(1844) Intolerence Of The Church Of Rome

fTHEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,| ^ Princeton, N. J. ^ "*-' ^"'

^=.,^ej BX 9178

.B6 L44

THE

INTOLERANCE

CHUECH

BY

H. A.

OF

ROME

BOARDMAN,

D.D.

Pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA:

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. PAUL

T.

JONES, PUBLISHING AGENT.

1844.

Entered according 1844, by A.

W.

to the

Act of Congress,

Mitchell, M. D., in the

Clerk of the District Court Pennsylvania.

Printed by

WILLIAM

8.

MARTlElf.

for the

in the year office

of the

Eastern District

of

EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

IN

THE UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA. Louisville, Ky.,

On

May

27, 1844.

was unanimously Resolved, That the thanks of the Assembly be returned to the Rev. Henry A. Boardman for his Sermon on the " Intolerance of the Church of Rome," and that he be requested to furnish a motion,

copy of

it

it

to the

Board of Publication.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The Author was

appointed by the General

Assembly of

Presbyterian Church, of

the

1842, and, having been prevented by sickness from fulfiUing the duty, re-appointed

by

Assembly of 1843,

the

following, the "

The

to

preach the year

Annual Sermon on Popery.

Intolerance of the Church of

was assigned discourse.

Rome,"

as the specific subject of the

The

sermon was accordingly

preached before the General Assembly of 1844, at Louisville, Ky., and the substance of

it is

contained in the present volume.

THE INTOLERANCE

CHURCH OF ROME. was a remark

Ir

of the late Mr. Cecil's, that

" the system of Popery piece.^^ to the

was Sataii^s masterThe observation will commend itself

judgment of every enlightened and can-

did man,

who

The

apostasy. ter

sits

down

to

further a

examine

the great

man of this charac-

pursues his inquiries, the more will he

wonder

have sucupon the world for Christianity. Nor will any hypothesis solve this mystery, but that which assumes the insidious and potent agency of the arch-apostate, both in fabricating the mighty cheat, and that such a system should

ceeded in palming

in giving

it

itself

currency.

This view of the origin of Popery, a mere speculation

j

for the apostle

is

not

Paul de-

THE INTOLERANCE OF

6

coming of the " Man of Sin'' should be " after the working of Satan.'' clares that the

Satan was foiled in his assaults upon the

The temptations with which he approached him at the commencement of Son of God.

own

his public ministryj resulted in his

Three years

discomfiture.

ed in inducing Judas

found that

later

betray him; but he

to

in plotting the death of Christ,

had taken the surest method

own

signal

he succeed-

usurped dominion.

to

he

subvert his

Nothing disheart-

ened, however, by the resurrection of the

Redeemer, the effusion of the

Spirit,

and the

other great events which betokened the rapid

spread of the gospel, he seems to have re-

upon revenging himself in a manner, and upon a scale, worthy of his exalted rank and unmitigated malignity. Peradventure solved

Christianity first try,

may

be overthrown.

He

will

therefore, the efficacy of persecution.

If he fails in this, he has a surer alternative

remaining, corruption.

In both schemes, the

kings of the earth shall be his instruments.

He

will incite

them

to extirpate the church.

them up

to

His chief hope

is

If they are repulsed, he will

embrace and caress from the

it.

stir

latter of these expedients.

more upon

subtlety than force.

He

relies

With

the

THE CHURCH OF ROME, civil

power, therefore, he joins the

7

The

tic.

ecclesias-

must unite

ministers of religion

with crowned heads in despoiling religion of its

chief glory

—

in secretly transubstantiating

Christianity into a baptized paganism.

was

the

end he aimed

at,

chosen agents for effecting

commenced ral

his

work,

is

This

and these were

How

it.

his

early he

manifest from seve-

Before the apostles had

of the Epistles.

was before some master hand was counlabours. Nay, they foresaw

finished their course, the evidence their eyes that

tervailing their

with sadness of heart, that the infant churches

were soon

and

to

be overrun with false teachers,

that a grievous " falling

would take place

true faith

Thus

away" from at

the

an early day.

the apostle Peter, in his Second Epistle,

says, "

There were

false

prophets also

among

the people, even as there shall be false teachers

among you, who

that

privily shall bring in

heresies,

even denying the Lord

bought them."

Paul uses similar lan-

damnable guage

in

a number of instances: and in two

memorable passages, he

and deline-

predicts

ates the approaching apostasy, with singular

minuteness. 1

—

3,

and

These passages are 2 Thess.

ii.

1

—

10.

1

Tim.

iv.

Even while

he wrote, the seeds of error were sowing.

;

THE INTOLERANCE OF

8

"The mystery of iniquity doth already work.'^ That same mystery has been *' working" The embryo monster developed itself by degrees after the apostles were gone, ever since.

until at length

it

stood before the world,

gigantic proportions so complete,

symmetrical,

what

truth

it

aspect so bland, that the na-

its

around

tions flocked

claimed

it,

believing

to be, the

With

his blood.

energy peculiar

to himself,

to

it

be

in

very "body

came

of Christ," the Church which he

ransom with

its

form so

its

to

a craft and

Satan displaced

one by one the pure doctrines of the gospel,

and substituted figments of stead.

his

Transforming himself

own

in their

an angel

into

of light, he transformed the church, or a large division of

it,

into

an engine of wickedness

abstracting, modifying, augmenting, accord-

ing as

its

several parts required, in carry-

ing out his plan.

He

left

nothing as

from the hands of Christ and the

He

remodelled

its

it

came

apostles.

external form and organi-

—changed the nature the ministry — created zation

and functions of

ecclesiastical orders

word of God

—and

and ordinances without

limit.

known rites

to the

He

robbed

Christ of his three mediatorial offices,

gave them

to the

Pope

—leaving

un-

muliiplied

and

to Christ,

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

9

names Prophet, Priest, and King, but transferring the functions and powers indeed, the

denoted by these

He

left

in the

titles, to

Rome.

the bishop of

theology of the church, the

words atonement,

justification, regeneration,

sanctification, faith, repentance, prayer,

the hke ; but took

He

away

and

the things themselves.

next applied his subtle alchemy

to the

spirit

of the church, which, from being a

spirit

of love, and gentleness, and humility,

was transmuted

a

into

ambition, and cruelty.

spirit

In

of arrogance,

fine, the

change

he wrought in the western church, resembled

more than any thing else the ossification of some vital organ of the body so thorough was the transformation and so tranquilly was

—

it

accompUshed. All this will the

closer inspection

more

fully

appear on a

of that particular feature

of the Papal system, to an examination of

which these pages are

to

be devoted,

viz. its

Intolerance. In that prophetic portraiture of the great antichrist,

which the Protestant world are

agreed in appropriating to the Church or

Rome, place. ^'

And

this feature occupies

Thus Daniel

(chap.

a conspicuous vii.

25,)

says,

he shall speak great words against the 2

THE INTOLERANCE OP

10

Most High, and shall wear out the saints of Most High.'^ And the apostle John, writing more than six hundred years later, says of the same power, " I saw the woman the

drunken with the blood of the

saints,

with the blood of the martyrs of

Jesus.''

The charge

and

of intolerance might be estab-

hshed against the Church of Rome, by simply

by her and But her

recapitulating the barbarities practised

against the Waldenses, the Huguenots, the Protestants of various countries. apologists

would

still

plead that those perse-

cutions belonged rather to the age or the in-

dividuals than to the church, and that she

ought not

to

be held responsible for them.

And

This plea must be met. if it

it

will

be met

can be shown that intolerance enters

RADICALLY INTO THE VERY ELEMENTS OF THE PAPAL SYSTEM that it is thoroughly and

—

essentially intolerant in

its

principles

persecution, instead of being a

of it, flows from the sun.

it

—so that

mere accident

as naturally as light

This position

I shall

from

endeavour

to

establish.

According

to the

spiritual interests of to the

of

theory of Romanism, the

mankind are committed

guardianship and control of the Church

Rome, whose bishop

for the time being, is

THE CHURCH OF ROME. That church

the vicar of Jesus Christ. the

is

depositary of the Scriptures; the only-

medium

of acceptable worship; and the only

The

channel of salvation.

Holy on

11

Spirit abides

plenitude of the

Her

with her.

decisions

questions of faith and morals are

all

All

fallible.

authority,

men

bound

are

submit

to

to

in-'

her

on pain of eternal banishment from

God's presence.

She

any measures which

is

adopt

at liberty to

in her judgvient

may

he expedient for vindicating the truth (the

sacred

confided

deposit

to

her^)

moting the salvation of men's she

is

And

souls.

clothed with jurisdiction even over the

temporal that she

affairs

of men, to the

may deem

it

wise

positions

have

extent it

in

These pro-

their elucidation in the rivers

of blood which papal

name

full

to exercise

enforcing her spiritual claims.

in the

pro-

or

Rome

has

made

of Jesus of Nazareth.

we cannot cruelties: we must

to

flow

If

we

sanction her pretensions,

consist-

ently rebuke her

at least

acknowledge that her theory and practice are accordant, the one with the other. For (as a very able modern writer has observed)

"the papal authority all

others on earth,

authority;

is

distinguished from

by being a supernatural

and therefore

it

may

boldly pur-

THE INTOLERANCE OP

12 sue

ends and

its

fulfil its

duty, as guardian of

truth, without scruple, hesitation, or

and wavering regard mercy. frailty

to

any weak

considerations of

Upon all those occasions when of the human heart might make

the the

hand of authority to tremble, recurrence is to be had to that prime principle —the supreme and infinite importance of religion: but religion cannot exist apart from Truth, then, the truth, which is its basis. must be preserved and defended, at whatever chastising

cost.

Better, if necessary, or

remedy can

avail, better that

if

no milder

some hundred

thousand heretics should perish in the flames, than that heresy it is

of

—immortal

itself

—should be permitted

men

Better that an heretical

at large.

prince should be deposed, his

under an year,

interdict,

by bands

poison as

to infect the souls

kingdom placed

and wasted, year

after

of faithful crusaders, than

that Christendom should be exposed

to

a

fast-spreading contagion which carries eter-

nal death in

its train.

" Not only

may

the

Church

resort to these

or to any other extreme means for preserving the truth; but she is bound to do so; she has

no choice;

to profess principles of toleration,

in subserviency to the lax notions of

modern

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

13

would be, on her part, to forfeit conand in the most fatal and traitorous manner to abandon the high ground on which times,

sistency,

her authority

is

reared.

" The duty of using the most extreme means for the preservation of the truth, or in

mon

com-

Protestant parlance, the practice of per-

a necessary element of this church

secution,

is

theory.

Without

mony

fessions of

it,

there

is

no longer har-

scheme, consistency in the pro-

in the its

supporters, safety to the insti-

any probability of its extension."^ That this reasoning proceeds upon a fair

tution, nor

interpretation of the will be evident, if

er

we

principles of Poperj^,

take a

somewhat near-

view of the system. In the

first

place

prime argument of the system

— and

we

urge

it

as a

in

proof of the intolerance

—the

Church of Rome denies

the right ofprivate judgment in matters of

faith and morals,

*^The Catholic Church (says Dr. Milner, in his

'

End

of Controversy,')

is

the divinely

commissioned guardian and interpreter of the

word of God; and

therefore the

method ap-

pointed by Christ, for learning what he has * Spiritual Despotism, pp. 237, 8.

THE INTOLERANCE OF

14

taught on the various articles of his religion, to hear the Chi(.rch propounding them." " Thus you have only to hear," he proceeds, " what the Church teaches upon the several is

her

articles of

faith, in

order to

know with

certainty

what God has revealed concerning

them."

The Council

athematized

all

who

of Trent, having an-

reject the

apocrypha and

unwritten traditions as destitute of canonical authority, decrees that no one, " confiding in

own judgment,

his

anathema,

*•'

tures to his

shall" under penalty of

dare to wrest the sacred Scrip-

own

sense of them, contrary to

which hath been held and still is held by holy mother Church, whose right it is to judge that

of the true meaning and interpretation of Sa-

cred Writ; or contrary to the unanimous consent of the fathers

— even though

such inter-

pretations should never be published."

Even

these

provisions, however,

deemed inadequate from perversion.

to

were

guard the Scriptures

Nothing

will

answer but

the Bible must be taken out of the hands of the people. therefore,

The Congregation of the Index,

having affirmed that the "indis-

criminate use" of the Scriptures will produce

" more evil than good," direct that no individual shall publish, circulate, own, or read*

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

15

the Bible, without permission obtained " in

writing" from his bishop or inquisitor.

Rome

Still

off

is

not satisfied.

may

from the Bible, they

else.

