Alabama Methodist Church Holds Service Asking For Forgiveness For Murder of Catholic Priest 91 Years Ago

This is nice story and it references a Priest I have mentioned before. See Methodist service asks forgiveness for priest’s murder 91 years ago. The appears to have happened around Ash Wednesday of this year.

There is a whole site dedicated to him that has his writings ,and also articles from the time period when the murder happened.

As the bio notes he arrived at a time when anti Catholicism had a substantial uptick in Mobile.


Of interest then is this poem that I suspect to some modern Catholic ears would be a tad jarring.


Our National Flag



Rev. James E. Coyle






Do they dare, do they dare, to say we love not thee,


That we love thee not Old Glory, that floats above the free.


That we re traitors to the Nation, that we cannot both be true


To the glorious Church Christ founded, and the Red, White and Blue.


They say the Roman Pontiff may ask us to betray


The glorious flag of Freedom s land, and we must needs obey.


We must haul down at his behest, and in the mire must drag


The folds of dear Old Glory, our nation s glorious flag.




Oh, they lie, they lie and know it, the base and bigot crew


Who say such things do basely lie. They know that we are true.


They know full well, that all the years that saw Old Glory wave


Saw sons of Mother Church stand staunch, the bravest of the brave.




We ve shed our blood on many a field, we ve fought on every sea


For the Stars and Stripes, the Nation s flag of the brave and the free.


Again we swear if called to fight, we ll gladly, proudly go


To man your ships and serve your gun's gainst any foreign foe.


We ll go, and Holy Church will bless the guns and swords of ours,


We use to bring destruction dire' gainst any hostile powers.


Our love of Country does not change the love to God we bear.


God and our Country, both we love, for both we ll do and dare.




Pray when did Pontiff message send, to ask us traitors be


To that dear flag, the Stars and Stripes, that waves above the free?


Not any year, of all the years since first Old Glory flew


Were sons of Church base traitor knaves. No, they were leal and true.




And leal and true are we today, we ll follow where it waves;


We ll follow even though if floats above our foreign graves.


We ve sworn to serve that Glorious Flag, Let s swear the oath anew,


Our flag, Old Glory, Freedom s Flag, the Red and White and Blue.