Not all the facts lead to mass hysteria

I started writing “What a Life!” in December 1998. I have written more than 750 columns. The following article took more time and research than any other column because it is based on the life of a real person. It deals with mass hysteria, which is very common.

For example, after 9/11 a group of ignorant people attacked a group of Asians who wore a certain headdress and took out their frustrations on innocent American people who had nothing to do with the terrorist attack.

The story of Fr. Francis Weiss was captured in a movie directed by Glen Pitre entitled “Home Front.” There is also a short story entitled “Judas’ Requiem” by Lance LaPlante based on the rumors that surrounded the incident. It’s interesting that not much is said about Fr. Weiss in the official publications of the Sacred Heart Parish in Cut Off.

What happened? Archbishop Shaw of New Orleans assigned Fr. Francis Weiss to establish a new parish to be known as Sacred Heart Church in Cote Blanche, Louisiana (a community later incorporated into Cut Off) beginning Jan. 1, 1924. He was also to establish the mission chapel of St. Joseph in Galliano. Fr. Weiss was from Germany but like most of the European priests who came to our country as missionaries, they were multilingual. Since half the people couldn’t speak English, he had to speak French.

According to the official reports, Fr. Weiss seemed to be doing quite well. He established the various church societies and organizations and the congregation grew. When World War II began, the people of Cut Off and Galliano had both outgrown their original church buildings and Archbishop Rummel wrote to Fr. Weiss advising him to make plans to build new churches in both places along with new living quarters.

Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel was born in Baden, Germany, but he came with his parents to the United States when a young child. He became archbishop in 1935. The only negative correspondence I could find from the archbishop was in 1943 urging Fr. Weiss to get started on the church building projects and if he thought it was too much for him, he would reassign him to a smaller parish.

The war had an impact on many people. German submarines were spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, and some local soldiers had returned in body bags. According to some people who lived then, about four families got together and accused Fr. Weiss of spying for the Germans. They accused him of having a two-way radio in the tombs or in the bell tower, none of which was true.

The confrontation got heated and the pastor had to be escorted out of town by the sheriff deputies. He was pastor for 21 years and you would think people would have known him better. The archbishop wrote a letter condemning the action of those who took part and described it as “evidence of emotion, uncontrolled passion and an utter absence of reasonable restraint, even in the presence of the representatives of the church and the law.”

The archbishop sent a redemptorist priest, Fr. Enos Babin, to bring reconciliation to both communities. He also instructed Fr. Weiss to return to the parish to turn over the books and to give his priestly blessing at all the masses on the following Sunday. He also threatened the penalty of excommunication to anyone who disrupted Fr. Weiss’ brief return.

An unfortunate incident like this can happen anywhere if we let our emotions trump our reason. When we hear negative rumors and accusations and do not check them out, passions may take over and people will do things they might later regret. Don’t get caught up in emotional gossip and mass hysteria. Check out the facts and pray about your actions.