YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

ABJURATIONS FROM POPERY

INTRODUCTORY MATTER

EBEOKS OF THE CHUECH OF EOME.

LONDON:
51. SHARPE, 4, BERKELEY SQUARE.
BATH:
BINNS AND GOODWIN, CHEAP STREET.
1847.

PREFACE.

"Popery and slavery, like two sisters, go hand in hand; sometimes
the one goes first, sometimes the other — but, wherever the one enters,
the other is sure to be following."

It was the opinion of our forefathers, that an open tolera
tion of the Romish religion was inconsistent with the safety
of a free people and a Protestant government ; they even
thought, that every convert to Popery, was, hy principle,
an enemy to the constitution of his coimtry. In fact, our
ancestors had the most dreadful apprehensions of the tyranny
of Rome ; heing well aware of the deplorahle condition this
kingdom would be reduced to if ever that religion should pre
vail again amongst them. The editor of the conversions
from Popery, which are recorded in this publication, is well
aware, that in warring against the church of Rome, he can
expect no quarter from the court of the Vatican, whose un
changed and unchangeable spirit grants none to her enemies,
and that he is not likely to have to thank the holy conclave
for their love towards him. He also knows full well that
Rome never forgets nor forgives ; for he judges what she

4 PREFACE.
would do, by what she has done. Nevertheless, nothing
shall ever deter him from fighting manfully as the soldier
of the great Captain of his salvation, Jesus Christ, under
the banner of whose Cross fear was never felt. " We must,"
exclaimed the immortal hierarch, Martin Luther, " even at
the cost of affection of the dearest friends, brave the path of
peril, because it is the path of duty ;" and with the sword
of the Spirit, fight the good fight of faith, which is the bat
tle of Christianity, and, with peace in our hearts, carry the
gospel of peace to the deluded victims of superstition, false
hood, and idolatry. " If I hold my peace, and plead not
against them, as long as the breath is within my body," ex
claimed the great Hooker, "let me be guilty of all the dis
honor that ever hath been done to the Son of God by the
apostate hierarchy of the Pope of Rome," whose doctrines are
so absurd in themselves, so contrary to the reason of man, and
opposed to our natural notions of the divine perfections, that
they need only to he seen in order to be abhorred : — a reli
gion which pretends to take persons to heaven without parting
with their sins. Doubtless, however, there will be found
some among my readers of the Abjurations already mentioned
who may be inclined to doubt and marvel, like the Jewish
rulers of old, and ask each other, How can these things be ?
Alas ! this question is readily answered : these things cannot
be otherwise in an age like the present, springing as they do
from an almost general feeling of false security which pre
vails both among the Protestant clergy and laity, who feel
no apprehension whatever at the rapid progress Popery is now
suffered to make throughout most parts of the empire, and,
which, like a dire contagion, if not checked in time, will over-

PREFACE. 5
spread the land and deprive John Bull not only of his dearest
rights and privileges, but, ultimately, of his liberty and life.
The editor therefore earnestly entreats all those Protestants,
who have not caught the infection of this plague, to come
forward and exert themselves to the utmost ; and, if possible,
to invite, yea, and implore those of their fellow Protestants
whom, from a most unaccountable apathy and lethargic su-
pineness, still remain unconscious of their present danger, to
unite with them in their contention with Popery, or rather,
against the enemy of all righteousness (If the Lord be God,
follow him, if Baal, follow him), while there is hope that
the plague may yet be stayed.
Once more, then, the editor ventures to implore the Pro
testants of England, to unite in one common cause against
the Jesuits — those insinuators, who, with deceitful cunning,
and fawning words are now traversing the land with insidious
artifice and matchless skill, infusing the pestiferous seeds of
a false creed into the minds of the people of this, alas ! once
Protestant realm. Moreover, these pests of society, as they
are regarded, at this moment, by all nations except Eng
land—Agents of Antichrist, who would nevertheless feign
persuade John Bull that the doctrines of their church are
no longer the same as in olden times, and that there is
at present little or no difference between them and the
pure and inspired Gospel creed of the Protestant Church.
Base falsehood this. As well might the Ethiopian endeavour
to change the colour of his skin, or the leopard his spots.
Therefore, let every Protestant in Great Britain recall to his
memory the grounds of the separation of his ancestors from

