Given the fact that the American archbishops had not decided unanimously against condemnation of the Knights, James Gibbons brought the case to Rome for a final decision. The decision of Rome on the Knights would determine whether the American church would allow members to remain in the order and maintain their standing as members of the Catholic church.

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With assistance from Bishops John Keane of Richmond, John Ireland of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Denis O'Connell, the Rector of the North American College in Rome, Gibbons made the case for the Knights at the Vatican. The formal argument for the Knights was a written memorial-the avenue through which church authorities pled cases for certain causes to Roman authorities. The original memorial of February 20, 1887 is written in French to Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni, to whom such matters were addressed at the time.

Reproduced here is the front page of the memorial, and an English translation. The memorial first outlines the action taken by the American archbishops toward resolving the matter of the Knights in the United States. It then details the case against condemning the order.

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