cahenslyism

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A plan, proposed in 1891, and attributed to Peter Paul Cahensly (a member of the German Reichstag and president of the Leo Society for the protection of German immigrants in the United States), to appoint to those Roman Catholic sees and parishes in the United States, where there might be a dominant or large foreign population, bishops and priests of the same nationality, in order to preserve their religious traditions and practices; by extension, the propagation of foreignism among Roman Catholics in the United States.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (R. C. Ch.) A plan proposed to the Pope in 1891 by P. P. Cahensly, a member of the German parliament, to divide the foreign-born population of the United States, for ecclesiastical purposes, according to European nationalities, and to appoint bishops and priests of like race and speaking the same language as the majority of the members of a diocese or congregation. This plan was successfully opposed by the American party in the Church.