O PREFACE.
the. idolatrous Church of Rome, as well as the righteous cause
in which they bled and died, for tenaciously adhering to it.
Nevertheless, the Papists, aided by political Dissenters, Uni
tarians (who cannot be called Christians), and disaffected and
nominal Protestants,- appear seemingly united in brotherly
love, in order to bamboozle and intimidate a time-serving
ministry who possess the confidence of Queen Victoria, and
at this momentous crisis, govern in her Majesty's name.
The Papists, however, stimulated by their priests, and the
Jesuits, who counsel, bribe, and lead this motley group of
political worthies, march in the van of their pretended allies,
having for their generalissimo, the Tridentine Monarch, the
supposed rank of which extraordinary mottai on earth has
been proclaimed to the world as being next to that of God
himself; a being called a Pope, whose decretals, bulls, and
councils are also proclaimed to be of equal force and truth
with the inspired word of Jehovah. Acting, thus, under such
high authority, this arch impostor boldly decrees himself
worthy to be regarded by all nations, as the representative of
Christ on earth, and that all emperors and kings are bound
to obey and submit to his jurisdiction ; and, as it is recorded
in the infallible Council of Lateran, sess. 3, 10, to worship
him also.
In order, no doubt, to further cajole the Queen's present
ministry, the Popish priests have instructed several members
of both houses of Parliament, to assure them that Pope Pius
IX., lately elected, has commenced his pontificate as mildly
and innocently as a lamb. Nevertheless, if the Protestants of
England may venture to judge from the tenor of a speech

PREFACE. 7
lately delivered before the Commons House of Parliament
by the Roman Catholic Earl of Arundel and Surrey, this
lamb of a Pope will, ere long, cast off his sheep's clothing,
and prove himself to be a crafty wolf. The noble Earl com
menced his speech by declaring himself a sincere Roman
Catholic, and in an ingenuous, manly, and frank spirit, quite
abstracted from all that Jesuitical cant and dissimulation,
which Romish priestcraft always employs to gain its ends,
thus addressed the House of Commons : — " The Church of
Rome," said his lordship, " has been accused by many honor
able members of persecution, and he was not prepared to
deny the imputation. He admitted, that, on many occasions,
members .of that church had been guilty of acts of persecu
tion ; but, he might mention that each of these acts was to
be estimated according to the temper of the spirit of the
times previous to the 16th century." His lordship also said,
" that the whole of Western Europe was then of the Catholic
faith, with a few trifling exceptions; but that in the sixteenth
century the whole relations of society were overturned (by
a monk, named Martin Luther) and upset by the general
rise of the Reformation ; and many heresies had sprung
up, which have continued to the present day. Nevertheless,
some of them were not held by his church to deserve the same
punishment for the infliction of the same penalties ; for there
were in all these heresies which had come down to the present
day, men of the utmost sincerity and of the greatest virtue,
and, his lordship believed, if the Catholic faith were properly
proposed to all such persons, they would not refuse to embrace
it." Here the editor wishes to pause, with an apology to
the noble peer for breaking the thread of his discourse, just

8 PREFACE.
to express his admiration at the frank and manly man
ner in which he openly professed his faith, attachment, and
zeal, for his religion. Sincerity, in business of so vital a
concern as that of the soul, deserves a tribute of respect
and admiration from all true Christians. Nevertheless, with
all due respect for the noble Earl of Arundel and Surrey, the
editor presumes to recommend hiin to test the character of a
religion which it appears his lordship thinks the most ortho
dox of all others, by the surest standard — the Oracles of God.
" Search the Scriptures," saith the Lord of all power and
might, "for in them ye think ye have eternal life ; and
they are they which testify of me.'' " All Scripture,"
saith the Apostle Paul to Timothy, whom he calls his own
son in the faith, " is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in
struction in righteousness," that the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works. True reli
gion, the noble Earl will soon discover in the Bible, springs
from the subversion of every false dependance on man : we
cannot serve God and Mammon, nor worship Jehovah and
idols, nor depend on Christ Jesus, and him alone, for salva
tion, if we still trust and hold to our own superstitious and
self-righteous confidence. Moses, who received the law
from God, when he endeavoured to dissuade' the people
from the opinions they formed of their own righteous
ness, — " If," said the inspired lawgiver, " there arise among
you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a
sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, let us go after other gods
which thou hast not known, and let us serve them, thou shaU

PREFACE.

not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or thai dreamer
of dreams, for the Lord your God proveth you, to know
whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul ; ye shall walk after the Lord your God,
and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his
voice, and ye shall serve him and cleave unto him, and that
prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be punished, because he
hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, to
thrust you out of the way which the Lord thy God com
manded thee to walk in ; so shalt thou put away the evil
from the midst of thee."
The editor must pause here, to assign to the noble Earl,
with a frankness he hopes congenial with that of his Lord
ship, the cause of his having introduced to his notice a few
quotations from the, holy Bible, in the spirit, he also trusts, of
a sincere christian. In doing so, the editor's object was sim
ply to prove, beyond any reasonable doubt that might be taken
on so grave and momentous a subject, regarding the nature
and character of his own religious faith, as a Protestant. In
the sacred repository are recorded the revelations of God, the
principles of the christian faith, and the rules of practice,
which communicate to the sincere believer that spiritual know
ledge in the Scriptures, which is able to make a man wise
unto salvation.
The editor, having given a faithful account to the noble
Earl for having deviated from the subject matter, will forth
with return to it. His Lordship, in continuation, remarked,
that "his honourable friend, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, who

10 PREFACE.
had just sat down, had said that the Church of Rome
was antagonistic to Protestantism, and he perfectly agreed
with his noble friend, so it was, and so it would be, as
long as the world should last. I believe," continued the
noble Earl, " that the end of the struggle now going on will
be the extinction of Protestantism itself, and in that belief I
am for carrying it on." At the close of his Lordship's
argument, he declared, "he was not inclined to relinquish
one iota in the struggle for his religious freedom, which
he maintained would continue, and must continue, until
Protestantism became extinct."
After all, such a frank and open avowal, or perhaps, it
might be termed, proclamation to the Protestants of Eng
land, delivered before the legislature of the nation, by a
Roman Catholic nobleman, who was himself, no doubt, the
mouthpiece and spoke the sentiments of the whole body of his
brethren, the English papists, that is to say of the laity ; for
unquestionably, such a bold, frank, and public communication,
so free from Jesuitical subterfuge, hypocritical priestcraft, and
withal so diametrically at variance with the bland and soothing
professions of amity, held out at this crisis by the whole Po
pish hierarchy to the Protestants of England, could never
have been sanctioned by that sanctified and sable body guard
of the Pope. Neither could the noble Earl have ventured
to divulge to them his bold resolve to declare before the
Commons House of Parliament, that he never would relin
quish one atom in the struggle for his religious liberty, which
his Lordship maintained would continue, and must continue,
until Protestantism became extinct. Here, then, is an

PREFACE. 11
enigma for John Bull to solve : on the one hand we have the
Roman Catholic Earl of Arundel and Surrey proclaiming in
a manly, bold, and determined spirit, that " he will not relin
quish one iota in the struggle" for what his Lordship terms,
"his religious liberty;" while on the other hand, the Church
of Rome has also assumed at the same period a totally oppo •
site character, tendering as it were her professions of un
bounded regard and unfeigned love for Mr. Bull, a single
hair of whose head she vows she would not hurt. Now it is
quite palpable that the present martial sentiments of this
nobleman, and the peaceful professions of his Lordship's
church, do not chime exactly in harmony. Which of the two,
then, the Earl of Arundel and Sun'ey, or the present Pope of
Rome, who is as great an enemy to the Scriptures as the
most bigoted who has occupied his place, is John Bull disposed
to credit ? Let him not be hasty in his decision, however,
until the editor has further made known to him, that the
priesthood of the latter have lately endeavoured to persuade
the Protestants that their doctrines are not now what they
were in former days, when the axe, the rack, the torch, and
the sword were applied in support of the spiritual authority
of holy Church. Oh, no ! they have been quite altered since
Queen Mary's time. Dear innocent creature of a Church !
is she not, Mr. Bull? Oh, yes ! quite altered — gentle as a
lambkin. Indeed, the editor can almost even fancy Mr. Bull
softened into tears at this marvellous phenomenon. So un
usual an appearance, in fact, has also been welcomed by the
ministers of the crown, who have evinced their approval by
every kind of truckling towards her.

12 srixnix -AU-b.
Notwithstanding, however, such base encouragement, and
the prophetic oration of the Earl of Arundel and Surrey,
terrific as it may have sounded in the ears of a certain
class of lazy, irresolute, weak minded, and half-and-half
nominal Protestants, both laic and clerical, it has been
received as a boon and providential warning by every true
Protestant to put them on their guard, and to be prepared
against the most insidious of all enemies— Popery, which
however is now stalking abroad, unmolested, over the loved
Protestant land of their forefathers, aided in its efforts
to convert the ignorant, by the irreligious and disaffected
of all classes, from the unprincipled statesman to the
seduced and ignorant peasant. Many such, as Christ
foretold, shall arise with a mouth speaking great things:
nevertheless, the result of the Earl of Arundel and Surrey's
prognostication, beneficial as he imagined it would prove
towards insuring a prosperous issue to the holy cause of the
reigning pontiff (his Lordship's spiritual sovereign) in the
struggle which his Lordship foretold would extinguish Protest
antism in England, has had a contrary effect on the minds of
every brave, sterling, and tvue-hearted Protestant in the Bri
tish empire who was fortunate enough to read the noble Earl's
late speech, all of whom have hailed it for its unflinching
frankness, while they regretted it had not been spoken in a
better cause, regarding it at the same time as a most provi
dential warning, which has tended to remind them of au
undoubted truth, that the Church of Rome never yet shewed
pity when she had power, which circumstance it pointed out
so plain, that he might run that readeth it ; while it re-

PREFACE. 13
minded them, also, that it was high time to prepare for buck
ling on their armour and to unite in one compact body in
defence of their religion, their property, their country, and
their lives.
The editor wishes now to call to the recollection of such
of his readers who have travelled in what are termed Ca
tholic countries, where they have beheld Popery denuded,
unmasked, and freed from all restraints, wielding the sword
of her uncontrolled and slavish power and authority over the
poor untaught Papist, without a possibility of opposition ; —
well, then, let such travellers just fancy to themselves the Earl
of Arundel and Surrey visiting some great city in one of those
so-called Catholic countries — Rome for instance, and that in
an unguarded moment his Lordship resolved to pursue his
object, with earnestness and ardour, to subvert English Pro
testantism, and, forgetting in his zeal that he was not in
England, his excessive love for popery had risen to such an
enthusiastic pitch in the cause that some delusion had urged
him to broach the dark and premeditated purposes of the
Papists to exterminate Protestantism in England, — sup
posing himself all the time from his delusion to be in the
English House of Commons; what, under such circum
stances, the editor would ask John Bull must have been the
inevitable consequences of such babbling to the noble Lord
had he held forth and delivered a second edition of his
speech, in the eternal city of Rome P What would Pius l3C,
the reigning Pope, have said or done, notwithstanding all his
professions of liberalism and expediency, in order to counter
act the dire effects of such babbling in Rome ? Alas ! there

14 PREFACE.
can be little or no doubt that his Holiness would have ter
minated his Lordship's antagonistic struggle against Protest
antism by incarceration in the Inquisition.* Query : In such
* " Some persons," says the Bishop of Aire, in France, " accuse the
Holy Inquisition of having pushed the vigour of her laws even to injus
tice and cruelty. But," adds his Lordship, " it is unreasonable to con
found the Inquisition with the abuses of her institution, particularly
when we know that the number of innocent victims which have suffered
have been greatly exaggerated. But, even supposing Spain has to
reproach herself with all those cruel acts of injustice and persecution,
she would even then have very little cause to regret the lot of other
nations, which, by reason of the religious wars occasioned among them
by the reformation, have all been bathed in blood, while, on the other
hand, Spain, happily blessed with the Inquisition, has always been
exempt from such calamities." — Diss. Amie. vi. p. 372.
On the standard of the Holy Inquisition, which is always displayed in
grand processions, at an auto-da-fe, when a human being is going to be
sacrificed to Antichrist, that is, burned alive, the following words are
written in conspicuous characters —
"CHARITY, JUSTICE, MERCY."
When Philip of Spain married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry II., of
France, he could think of no better spectacle to regale his bride and
queen than an auto-da-fe ; the prisons of the Inquisition were searched
and the requisite number of victims produced. On that memorable
occasion the seat of the chief inquisitor was raised some steps higher
than those occupied by the King and Queen of Spain. The dreadful
procession advanced, with the standard of St. Dominic in the van, and
so vast was the crowd, that some of the victims passed close to the
chair of the Queen. One of them, a young and beautiful Jewess (but
what were youth and beauty there?) seized the moment to address the
young Queen: — she shrieked aloud, " Mercy, mercy, great Queen ; I
am about to be burned alive for professing the only religion I was ever
taught! save me for the love of God." The Queen cast one glance
towards the King and one towards the chief inquisitor, and felt that
both were in vain : the procession moved on — the sacrifice was accom
plished ; and Elizabeth at her dying hour declared that she heard ring
ing in her ears the screams of the burning Jewess — •• Miserecordia por
amor di Dios ." "Mercy, mercy, for the love of God." Alas! there
was neither the love of God nor the mercy of man to be found there.
The editor has but one more remark to make which relates to more
modern times, on this subject. In the month of August, 1826, at Va-

PREFACE. 15
case would the noble Lord's relatives ever have seen his face
again ? His Holiness, no doubt, could solve that question.
lentia, in Spain, a Jew, who refused to conform to the Romish faith,
was burned alive — a circumstance which was matter of the greatest
triumph and joy to the holy inquisitors, and worth a thousand bull
fights, inasmuch as it was the first spectacle of the sort they had been
able to display before the Spanish public for fifty years. This unfortu
nate Jew adds one more individual to the list of persons burned in
Spain from the year 1439 to the year 1826, making a total of 32,382
persons sacrificed at the shrine of this temple of Moloch. Oh, Rome,
bloody Rome, drunk with the Hood of the saints, what a terrible day of
reckoning will be thine !

INTRODUCTION.

The following pages contain a brief account of the conver
sion of three priests: — a Spaniard,  , of high birth,
who was formerly a dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church,
in Spain; of the Rev. Mr. Nolan; and the Rev. James
Dwyer, of the same Church — three souls, rescued from the
gripe of Satan, as firebrands plucked out of the burning.
Before, however, the editor proceeds to commend and par
ticularize these interesting abjurations from Popery, which
will be found at the latter part of this little work, he desires
to assure the reader that they are not promulgated with a
hostile view, or for mere sinister purpose against any human
being, of whatever Church, sect, title, or party distinguished,
professing pure and spiritual Christianity, which, let it be
emphatically understood, signifies, that sound Protestant
faith in the gospel of Christ, which is luminously pointed
out to the faithful servants of the Lord, by the finger of
Jehovah himself, as " the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
No ; the editor by no means wishes to war against persons,
by upholding Protestantism, but against principles partaking

of the nature of idolatry ; not against Roman Catholics, who
more properly (according to the high authority and orthodox
definition of the learned Cardinal Baronius) should be
denominated, Papists.* Therefore, the reader is requested
distinctly to understand, that his most anxious wish is, to
avoid creating invidious differences between the various
classes professing the same Biblical religion, which has
descended to them pure and undefiled from their fore
fathers, the Reformers, and bequeathed, by them, to him
and unto all succeeding generations, as a God-like boon and
precious memorial of the sacred cause, which the editor
now calls upon all the valiant soldiers and faithful servants
of Christ to revere as such, and to defend to the utmost,
by resisting and counteracting, as far as the law will allow,
even unto the death, the influence sought to be exercised
over the public mind by a medley, composed of various
shades of character, leagued in mutual compact, to force
by intimidation, a feeble government, chiefly composed of
temporizing formalists, to accede to their demands — states
men, whose nominal Christianity, alas ! is made subservient
to all parties, whether in or out of Parliament, if they will
but engage to support them in carrying out their nefarious
measures, to enable the Church of Rome, which has already
attained considerable political power, and is now exulting in
prospective schemes to extend her soul-destroying influence,
by chicanery ; to obscure the truth as well in civil as in reli ¦
gious principles, throughout this once Protestant empire.
* The zealous and orthodox Cardinal Baronius, in one among many
of his learned works, assures the Christian world that the term Papist,
when speaking of the members of the Church of Rome, collectively or
individually, is the most honourable that can be used. Under the high
authority, then, of one whose soundness in opinion and doctrine is almost
proverbial among the learned Doctors of Popery, surely no man— no,
not even a Tractarian, nor a Puseyite, could be accused of a Misnomer,
if he strictly adhered to so significant an expression, thus happily ap
proved of, and recorded, by his eminence, the learned Cardinal.

v.
The editor is anxious, here, to notice two facts of an in
teresting nature, which have just come to his recollection,
and appear appropriate to the subject matter to lay before
his readers. The first is an extract taken from the recorded
opinion of Lord William Russell, third son of the first Duke
of Bedford ; the second, that of Lord John Russell, brother to
the present Duke of Bedford, and at present (unhappily for
Protestant England) Prime Minister to her Majesty, Queen
Victoria. Lord William Russell, who was beheaded in the
year 1683, in the reign of King Charles II. (who, by the
way, died a Papist), thus addressed himself to his friends,
as he was about to be taken to the scaffold, prepared for his
execution, in Lincoln's-Inn- Fields. " I did believe," said
his Lordship, " and do still, that Popery is breaking in upon
this nation ; and those who advise it, will stop at nothing
to carry on their designs : and I am heartily sorry that
so many Protestants give their helping hand to it." On
the same momentous subject, Lord John Russell, in his
speech in the House of Commons, spoke, some time ago, as
follows : — " I am of opinion that we ought not to abolish the
Established Church of Ireland ; but, I will say, that we
ought to raise the Catholic Bishops and Clergy to a footing
of equality, and that principle I shall be prepared to follow
out to all its consequences." O ! what a melancholy, but
truthful record, has the martyred nobleman of the House
of Russell portrayed of the frightful times in which it was
his destiny to live ! which, to all reflecting minds, cannot fail
to represent a corresponding likeness to the present. The
same political leaning to Popery, which his lordship so
much deplored, prevails much more openly and fearlessly
almost among all classes of the present generation :— a mot
ley group of characters, distinguishing themselves as modern
philosophers ; liberalized Protestants ; Puseyites ; young Eng
land ; and other honorary members of all religions. All these

different sects, if the editor may so style them, are in a close
league with the Roman papacy, whose Jesuitical members in
their turn, never fail to extol the new and visionary phan
tasms of all these perverts, as coinciding in conformity to
truth and their own faith. All this becomes still more
alarming when it is known, that Popery has in addition
many Protestant partizans and apologists in the Parliament,
in the Council, in the Court, and in the Church. Unhappily
also, the same spirit which seems to pervade at present,
has slightly tainted the minds of the higher orders of society
in private life ; who, in the glorious calm of idle vanity, like
Gallio, care for none of these things, and appear listless and
irresolute, with a seeming unconsciousness of any material
distinction between Protestantism and Popery ; turning with
apathy from all such disagreeable subjects, as if they looked
upon them as " old wives' fables."
The editor is most anxious to impress on the mind of his
readers the above foreboding facts, at which the very Papists
themselves are astonished, and can hardly credit. Neverthe
less, they are overlooked by the Queen of England's confi
dential advisers, who still continue to hold out encouragement
to the Pope and his Church, by conceding one thing after
another, to keep the Papists quiet in Ireland, till there will
be shortly nothing left to concede. Nevertheless, if the
accounts from Rome, published some short time back, in an
Irish newspaper, are correct, ministers will have to con
gratulate each other on the success of Sir Robert Peel's
measure for building Popish colleges with Protestant money,
as well as to express their gratitude to the Pope, and also to
his Cardinals, for their unanimous vote, when assembled in
the conclave of the Vatican, to pronounce its condemnation.
In corroboration of this pleasing news, the following para
graph is quoted from an Irish newspaper, called the Dublin

Evening Freeman : — " We stop the press to announce to the
Country the most important intelligence we have for some
time had to lay before our readers ; — it is no less than the
decisive condemnation of the Bill, for the godless Colleges,
by the Court of Rome. The lateness of the hour at which we
received this intelligence precludes the possibility of our
entering into details. We can state, however, upon the best
authority, that the College of Cardinals, having all the
documents before them, unhesitatingly, unanimously, and
decisively, pronounced their condemnation of the Govern
ment measures." On this important subject, which relates
to Colleges, the editor earnestly requests his readers to
peruse a report, lately presented to Parliament by her Ma
jesty, of a visitation, held in the College of Maynooth, on
the 20th day of April, 1846. It was laid before the Queen,
pursuant to the 19th section of the Act, 8th and 9th Vic,
c. 25, and humbly certified to her Majesty by the Visitors
of that College, having first put their signatures thereto.
" LEINSTER.
" f T. W. CROLLY, &c.
" f D. MURRAY, D.D., &c.
"ROSSE." LINCOLN.
"D. E. PIGOT."
The editor, apprehensive that many of his readers might
not have an opportunity of procuring a copy of the Visitors'
Report, will, for their satisfaction, state a few of its items,
just to shew them the terrific steps taken in the present criti
cal juncture, by her Majesty's confidential advisers, by dis
playing a few of the large sums wrenched from the pockets
of her Protestant subjects, to uphold, cherish, and encourage
Popery, not only in Ireland alone, but in all parts of her
dominions, as the editor will now prove.

The salaries of the resident Superiors and Professors of
Maynooth College have been enlarged to more than double
their former amount in almost every instance. The Rev. J.
T. Beneham, D.D., &c, President ; his salary, £90, with fur
ther allowances, £500 : the Rev. R. Whitehead, Vice-Presi
dent, £322 ; the Rev. M. Guffney, D.D., £260 ; the Rev.
W. Lee, D.D., £237 ; the Rev. John Gunn, £237 ; the Rev.
J. O. Hanlon, D.D., £304 ; the Rev. Thomas Farrelly,
£260; the Rev. E. Reilly, D.D., the Rev. P. A. Murray,
D.D., and the Rev. G. Crotly, — the salary of each, £260:
the Rev. T. Furlong, £260 ; the Rev. J. Dixon, £260 ; the
Rev. C. W. Russell, D.D., £260 ; the Rev. N. Callan, £237
the Rev. J. Beham, £237 ; the Rev. Dr. McCarthy, £237
the Rev. D. Gargan, £237 ; the Rev. Mr. Kelly, £237
and the Rev. James Tully, £237. The number of students
receiving the enlarged education on the Dunboyne estab
lishment has been increased to 20 : the present number,
one being absent, is only 19. Greater facilities are afforded
for their remaining in College to complete that enlarged
course ; their comforts have been increased, and their annual
allowances raised from £20 to £62. The number of stu
dents has also been increased from 250 to 500 ; while nearly
200 of those, heretofore educated in the College at their own
private expense, have been thus relieved from that burden :
250 students, belonging to the three senior classes, receive
£20 per annum to meet the contingent expenses to which
they are liable ; all of which have been humbly certified to
her Majesty by the above named Visitors, six in number,
four of whom are Protestants. The editor wishes to call
to the recollection of his readers the expressed opinion of
the Queen of England's prime minister and confidential ad
viser in reference to this lavish waste of money for the en
couragement of Popery in a seminary to indoctrinate Popish
priests in the dark theology of Doctor Dens, and the black

councils of the middle ages : — " I will say that we ought to
raise the Catholic Bishops and Clergy to a footing of equality ;
and that principle I shall be prepared to follow out to all its
consequences." Is not his lordship, then (but with more
freedom and less guile), exactly treading in the steps of
his predecessor, when, under the auspices of his administra
tion, a treasury order was issued to the commissioners of her
Majesty's customs, directing that all images, plate, pictures,
or ornaments, declared to be intended for the use of Roman
Catholic places of worship, should be imported duty free ?
In confirmation of this fact, a Dublin correspondent in the
Standard newspaper of the 30th of March, 1840, thus
wrote : — " I recollect having seen two treasury orders, one
for the vestments, &c. of Dr. Murray, Titular Archbishop of
Dublin ; and the other for a case of relics, removed to the
Carmelite chapel in this city, where a profitable trade in
miracles has thriven, to the great joy of our free-trade min
isters." The following facts, put forth by a zealous clergyman of
the Church of England, for the consideration of Protestants,
prove the stealthy and almost hourly increase of Popery in
Great Britain, under the present as well as the former ad
ministration : —
" Fifty years since there were only 30 Popish Chapels in
Great Britain. There are now 602 Public Chapels, 10 Col
leges, 34 Convents, 6 Monasteries, 776 Missionary Priests,
besides many private Chapels. — Catholic Directory, for
1846. The Catholic Institute was established A.D. 1838 ;
its avowed object is the conversion of Great Britain to
Popery ; in order to render it more effectual, it was re-or
ganized in April, 1845. — Catholic Directory, for 1846. —
page 151."
a2

One hundred and thirty clergymen of the Church of En
gland, and between two and three hundred lay members of
Protestant families, many of them of some rank, have gone
over to that Church within the last few years. It is also
known, and has appeared in the public newspapers, and at
public meetings,, that thirty-nine clergymen have privately
conformed to Rome, but still hold their livings, until a
convenient season arrives when they shall be enabled to
come forward, without fear, and avow their Popish principles
openly. It is to be deplored, as one of the most awful signs of the
times, that the Queen of England has been advised, by
her Ministers, so far to depart from those Protestant prin
ciples which the law of the Empire has made the condition
of the succession to the throne, as to confer on members of
the Church of Rome high and influential situations in almost
all the departments in the State. In short, Popery is the
stepping-stone to court and ministerial favour ; and, for the
most part, conferred on men who are either favourable to the
views, or subject to the See of Rome, — and this at a time
when that apostate Church has openly threatened the ex
tinction of the established religion of Great Britain. Yes,
my readers, and the Italian Bishop, sumamed the Pope, is
now at work through his agents, the Jesuits, and is actually
plotting, by means the most underhand, a deep-laid conspi
racy, carried on secretly and successfully by those lynx-eyed
sons of Loyola, whose frankness of manner is only surpassed
by the depth of their dissimulation and the skilfulness of their
subterfuge, — men who are, nevertheless, paid for their labour
by the members of a Government overawed by a popish ma
jority in the Parliament. The editor, believing this to be
rather of some consequence to John Bull, feels it his duty
to introduce the particulars to his notice.

XI.
Catholic Bishops in the British Colonies, in 1840.
As the names and titles of the Catholic Bishops in our
foreign possessions form a frequent subject of reference in
these countries, we subjoin a correct list of the Catholic
hierarchy in all the British Colonies :
In Lower Canada, there are M. Joseph Lignay, Bishop of
Quebec, with his coadjutor, M. P. Turgeon, Titular Bishop
of Sydney; M. J. J. Lartigue, Bishop of Montreal, and his
coadjutor, M. Antoine Tabeau.
In Upper Canada, there are the Right Rev. Dr. Alexander
Macdonald, Bishop of Kingston, and the Right Rev. Dr.
Ganlin, his coadjutor. At the Red River, M. J. N. Proven-
cher, Bishop of Juliopolis, and Vicar Apostolical.
In New Brunswick, the Right Rev. Dr. Eneas M'Eachern,
Bishop of Charlottetown, and Vicar Apostolic of New Bruns
wick and St. John's.
In Newfoundland, the Right Rev. Dr. Michael Fleming,
Bishop of Carpathia, and Vicar Apostolic for the whole
island. In Nova Scotia, the Right Rev. Dr. William Frazer,
Bishop of Tane, and Vicar Apostolical.
In Trinidad, the Right Rev.. Dr. Daniell M'Donnell,
Bishop of Olympus, and Vicar Apostolical.
In the British Antilles, the Right Rev. Dr. R. P. Smith,
Bishop of Agna, and coadjutor to Dr. M'Donnell.

