“The Pope has spoken, and the American Fathers, including myself, are dispensed from their vows.  The decree is not in my hands, but Cardinal Barnabo read it to me last evening.  The General is not mentioned in it, and no attention whatever is paid to his action in my regard.  The other Fathers are dispensed in view of the petition they made, as the demand for separation as Redemptorists would destroy the unity of the Congregation, and in the dispensation I am associated with them.  The Cardinal [Barnabo] is wholly content; says that I must ask immediately for an audience to thank the Pope. . . .  Now let us thank God for our success.”

On March 11:  “We are left in entire liberty to act in the future as God and our intelligence shall point the way.  Let us be thankful to God, humble towards each other and every one else, and more than ever in earnest to do the work God demands at our hands. . . .  The Pope had before him all the documents, yours and mine and the General’s, and the letters from the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States.  Archbishop Bizarri (Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars) gave him a verbal report of their contents and read some of the letters.  Subsequently the Pope himself examined them and came to the conclusion to grant us dispensation.  But there was I in the way, who had not petitioned for a dispensation.  And why not?  Simply because Cardinal Barnabo would have been offended at me if I had done so. . . .  I could not go against the wishes of the cardinal.  A few days after he had given me his views, and with such warmth that I could not act against them, he saw the Pope, who informed him of his intention to give us dispensation and to set aside the decree of my expulsion.  On seeing the cardinal after this audience he told me that I might communicate this to Archbishop Bizarri.  I did so by note, telling him that if the Pope set aside my expulsion and was determined to give the other American Fathers dispensation from their vows, in view of the circumstances which had arisen I would be content to accept my dispensation also.  This note of mine was shown to the Pope, and hence he immediately associated me with you in the dispensation.

“The wording of the decree is such as to make it plain that it was given in view of your memorial, and its terms are calculated to give a favorable impression of us. . . .  Archbishop Bizarri told me yesterday, when I went to thank him for his part, that in it the Holy See had given us its praise, and he trusted we would show ourselves worthy of it in the future.  I rejoined that since the commencement of our Catholic life we had given ourselves soul and body entirely to the increase of God’s glory and the interests of His Church, and it was our firm resolve to continue to do so to the end of our lives.  He was quite gratified with our contentment with the decision, for I spoke, as I always have done, in your name as well as my own.