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23 March 1858 - Letter from Victor Poupinel to Julien Favre

Translated by ChatGPT. Uploaded by Mayte Ramos.

According to a copy, unidentified handwriting, APM 1500/21394, 6 pages. In the same file, the draft of the letter.

My very Reverend Father,

[1]

My visit to the diocese of Wellington is complete. Thanks to the recently published regulation and your ardent desire to promote the welfare of this mission, it is going to revive, I hope, or at least it will develop and consolidate. However, as the Society of Mary is about to send new missionaries to this part of New Zealand, I believe it is necessary to take a look at the history of our missions in this archipelago. It seemed useful to me that you should have a collection of various facts that may have hindered the progress of religion and that our enemies have taken advantage of so well. It is not to perpetuate discomfort and continue unpleasant discussions; I have sincerely desired to pacify everything and have worked to make the past forgotten on both sides. But I write to you, my Reverend Father; it may become necessary for you to be perfectly aware of the situation we are in in New Zealand. Having been in charge of the procurement of our missions since 1839, almost at their beginning, I find myself in an exceptional position to present this overview to you. May this small work be useful to you, at least in terms of information!

[2]

When the missions of Western Oceania were entrusted to the Society of Mary in 1836, the society was not yet constituted. It was not the society but rather Archbishop of Amasie, the apostolic administrator of Lyon, who presented Bishop Pompallier to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to be in charge of this mission. This prelate was not bound to the Society of Mary by any vows, yet Reverend Father Colin gave him full authority over our fellow missionary brothers in the new vicariate. Everything was novice— the bishop, the missionaries, and the society itself— and, moreover, they were going to a completely unknown country. [p.2] After 18 months of travel since his departure from Lyon, Bishop of Maronea established himself in Hokianga, New Zealand, in April 1838. In one of his many stops, the prelate had received rules of administration from another bishop; principles of conduct towards the missionaries, his collaborators, which were successful neither for the one who gave them nor for the one who followed them, and unfortunately, these principles have been perpetuated for too long.

[3]

Here are figures that will loudly and clearly inform Your Paternity whether the Society of Mary has failed in the support it owed to Bishop Pompallier for the welfare of his mission. Our Society was only constituted in 1836; from the end of that year until 1842 inclusive, it sent 44 priests or brothers to the prelate. From 1836 to 1843, it obtained for this same mission from the Propagation of the Faith 725,319 francs and 90 centimes, not to mention many cash and in-kind donations made by pious individuals. Out of this sum, 236,432 francs and 25 centimes were spent in France for various supplies and goods shipped to the mission site; 283,255 francs were given to departing missionaries for the mission and their travel expenses. 108,700 francs and 80 centimes were sent to Bishop Pompallier through other channels. Furthermore, within two years, Bishop Pompallier, without any authorization, issued drafts on the Reverend Father Superior General for the sum of 196,931 francs and 83 centimes. We were not accustomed to these banking operations, the Society was in its early stages and without resources; if the central council of the Propagation of the Faith in Lyon had not been extremely devoted to us, if it had not allocated more than 200,000 francs to pay off Bishop Pompallier's debts, we would have been forced to refuse the drafts of the prelate, throw him into inextricable difficulties, and cause a great scandal. The troubles and pain of Reverend Father Colin in these unfortunate circumstances were extreme.

[4]

What were the causes of these deplorable expenses? Nothing was established, and the missionaries, left to themselves, endured scarcity and hunger. Bishop Pompallier had purchased his famous brig, the Santa Maria, a ship of 140 tons and therefore very expensive to maintain. With this ship, the prelate sailed through the different bays of New Zealand, leading people to believe that he was a cousin of Louis-Philippe, lavishly distributing blankets, clothing, and other gifts to the indigenous people, enrolling thousands of Maori names who declared themselves for the Mother Church, the Church trunk. Then, in France, we received fabulous accounts that announced that 40,000 Maoris had turned to the Catholic Church. And as a result, we became the subject of ridicule by the heretics and the lamentations of sensible people. You may find it hard to believe, and yet, my very Reverend Father, the fact is undeniable. Not only were there always many Maoris on board the Santa Maria who needed to be fed, but French and English merchants used the mission ship to visit different parts of New Zealand, fed and funded with money given by the Propagation of the Faith. It is universally confirmed to me that the most complete wastage prevailed on board this ship, whose crew was far from edifying. I won't mention the loans at ruinous rates, the prelate's violent character, etc. I add that despite all this, in 1843, the Society asked the Propagation of the Faith for an allocation of 245,000 francs for New Zealand alone, [p.3] and it was preparing to send twenty individuals, priests and brothers, who were going to depart under the leadership of Reverend Father Epalle, vicar general of Bishop of Maronea, when a letter from the prelate arrived to reject this sending. It was then that the Society was drawn towards Melanesia, a mission of such sad memory for us. In my opinion, my very Reverend Father, our Society deserves reproach, that of having cooperated too effectively, at the time of its constitution, with the mission in New Zealand. If later, unpleasant discussions halted the sending of new missionaries to Oceania for a few years, I am inclined to believe that the good Lord allowed this pause to give us the leisure to consolidate ourselves in France, to train and prepare ourselves for new and more useful battles.

