'Tragedy in a Church'

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 26, 28 June 1906, Page 18

'Tragedy in a Church'

The ' Auckland Weekly News ' of June 21 published .. .the foil owing, tale from a far off land":— '-- c Madrid; May 5.— A terrible tragedy took plaice" today in the Cfourch of Santo Domingo at Murcia. While a famous Jesuit priest, Father. Pedro Morales, was celebrating Mass at ths high, altar, another priest named

Toribo Martinez suddenly drew a revolver from under his _cassock and fired two .bullets into Father Morales' head The_ latter fell lifeless at the steps of the altar. Martinez then shot himself through .the heart. Father Mor- - ales was considered one of .the rnq^t brilliant preachers in Spain, _ and dtevout worshippers travelled leng distances'to hear him. The cause of the tragedy is unknown, but it is believed that Martinez' niind suddenly became unhinged.' „ . . . -- ' ' Did this dispatch ever come from Madrid ?• ,We gravely doubt it. There are two contradictory versions of this mysterious ' tragedy in a church.' The ' Auckland Weekly News ' gives cne of thorn. According to it, the * tragedy ' occurred en May 5, and the account of it was despatched over the electric wires pn the same day. • Madrid, May 5.— A terrible tragedy took place to-day.' And soon. Now we have before us ,a copy of the Montreal * True Witness,' -which quotes this very same story as having appeared as a 'despatch' in the ' Gazette,' ' Star,' and ' Herald ' in that city 'on Friday, May 4th.' -The Auckland version and the Montreal version present only unimportant verfaal differences— the latter, for instance, .laying Hie scene of the alleged tragedy at Muria (not Murcia). 1 <• \ But this is by no means the only fishy, feature about the ' tragedy. 1 There is no such place as Muria on any map or gazetteer of Spain. Murcia we know— the city of silk and oranges. The name of every J.esuit in Spain is known to the members of that great organisation. But we have the well-informed authority of the ' Glasgow Observer ' and of the Montreal ' True Witness ' that there is not in all Spain a Jesuit known as Pedro Morales, much less a ' brilliant ' Jesuit ' preacher ' of that name. And it would take the ca-blc-demon himself to explain how the Montreal papers contrived to publish a full account of the ' tragedy ' the day before ft happened ?