A fascinating and slightly humorous story is reported in a 1929 edition of The Manchester Guardian, as The Guardian newspapers was known then.[1] Father John Buggy, in his Sunday sermon at St. Walburgha’s Church in Shipley, West Yorkshire, described those who converted to Catholicism as “fair weather Catholics who had come over for obvious reasons.” He further added, “they will always find a reason to crawl away from the Church.” English Catholics in general were not spared from his outburst, saying an “English Catholic puts his country before his Church, whereas in Ireland the faith never had to take second place.”
[1] Author Unknown, Priest’s Criticism of Converts in The Manchester Guardian, 21 October 1929, p.9; Proquest Historical Newspapers http://www.proquest.com : accessed 21 October 2011
Buggy Name History 