[5]

I mentioned earlier that the very Reverend Father Superior had granted Bishop Pompallier full authority over the members of the Society working in his mission. However, precisely distressed by the conduct pursued by the prelate, he sent Reverend Father Forest at the end of 1841 as a visitor to our confreres but without giving him any authority. This good and experienced father, endowed with a conciliatory character, was one of our oldest fathers and, moreover, a friend of the bishop, the former companion of his work in France. Our very Reverend Father Superior hoped that the advice of a friend would be well-received, but his hope was disappointed. In 1842, in July or August, a decree was issued by the cardinal prefect of the Propaganda . It has been believed since then in Rome that this decree was solicited by Reverend Father Colin. I was on the scene, and I know positively that the solicitor of this decree from Monsignor Cadolini was the Reverend Father General of the Jesuits, who did more than our revered superior wanted. Thus, this good father was fully determined not to take advantage of this decree. However, as it was modified and published in the following September by order of the sovereign pontiff, he sent it; and yet, due to Bishop Pompallier's character, he refrained from appointing a provincial. The prelate appointed one himself, but I hardly know what authority he could have had.

[6]

I will not omit some rather regrettable circumstances that were far from contributing to the unity and good understanding between Bishop Pompallier and the Society. Father Viard had only spent four and a half months in the novitiate in Lyon. It is worth noting that if such actions were taken in the beginning, it was not without the advice of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. A few years younger, I had preceded Father Viard at the novitiate by several months; I liked him very much because of his affectionate piety and enthusiasm for missions, but I soon saw that his talents and knowledge were quite ordinary. Arriving in New Zealand towards the end of 1839, he soon became the confidant and object of favours from Bishop Pompallier. Towards the end of 1841, the bishop led him to Wallis, where the inhabitants had just been converted by Father Bataillon after more than four years of cruel privations and countless dangers. To the great surprise of the new Christians, Father Viard, who was less senior in the mission and the Society, was appointed superior, and Father Bataillon, the apostle of this island, became subordinate. Wouldn't it be appropriate to say: "Omnia mihi licent, sed non omnia expediunt "? [p.4] At the end of November 1843, the Bishop of Amata arrived in Wallis, bearing pontifical letters that erected the Vicariate of the Centre and appointed Father Bataillon apostolic vicar and Bishop of Enos. His Eminence, the cardinal prefect of the Propaganda, had decided that the missionaries within the boundaries of the new vicariate would remain under the jurisdiction of Bishop Bataillon. Notwithstanding all this and the request of the new prelate, Father Viard wanted to return to Bishop Pompallier; only he yielded to the insistence of the Bishop of Amata and consented to accompany him for a while to New Caledonia. A French corvette, the Rhin, having come to visit Bishop of Amata in 1845, Father Viard refused to stay until the arrival of the expected missionaries and left, leaving the bishop alone with Father Rougeyron. It is true that Bishop Pompallier was awaiting his former vicar with the bulls appointing him Bishop of Orthosie in Sydney. Thus, it is believed in our missions that the new prelate had received a promise of being promoted to the episcopate from the Bishop of Maronea, and that was the reason for the refusals made to the Bishops of Enos and Amata. He was consecrated by the Archbishop of Sydney at the beginning of 1846.

[7]

You undoubtedly know, my very Reverend Father, that this promotion took place without the involvement of our Society. Monsignor Pompallier directly made the request for Father Viard to be appointed coadjutor in Rome. The very Reverend Father Colin, when consulted, replied that he did not believe the mission needed a coadjutor, and furthermore, if the Society had a candidate to present, it would not choose Father Viard. He added that this missionary was pious and zealous, but nevertheless, the directors of the grand seminary in Lyon were surprised by the choice of the proposed candidate, and several priests engaged in the mission seemed to them more suitable for this dignity. Therefore, the Society of Mary had no part in the promotion of Bishop Viard, who, in any case, contented himself with writing to our superior after his consecration.