Not only

the stars.

over the whole

men

out, but

stretches her iron rod

She

of literature.

field

are cut

read something

must be put

the sun

The Church

If

lects together the noblest

works

in

col-

every lan-

guage, published since the revival of

letters,

and locks them up in a Prohibitory Index, sealed with

own

her

anathema.

terrible

While another very large

class

of works,

including the Christian Fathers, which she

cannot afford to dispeuvse with enrolled in an Index

entirel}'",

Expurgatorius

—

i.

are

e.

an

index that prescribes the passages which are to

be expunged or modified, before the books

can be safely circulated. In this

way Rome

trol the reading

such

is

claims the right to con-

of the world.

her theory,

may

No man,

lawfully peruse any

book which she has put under ban, without All works on the controa dispensation. versy between Romanists and Protestants,

by whomsoever

written, are prohibited.

also the writings of

with one another, whenever they

adapted

to

So

Romanists in controversy

may be

open the eyes of the people

to the

THE INTOLERANCE OF

16

In illustration

true character of the system.

of

and

this,

as a proof that this country

exempted from the operation of these it

may

be mentioned, that one of the

tions of the

tember

6,

Roman

is

not

rules,

last edi-

Index, under date of Sep-

1822, includes the various

pamph-

published in the course of the famous

lets

feud in

St.

Mary's church,

Philadelphia,

some twenty

No Roman

years ago.*

in the

city of

or twenty-five

Catholic,

this free country, is at liberty to

even in

read one of

those pamphlets, without permission of his

The same may be

bishop. Prof.

said respecting

Ranke's History of the Popes, published

three or four years ago in Berlin, and since

republished in England and the United States.

That work was before

dex.

caped.

scarcely through the press,

was enrolled in the Prohibitory InEven the British Classics have not esit

Milton, Cowper, Addison, and their

compeers, have the honour in the

be registered

to

same catalogue with

the illustrious

Reformers of Britain and the continent.

We

have not yet reached the

Papal despotism.

with incarcerating the bodies of *

Mendham's Literary Policy of

second edition,

p.

265.

limits of

Other tyrants are satisfied their victims.

the Ciiurch of

Rome,

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

Rome

binds her fetters upon the

intellect, and She not only

strikes her iron into the soul.

removes as

far as possible

17

from the people

means of knowledge, and discourages investigation, but establishes an inquisition in every man^s breast, and challenges juristhe

diction over his thoughts. is

A

Romanist,

if

he

so fortunate as to obtain leave to read the

Bible, cannot interpret

it

He

for himself.

must receive every sentence as the Church expounds it, and agreeably to that theological nonentity, the " consent of all the fathers."

"

The whole

right to the Scriptures (says Mil-

She has pre-

ner) belongs to the Church.

served them; she vouches for them; and she alone,

by comparing

the

several passages

with each other, and with tradition, authoritatively explains them.

Hence

it is

impossi-

ble that the real sense of Scripture should

ever be against her and her doctrines; and hence, of course, tion in

it,

I

might quash every objec-

which you can draw from every passage by this short reply: The Church under'

stands the passage differently from you; therefore

you mistake

liberty

its

meaning.'

of thought allowed

Hierarchy.

A

''

by

Popish priest

This

is

the

the Papal

may quash

every objection which you can draw from

THE INTOLERANCE OF

18 the

word of God, not by

dint of

argument,

not by pointing out the unsoundness of your principles of interpretation, not

by exposing

the errors of your exegesis, but by simply

ing you, "

The Church understands

tell-

the pas-

sage differently; therefore you are wrong." stop not

now to comment on

any Romish

ecclesiastic's

nounce, ex cathedra,

undertaking

how

I

the absurdity of

" the

to pro-

Church"

(all

the fathers included) understands every pas-

sage of Scripture; but

I

would

call the atten-

tion of the reader to the intolerance involved

Men

in the principle here asserted.

have no

right to think, in studying the Scriptures, ex-

cept in the hue of the Church.

And if they hap-

pen, in the exercise of their rational powers, to

diverge from this

line,

they are to be brought

back, not by argument, but by authority; not

by being instructed and reasoned with, but by being told, *^The Church has decided otherwise:

bow

to her decision, or take the

What

consequences."

we

these consequences

by and by. The point to be noted here, is, that " the Church" thrusts herself in between man and his God, and

are,

shall see

claims to exercise the authority of

him. self

The Pope "opposeth and above

all

that

is

called

God over

exalteth him-

God, or that

is

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

19

worshipped; so that he, as God,sitteth

m the

temple of God, showing himself that he

God/'

God

not

It is

vviio

is

speaks to the Ro-

We

manist, in the Bible; but the Church.

have no right to hear God speak, except We sin if we even through the Church. think that he says any thing else to us, than

what

the

Church

tells

when we

believe that

We

us he says.

must

" hear the Church,"

we

hear God, although the Church may utter what insults our reason and belies every one of our senses. This,

it

will

be admitted,

But there

refined tyranny.

ing to

make

proved,''

Rome

it

"

You have

be said, " that the Church of

allows no liberty of thought: but are

cherish

what opinions

them

myself?"

of

a tolerably

one link want-

the chain complete.

may

not a man's thoughts

ions,

is

is

to

his I

own? may

value, unless

upon them.

But

not

might answer, that opin-

I

and especially opinions

little

I

choose, by keeping

it

we is

are

more

in religion, are left free to

to

my

act

purpose,

in delineating the intolerance of this system, to state, that the

permit men selves.^^

tity

As

with the

Romish Church does not

to " keep their opinions to themif to silence all

"man

doubt of her iden-

of sin," self-enthroned in

;

THE INTOLERANCE OF

20

God's temple, she claims the prerogative of searching the heart. confessional,

Men

are dragged to the

and there compelled, under pain

of anathema,- to disclose the secrets of their hearts to a priest.

This priest

time " be living in mortal

competent

sin,^'

(so the Comicil of

may

at the

and yet he

is

Trent declares)

" to exercise the function of forgiving sins,

him (adds

as the Minister of Christ:" nay, in

the catechism of the Council of Trent,) " the

penitent venerates the

power and person of

our Lord Jesus Christ; for in the administration of this, as well as of other sacraments,

the priest represents the character and per-

forms the functions of Jesus Christ."

It is

only necessary to examine some standard

Popish author,

like Peter

Dens, or even a

Popish Missal or Prayer Book, inquisitorial is

the

scrutiny

bosoms of men are subjected

to see

to

how

which the

at the confes-

Not merely their actions and words, formal plans and habitual purposes are

sional.

their

made

to pass in

his eye

is

review before the

priest;

but

permitted to explore the deepest

and its transient impresand emotions are poured into his ear

recesses of the heart, sions

and

that,

although the priest

may

be a de-

bauchee, and the penitent a youthful and

THE CHURCH OP ROME. modest female

!

It is

with Rome, that

21

a fundamental principle

men

acknow-

shall not only

ledge her authority, and conform to her

Her censorship of

the press,

type of her censorship of men's hearts.

And

the tribunal

we have

is

co-

human

extensive with the workings of the

mind.

rites,

Her empire

but THINK as she thinks.

but a

is

lips

and

just

been

contemplating, is the mighty engine by which

she promptly detects incipient treason in any part of her vast realm.

Incompetent

to di-

vine the secret thoughts and opinions of men,

and equally unable to ascertain them by testimony, she hangs up before her poor, trembling subjects, the terrors of an endless retribution,

and compels them

bosoms

to

her eye.

to unveil

their

The world cannot

fur-

nish a second example of so thorough and

inexorable a despotism.

The

practical operation of this principle

might be

illustrated

by appealing

condition of every country in which

an undisputed predominance.

to

the

it

has

The mass

the people in those countries are

little

of

else

than mere machines in the hands of an unprincipled priesthood.

and

superstition,

Sunk

in

ignorance

they have no just ideas of

their civil rights, of religion, or of the

Supreme

THE INTOLERANCE OF

22 Being.

Indeed, their religion differs from

that of the heathen mainly in bearing the

name

of Christianity; and which the apostle saw

their altars, like

that

at Athens,

fitly

bear the inscription, "

To

the

might

Unknown

God." I

leave these details, however, to advance

another step in depicting the intolerance of the system.

Church of

has been shown that the

It

Rome

not only forbids

men

to

read the Scriptures or other books, without her permission, but denies their right

to

hold

any opinions not accordant with her own; and that she claims the right to look into their breasts as often as she may see fit, and know precisely what they do believe. This would be a monstrous tyranny, even if that faith and discipline to which she exacts so rigid a conformity, were sanctioned by the word of God. But what words can express its enormity,

when

it is

considered that darkness and

hght are scarcely more at variance than the

system she seeks sciences,

to

impose upon men's con-

and the sacred

Scriptures.

It

were

some mitigation of her impiety, if her intolerance were directed against error and vice: but the thing she mainly abhors, and for the destruction of which she puts forth her craft

:

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

own holy and

and power, is God's TRUTH.

precious

her hatred and intolerance of

It is

THE TRUTH,

23

and

that shapcs

every

directs

we have

been considering.

She has never manifested a

tithe of the indig-

part of the policy

own

nation against the shameless vices of her ecclesiastics, that she

as

The

in Jesus.''

it is

she

traffics in

fact is notorious, that

crimes as

men

traffic in

mer-

In the famous " tax books of the

chandize.

Roman

has against the " truth

Chancery," pubhshed before the

of the Reformation

was

light

diffused over Europe,

and of which, according

to Dr.

Merle,* ^'more

than forty editions are extant," crimes were

arranged upon a graduated

with the

scale,

price of absolution affixed to each, so that

know just what the perany particular crime would cost

an individual could petration of

him.

This spiritual

countries,

work.

and

tariff

varied in different

different

in

editions of the

In the Paris edition of 1520, these

duties are imposed for killing a clesiastic,

:

—" For perjury,

layman,

from seven

kills his father,

to seven: for

six gross

five gross: ditto to nine: for

an

ec-

him who

mother, or other relative, five

bigamy, ten:

incest, five."

* Vide History of the Reformation, vol.

i.

p. 38.

In a

THE INTOLERANCE OP

24

manuscript copy in the British Museum, "approved by Leo X.'' A. D. 1520, the scale of duties is much higher e. g. simony, one hundred and two gross perjury, two hundred and two; incest, one hundred and two; adul;

;

tery

by a

was

this

priest,

one hundred and two.

wholesale

in

traffic

It

by the

sins

Church, that had so powerful an influence upon Luther's mind, and led on ultimately The same traffic she to the Reformation. carries

on

for the

still:

indulgence-mongers

of our day, differ from Tetzel and his associates,

only in transacting the business in a

less revolting form.

No ward

such lenity, however, the truth.

ing a supreme

The Church

is

displayed to-

Rome,

of

claim-

legislative as well as executive

authority, has, in the

first

place, substituted

dogmas of her own, for most of the doctrines of the Bible, and then superadded a great mass of laws and ordinances, unknown to This system, which bears the Scriptures. upon lies,

its

front the impress of the father of

she requires every

human

being

brace, under penalty of anathema. it,

or

any part of

in her code, the

compound with

it, is

heresy

:

unpardonable

to

To

em-

reject

and heresy is, She will

sin.

thieves, perjurers,

murder-

THE CHURCH OF ROME. ers,

25

and adulterers; but she has no mercy

for the

man who

rejects

baptismal regenera-

can transubstanbread into the " bloody the soul,

tion, or denies that a priest tiate

a

bit of

and the divinity

—

in short, the

whole person

For such a man there is The creed of Pius IV., which

of Jesus Christ."

no salvation. is

received

summary

by

all

Romanists as an accurate enumerates {inter

of their faith,

alia) " the seven sacraments, transubstantiation,

purgatory, indulgences, veneration of

images, apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and gene-

ral councils," with

an anathema of ''all things

contrary thereto ;" and concludes thus: "This true Catholic faith, out of which

now

none can be

and truly vow, and swear, most conhold." The same doctrine is laid

saved, which I

freely profess

hold, I promise, stantly to

down in the Doway What is mortal

" Q.

Catechism, as follows: sin

A.

?

It is

a wilful

transgression in matter of weight against

known commandment or of

some lawful superior.

such as die in mortal sin eternity."

There

is

any

of God, or the church,

?

Q. Whither go

A. To

hell for all

an honesty and plump-

ness about this answer, 3

which one cannot

THE INTOLERANCE OF

26

The preceding answer conwhole Protestant world of mortal

but admire. victs the sin;

and

this

one, without the

least

com-

punction or evasion, consigns them, not to purgatory, from which masses, well paid

might release them, but "

for,

to hell for all eter-

nity."

But

not be supposed that these are

let it

The

isolated proofs.

decrees of the Council

of Trent, and other authentic Popish docu-

ments of similar authority, abound with anathemas against some of the fundamental

and all who embrace same spirit that Church demands of every man an unquestioning reception of the fables and superstitious practices she has sought to graft upon Christiantruths of the Bible,

them.

And

in the

ity.

" She declares, that whosoever does not believe that

God

is

the author of the books of

Tobit, Judith, and Maccabees, with

falsehood and absurdity,

is

accursed.

all their

She de-

clares that whosoever does not believe ex-

treme unction, orders, and matrimony, to be sacraments,

accursed.

is

any one who

shall

deny

She declares, that that the eucharist

and substantially, the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ, is ac-

contains really

THE CHURCH OF ROME. She declares, that any one

cursed.

