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 MING

324

MINO

former conditions was inipussiblo. The power of the Minden, Init its temporal possessions, embracing more

bishop was now so restricteil by the chapter and t lie town, that he was miable to take any important step without their consent; indeed, a complete co-regency of the chapter was set up. Almost all the castles were in the hands of the aristocratic canons, and the revenues of the bisliop were extremely limited. The lives of the clergj- liid not in many cases conform to the canonical rules; concubinage was quite general,

than twenty-two wiuare miles, were awanied to the i';i(clonit(' of Urandenbiirg. It was only in 1G49 that Unindenburi; was able to obtain possession ; in KiSOthe IMcctor 1' redcricU William received the oath of alle- giance from the town and the nobility at the episcopal castle of I'etershagen. The "prmcipality " of MinOen remained at first a speciid jurisdiction, until in 1729 it was united to the Countsliip of Ravensberg. The

monastic discipline had relaxeii. and the faith of the Catholics retained only the cathedral with eleven ca-

laity had grown cold. For t liese reasons the Ueform.a- tion .spread rapidly in the town and tlie diocese under Bishop Franz 1 of Hrunswick-Wolfcnbiittel (15US-29), who involved the see in the Ilildcshcim chapter feuds, and died as the result of his excesses. His succes.sor, Franz II von Waldeck, also Bishop of Miinsterand Osnabriick from 1532, led a dissolute life, and was an ad- herent of the new religious teachings, which be privately furthered with all his power. In 1553 he was forced to re- sign in favour of J ul ius of Brun.s- wick - Wolfenbiittel ( 1 553-54), who soon resigned in favour of his uncle, Georg (1554-6(>).

Under his suc- cessor Hermann von Schauenberg (1567- 82), Protestantism spread rapidly ; Her- mann accepted the Council of Trent, it is true, but governed as a Protestant prince. Heinrich Julius of Bruns- wick -Wolfenbuttel (1582-85) declared the Confession of Augsburg the only authorized creed in his diocese. Otto von S c h a u e n berg (1587-99) was a de- voted Catholic, but, owing to disputes with the cathedral chapter and the es- tates, accomplished little for Catholi-

1726).

nonries, all of which were suppressed early in the nine- teenth century; but the cathedral is still in Catholic hands. After the suppression of the see, its territory was administered for ecclesiastical purposes by the Northern Mission. In 1821 most of it fell to Pader- born, and a small remnant to Hildesheim.

Chronicon Episco-

lierum Germa HI (Ratisbor .'(07-41; Cu Mindische Geschichte (Minden, 1747^8);

8CHLICHTHABER, A/i'n-

dische Kirchengeschichie (Minden, 1753-55); HoLSCHER, Besckrei- hung dfs vomialigen Bistums Minden (Mun- ster, 1877); Schroder, Chronik des Bistuma und der Stadt Minden (Mindeo, 1886); Idem. Die Einfuhrung der lieformation in Weat- jalen (Minden, 1883). I'rotestant standpoint; Westfalisches Urkun- Irnbuch, VI: Die Ur- k linden des Bistum.t Minden 1201-ISOO. ed. Hoor.EWEG (Munster. I><!IS); Die Bau- und h ,,: i.hiikmaler des Minden (.Mun-

. : I'iiiJl; Frie, Die ' lung der Lan- ii iler Mindener I, (M tinster.

' " Zeitschr. des I .si \. reins fiir Nie- der.^iichsen (Liineburg, 1835—).

JCSEPH LiNS.

Ming, John, phi- osopher and writer, b. at Gyswyl, Unter- walden, Switzer- and, 20 Sept., 1838; d. at Brook- lyn, Ohio, U. S. A., 17 June, 1910. He was educated at the Benedict ineCollege,

South Wall of the Cathedk.\

cism. The last bishop but one. Christian of Bruns- Engelburg, Switzerland, and entered the German Jesuit

wick (1599-133, a Protestant), troubled himself novitiate in 1856. He studied philosophy at Aachen

little about his diocese, and ruled it from his paternal (1861-64), and theology at Maria-Laach (1865-69).

estates. By the terms of his election he had to allow After a year's tertianship in Westphalia he was sent to

the free exercise of both creeds. The attempt of Kreuzberg, near Bonn, as a preacher, and in 1871 be-

the cathedral chapter to turn over the church of came lecturer in theology at Gorz, Austria. In 1872

St. John at Minden to the Je.suits (1604) was fnis- he came to the United States, where, after two years

trated by the opposition of the citizens. By the devoted to pastoral ministry, he professed theology at

Edict of Restitution (1629) the Catholics of Minden Milwaukee. He w^as transferred two years later to

obtained the churches of St. Martin and St. Simeon; Spring Hill, Alabama, where he taught philosophy, in

the Franciscans in 10.30 established themselves in which work he was afterwards engaged for twenty-one

the cathedral until 1651, and even the Jesuits, though years, mainly at Buffalo, Prairie du Chien, and St.

for only a short time, were welcomed to the city. Louis. When once he had acquired English, Father

Franz von Wartenberg (103.3-48), last Bi-shop of Min- den, endeavoured to restore the Catholic faith in his Sees of Minden, Osnabriick, and Verden; but in 1633 he was obliged to flee before the Swedes, and after the Treaty of Prague (1635) was unable to return. By the Peace of Westphalia the diocese was sup

Ming began to write for the leading Catholic magazines, especially the " Messenger" and the " American Catho- lic Quarterly Review", in which his first article ap- peared in 1879. His contributions deal mainly with evolut ion and socialism, the tw'o most important ques- tions confronting Catholics in the I'nited States in his

pressed, Franz Wilhelm retained the title of Bishop of day. After the publication of a short but instructive