“Ten Thousand Pardons”: Accusations of Clerical Misconduct in St. Peter’s Parish, 1806–1809

Abstract

Abstract: This essay reconstructs accusations of clerical misconduct in one of the new nation’s most prominent parishes, St. Peter’s Parish, Manhattan. This episode, which unfolded from the fall of 1806 through the spring of 1809, offers a window onto painful histories. We see the way that the rumors and reality of clerical violations of celibacy concatenated with existing tensions among clergy, trustees, and prelate and between national-origin groups. We see how a prelate’s determination to treat accused clergy fairly and charitably created the possibility of additional misconduct. By witnessing accused priests defending themselves from accusations that threatened their status, livelihood, and sense of self—while fellow clergy worked to unearth evidence against them and lay leaders took an expansive view of their temporal authority—we gain insight into the world of parish priests. Finally, the crisis also offers glimpses of how a woman caught up in these accusations tried to defend her interests.