27

who

shall

say, that the anoiating of the sick does not

confer grace, or remit sin,

is

Christ's faithful people

She

accursed.

any one who

declares, that

ought

shall

say that

to receive

both

species in the sacrament of the Eucharist,

is

She declares, that any one who say, that in the mass there is not offered

accursed. shall

God a true and proper sacrifice, is accursed. She declares, that any one who shall say, that

to

mass ought tongue,

one

is

who

to

be celebrated in the vulgar

accursed.

She declares, that any

shall say, that the clergy

fully contract marriage,

is

can law-

accursed.

" These,

and a multitude of other matters of Church of Rome chosen to add to its list of essential truths, and so absolutely to insist on implicit greater or less importance, has the

belief, as to

send

men

to

the stake in this

world, and to threaten them with eternal

fire

in the next, for the slightest failure in the re-

quired faith."*

She even goes further than

this

deed, in consistency she must do.

only compels

men

as, in-

She not

to receive her additions to

the gospel, but requires

of the doctrines,

—

them

to reject

many

many

of the

and disobey

* Essays on

Romanism,

p.

386.

THE INTOLERANCE OF

28

precepts clearly laid

down

in the Scriptures.

The famous Bull Unigenitus which was issued by Clement XT. against the Jansenists, A. D. 1713, is the last great doctrinal maniIn this document,

festo of the Hierarchy.

one hundred and one propositions drawn

from father Quesnel's "Moral Reflections on the

New

Testament," are condemned as

"false, captious, ill-sounding,

offensive

to

pious ears, scandalous, pernicious, rash, injurious to the church and

its

practice, neither

against the church alone, but also against the secular power, contumacious, seditious,

impious, and blasphemous."

In a subse-

quent paragraph, " Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, and Inquisitors of heretical pravity" are directed "

by all means to coerce and comand rebels, by censures and

pel gainsayers

punishments," " the aid of the secular arm being called in for

The

following

is

this purpose, if

necessary."

a sample of the propositions

against which the

Pope discharges

this volley

of abuse, and whose advocates he threatens

with the Prop.

civil 2.

"

sword.*

The

grace of Jesus Christ, the

efficacious principle of good, of * Vide Text-book of Popery,

of the Papacy,

p. 215.

p. 61,

whatever kind

and McGhee's Laws

THE CHURCH OF ROME. it

be, is necessary to every

without

not only nothing

it

29

good work, and is

done, but no-

thing can be done."

"

How

obstinate sinner

may

Prop. 14.

far

remote soever an

be from safety,

when

Jesus exhibits himself to his view in the salutary light of his grace,

devote himself, run

and adore

it is fit

that he should

him, humble himself,

to

his Saviour."

30. " All

whom God wills

to

save through

Christ, are infallibly saved."

" Jesus Christ delivered himself to

32.

death, to deliver forever the

own

blood, that

is,

first

born of his

the elect, from the

hand

of the exterminating angel." SO. " The reading of the sacred Scripture is

for all."

81.

God,

"The

obscurity of the sacred

no reason

is

for

laymen

themselves from reading it." 82. " The Lord's day ought

to

to

word of dispense

be sancti-

fied by Christians for reading works of piety,

and above damnable from

this

84. «

all

to

of the sacred Scriptures.

wish

to

It is

withdraw a Christian

reading."

To

take

away

the

New

from the hands of Christians, or

to

Testament shut

it

up

from them, by taking from them the means

— ^

THE INTOLERANCE OF

30

of understanding

it, is

mouth of

to close the

Christ to them."

These, and such as these, are the proposi-

which Rome pronounces

tions

and

to

be " false,

blasphemous."

scandalous,

seditious,

Not

with burying " the faith deliv-

satisfied

ered to the saints," beneath a mass of her

own

inventions and fables, she presumes to

open the word of God and put the burning brand of

upon

'^

falsehood^^

To

God.

no one

tial to

to

communion, who holds these She should permit no one to

who

to

whom God deny

is

essen-

work

Christ reveals

him, should hasten to receive him

as a Saviour

—

not prepared

is

that the grace of Jesus Christ

deny that every sinner, when

to

finger of

the performance of every good

himself

—

blasphemy^

in her

worship at her shrine,

deny

'^

by the

be consistent, she should tolerate

sentiments.

to

and

truths inscribed there

—

to

deny that

wills to save

all

are saved

through Jesus Christ

that Christ died for his

own

peo-

deny that all men have a right to the to deny that the Sabbath ought Scriptures to be sanctified by Christians, in reading the In a word, Bible and other books of piety the alternative she presents to men, is, to

ple

to

—

!

reject the glorious doctrines

of the Gospel

— THE CHURCH OF ROME.

31

as " impious," or to suffer the pains alties

An apostle tells us,

of heresy.

and pen" though

we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto yon, let him be accursed."

The Church of Rome tells us, in effect Though we or an angel from heaven preach unto you the gospel of Christ, let him be accursed." Even Balaam exclaimed, when "

asked

to curse

whom God

Israel,

"How

shall I curse

hath not cursed?"

apostolic Church, " out of

The

which there

holy, is

no

knows no such scruples. She not where God curses, but where he

salvation," curses,

blesses;

The

and where he

curses, she blesses.

principles asserted in the

has been quoted, would have

document

made

that

her curse

the Bereans for searching the Scriptures,

and

they involve an anathema even against the

Redeemer

himself, for

commanding men to The more cordially

" search the Scriptures."

and thoroughly we embrace the doctrines of the Bible, the

more

certain are

we

to incur

her malediction. I

have shown that the Church of Rome is, even of

in her essential principles, intolerant

mental freedom

— that she requires every man —and that there no-

to think as she thinks

is

THE INTOLERANCE OP

32

thing she hates so

much and anathematizes

so heartily, as God's

The

'question

now

own

arises, to

she carry her intolerance

conformed to this

?

precious truth.

what extent does Is her practice

The answer

to her principles ?

question has been anticipated, but

it is

too important to be passed over in a merely incidental

way.

The Papal Hierarchy the entire

and

challenges to

itself

exclusive spiritual jurisdiction

of the world.

It

is

moreover a State as

well as a Church, and claims, by some of

Popes and Councils, a indirect, sovereignty

authority

tinctly asserted, secondary to

and

its

by

others,

over the temporal

The temporal

of men.

direct,

its

an

affairs

dis-

is, it is

the spiritual;

resources are to be placed at

dis-

its

whenever the Church may see fit to Thus " Bellarmine, avail herself of them. Silvius, and others, say that the Pope has not by divine right direct power over the temposal,

poral kingdoms, but indirect;

power cannot be

spiritual

may have

according to princes rule,

when

the

spiritual,

then

recourse to temporal means,

St.

Thomas, who teaches

may sometimes

and

e.

freely exercised,

nor his object be attained by

he

i.

their subjects

that

be deprived of their

be liberated from their

THE CHURCH OF ROME. oath of

by

33

and thus it has been done more than once/'*

fidelity,

Pontiffs

Many of the

Popes claim a

direct temporal

power of unlimited extent. Thus Pius V., in his Bull against Queen Elizabeth: "This

man

one

Roman

(the

appointed prince over

kingdoms, that he

may

:

"

tude of spiritual things and the

to

extent of

I enjoy alone the

God, and out of ^

have received!'''

may

say of

his fulness

we

Gregory VIL: "If the

Pope has power

to

how much more

to loose

bind and loose in heaven, empires, kingdoms,

dukedoms, and whatever

may have, and

the pleni-

full

plenitude of power, that others

me, next

all

So also Innocent

The Church hath given me

temporal things

God

nations and

pluck up, destroy,

scatter, ruin, plant, build." III.

hath

Pontiff) all

else mortal

man

them where he will."t It is practically the same thing whether a direct or an indirect power in temporal things? be conceded to the Pope. For what is meant

by

to give

the phrase " indirect power," in this con-

nexion, as used by Popish writers

?

A

sen-

tence or two from Bellarmine, in his chapter * Dens, t

p.

239.

Vide Breckinridge and Hughes' Controversy, pp. 242

and 244.

Illustrations of Popery, p. 204.

THE INTOLERANCE OF

34

on is

this subject, will furnish the

answer.

"It

not lawful (he says) to tolerate an infidel

or heretical king, provided he endeavours to

seduce his subjects to his heresy or

infidelity.

But to judge whether or not he does seduce them to heresy, pertains to the Pope, to whom is

committed the care of

the to

Pope

is to

religion: therefore,

judge whether or not a king

is

be deposed."

Every one must

see that this

to saying, that kings hold their

will of the Pope. ritual

is

tantamount

crowns

at the

Indeed, his pretended spi-

sovereignty can easily be

made

to

em-

brace whatever he chooses to include in

it.

Take the subject of marriage, for example. The Church of Rome makes matrimony a sacrament.

No

one can

officiate in

a sacra-

ment except an ecclesiastic duly qualified. But there is no ministry out of her communion. Of course, she alone has the right to solemnize marriage.

no one

is

No

one can be married,

truly married, except

priest or bishop

by a Popish

—nor, indeed, even then, un-

'^ intend," in his soul and con" science, to convey the grace of matrimony,"

less the priest

and " intend"

to

make

the

man and woman

a wedded pair. This single dogma, Seen, stretches the empire of

it

Rome

will

be

at once

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

35

over the whole extent of the domestic and Her agency is

social relations of the race.

as essential to the consummation of a marriage, as

The

can

it

it

is to

State can

the celebration of the mass.

no more marry a couple, than

offer the sacrifice of the

cannot unite, so

it

it

mass.

admit the power of the State

would be

And

to divorce,

to recognize its authority to nullify

a sacrament; and

sacraments pertain to

all

A

the exclusive jurisdiction of the Church. divorce, therefore, cil

as

To

cannot divorce.

is

The Coun-

impossible.

of Trent pronounces any one "accursed"

who

shall

maintain that a married pair

be divorced for any cause whatever.

way

is it,

spiritual

may

In this

that under the guise of a merely

supremacy, the

Roman Church

ar-

rogates to herself the legislative and judicial functions of the State

;

and

ed right to control every

most interesting and important * It

was no doubt

in his pastoral letter a year or

place

Roman its

being in his

relations.*

same spiritual jurisHughes of New York,

in virtue of this

diction of the Church, that Bishop

every

up a pretend-

sets

human

two ago. enjoined

it

upon

Catholic congregation in his diocese, to

corporate property in his hands

—a

requisition

akin, in principle, to a certain Popish bull issued during

the wars between the Papists and Huguenots of France,

THE INTOLERANCE OP

36

These remarks respecting the extent of the

power claimed by the Church of Rome, seemed essential to a just understanding of the question, " Is the practice of that Church conformed

human

to the intolerance of

The

ples ?"

autocratic

her princi-

sovereignty over

which she professes to have derived immediately from God, is«employed affairs,

purpose of enforcing that

for the

spiritual

terrible

despotism delineated in the former

Bearing in mind that in

part of this work.

the pontifical schedule of sins, heresy

is

a

worse crime than perjury or murder, and that heresy consists in not believing precisely as

Rome

believes,

even

many

nouncing

to the

extent of pro-

of the essential doctrines of

and "blasphemous,"' let and documents prove her fidelity

the Gospel, "false" these facts

to her principles.

In the

first

tom, (and

place,

may

be

it

was formerly her

still,)

to

cus-

exco7nmunicate

and curse the whole Protestant world every The celebrated bull. In Coena Domini,

year.

ordered to be " dihgently studied by the clergy," and " to be solemnly published in is

which " prohibited (says Dr. McCrie in Spain, p. 246,) orthodox horses

of Spain."

in his

Reformation

from being exported out

THE CHURCH OF ROME. the churches once a year, or

pomp by

great

and

oftener,

This bull was

carefully taught the people.*' for a long while

37

annually published with

the

Pope

Rome, on

at

the

Thursday before Easter, and repeated on the same day in every Popish chapel and church throughout the world, where the civil authorities

would permit

gle

paragraph

:

I shall

it.

—" We

quote but a sin-

excommunicate and

anathematize on the part of

God Almighty,

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by the authority also of the blessed apostles Peter

and by our own, Lutherans,

all

Zuinglians,

Calvinists,

nots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians,

name

they

heretics,

Hugo-

and Apostates

whatsoever from the Christian

and singular other

and Paul,

Hussites, Wicklephists,

faith,

and

all

under whatsoever

may be classed, and of whatsomay be, and those who be-

ever sect they

lieve, receive, or

favour them, and

who defend them

in general, whosoever they

be,

and

and

all

those

who

those

without our authority

that of the Apostolic See,

read or keep, print, or in any ever,

all

knowingly

way

whatso-

from any cause, publicly or privately,

upon any pretence or colour whatsoever, defend their books which contain heresy, or treat of religion} also, schismatics,

and those

— THE INTOLERANCE OF

38

who

withdraw themselves or

pertinaciously

secede from obedience to us, and to the Ro-

man

Pontiff for the time being.^'*

The preamble ty'^ as the

to this bull assigns " chari-

motive for

tion: the design of

it

its

annual republica-

is,

to

" preserve the

unity and integrity of the Catholic faith,"

and

to "

procure the utmost peace and tran-

quillity of the Christian

world."

Whereupon

a late British writer forcibly remarks " :

a mockery

is it

tion tranquil

and

to talk of

when

What

laws making a na-

a set of Popish bishops

priests are breathing secretly into the

mass of the population, curses and making it religion to do so cursing them on behalf of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that blessed name under which the Lord ears of one

execrations against the other, and

—

—

Jesus

commanded

his apostles to proclaim

mercy and to baptize all who received it. What mockery is it to talk of loyalty to an excommunicated and accursed sovereign !

excommunicated and ac-

of subjection to cursed governors

!

—of

submission to laws

administered by excommunicated and accursed judges

!

— of peace

and charity with

excommunicated and accursed neighbours !"t *

Laws

of the Papacy,

p.

52.

t lb.

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

Who

can wonder

39

at the hatred, the bitter

hatred, not merely of Protestantism but of

which pervades the mass of the

Protestants,

people in

all

Popish countries, when the min-

istrations of the priesthood

and the ordinances

of the church, are thus employed to feed their malevolence, atid teach

them

Protestants as the foes alike of.

to

regard

God and

man. Another thought may be thrown out before leaving this ters are

document. Protestant minis-

sometimes censured for their unchari-

tableness in speaking harshly of the papal

But what would be thought of a

system.

Protestant minister

who

should summarily

Roman Cathowho believe, receive, or favour them, and all who read their books, «ccitrsed^^ " in the name of God Almighty, Fapronounce from his

lics,

and

pulpit, all

all

*•

ther, Son,

and Holy Ghost!"

The excommunication and Protestants

is

the

first

carrying out her principles.

right to toleration

few

is

Peter

on

Rome,

in

To deny

their

A

very

the second.

authorities will suffice

"The

malediction of

step with

this point.

Dens thus lays down the law:*

rites

of other infidels

[Jews having

* Pp. 107, 108, 114, 117.

;

THE INTOLERANCE OP

40

been previously named,]

pagans and

viz.

heretics, in themselves (considered), are not

be tolerated; because they are so bad, that

to

no truth or advantage

for the

good of the

church can be thence derived: except, however, unless greater evils

would

follow, or

greater benefits be hindered."

Again, he says, (same page,) that heresy "

not to be tried or proved, but extirjmted

is

unless there

der

it

may

be reasons which

advisable that

it

may ren-

should be tolerated."

Hear, on the same subject, the Popish preBelgium. No sooner had the king

lates of

of the Netherlands taken possession of his

dominions, than they addressed to him a strong remonstrance against the toleration of all

denominations.

do not hesitate

" Sire," they say,

to declare to

that the canonical laws

by

*^

we

your majesty,

which are sanctioned

the ancient constitutions of the country,

are incompatible with the projected constitution

which would give

vour and protection

in

Belgium equal

to all religions."

fa-

In other

words, the canonical laws, which are recognized by the whole

Roman

church, are in-

compatible with religious toleration.

They

afterwards go so far in this document, as distinctly to

intimate to the king, that

if

any

THE CHURCH OF ROME. religion but their

own

their adherents will

41

and

tolerated, they

is

be found opposed

to the

laws and the government;* an avowal of

which

it

Not

decide whether

difficult to

is

frankness or

its

its

effrontery be the greater.

less explicit is the

testimony of Pius

VII. Writing to his nuncio at Venice in 1805,

he reminds him,

that, according to the

laws

any pro-

of the church, heretics cannot hold

perty whatever, since the crime of heresy ought to be punished by confiscation of goods.

He

also tells him, that the subjects of

heretical

every duty

and

all

to

him

homage.

—freed from

all

obligation

But he adds, very

ently, this lamentation fallen

an

should be released from

prince,

:

consist-

we have

" In truth

on times so calamitous, and so humili-

ating to the spouse of Jesus Christ, that

it is

not possible for her to practice, nor expedient to recall, so

holy

maxims ; and

to interruj)t the course

h foiled

she

of her just

severities

against the enemies of her fait h.^^ In other words; she ceases to persecute them, only because she lacks the power.

Again, in his

his letter to the cardinals, of Feb. 5, ISOS,

he

says, alluding to Bonaparte's proposal to ex* Breckinridge and Hughes,

4

p. 103.

THE INTOLERANCE OP

42

tend toleration to

all

sects

:

"

It is

proposed

that all religious persuasions should be free,

and their worship publicly exercised; but we have rejected this article as contrary to the canons, and to the councils, to the Catholic religion, and to the welfare of the State, on account of the deplorable consequences which ensue from it." Here we have the deliberate declaration of a

Roman

Pontiff within the

present century, that religious toleration

is

contrary to the canons, the councils, yea, and to the

Catholic religion

and

so they act.

this

day

Fond

So they teach,

itself.

Toleration

in all thoroughly

is

unknown

to

Popish countries.

as the papal ecclesiastics in this country

are of talking about religious freedom

the mild genius of their religion, they

and

know

perfectly well that

any Protestant minister

who

Rome and

should go

to

undertake to

preach the gospel or distribute bibles in that

would be instantly seized by the Pope's officers and cast into prison. This is the kind

city,

of toleration enjoyed within the Pope's temporal dominions.

But Rome

is

not satisfied with anathema-

and denying their right to toleration; she insists upon \\qx right to persecute them. This right has been asserted by her

tizing heretics

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

43

Standard authors, by her popes, by her coun-

way

cils,

and, in fine, in every

was

possible for her to proclaim

in

which

it

it.

Peter Dens teaches that " baptized infidels,

such as heretics and apostates usually are, also baptized schismatics,

may

even by corporal punishments Catholic faith

be compelled

to return to the

and the unity of the church."

P. 107.

Again, he asks,

117,)

(p.

"«/?re heretics

rightly punished with death?^^

swer

is

as gentle

and

The an-

Christian-like as could

be expected from an accredited expounder of the papal creed.

It

runs thus

:

"

St.

Thomas

answers. Yes; because /or^er^ of money, or other disturbers of the State, are justly punished with death,

who

therefore

also

heretics,

are forgers of the faith, and, experience

being the witness, grievously disturb

the

State."

The sentiments of Leo X. on this subject must be known to all who have read Dr. Merle's admirable History of the Reformation;

every page of which exhibits the

tolerance of Popery.

quote here the

It will

fact, that

propositions of Luther, Pontiff in 1520, (see vol.

be

among

in-

suificient to

the forty-one

condemned by ii. p. 102,) was

the this

THE INTOLERANCE OF

44 one, to wit

"

:

To burn

to the will of the

The

Holy

heretics

condemned by the by

proposition here

Pope, was

subsequently controverted

Cardinal Bellarmine, the great logian,

contrary

is

Spirit."

whose argument

Roman

theo-

will put us in pos-

session of the true Popish doctrine respecting

persecution.

''We that the

duty

will briefly

show

(says Bellarmine)

Church has the power, and

to cast

her

it is

off incorrigible heretics, espe-

who have relapsed, and that the power ought to inflict on such, temporal punishment, and even death itself.

cially those

secular

1.

This

2.

It is

may be proved from the Scriptures. proved from the opinions and laws

of the emperors, which the Church has

ways approved. laws of the Church. testimony

of

the

3.

It

4.

It is

proved by the Lastly,

fathers.

proved from natural reason.

owned by

all

that heretics

to death.

This consequence

because excommunication

is

rience proves that there for the

is

it is

of right be

may

is

be

proved,

a greater pun-

ishment than temporal death. is

It

For, (1)

may

excommunicated; of course they put

al-

proved by the

is

(2)

Expe-

no other remedy;

Church has, step by

step, tried all

THE CHURCH OF ROME. remedies;

—

excommunication

first,

then, pecuniary penalties

ishment; and

them

to

place.

45

lastly,

;

alone,

afterwards, ban-

has been forced

(3)

put

to

own

death to send them to their

All allow that forgery deserves

death, but heretics are guilty of forgery of the

word of God.

man

(4)

towards God,

is

A breach of

wife with her husband. unfaithfulness

is

not a heretic's

?

(5)

to death.

by

But a woman's

punished with death

why

;

There are three grounds

on which reason shows that be put

faith

a greater sin than of a

The

heretics should

first is, lest

the

The

should injure the righteous.

wicked second,

by the punishment of a few, many may be reformed. For many who were made that

torpid

by impunity, are roused by the

of punishment; and this result

where the

nally,

it is

we

daily see

fear

the

is

Fi-

inquisition flourishes.

a benefit to obstinate heretics

to

remove them from this life, for the longer they live the more errors they invent, the more persons they mislead, and the greater damnation do they treasure up to themselves. "It remains (he proceeds) to answer the objections of Luther

gument at large.

1, '

and other

heretics.

Ar-

From the history of the Church The Church,' says Luther, from ^

THE INTOLERANCE OF

46

the beginning even to this time, has never

burned a

seem

Therefore

heretic.

to be the

mind of

the

they should be burned.'

does

it

Holy

Spirit that

I reply, this

ment admirably proves, not

not

argu-

the sentiment,

but the ignorance or impudence of Luther.

For as almost an

number were

infinite

burned or otherwise 2^ut to death, Luther either did not know it, and was there-

either

fore ignorant

;

of

if

he

knew

it,

he

victed of impudence and falsehood heretics

;

is

con-

for that

were often burned by the Church,

may be proved by adducing a few from many examples." [He instances Donatists, Manicheans, and Albigenses.]

"Argument terror

is

2.

^Experience shows that

not useful in such cases.'

Experience proves the contrary; natists,

I reply,

for the

Do-

Manicheans, and Albigenses, were

routed and annihilated by arms.

"Argument

13.

*The Lord

attributes (says

sword of word of God; but Nay, he said to not the material sword. Peter, who wished to defend him with a material sword, Put up thy sword into the scabbard.' I answer: As the Church has the Protestant) to the Church, the

the Spirit,

which

ecclesiastical

is

the

and secular

princes,

who

are

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

47

her two arms, so she has two swords, the spi-

and

ritual

the material;

her right hand

is

with the sword of the aid of the

and

unable

to

therefore,

when

convert a heretic

Spirit,

she invokes the

hand, and coerces heretics

left

with the material sword.

"Argument

*The apostles (say the

18.

arm Answer: The apostles did it not because there was no Christian prince on whom they could call for aid. But afterwards, in Constantino's time, the Church Protestants) never invoked the secular

against

heretics.'

called in the aid of the secular

larmine, ch. xxi.

The

arm."

(Bel-

lib. 3.)

atrocious doctrine so elaborately de-

fended in this passage from the pen of Rome's ablest

champion, has been sanctioned times

without number by her Popes and Councils. In the

fifth

Council of Toledo, Can.

holy fathers say

:

mulge this sentence or decree pleasing that

whosoever hereafter

kingdom,

man

among

And

to

God,

the throne

till

he

other oaths, to permit no

to live in his

Catholic.

the

shall succeed to the

mount

shall not

has sworn

3,

—" We the holy council pro-

kingdom who

if after

is

not a

he has taken the reins

of government, he shall violate this promise, let

him be anathema maranatha

in the sight

THE INTOLERANCE OF

48

of the eternal God, and become fuel of the

(Caranza Sum. Cone.

eternal fire."

p. 404.)

In the fourth general Council of Lateran,

held under Innocent

say

:

—" We

A. D. 1215, they

III.,

excommunicate and anathema-

every heres^^ extolling

tize

itself

holy, orthodox, catholic faith, heretics."

ail

Heretics are

against this

and condemn

left to

the secular

powers to be duly punished. The secular powers are required to take an oath, that they will exterminate to their utmost power, all

heretics within their

by

the Church.

And

if

dominions devoted

any temporal

lord

neglect to " purge his territory of this heretical filth,"

he

in the first instance, to

is,

excommunicated

:

be

then, on another year's

delay, his vassals are to be absolved from their allegiance,

and

his country turned over to

any Catholics who may be able to possess themselves of it. As an inducement to the execution of this sanguinary edict, ther provided, that Catholics

who

it

is

fur-

"gird them-

selves for the extermination of heretics, shall

enjoy that indulgence and be

fortified

with

which is granted to them Holy Land." vain alleged by the modern de-

that holy privilege,

that go to the help of the It

is

in

fenders of Popery, that the Albigenses, against

— THE CHURCH OF ROME.

49

whom

the

elled,

held various pernicious opinions in

famous decree

just cited

was

lev-

morals, and were a lawless and seditious people.

Their character for substantial or-

thodoxy

in doctrine,

and general purity of

conduct, has been amply vindicated by nu-

merous of

writers.

Rome,

It

an expedient worthy

is

to try to palliate

her atrocities by

blackening the characters of her victims.

But even allowing that the Albigenses were all that she affirms tification

Who

them

to

have been, what

jus-

does this furnish of her conduct?

gave her the cognizance oi civil crimes

What

in foreign states?

business has she to

upon princes and magistrates to persecute and murder a class of their subjects whom she deems worthy of death ? Whence came her right to depose these princes and appropriate their territories to whoever might call

be strong enough

to seize

them, in case they

should refuse to hunt and destroy these un-

happy " heretics ?'' had all this power

And

conceding that she

— that

she did not trans-

cend her prerogative in issuing is it

this decree

such a document as ought to emanate

from the rulers of the Christian Church?

Does

it

Would

breathe the

Christ

and

spirit

of the gospel?

his apostles

5

have publicly

THE INTOLERANCE OF

50

anathematized a whole people, and doomed

them

and then called upon kings and march their armies against them and slay them without mercy, under pain of being dethroned and cursed themselves? Let such an edict as the one under consideration, be inserted in the New Testament after the sermon on the mount, for example, or after that memorable rebuke which our Saviour gave to James and John for wishing to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the Samaritan village and see how it will read there. How consistent would to hell,

princes to

—

—

appear with the Redeemer's character,

it

how much for is

in keeping with his usual spirit,

him, after he had said,

not

come

to destroy

^*

men's

The Son lives

of

man

but to save

to promulgate an edict enjoining it upon princes and potentates to exterminate

them,"

all

unbelievers in their dominions with

fire

and sword, and promising the rewards of

who were

the most vigilant Such is precisely the harmony between the Church of Rome and

heaven

to those

in butchering heretics!

the Christianity of the Bible.

The authorhies which have been cited, suffice to show that intolerance pervades the whole theory of the Romish

may

THE CHURCH OP ROME. Church Church

and

;

avowed by most been

that the right

persecute

to

51

and duty of the have been

heretics,

her popes and councils, in the

explicit

manner.

has

Pier practice

harmony with her princiThe bloody edict last cited, was fol-

in revolting

ples.

lowed by

tlje

slaughter of two hundred thou-

And

sand Albigenses.

in the course of the

persecutions against that people

Waldenses, which continued turies,

and

the

for several cen-

not less than one million of victims

are supposed to have been offered up on the

Roman

altar of the

One

Moloch.

the progress of these cruelties, ed:

—"The population of the

amounting

to fifteen

gether with

many

fled to

the city

is

scene, in

thus depict-

city of Beziers,

thousand persons,

thousands more,

to-

who had

from the surrounding

lages, were massacred without mercy.

'

vil-

This

whole multitude,' says Sismondi, 'at the moment when the crusaders became masters of the gates, took refuge in the churches: the

Nicaise contained the

great cathedral of

St.

greater number.

The

their choral habits,

sounded the

canons, clothed with

surrounded the

bells, as if to

altar

and

express their pray-

ers to the furious assailants; but these sup-

plications of brass

were as

little

heard as

THE INTOLERANCE OF

52

those of the

human

voice.'

It will

be per-

ceived from this description that the population of Beziers consisted partly of

Catholics;

common

but they were involved in the

destruction; for

army inquired of

of the

when

the knights

Papal

the

Arnold Amalric, abbot of Citeaux,

Roman

could distinguish the

the heretics, he replied,

Lord

will

know

well

historian proceeds:

sound,

till

Roman

of that

had taken refuge been massacred.

^

Kill

who

*The

legate,

how

they

Catholics from

them

are

all;

the

The

His.'

bells ceased not to

immense multitude which had Neither were those spared

in the church, the last

had taken refuge in the other churches; seven thousand dead bodies were counted in that of the Magdalen alone. When the crusaders had massacred the last living creature in Beziers, and had pillaged the houses of all that they thought worth carrying oif, they that

set fire to the city in

reduced

it

every part at once, and

to a vast funeral

house remained standing, not a alive.'" or four

pile.

human being

This occurred A.D. 1297.

hundred years

Not a Three

afterwards,

these

scenes were renewed in the valleys of Pied-

mont.

In one place they mercilessly

tured not less than an hundred

and

torfifty

:

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

women and

their children,

53

chopping

off the

the heads of some, and dashing out the brains

And

of others against the rocks. to

fifteen

go

to

whom

those

in regard

they took prisoners, from

years old and upwards,

who

refused

mass, they hanged some, and nailed

to

others to the trees

heads downwards.*

by

their feet,

It

was on

with their

this occasion

that Milton wrote the following sonnet:

" Avenge,

O Lord,

thy slaughtered saints, whose bones

Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold

E'en them who kept thy truth so pure of

When

all

Forget not

Who

old,

our fathers worshipped stocks and stones, in thy

;

book record their groans,

were thy sheep, and

in their ancient fold

Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that rolled

Mother with infant down the rocks.

The

To

Their martyred blood and ashes sow

heaven.

O'er

The

the Italian

all

triple tyrant

A hundred Early

Their moans

vales redoubled to the hills, and they

may

;

fold,

fly the

fields,

where

still

that fi'om these

doth sway

may grow

who, having learned thy way, Babylonian wo."

Perhaps no country has furnished so many Protestant martyrs as France. cre of St.

* Vide Tract tion, Series

The massa-

Bartholomew's day, August 24, I.,

of the Presbyterian Board of Publica-

on Popery, pp. 41, 42.

THE INTOLERANCE OF

54 1572,

was

formed ism

the result of a design deliberately

for the utter extinction of Protestant-

"At midnight

in that country.

sin tolled the signal of destruction,

the toc-

and the

carnage which was then begun, lasted seven days.

The

king, Charles

IX., encouraged

murderers in their work, shouting to

the

them with all his might, Kill,' kill V The queen gazed with delight on thousands of naked bodies, covered with wounds and weltering in their gore. Five hundred noblemen, and five thousand other Protestants, were murdered in Paris, and at least twenty thousand, some say as many as seventy thousand, in the kingdom at large." And how were the tidings of this event received «

at

Rome? How did meek and lowly

the

'

the pretended vicar of

Jesus of Nazareth, de-

port himself on the occasion?

"He went

in

public procession to one of the churches, to praise

God

for

it.

He

congratulated

the

king on the accomplishment of an exploit 'so long meditated, for the

good of

and so happily executed, He caused a me-

religion.'

dal to be struck in perpetual

remembrance

of so godly an action, bearing on one side his

own

effigies,

and on the other, a repreHuguenots j

sentation of the slaughter of the

THE CHURCH OF ^OME. and he ordered an eminent

artist to

55 execute

three paintings, representing the bloody deed, as ornaments for his to

be seen.

mercies of

Rome !"*

are

still

own palace, where

they

These are the tender

A still more dreadful massacre of the Huguenots took place on the occasion of the This

revocation of the edict of Nantes.

by which toleration was secured to Protestants, had been in force since 1598. But in 1685, the Popish prelates and the Jesuits prevailed upon Louis XIV. to rescind it, and to attempt the extermination of his Protestant subjects. The time will not peredict,

me even

to present an outline of the barwhich ensued in every part of France. Great numbers of the Huguenots were slain, and upwards of half a million of them escaped to foreign lands many of them to

mit

barities

;

where their descendants still and constitute (it may be added) one of the most enlightened and valuable porthis country,

reside,

tions of our population.

Another memorable tragedy of Popery,

is

the Irish

in the annals

Massacre of 1641,

* Vide Tract L, of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, Series

on Popery,

p.

44; and Hist. Popery,

p.

332.

THE INTOLERANCE OF

56

This was the result of an extended and well organized conspiracy for exterminating the Protestants in Ireland.

and other authors massacre, the in

Archbishop Usher

state, that

Roman

woman,

to spare

a man,

or child, of the Protestants; assuring

them, that "

wash

were assiduous

priests

persuading the people not

prior to the

their

would do them much good

it

hands

in the hearts'

The common,

heretics.'^

to

blood of the

ignorant people

taught by their Jesuit priests, that the " Pro-

were worse than dogs, for they were and therefore the killing of them was a meritorious act, and a rare preservative

testants

devils;

pains of purgatory;

against the

they) the bodies of those

who

for,

fall in

(said

the holy

cause shall not be cold, before their souls shall

ascend up into heaven." These instruc-

were not lost. The massacre commenced most fitly on the 23d of October, the feast of Ignatius Loyola: and the Jesuits had the

tions

knowing that the festival of founder, was worthily commemorated

satisfaction of their

by

the ferocious slaughter of

Protestants.

the cruelty tion,

was

Hume,

many thousand

the historian, says that

which characterized

this transac-

" the most barbarous that ever, in

any nation, was known or heard

of.

No

age?

;

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

57

The wife weeping for her butchered husband, and embracing her helpless children, was pierced with them, and perished with the same stroke

no sex, no condition, was spared.

the old, the young, the vigorous, the infirm,

underwent the ed

in

had all

one

like fate,

common ruin.

to relations, to

and were confoundIn vain was recourse

companions,

to friends;

connexions were dissolved, and death was

dealt

by

that

hand from which protection expected. Without pro-

was implored and

vocation, without opposition, the astonished

English (Protestants) being in profound peace

and

full security,

were massacred by

nearest neighbours with

their

whom they had long

upheld a continued intercourse" of kindness

But death was the lightest by those enraged rebels; all the tortures which wanton cruelty could devise, all the lingering pains of body and and good

offices.

punishment

inflicted

anguish of mind, the

agonies of despair,

could not satiate revenge excited without injury, and cruelty derived from no cause.

The

.

.

.

weaker sex themselves, naturally ten-

der and compassionate, here emulated their

more robust companions every cruelty.

Even

in the practice of

children, taught

by the

example, and encouraged by the exhortations

;;

THE INTOLERANCE OF

58

of their parents, essayed their feeble blows

on the dead carcasses or defenceless children If any where a number of the English. assembled together, and, assuming courage

from despair, were resolved

to

sweeten death

by revenge upon their assassins, they were disarmed by capitulations and promises of safety, confirmed by the most solemn oaths then the rebels (in the immutable spirit of Popery) with perfidy equal

made them

to their cruelty,

unhappy more ingenious still in

share the fate of their

countrymen.

Others,

their barbarity,

tempted

the fond hope of

life,

to

their prisoners

imbrue

their

in the blood of their friends, brothers,

parents

;

with

hands

and

and having thus rendered them ac-

gave them that death which they sought to shun by deserving it. "Amidst all these enormities the sacred name of religion sounded on every side, not

complices in guilt,

to stop the

hands of these murderers, but

to

enforce their blows, and to steel their hearts

movement of human or social The English, as heretics abhor-

against every

sympathy.

God and detestable to all holy men, were marked out by the priests for slaughter and of all actions, to rid the world of these

red of

declared enemies to Catholic faith and piety,

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

was

59

represented as the most meritorious in

—suf—was

nature; which, in that rude people

its

ficiently inclined to atrocious

ther stimulated judices,

deeds

by precepts and

fur-

national pre-

empoisoned by those aversions, more

deadly and incurable, which arose from an

enraged superstition.

While death

finished

the sufferings of each victim, the bigotted assassins,

with joy and exultation,

still

echoed

in his expiring ears, that these agonies

were

but the commencement of torments

infinite

and eternal.'' Such is the account given by an

infidel

historian, of the Irish Massacre.

The prime

Rome

in planning

agency of the Church of

and executing

may

it,

is

so indisputable, that

with justice be appealed

to as

an

it

illus-

tration of the ferocious spirit of Popery.

There

is

one other chapter

in the records

of Popish intolerance and blood-thirstiness,

which ought not to be passed over in silence I mean, that which pertains to the In-

here;

quisition.

The popular

histories of this in-

fernal institution, (one of the best of which, let

me

add, has been published by the Pres-

byterian Board of Publication,) are too well

known

to

make

it

necessary for

into a detailed account of

it,

even

me if

to enter

my limits

THE INTOLERANCE OF

60

would permit. It is difficult to believe that such an institution as this is proved to have been, could have existed any where out of hell; or that any beings except devils could have been guilty of the atrocities which were constantly practised by the inquisitors and priests in the

name

of the Christian rehgion.

" In Spain (says the author of the

'

Boak

of

Popery,'*) there were at one time no less

than eighteen different inquisitorial courts:

and besides the vast numbers who were immediately connected with them as officers, there

twenty-thousand familiars,

were

spies, scattered

business

it

and drag

was

all

for the

mingle

to

in all

companies

suspected persons to the

the Inquisition.

or

throughout the country, whose

.

.

.

No family could

cell

of

separate

night, but the appalling conviction

must have forced

itself

upon them,

that they

were, not improbably, taking of each other a final leave.

when

Fancy

the horror of the scene,

the prison-carriage

was heard

at the

dead of the night, to stop before the door, and immediately a loud knock was accompanied

command, "0/;en to the Holy Every inmate in the dwelInquisition.'^

by

the stern

ling felt his blood curdle at the

sound: the

* Published by the Board of Publication.

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

61

head of the family was called to give up the mother of his beloved and helpless children; he dared not even to whisper an objection or let

fall

a tear; but hastening back

to

chamber, led her out, and placed her custody of an incarnate demon; as the prison-carriage rolled

geons,

how was

that

in the

—and

away to

her

then

the dun-

husband convulsed with

agony, as he contemplated her as the innocent victim of a long and living death

were the movements of these

secret

!

... So

familiars,

it was not uncommon for members of same family to be ignorant of each other's apprehension. One instance is recorded by Limborch, in which a father, three sons, and three daughters, all of whom occupied the same house, were separately seized, and thrown into the dungeons of the Inquisition, and knew nothing of each other's fate till

that

the

after

seven years of torture, Avhen those of

them who survived, met

to

groans at an auto-da-fe.''^

mingle their death

The accused were

not informed of the charges alleged against

them; nor of the names of the witnesses. No opportunity was afforded them of examining witnesses or introducing countervailing

tlety

testi-

Every species of cunning and subwas employed to induce them to impli-

mony.

THE INTOLERANCE OP

62

by confessing some

cate themselves

real or

constructive offence against the Church. these arts failed, torture

was

If

The

applied.

modes of torture were various the three were the torture by the pulley, the torture by fire, and the torture by the rack. The last of these, which was the one most commonly used, was inflicted by stretching ;

principal

the victim (divested of

on

his back, along

all his

outer clothing)

a wooden horse or hollow

bench, with sticks across like a ladder, and

prepared for the purpose.

To

this his feet,

hands, and head were strongly bound in such

manner

as to leave

him no room

to

move.

In this attitude he experienced eight strong contortions in his limbs, viz. parts of the

arm above

two on the

fleshy

the elbow, and

two

below, one on each thigh, and also on the legs.

He was

besides obliged

to

swallow

seven pints of water slowly dropped into his

mouth on a

piece of silk or ribbon, which,

the pressure of the water, glided

produce

throat, so as to

who

down

the horrid sensa-

drowning.

At other

was covered with a

thin piece

tions of a person

times, his face

all

by his

is

of linen, through which the water ran into his

mouth and

from breathing.

nostrils,

and prevented him

THE CHURCH OF ROME. For the

torture

by

63

the prisoner

fire,

was

placed with his legs naked in the stocks; the soles of his feet

were then well greased with

and a blazing chafing-dish applied to them, by the heat of which they became perlard,

fectly fried.

When

his

complaints of the

pain were loudest, a board was placed be-

tween

his feet

and the

and he was again

fire,

commanded to confess; but this was taken away if he persisted in his obstinacy. But

I

have no disposition

revolting details.

It is

to

more

dwell on these to

my

purpose

to state that Llorente, in his History of the

Inquisition, estimates the

number of

its

vic-

tims in Spain alone, from 1481 to 1812 (three

hundred and thirty-one years)

at three

hun-

dred and forty -one thousand and twentyone, of

whom thirty-one thousand nine hun-

dred and twelve were burnt sufljerings

to

death

!

The

of these last were usually aggra-

The

vated by every kind of indignity. talizing influence of the

popular mind,

is

bru-

system upon the

strongly evinced

by the

fact,

that even a bull-fight or a farce was, with the

Spaniards, as Dr. Geddes remarks,

"a

dull

entertainment compared with an auto-da-fe.''^

Not only immense crowds of

the

people, but the nobility, and in

common

some cases

THE INTOLERANCE OF

64

came

the royal family also,

together to enjoy

That they did " enjoy"

the spectacle.

apparent from the manner in which

No

conducted.

it

it, is

was

sooner had the executioner

completed his arrangements, and the Jesuits in attendance,

announced

to the prisoners that

they "left them to the devil ing at their

"a

than

elbow

who was

stand-

to receive their souls,''

great shout

was

raised,

and the

multitude united in crying, *Let the dogs'

beards be trimmed,' 'Let the dogs' beards

be trimmed.'

This was done by thrusting

flaming furze, tied to the end of a long pole against their faces

continued

were

all

longer

till

;

and the process was often

the features of the prisoners

wasted away, and they could be no

known by

fire;

The furze at was then set on

their looks.

the bottom of the stakes

but as the sufferers were raised

to the

height of ten feet above the ground, the

flames seldom reached beyond their knees, so that

burned

they were really roasted and not to

death."

—

Is

it

going too

far, to

say that the main actors in these horrible barbarities,

And

were more

like fiends

than men?

were the ministers of religion, the accredited servants and representatives of That the Holy Apostolic Church of Rome. yet, they

THE CHURCH OF ROME. Church,

it

tolerable

is

true, staggering

65

under the

odium she has incurred by

unparalleled cruelties,

is

now

trying to

in-

these

make was

the world believe that the Inquisition

not in any sense

an Institution of

Church, but a tribunal of the

ment! tage.

civil

the

govern-

This pretence is worthy of its parenThat some of the Catholic govern-

ments availed themselves of the Inquisition as an efiective engine for extorting money

from

their subjects

and putting obnoxious way, is not denied.

individuals out of the

But no candid man can read Llorente, or any other authentic history of the ''Holy Office,^' whhout being convinced that the Inquisition was altogether a creature of the Hierarchy. It emanated from Rome. The Inquisitors were appointed at Rome. All their rules of procedure were either framed at Rome, or subject to revision, modification, and approval there. To Rome they were

From Rome they received their The plea now set up that "the Inquisition was entirely and avowedly a

responsible.

rewards.

political is

and not an

ecclesiastical institution,''

a wicked and Jesuitical device for hood-

winking Protestants

to the

Popery, and

refuted

it

is

6

abominations of

by

their

own

THE INTOLERANCE OF

66

Johannes Devoti,

Standard writers.

e.

g.

uses this decisive language on the subject, as quoted

by

that late eloquent

and able de-

fender of Protestantism, Dr. John Breckinridge, in his controversy

popish Bishop of

New

with the present

" The conRome, instituted by Pope presides, is the

York.

gregation of Cardinals at

which the head of all Inquisitors over the whole world; to it they all refer their more difficult matters; the Pope, in

and

authority

its

is

final.

office sustain this institution.

centre of unity to

him

power and

For he

is

the

and head of the Church and ;

Christ has committed plenary power, to

feed, teach, rule,

and govern

all

Christians."

486.)

(p.

If

astics

may

alleged that the victims of the

it is still

Inquisition

were executed not by the

but by

ecclesi-

the secular authority, this also

be conceded: but the concession can

avail as

would to

and

It is rightly

wisely ordered, that the Pope's

little

admit that

Church of Rome, as

to the

to the priests it

and

was not

rulers of the

it

Jews,

they, but Pilate

who

Son of God. For what was the part performed by the ecclesiastics in

crucified the

precise

the first

management of place, as

the Inquisition

we have

?

In the

seen, they derived their

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

67

appointments directly or indirectly from the

The code under which they was from the same source. They determined what should be regarded as heresy. They arrested whomsoever they chose. They Papal See.

acted,

superintended and applied

the tortures

all

preliminary to final condemnation or acquittal.

They decided who should be put

death.

of the condemned, were supervision. trates,

to

All the arrangements for the burning

They

made under

required the

civil

their

magis-

by authority of various Bulls of

Popes, to commit heretics

the

flames with-

to the

days after they, the Inquisitors had pronounced sentence upon them, under paiiv in six

of excommunication and other censures. And yet Romanists would have us believe that the Inquisition their

was not an

institution of

Church, because after the Inquisitors had

condemned a man as an apostate and heretic, and handed him over to the magistrates to be put

to death, the

hypocritical wretches

we

were accustomed

to add: " Nevertheless

earnestly beseech

and enjoin the said secular

arm,

to

deal so tenderly

and compassionate-

ly with him, as to prevent the effusion blood, or

danger of death P^

argument

to

prove that

Rome

This is

is

of the

guiltless of

THE INTOLERANCE OF

68

the atrocities of the Inquisition!

have the itself

full benefit

of

it.

The

Let her Inquisition

does not more incontestably identify her

with the prophetic Antichrist, by demonstrating

her hatred of the saints and her

eagerness to shed their blood, than this sup-

posed

does, by showing the which she can *' speak lies in

vindication

effrontery with

hypocrisy."

*'^

I

I have thus endeavoured to exhibit the Intolerance of the Church of Rome." have shown that she is essentially and in-

curably intolerant in her very frame-work,

and her fundamental principles; that she intolerant even of mental freedom; that she intolerant of God's holy

above every thing

and blessed

whom

is

truth,

else; that she insists

the right to persecute those

is

upon

she re-

gards as heretics, and upon the obhgation of all

princes and magistrates to aid at her bid-

ding in their subjugation or destruction; and that she has carried out these principles in

the actual slaughter of

immense multitudes

of men, for opinion's sake merely, both in

wars and massacres instigated by and by the more refined and cruel torEvery count in tures of the Inquisition.

religious

her,

THE CHURCH OF ROME. this

69

indictment has been substantiated by

authentic proofs.

And

here the discussion

might with propriety be arrested.

There

is,

however, a sentiment widely diffused among Protestants,

which goes

testimonies as have

far to

neutrahze such

now been

preseiited, in

This

relation to the intolerance of Popery.

sentiment

is,

that the

Church of Rome has

—that her another age — and that she

undergone a change long to

humane and benevolent

cruelties be-

of the Protestant churches.

must be Its

briefly

is

now

in her spirit as

as

any

This sentiment

examined before we

close.

fallacy must, indeed, be manifest to ail

who have

followed the train of argument by which we have reached our general conclusion.

For what is it we have charged upon Rome, and proved against her? Not simply that she has in some specified instances persecuted the people of God, and made Protestant blood flow like water; but that she has

persecuted on principle

—that

intolerance

is

blended with the very elements of her organization

— that

wherever she has the power

and opportunity, she cannot but persecute, without compromising her principles and betraying the trust which, she asserts, has been

THE INTOLERANCE OF

70

confided to her.

And

here

is

it

that her

persecutions differ so widely from those of Protestants.

have been

It is

not denied that Protestants

But

guilty of persecution.

their

persecutions took place, for the most part, just after they

threw

off the

Papal yoke, and

when

they were still tainted with the spirit which they had been reared. Their persecutions also have been local and temporary.

in

And, again, the persecuting

have long

tenets

ago been expunged from the

Protestant

Creeds and Confessions: and true Protestants

with one accord reprobate as unchristian and wicked, the persecutions practised by their ancestors.

The Roman Church, however, can cate her persecutions on It

has been shown, by her

that the right

vindi-

none of these grounds.

own

witnesses,

and even the duty of persecu-

ting for opmion's sake, enters fundamentally into her constitution.

This right,

let it be

remembered, she has never repudiated: as indeed,

how

could she?

An

church must be unchangeable.

"infallible"

What

she

has claimed once, she must always claim.

What she has been, she must be. She may embrace many amiable and benevolent people among her members; but we do

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

71

not look to the laity in a church where the

people are nothing and the priesthood every

dogmas and the spirit demand that the same

thing, to ascertain the

We

of the system. authority

which emitted

the bloody edicts of

former days, shall revoke them, and renounce the pretended right to persecute heretics. Is this

an unreasonable requisition ?

Are we

judge that Church by the opinions of vate members, and not by

monuments? Are we

to

its

to

its

pri-

public acts

and

withdraw the charge

of persecution against her while her creed

remains unaltered, and

her exterminating

bulls against heretics uncancelled,

merely be-

we may happen to know some very exemplary Roman Catholics, or because the

cause

hierarchy has, from to persecute for

But

this

thought

is

by

a

its

crippled state, ceased

season.''

not

all.

Roman

Whatever may be

Catholic laymen,

the

priesthood are never heard condemning the persecutions in which their church has been

engaged.

With

all

the outcry they

make,

because the atrocities she perpetrated a few centuries ago, are laid to her charge in this

age of intelligence and refinement, they are very careful not to censure those atrocities. If they believe they

were wrong, why do

THE INTOLERANCE OF

72

The

they not say so? their silence

is,

fair inference

from

that they approve of them;

that they are prepared to

set

their

hands

every sanguinary bull that has gone^forth

to

from the Vatican, and to justify every scene of carnage which Popish intolerance has created.

This,

I

have

said,

the fact just stated fer

it

merely.

;

is

a fair inference from

but

we

The creed

already been mentioned. is

universally received

lics

by

are not

left to in-

of Pius IV. has

That creed, which the

Roman

Catho-

of the present day, re- affirms all the

persecuting canons of fortner days. It runs thus: "I likewise undoubtedly receive and profess

all

other things delivered, defined,

and declared, by the sacred canons of general councils, and particularly the Holy Council of And I condemn, reject, and anatheTrent. matize

things contrary thereto, and all which the church has condemned,

all

heresies rejected,

and anathematized.''

Every Ro-

manist, then, in adopting this creed, sanctions as well the intolerant principles of the system, as the persecutions to

Then, again, there

which they have is

led.

the Bishop^s oath,

with the famous clause, " Haereticos, schismaticos, et rebelles eidem

Domino

nostro, pro

— THE CHURCH OF ROME.

" Heretics

posse perseqiiar et impugnabo.'' schismatics,

my power I will

and impugn.^^

change

Does

perse-

import a and pretensions of Rome?

in the spirit

me

our said Lord,

rebels to

with all

{the Pope,)

cute

Let

and

73

this

quote, as this subject has been

men-

tioned, a curious piece of history respecting it,

which

"

It

given by Mr. Southey in one of

is

Essays on the Cathohc Question

his able

appears that a Russian

when

Roman

:

Catholic,

taking the oath at his consecration as

archbishop of Mohilow in 1785, stopped at

and refused

this clause,

to

proceed.

He was

supported by the empress Catharine, and the court of

him

Rome

found

to take the

clause.

drew

But though

in its

horns

so

made

expedient

them, the concession that no

change had

taken place in the disposition of the

were

to

allow

Catharine would else

at

show

as to

Catholic Church.

to

the scarlet-coloured beast

when

have aimed a blow

was

it

oath without the obnoxious

The

Roman

principle that heretics-

be impugned and persecuted, was not

renounced; though

its

avowal was suspend-

ed by indulgence,

in

an heretical kingdora

the sovereign,

most properly, would Every where else-

where

not suffer the

it

Roman

to

be made.

Catholic prelates continued, at

7

THE INTOLERANCE OF

74

their consecration, to

swear that they,

to the

utmost of their power, would impugn and persecute heretics, schismatics, and rebels to their Lord, the Pope.

Some

six years after-

wards, the Irish prelates considered that the clause might perhaps stand in the

way

of

the hopes which they were then entertaining; for that a British king, a British minister,

a

House of Lords, and a British House of Commons, consisting entirely of heretics, schismatics, and rebels to the Pope, might

British

think

it

no very rational or

politic act

to

remove restrictions from persons who were bound by oath to impugn and persecute them, if ever they had the power. They represented this at Rome and their Lord the Pope then conceded to them the same indulgence, which he had granted in the case of Russia, :

but not without observing in the preamble to the castrated oath, that

'

through the ignor-

ance or dishonesty of some persons, certain

words (to wit, the clause complained of) had been perverted into a strange sense.' Per-

—

verted by ignorance or dishonesty!

Was

dishonesty ever more apparent than in this

preamble, and can any ignorance be so great as not to perceive

what sense

these

it?

...

as not to

know

in

words were intended by

!

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

75

Pope Hildebrand when he framed the oath in what sense the clause has always been understood and in what sense it has been acted upoUf pro posse, every where ? Do we • not know how Bonner and Gardiner underCan we be mistaken in what the stood it?

—

—

persecution of heretics means, in the oath of

a

Roman

tell

Bellarmine

Catholic bishop?

may

us what he, as well as the heretics in his

days,

who were unreasonable enough to com-

plain of

dem

it,

understood by

haeretici se

ab antichristo

it.

magnam

pati,

— Dicunt '

qui-

persequutionem

quia interdum comburun-

TUR aliqui de eorum numero.' Perverted by ignorance or dishonesty to a strange sense Why the words contain in them flint and steel, fire and faggot, the weapons of St. Bartholomew's day, the swords and halters of Alva and Cardinal Granville's executioners, the racks and engines of the Inquisition."^ I

have quoted

this

passage because

identical oath, persecuting clause

has actually been taken by every

and

all,

Roman

Catholic prelate in the United States.

was

this

This

acknowledged by Bishop Purcell of Ohio, in his discussion with Mr. Alexander Campbell, as may be found by referexplicitly

* Southey's Essays, Vol.

ii.

pp.

416—418.

THE INTOLERANCE OP

76

ring to pp. 317, 318, 346, 350, of the printed

volume containing the report of the debate. Nothing can be more palpable than the incompatibility between this oath, and the oath of naturalization prescribed by our Constitution, in which the individual swears that he " doth absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty

whatever."

But

to refute the

common

has changed lates in

our

—

to

own

I cite

show

the oath

that the Popish pre-

country have sworn to im-

pugn and persecute

all heretics, /?7*o joo^^e, to

the utmost of their power.

" power''

is

now, only

opinion that Popery

Happily

their

as yet too restricted to render

them very formidable. Nor will much, except through

to increase

it

be likely

the apathy

or spurious liberality of nominal Protestants.

is

Another evidence that the Roman Church unchanged, is found in the fact that she

still

seeks to enforce that intellectual tyran-

ny over

her subjects, which has already been

described as one of the most revolting forms

of her intolerance.

any thing

had changed in would have been,

If she

for the better,

it

in an age of light like the present, in this:

she would have emancipated the minds of

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

77

her members from the servile bondage under which they have groaned for centuries, and given them access, if not to the tree of Ufe, at least to the tree of knowledge. But in this particular, as in all others, she has

true to her principles.

Even

proved

so recently as

the year 1819, an edition of the Index Libro-

rum Prohibitorum was authority.

printed at

Rome by

This Index prohibits, under the

works as Bacon De Augmentis Scientiarum, Locke on the Human Understanding, Cudvvorth's Intellectual System, and Milton's Paradise Lost. Nay, will it be believed, the celebrated sentence against Galileo, in 1633, which consigned him to the dungeons of the Inquisition for maintaining that the sun was the centre penalties of the Inquisition, such

of the planetary system, and that the earth

revolved around

it, is

republished, and there-

fore re-affirmed, in this very volume.

work from

"The

of Algarotti, (adds Sir Robert Inglis,

whom

I

quote,)

on the Newtonian

sys-

tem, shares the same fate: so that every modification of science, in other words, every effort

of free inquiry, every attempt to disen-

gage the mind from the trammels of authority, is alike

Inquisition.

and universally consigned

Am

I

to the

not justified in saying

THE INTOLERANCE OF

78 that the

Church of Rome remains unchanged,

the unchangeable

enemy

to the progress of

human mind?" To these facts may be added an

the

paper, the authenticity of which

official

is

undis-

puted, and which bears date as recently as the 24th of April, 1843.

It is

a " Pastoral

Address of the Bishop of Quito, in South America.

It

was

written for the purpose of

informing his Diocese that the National Convention had, under his auspices and at his

an explanatory resolution, under the new Con-

request, adopted

precluding the idea, that stitution of the

Republic of the Equator, re//-

gious toleration would be allowed nominations of Christians. first

I shall

part of the letter, and

append

to all de-

quote the to

it

the

very pertinent comments of two of the secular papers. PASTORAL ADDRESS OF THE BISHOP OF QUITO.

"We, grace of

.Dr.

Nicholas de Arteta, by the

God and

Bishop of Quito

of the

—

to

all

Holy Apostohc See, the faitliful Chris-

tians of our Diocese; health

and grace

in the

Lord. " Repletus

sum

consolatione, superabundo

gaudio in omni tribulatione nostra.

THE CHURCH OF ROME, "

My

79

beloved children, our heart was

full

shown

of joy at the zeal which you have

to

Holy Catholic religion which we profess, and has warmly participated in the tribulation which you felt at the preserve intact the

apprehension that the sixth

article

of the

new

would open the way for the in-, troduction of worship and the corruption of Christian morals. This was the opinion of the theologians and canonists of the secular and regular clergy, whom I convoked on Holy Friday on account of the pressure of

constitution

time, because the right of petition to the Constituent

Convention could have been used

only the day following.

*

^

*

" In consequence, the Convention adopted

a prudent and wise resolution, our

consciences.

to tranquillize

Yes, beloved

diocesans,

they are pleased to explain the aforesaid article,

by giving us

to

know,

protecting toleration, which it

we

that, far

from

justly feared,

confirms and strengthens the law which

authorizes the prelates to have cognizance

of causes of faith, as did the extinguished tribunal of the Inquisition, with this restriction only, that they shall not, in this respect,

molest foreigners in their private

belief,

while

THE INTOLERANCE OP

80

they do not propagate their errors,

to pre-

vent scandal and seduction." It is gratifying to see that the secular

pers of our country are not

all

pa-

blind to the

natural tendency of such an occurrence or

incapable of deducing from

relation to

"

As

their

New

The

sion.

it,

it is

it

a just conclu-

York Express remarks,

as follows

alleged by

in

:

Roman

Catholics that

system has become

sanguinary, than

it

less tyrannical and was some hundred years

ago, the above article from one of the South American Republics, may enable our readers to judge for themselves what foundation Here is a public declaration, there is for it. in an official document from the Bishop of Quito, who, having convoked the theologians and canonists, obtained their senti-

ments respecting a provision of the Constiwhich had just been formed, which

tution

opinion was, that ration,^ feared,

which *it

*

instead oi protecting tole-

his reverence says

confirms

he justly

and strengthens

law which authorizes the prelates

to

the

have

cognizance of causes of faith, as did the extinguished tribunal of the Inquisition.^ That is, a man accused of heresy, or in other

THE CHURCH OP ROME.

81

words, of being a Protestant, may be tried by a blood-thirsty tribunal, composed of characters similar to those

who

belonged

the

to

Spanish Inquisition, and be burned at the stake

the

at

will

and pleasure of these

butchers.''

The Philadelphia North American, a paper which deserves well of Protestants, for the ability and fearlessness with which resists the political aggressions

it

of Popery,

is

equally explicit:

"Now

and then

happens that we en

it

counter a good Protestant,

who wonders

the apprehension entertained

by us of

at

the

extension of the

Roman

United States.

Admitting, as no one can

Catholic faith in the

deny, that in times past the practice of that

Church was merciless to all without her pale, our easy friends answer the argument against her spirit drawn from history, by asserting that she is now changed, reformed, humanized,

christianized

with

cannot believe that in tury

it is

possible for the

assert her

is

age.

in

was wont the

first

They

Church of Rome

supremacy by sword,

rack, as she that she

the

this nineteenth cen-

to do.

fire,

They

to

and think

place too feeble, and

THE INTOLERANCE OP

82

in the second, too wise to apply brute force to

change men's consciences. "

We

heartily

wish that existing circum-

stances could sustain this

opinion.

If

we

thought there was no danger to the State, or to the life, liberty and property of the citizen from the possible domination of the Roman

Catholic Church in this republic,

conceive

it

nalists, to

we should

no part of our duty as daily jour-

take note of her creed, discipline,

But

or practice.

is

it

a

fact,

beyond

the

doubt of any unprejudiced man, that her pre-

and bigoted members are not to be trusted with power in any State which de-

lates

sires

civil or

point

is

rehgious liberty.

A

proof in

brought before us, which suggests

these remarks,

and we would earnestly

the attention of

lukewarm

A

call

Protestants to it."

more recent exemplification of the unchanged intolerance and cruelty of the Church of Rome, is furnished in the case of Dr. Kalley, an excellent Scotch physician and minister, residing in the island of Mastill

deira,

who

has recently undergone a long

imprisonment

for

no other crime than that of

and that an imprisonment which

preaching the gospel in his

own

house

5

to the natives,

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

83

would probably have terminated in his execution, had not the British government interposed and obtained his release. But testimonies need not be multiplied.

An

enlightened and candid inquirer has but

look abroad upon the

to

world

to

see

that

Now, as of old, it is the human improvement. dation, falsehood.

Roman

Popery

is

Catholic

unchanged.

enemy

inflexible

Ignorance,

of

degra-

Sabbath-profanation, the

decay of pubhc virtue, the general corruption of morals, hatred of pure Christianity, and the extinction of religious freedom, follow in train, as naturally as the

its

corresponding

blessings attend the untrammelled dissemi-

nation of the pure gospel of Christ.

To

attempt to neutralize such proofs as

unchanged character of Popery, Church of Rome is not persecuting Protestants now, is

these, of the

by

alleging that the

actually

chimerical in the extreme. seen, this

there

is

is

For, as

we have and

true only in a partial sense,

a very good reason

why

she

is

not

persecuting as formerly, on a larger scale.

Bunyan has interwoven allegory.

it

in his

wonderful

"I espied," he says, describing

the Valley of the

shadow of Death, " a

little

THE INTOLERANCE OF

84

me

before

a cave, where two giants, Pope

and Pagan, dwelt in old times, by whose power and tyranny, the men whose bones, blood, and ashes, lay there, were cruelly put to death. But by this place Christian went without much danger, whereat I somewhat wondered; but I have learned since, that Pagan has been dead for many a day and ;

as for the other, though he be yet alive, he

by reason of age, and alio of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger days, grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he can now do little more than is,

sit

in his cave's

mouth, grinning

at pilgrims

as they go by, and biting his nails because

he cannot come at them." written in our day, he

Had Bunyan

would probably have

represented the decrepit old giant as renewing his youth, and secretly preparing to sally forth after pilgrims, panoplied in the blood-

stained

armour

that he

wore of old.

The Church of Rome, then, is unchanged and unchangeable. Her vital principles involve this; facts confirm

mony

of

God

it;

and the

himself substantiates

it,

testi-

with

an explicitness which leaves nothing further For to be desired in the way of evidence.

THE CHURCH OP ROME. he

2 Thess.

distinctly teaches in

85 ii.

8,

and

in Rev. xviii., that that Church instead of

being

reformed,

be thoroughly and

to

is

awfully DESTROYED, and that until that period arrives, she will remain

what she has

woman drunken with THE BLOOD OP THE SAINTS, AND WITH THE BLOOD OP THE MARTYRS OP JeSUS." All the always been, "the

we have

intolerance

upon her to her

as

still.

many

can do,

in

charged and proved

in former days,

And

if

is

proved

any man

charitable

to

belong

shall succeed,

persons suppose they

demonstrating the contrary,

in showing

that she

is

i.

e.,

not as intolerant as

she once was, he will, by the same process,

demonstrate her claim Christ.

to

fallibility,

and subvert her

be considered as the Church of

We

have, therefore, not merely the

testimony of Scripture, of history, of observation,

and of innumerable Protestant wit-

nesses of unimpeachable character, but the

testimony of the Church of the point, that she

long as

God suffers

is

now, and

her to

herself, to will

be as

same perpower that she

live, the

secuting, cruel, blood-thirsty

was

Rome

three centuries ago.

And now, in

conclusion, there

is

one

senti-

THE INTOLERANCE OP

86

ment which must commend individual

who has

itself to

testimonies adduced in these this; viz.,

every

that

man who

every

carefully considered the

it is

pages.

the iinperative

desires the welfare

It is

duty of of reli-

gion, or the prosperity of his country, to oppose,

making

by all moral means, the to

efforts

propagate Romanism in the

United States.

The Church

of

Rome

is,

we have

as

shown, radically and thoroughly hostile human improvement and happiness. principles are

subversive both of

religious liberty.

No

civil

country can be

to Its

and free,

no people can enjoy an enlightened prosperity, no man's rights can be safe, where its principles are carried out. tle

as

it

appears now,

it is

Meek and

gen-

only the quietude

and the verdure which grace the slumbering The fires are there still; and when volcano. the occasion offers, they will burst forth and

renew the scenes of devastation and death of former years. Let American Christians ponder

this.

Let our statesmen, our professional

men, the eduors of our periodical press, and all others gifted with the means of influencing their countrymen, inquire

if

the fact be

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

Above

not as has been stated.

87

all, let

our

youth acquaint themselves with colossal system of falsehood and cruelty,

iatelligent this

and prepare

growing aggressions

to repel its

upon our liberties. One argument which terred

has, until lately, de-

many Protestants from

ed stand upon

this question,

examined, and

may

think I

I

taking a decid-

has already been

be allowed

say, refuted; viz., the plea that

This plea has found great favour

changed.

among our Popery as

One reason of this is, mass of them have never seen

citizens.

that the great

tries.

it

Roman

Catholic coun-

that they

have not gene-

and

history of that

exists in

Another

is,

rally studied the polity

Church.

to

Popery has

And

usually carried

a third itself so

testant land, that

mere

that

Popery has

meekly

in this Pro-

is,

superficial observers

have been deceived as to its true character. Within the last few years, however, the sys-

tem has developed efforts

made

common

to

itself

more

fully.

In the

exclude the Bible from our

schools; in the public burning of

the Scriptures; in the open pandering to political

parties for sectarian purposes;

and

in

various other measures of the Papal priest-

THE INTOLERANCE OP

8S

hood, people are beginning

to see indications

Popery of our day

that the

is

The

the Popery of the dark ages.

Roman

the

therefore,

Catholic

is fast

losing

identical with

Church

is

plea that

changed,

weight with

its

intel-

ligent Protestants.

have remained inactive from a Roman Catholic Church was a branch of the true Church, and that, notOthers

feeling that the

withstanding

The

its

errors, Christian charity

by waging a controversy with

violated

craft of

Satan

in constructing the sys-

tem has already been adverted system was ail heresy, or

its

was

it.

its

If the

to.

history all blood,

adherents all vicious and cruel, there

would be no

difficulty in

ants of every sort that

it

convincing Protest-

was

duty to

their

enough of truth in its theoretic theology, enough of patriotism and beneficence in its annals, and enough of personal worth and purity among its supporters, to blind the eyes of those who, from oppose

it.

But

there

is

whatever cause, are not accustomed trate

not, lics

beyond the surface of things.

we ought with

all

not to identify

to

pene-

We

need

Roman

Catho-

the abominations of their church.

We cheerfully concede all that may be claim-

THE CHURCH OF ROME.

39

ed for individuals among them on the score of intelhgence, refinement, and virtue.

beyond laid

this

down

lished, the tile

we

cannot go.

in this discussion

is

it

i. e.

have been estab-

papal system, as a system,

God and man. the great enemy

alike to

Saviour Jesus Christ.

It

But

If the positions

It is

is

hos-

antichrist

:

of our Lord and

has from the begin-

ning persecuted his truth and persecuted his

We

saints.

should ha\re no more scrupfe

it, than we should about opMohammedanism or Buddhism, if an

about opposing posing

attempt were made, and persevered in from

year to year,

tems into

to introduce either of those sys-

this country.

Romanists, as indi-

viduals, are to be treated with all possible

kindness, and their rights of every kind respected: but

it

is

by all moral means

as

much our duty

to resist

the spread of their system,

any other scheme which makes war upon human liberty and happiness, and tends to subvert the gospel of Christ. as

it

is

to repel

me

not merely

This inference appears

to

logical but unavoidable,

from our premises.

If the

Church of Rome

blood-thirsty

is

the intolerant,

organization which 8

we have

THE INTOLERANCE OF

90

proved her

be

to

— —

if

scriptural antichrist

abet her

it is

in

is,

fuse to resist her aggressions,

obedience If I

it

is

How

is

she to be opposed?

answer, by light and love

specific,

—by dissemina-

by withholding

Or, to be

aid

nlish churches, schools, colleges,

lums, and other institutions

by placing

it

in the

from Ro-

orphan asy-

—by circulating

the Bible throughout the land,

Roman

to re-

to refuse

to Christ.

be asked.

ting truth in a Christian spirit.

more

the

truth,

self-evident that to

oppose Christ, and that

to

is

she

and

hands of as

especially

many

of our

Catholic citizens as can be reached,

and using other kindred means to instruct them in the truth by resisting all efforts for

—

driving schools

the

—by

Scriptures from

and the youth

in

lic

its

devices

mind on

common

our Sunday schools, the

character of Popery, against

our

carefully teaching our children

and

fortifying

them

—by enlightening the pub-

the subject of

Romanism through

the pulpit, the press, and the channels of social intercourse

—by sustaining judicious

or-

ganizations for the promotion of the ends

here contemplated

—and by

fervent and uni-

THE CHURCH OF ROME. ted prayer for the deliverance of those

91

who

by the " man of sin," and for the prosperity and universal triumph of the kingdom of Christ. are led captive

APPENDIX.

EXTRACT FROM THE ADDRESS OF THE AMERICAN PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION, 1S43.

But we must be allowed

to remind you, that notwithstanding the modest guise which that church puts on, in this and other Protestant countries, no evidence whatever has been produced, enianating/rom the Papal See, that it has abated iis pretensions or laid aside its persecuting tenets. are not satisfied with the disclaimers of Roman Catholic laymen or the denials of Romish priests. insist upon a renunciation from the only authority in the church which has the ric^ht to make one. demand that the same power which enjoined the persecutions of former days, sliall express its disapproval of them, and repudiate the pretended right to persecute for opinion's- sake. Wiien proof of this sort is produced, we may listen to the suggestion that Popery has put off its intolerhave a ance. do not, however, rest here. witness at hand who will be deemed both competent

We

We

We

— We

We

and credible as to the point under consideration. This witness is Gregory XVf. the reigning Pope; and the document from which we quote is his famous Encyclical

Letter of August 15th, 1S32.*

* This Letter was published at the time in the Catholic papers in this country.

Roman

APPENDIX.

93

" From that polluted fountain of indifference flows that absurd and erroneous doctrine, or raiher raving, in favour and in defence of * liberty of conscience,''

which most pestilential error, the course is opened by that entire and wild liberty of opinion which is every where attempting the overthrow of civil and relig-ious institutions; and which the unblushing impudence of some, has held forth as an advantage of * * * religion. From hence arise these revolutions in the minds of men, hence this aggravated corruption of youth, hence this contempt among the people of sacred things, and of the most holy institutions and laws; hence, in one word, that pest of all others most to be dreaded in a State, unbridled liberty of opinion.'^'' Again " Hither tends that worst and never sufficiently to be execrated and detested liberty of tJie press, for the diffusion of all manner of writings which some so loudly contend for and so actively promote." And again: "Nor can we augur more consoling consequences to religion and to government, from the for

:

zeal of

some

to separate the

Church from

the State,

bond which unites the priesthood to the empire. For it is clear that this union is dreaded by the profane lovers of liberty, only because it has never failed to confer prosperity on both." Here is documentary evidence of the highest kind to show that Popery is unchanged, to prove that the Popery of the nineteenth century and the Popery of the sixteenth are the same. have it officially promulgated by the present Pope, that Liberty of Conscience, Liberty of Opinion, the Liberty of the Press, and the Separation of Church and State, are four of the sorest evils with which a nation can be cursed Both as Protestants and as American citizens, we count the rights which are here assailed as among our dearest franchises and we cannot look on in silence and see the craft and power of Rome systematically and insidiously employed to subvert them. deplore the necessity which calls for the

and

to burst the

We

I

:

We

94

APPENDIX.

measure; but believing' as we do that patriotism and Christianity demand it, we have united, and we invite all who love our institutions to unite with us in repelling the aggressions of the Papal Hierarchy. Our contest is not with the Roman Catholics as individuals. would not, if we could, abridge their rights and privileges in the slightest degree. abhor persecution for opinion's sake under every form, and we recognize their right to the same freedom of thought and action that we claim for ourselves. leave it to the Pope to denounce ' liberty of opinion,' ' liberty of conscience,' and the ' liberty of the press,' as hostile to human happiness and dangerous to the welfare of States. It is because the system is thus, by the accredited exposition of its 'infallible' Head, at war with our most sacred rights and interWhatever virests, that we feel bound to oppose it. tues may adorn the characters of individuals in that Sect, we appeal to the whole history of the Romish Church, in proof of the position, that the principles assumed in the recent Encyclical Letter have been actually carriec^ out wherever Rome has had thepotoer So that in resisting the efforts now to enforce them. making to establish this system among us, we are influenced by no love of controversy, by no personal antipathies, by no sectarian or party ends, but by a grave and imperative sense of duty to our country, to

We

We

We

and to God. Reiterating the sentiment that persecution is as much at variance with all our Protestant and American feelings as it is coincident with the genius and spirit of Popery, we respectfully remind our countrymen that it is opposition to Popery, which has secured to them an open Bible and the privilege of confessing remind their sins to God instead of a priest. them that opposition to Popery has created the difference between our free, happy, and prosperous Republic, and the States of South America, which seem doomed to perpetual anarchy and depression. remind them that opposition to Popery has given to posterity,

We

We

— APPENDIX.

95

Europe

all that she enjoys of civil and religious liberthat the progress of the arts and sciences, the mitigation of social evils, the diffusion of knowledge, the right understanding and observance of the recip-

ty

:

rocal duties of princes and, subjects, magistrates and

people, and the improvement of mankind in rational and social happiness, have for the last three centuries, gone hand in hand with opposition to Popery and that just in proportion as the opposition to Popery has been relaxed in any Protestant country, superstition and infidelity have increased, vice has abounded, ignorance and discontent have prevailed among the people, and every great national interest has dete:

riorated. If confirmation

we

have

it

of these statements be required,

in the present relative condition of the

principal Protestant and Roman Catholic countries. Compare Italy with Prussia: compare Spain with

compare Mexico and the South American Republics with the United States. The superiority of the Protestant countries is known and read of all men. To what is it owing? Not to physical causes England

:

certainly: for in these the Roman Catholic countries have the advantage. Look at Spain, for example luxuriant, beautiful Spain, with her vine-clad hills and her genial climate, the very garden of Europe.

There was a time (under the Moorish dynasty, and immediately after its downfall) when her name was a tower of strength among the nations ; now, the decrepitude of a premiture dotage is upon her, and with the little strength that remains to her, she is tearing out her own vitals. What has turned this Eden into an Aceldama 1 What has made that once noble race, to such an extent, a nation of sensualists and gladiators ? What has spread the pall of death over all that was lovely, and generous, and refined, in that land of song 1 The answer may be given in one word. Popery. Popery persecuted the Reformation out of Spain, as it did out of Italy. It summoned to its aid the chains and dungeons, the racks and faggots of the

APPENDIX.

96

Inquisition, and, with fiendish fury, drove

it from her martyr-blood which was then shed, has not yet ceased to cry to heaven for vengeance. Spain permitted Popery to rob her of the pure Christianity which v/as offered her a,nd God gave her up to serve the master she had chosen. There, for three hundred years he has swayed an undisputed sceptre. And the result is before us. In climate and soil, Spain is unchanged for these it was beyond the spoiler's power to blast. Every thing else he has blighted and cursed, every thing in her morals, every thing in her thrift and industry, every thing in her literature, every thing in her laws, his curse is in her cities and in her hamlets, in her cottages and in her palaces, indeed, it might be supposed by one ignorant of her history, that Spain, instead of being the most loyal of all lands to the Papal See, was peopled with archheretics, for whose impieties all the curses of the " greater excommunication" had been descending upon her for three centuries. And the history of Spain is the history of all other Papal lands. Ignorance and superstition, social degradation and political oppression, follow in the train of Popery as naturally as death follows the plague. The nation which surrenders itself to its control, is a doomed nation. Its embrace is like the embrace of that celebrated image of the Virgin, in the Inquisition, which clasped the wretched victim in its arms, and, folding him to its breast, transfixed him with a thousand nails at once.

soil.

The

;

;

—

—

—

THE END.

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