[8]

It really seems that Bishop Pompallier was tormented by the need to upheave all our missions. Dissatisfied with the erection of the central vicariate, he wrote to the Propagation of the Faith claiming that he was being persecuted in New Zealand, that there was danger for him to stay there. To make this allegation more evident, he went on to spend several months in Sydney, incurring considerable expenses. His jurisdiction was restored to him, at least temporarily, over the Tonga archipelago, and consequently, according to his interpretation, over the Wallis and Futuna islands that some geographers consider dependent. In other words, he was once again the bishop of all the places where Bishop Bataillon had missionaries. All that remained for the latter prelate was to attempt a descent to the Navigator Islands, where he sent Fathers Roudaire and Violette at the risk of their lives. In the first months of 1846, Bishop Pompallier chartered a ship called Providence in Sydney at great expense; this ship visited the Bay of Islands, took on many provisions, and Bishop Viard set out for Wallis to restore the jurisdiction of Bishop Pompallier and win the affection of the missionaries with gifts. Here was Bishop Bataillon a stranger in his own home! Fortunately, Bishop Viard is timid and not very enterprising. The matter remained more or less secret, and Bishop Bataillon did not accept the interpretations of [p. 5] Bishop of Maronea. Thanks to clarifications provided to the Propagation of the Faith, everything was soon restored to its original state. Poor Bishop Pompallier!

[9]

He himself departed for France at the beginning of 1846. In 1847, in May, he submitted his resignation, and a few days later, he went to beg the eminent cardinals of the Propagation of the Faith not to accept it. It was indeed refused. The two dioceses of Auckland and Wellington were erected in 1848. Reverend Father Colin had categorically refused to leave his religious with Bishop Pompallier. It was decided that our confreres would withdraw to the diocese of Wellington with Bishop Viard. Our revered founder knew very well that he was imposing a great sacrifice on them. After more than ten years of work, fatigue, and all kinds of privations, they had founded numerous Christian communities among the Maoris; four or five counted from a thousand to two thousand Catholics. Their congregations of Europeans provided them with resources and consolation; their establishments were properly set up. They were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their patient labour, and they had to abandon everything to go to a country that had very little population, especially Catholic, and where only one establishment was underway. Everything was to be created, and there was far from being certainty about the course of action that the Bishop of Orthosie, apostolic administrator of Wellington, would take.

[10]

The entire group of emigrants arrived in Port Nicholson on April 30, 1850. However, I do not want to omit telling you, my very Reverend Father, that Bishop Pompallier had arrived in Auckland in 1849 with his new priests. Our confreres arranged a solemn reception for the prelate in a large and beautiful church built in his absence through the care and dedication of the good Father Forest. In addition to several other well-established stations, they left him a beautiful college in Auckland where our brothers had worked considerably, houses for schools, and his convent. Yet, at the solemn Mass of arrival, our confreres were set aside, and in the prelate's address to the faithful, not a single word of praise or thanks was directed towards them. Catholics were surprised and saddened; since their departure, our confreres, for reasons of prudence, had suspended all correspondence with their former friends and faithful. Moreover, Bishop Pompallier explicitly forbade them from doing so. The absence of the Marists saddened the Catholic population of Auckland, and the conduct of several of their successors has not been conducive to making them forgotten by the faithful. Out of revenge, some unhappy individuals even made three assassination attempts on Bishop Pompallier; his vicar general almost became a victim one evening of the fury of an Irishman who mistook him for the bishop. Bishop Pompallier kept the stick the culprit had used. It is said that things are improving in the diocese of Auckland; I sincerely wish it for the glory of God, the good of souls, and the honor of our holy religion. Peace to Bishop Pompallier! He has caused me many troubles; he subjected our Society to a harsh novitiate, but I bear no bitterness against him, and if I could be of help to him, I would do so with great pleasure. I pity him, but I forgive him with all my heart, despite the levity with which he spoke about our Society to his priests and his people since his return to New Zealand, without the slightest response from our side.

[11]

I have the honor to be, with perfect respect, my very Reverend Father, your very humble and obedient servant,

Victor Poupinel, s.m.