Bishop Lamy and the truth, what was it?

Bishop Lamy was a New Mexican enigma. He like other Americans who ended up in New Mexico after the American occupation of the province did not like New Mexico or New Mexicans. There is really no doubt about it. But he was a Catholic and probably could not resist the upgrade to vicar general, later "bishop" and later yet archbishop when it was offered to him. He probably had some religious reason for coming to New Mexico but I think it was more about ego than anything else.

He ended up in one horrible embarrassing situation when he arrived. The bishop in charge of New Mexico, Zubiria of Durango, Mexico,  had not advised the New Mexican priests that Lamy had been assigned as the new bishop by the Pope. Bishop Zubiria in fact had not been advised by Rome of the change. Needles to say when Lamy arrived, all puffed up, ready to administer to the Catholic minions in New Mexico the local priests let by my distant relative Father Juan Felipe Ortiz, vicar forane, told him where he could put it.

It forced the new Bishop Lamy to go all of the way to Durango, Mexico to figure out the mess with Bishop Zubria. When he came back he officially took over. I bet he was not a happy camper.

Later in the fall of 1852 a pastoral letter from Bishop Lamy and addressed to his "much beloved brothers" and meant to take effect on January 1, 1853 was read to all of the Catholic faithful at all Catholic Churches in New Mexico the week before. Big changes were in store for all Catholics on New Years day of 1853. These changes included matters of divorce which he saw as rampant, dancing which the bishop thought was evil and a local disgrace and gambling which he thought was unworthy of any Christian. He asked how many persons who habitually frequented these profane diversions had lost their fear of God.

The letter also reconfigured  prices paid by the faithful for religious services and the percentages that the local priest could keep with the rest going to him to administer and spend as he saw fit.

That was the straw that broke the camels back.

To be continued as I read the book "Lamy of Santa Fe", A Biography by Paul Horgan and published in 1975 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux of New York.