attempts to prove the carnal presence of Christ in the Eucharist from the words of institution also: “This is My body, this is My blood.”  She says nothing can be clearer than these words, and that, unless Christ intended to leave His real Body and Blood, He would have been guilty of deception.  Well, when Jacob, in Genesis xlix. 9, said, “Juda is a lion’s whelp,” his words were very plain; but do you think any of his hearers believed Juda to be really a lion’s whelp?  When we read in the 118th Psalm (verse 105), “Thy word is a lamp to my feet,” do we think God’s Word really a material lamp?  When we read in John (x. 9), “I am the door,” do we believe Christ to be really a door?  Not at all.  Holy Scripture is full of figurative language, and Christ constantly used it.  Besides, in Luke (xxii. 19) we read, “Do this for a commemoration of me,” and in 1 Cor. xi. 26 we read, “For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come.”  So the Lord’s Supper was to be a memorial, a commemoration of Christ.  But we do not keep a memento of a person, no matter how dear, who is bodily present.  It is only when the friend is really departing that he leaves a memorial.  Jesus, in John (xiv. 2, 3), says, “I go to prepare a place for you.  I will come again, and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be.”  Why did not Christ say, “Do not be troubled.  I am leaving myself in the Eucharist.  You can handle me, feed on me.  I shall be a thousand times more intimately connected with you than ever before.”  He says nothing of the kind, however.  Nor does St. Peter in his famous sermon (Acts iii. 20) at Solomon’s porch; but he says, “When the times of refreshment shall come, He shall send Jesus Christ, whom heaven indeed must receive until the times of the restitution of all things.”

4.  I should be sorry to weary you, and so the last point I shall discuss here is the alleged primacy of jurisdiction given by Christ to St. Peter, and through him to the Pope.  The chief text upon which the Roman Catholic Church relies in this matter is Matt. xvi. 18—“And I say to thee, That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  In a note in the Douay Testament we are told that Christ’s words were the same as if He said in English, “Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”  But it is very remarkable that the Evangelist uses the word Petros for Peter, and Petra for the rock.  Now Petros means a stone, while Petra means a rock; so that the words of Christ would really signify “thou art a stone, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”  If Christ intended to found His Church upon Peter, He surely would have said, “Thou art Peter, and upon thee I will build my Church.”  But He really does say, thou art Peter (that is a stone), and upon this rock (Petra) I will build my Church.  Peter certainly was a stone in the edifice equally with the other Apostles, for St. John in the Apocalypse (xxi. 14) tells us that the wall of the new Jerusalem “had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.”  St. Augustine distinctly states that Christ is the rock—“Because I am Petra, a rock, thou art Petrus, Peter; for Petra, the rock, is not from Petrus, Peter; but Petrus, Peter, is from Petra the rock.  And upon this rock I will build my Church; not upon Peter, whom thou art, but upon the rock whom thou hast confessed” (tom, v., 1097).  St. Jerome holds the same opinion.  But the Church of Rome says Christ gave Peter the keys (Matt. xvi. 19).  No doubt; and Peter admitted the Jews by the doors of the Church (Acts ii. 41), and afterwards the Gentiles (Acts x.).  He also gave him power to bind and loose, and bestowed exactly the same power on the other Apostles (Matt. xviii. 18).  But even if Christ had conferred upon Peter this extraordinary power, it would not follow that it has been transmitted to the Pope.  They tell us that St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome.  But what authority have we for such a statement?  Only a shadowy tradition.  St. Peter is said to have founded the Church of Antioch, and has written an Epistle from Babylon.  Why should not the bishops of Antioch or Babylon have as good a right to call themselves successors to St. Peter as the bishops of Rome?  The Roman Catholic Church says Peter was bishop of Rome for twenty-five years, and was put to death the same year with St. Paul.  Well, the Acts of the Apostles take us down to A.D. 66, and it is most extraordinary they never mention Peter in connection with the See of Rome.  Even more extraordinary, if possible, is the fact that, although St. Paul resided two whole years at Rome, and wrote several Epistles therefrom, he never once mentions Peter’s name.  In his second Epistle to Timothy, written, as the Douay Testament tells us, “not long before his martyrdom,” he says: “Only Luke is with me.”  Nay, when he was before Nero, at his first examination, not a friend stood by to comfort him.  “At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all forsook me; may it not be laid to their charge.”  Where was Peter?  The Church of Rome says he had been residing at Rome twenty-five years then.  Was St. Paul totally ignorant of his presence there?

I do not propose to touch upon any more points of controversy just now, but from what I have written, you will gather that it would have been dishonourable and wicked of me to remain in the Church of Rome.  Of course the proper thing for me to do was to write to my bishop, and resign into his hands the charge he had given me seven years previously.  But you know how a poor Irish priest, who retires from his ministry for conscientious motives, is reviled and persecuted.  Then, my parents were living.  I dare say some of you know them, and if you do, you are aware that they are devout Roman Catholics, and are respected and esteemed by their acquaintances.  They doated upon me, and I knew they would much prefer to weep over my dead body than mourn over what to them would be my fall.  I gave them the easier alternative.  On Tuesday, the 20th of September, 1887, I said Mass in St. Peter’s, Athlone, as usual; had a talk with my old parish priest, Dr. Coffey, about schools, after breakfast, and then left, as I suppose for ever.  I sent a suit of secular clothes to my boat, pulled up to Lough Ree, and, having left my lay suit on the bank, undressed in the boat and swam ashore.  I thank God that from that moment I have had, what I had not tasted for years previously, perfect peace.  I got a position as sub-editor on a London newspaper, and for eighteen months gave myself to deep and constant study in the British Museum.  I began to feel that it was God’s will I should return to Ireland, and tell my dearly-loved countrymen of all that Christ has done for me.  He has accepted me.  I, a poor sinner, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, cast myself upon Him, and know that “I have peace with God, being justified by faith.”  God spared not His own Son.  “He made Him to be sin for us,” therefore for me.  “We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.”  This blessed acceptance has flooded my very soul with spiritual joy and gratitude, and as the perennial fountain spreads its waters over the surrounding meadows, so, my friends, do I long to impart to others the riches with which Christ has endowed me.  I have nothing to say, except what Paul said to his own countrymen after his conversion: “But this I confess to thee, that according to the sect which they call heresy, so I serve the Father and my God, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets” (Acts xxiv. 14).  I have written nothing that I have not grounded upon God’s Word.  Christ bids us “Search the Scriptures.”  I hope to meet you all again, and to prove to you from God’s book, admitted by your own Church to be inspired, that I have followed God’s guidance.  Your priest may denounce me, but I am quite willing to discuss the matter with him, and accept you, his own flock, as the judges.  Meanwhile, may God bless you all, and may you “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Your obedient Servant,

THOMAS CONNELLAN,

Late Roman Catholic Curate, St. Peter’s, Athlone.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REV. T. CONNELLAN, TO HIS DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN, THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF THE DIOCESE OF ELPHIN ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- REV. T. CONNELLAN, TO HIS Dearly Beloved Brethren, THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF THE DIOCESE OF ELPHIN.

- A LETTER, ETC.

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE