The POPES Letter TO THE LORDS IN THE TOWER; Concerning the Death of the late Lord Stafford.  
Dearly Beloved SONS, and most Humble Lords.  
WE Greet you well, and sand you our apostolic Benediction, and Condole with you for the loss of our Noble Son, and heroic Champion, the Lord Stafford, who is now a most Glorious Saint in Heaven, and dwells among the most blessed Martyrs, and we are also willing that his Cannonization be also here on Earth, at half Fees; for you must know, that according to the Fundamental Maxim of this our Court, Earthly Advantage must be made by Heavenly Preferment: For it is fit that those who serve the Alter, must live by the Altar: And it should be an unprecedented Example, not to be found in all the Holy Acts of our Predecessors, and would be a most scandalous Innovation and Example to our Successors, should we deviate any ways from that Fundamental Maxim, as the Old Proverb has it, No Money no Pater-Noster; which, as it holds true in saying of Prayers, so also in us, for we ought not to be the Father of Poverty, and to bring our See to beggary: for though we writ ourselves Servus Servorum, a Servant of Servants, 'tis mystically meant, of such as serve us with their Purses: but truly our most Glorious Name is not Papa Father, but Piscator the Fisher, for we Hook in all we can, and have pretty well filled our Nets, as appears most intelligibly by the Fishers, or St. Peters Patrimony. We have filled our calendar with Saints, having two or three for every day of the year: we have filled Heaven with Martyrs, we have filled our Coffers with coin, and the Christian world with our Terror, famed, and Authority; and we have filled Purgatory with Souls, and Hell with Excommunicated heretics, so that we have well used our Talent left to St. Peter, to become Fishers of Men, and of what belongs to them.  
Do not wonder my dear Sons, that we cause our Secretary to writ thus plainly to you, and not in our wonted style, full of the plausible subtleties of this more Wise than Holy Court; for as Infallibility is an inseparable Adjunct to us, and to our Holy Chair, so we know that we do not Err, and in that, we would you to understand by this our minds plainly, that as it is a most glorious preferment to obtain the Cannonization of being a Saint and Martyr here by us on earth, and adds( no doubt) much to the Glory and preferment of the party in Heaven, so it is most convenient, that our Maxim should be here maintained, that our Authority be still unbroken; therefore to come to our Application, my dearly beloved Sons, we advice you, if you shall desire the aforesaid Glorious Exaltation, that before you depart this Life, you take care for the procuring the Sum, according to our Book of Rates, which our Sons the Priests, or of the holy Order of Jesus can show you, and you shall no sooner have caused it to be Remitted hither, but you shall find the benefit in Heaven, being there Exalted among the Apostles themselves, for we have not only St. Peters Keys to let in and shut out, whom we please, but also to advance or debase as we see convenint, both in Heaven and in Earth. It was for want of this necessary fulfilling of our Maxim, That this Wise Court must do nothing for nought; that our Son Coleman, nor others, have not yet obtained this Exaltation, tho' the Charges of making a Priest or an ordinary man a Saint, be much less than to make a Lord or a Prince; and good reason, they being better able to pay, and are more rarely found now adays: And your Henry the Sixth lost the preferment through the Covetousness of Henry the 7th.  
We have condoled the loss of our dear Son the Lord Stafford, and we have caused Zachryma to be Sung thorough all our Churches, and have imposed a general Fast from Pullets and White Broth, thorough the whole City, to express the greatness of our fatherly sorrow, and ourselves have abstained one whole Meal, excepting Sweet-meats, to bewail in private, the loss of that Noble Lord and Martyr. All this we have done for your encouragement, that you may like Men quit yourselves, when you shall come to the Scafford, and keep the same road of Innocency as your predecessors has done, that you may only Confess to your Priest, and die Confirming, and strengthening the Holy catholic Faith, that there is no Horrid Plot in England, to take away the Kings Life, and to set up our Religion.  
We further have you to wit, That it is our pleasure, that you be no ways Discouraged at the loss of our late Dearly beloved Son, and that his Death may not shake you, or the Dreadful name of an English-Parliament, for we would encourage your hopes by our Infallibility and prophetic Spirit, which still attends on our Holy See, that you shall be yet safe, if our Design shall succeed, which we do Assure you, by the Indifatigable Industry of our Pious Sons the Jesuits, is yet carrying on, and as we daily understand from them, is yet in a fair way to perfection, for they have assured us of undoubted Hopes, of Dissolving your dreadful Parliament, by which you may get respite, for in the Interim, it will be their main Business and care, to heighten the fiends, jealousies and fears, already sowed among the People, and to widen the breaches of Factions and parties, that all may break forth into a flamme and Combustion, and then we doubt not to make our Harvest: Be, I say, therefore of good Courage and Resolution, and be not affrighted at the long-Tail'd Comet, nor believe the foolish vulgar, who would have it to Threaten our Downfall; but I have consulted a wise Astrologer, and my own Infallibility, and I aver, it signifies, besides the spoiling the King of France his Ballad, and the Death of my beoved Monkie, the full extirpation of all He●… esie and Schism, in the North-West part of the World, and advancing the true catholic Religion in its Room.  
And lastly, Dear Sons, we would not have you any ways Discouraged, tho' the Ghost of our late Son the Lord Stafford should Appear to you, with, or without his Head, and should tell you Stories of Hell and Purgatory, and should tell you things like Truth, and advice you to Confess and Repent, or at the Relation of any other foolish Apparitions, for we do Assure you by our Infallible Knowledge, and also by certain News returned by our several Grand Curriers, from Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, which go and return every Twenty-Four Hours, that he is now in Heaven, and that the Keeper of the Registers both of Hell and Purgatory, have sent me Word, No such Lord has arrived there this Seven Years: And St. Peter sent me Word, That he had by our Order sent him by our Grand Currier, admitted the said Lord Stafford some few Moments after his Decollation, and that he stayed not the saying of Six Ave-Maries, and one Pater-Noster, before he let him in, and bad him Welcome. Therefore, I say, all those Ghosts and Apparitions, are all lies and false Illusions, raised by the heretics and their Assistant the Devil, to affright you into Repentance and Confession of the Plot; But, I say, beware of that, lest you go directly to Hell, instead of going to Heaven, for since I have the Keys of both in my Hands, and that the Keepers of the Gates of both Countreys, obey my Orders, you had better trust to me, who can infallibly Assure you of Salvation, let the Scriptures and heretics say what they will.  
Once more therefore I encourage you, by this my Letter-Messives to be of good Heart; and to Drink our Health freely, and the good Success of our Undertakings, the Happy Issue of which shall advance you my Suffering Sons here, or if not, hereafter for a certain: Fare you well.  
Signed with the Seal of the FISHER. From our Palace in Rome, this 16th. of Jan. New-Stile.  
FINIS.   

London, Printed for T. B. in Green's-Rents, near Fleet-Bridge, 1681.