In British Guiana, the Right Rev. Dr. William Clancy,
Bishop of Oriense, and Vicar Apostolical.
In Malta, M. Francois Xavier Carnana, Archbishop of
Rhodes— the title being united with the See of Malta.
In Zante, M. Ignatius Lestaria, Bishop of Zante and
Cephalonia, with his coadjutor, the Right Rev. Dr. John
Hynes, of the Order of St. Dominick, Bishop of Leros.
In Gibraltar, the Right Rev. Dr. Henry Hughes, late
Provincial of the Franciscan Order in Ireland.
At the Cape of Good Hope, the Right Rev. Dr. Griffith,
a Dominican, Bishop of Paleopolis, and Vicar Apostolical.
Mauritius — the Right Rev. Dr. William Morris, Bishop
of Troy, and Vicar Apostolical.
In Australia, the Right Rev. Dr. John Bede Polding,
Bishop of Hiero-Cesaria, and Vicar Apostolical.
In India, the Right Rev. Dr. Daniel O'Connor, Bishop of
Madras, and Vicar Apostolic — installed the 2nd of Septem
ber last — with his coadjutor, the Right Rev. Dr. P. J. Carew,
Titular Bishop of Philadelphia.
There are, besides these twenty-two prelates, two superiors
of missions, who do not rank as Bishops : these are — the
Very Rev. Dr. Robert St. Leger, in Calcutta ; and M. Benoit
Fernandes, in Jamaica.
From the British Colonies, the editor proposes to turn to

Xlll.
another section of the empire, in order to point out to his
readers what has taken place therein, — a region in which the
foundation stone of the temple of Moloch was laid by his
mon fiendish hand, aud brought to perfection by his own
architects, and now flourishes under the auspices of British
Protestant protection, as far as her Majesty's confidential
advisers can foster it. And who else, the editor would ask,
but the enemy of all truth could have suggested such an
artful and sacrilegious plan against the holy and everlasting
gospel of Christ, as to propose equalizing the temporal rank
and revenues of the Protestant Bishops and Clergy of the
pure Protestant and evangelical church of the Lord, with the
apostate Clergy of the Papacy ; yea, and to have the act
of the fiend recognized and established by law ? O Satan !
this was indeed thy own crafty work.
In Van Dieman's Land, the Popish Bishop receives a
salary from the Protestant Government of England, equal in
amount to that which is granted to the Protestant prelate.
In Gibraltar, at the Cape of Good Hope, in the Mauritius,
in the West India Islands, and in every spot of earth which
owes obedience to the British Crown, Popish clergymen may
be found deriving incomes from a Protestant state, which they
receive from the different ministers who now exercise the
functions of Government in the name of the Protestant
Queen of England, and who, by the way, have all sworn Po
pery to be idolatrous; while these very idolatrous priests
complain that they do not receive enough to remunerate them
for their idolatrous labours, in endeavouring to corrupt the
people by their impure doctrines. The reader, perhaps, will
hardly credit the editor, when he informs him that a sum,
which does not fall short of £90,000 sterling, per annum, is
drawn from the pocket of John Bull, to uphold, propagate,
and spread doctrines which these very servants of her Ma-

jesty, as well as every member of the Protestant Parliament
of Protestant England, not being himself a Papist, has
pronounced and sworn publicly to be blasphemous fables and
dangerous deceits.
Who but those who are destitute of religion, and patriotic
feelings, will pretend to plead ignorance of these appalling
measures ? On the other hand, suspicions and apprehensions
have been crossing the minds of many serious persons of the
reformed church that an awful crisis has been advancing by
slow, but stealthy pace, over the kingdom, year after year,
ever since the admission of Papists into the Protestant legis
lature of Great Britain ; and that this dire crisis is now
approaching to its height, no unbiassed man of Protestant
principles entertains a doubt. Even the Queen's confiden
tial ministers appear to hail its arrival, and to hasten it, by
supporting the unconstitutional measures of their leader;
and are prepared, with his Lordship, to follow out to all its
consequences :< — consequences which will stare them full in
the face, and leave them all in the lurch much sooner than
they now either calculate upon or credit. " But" said my
Lord John, to the Parliament, " I am of opinion that we
ought not to abolish the Established Church of Ireland; but,
I will say, we ought to raise the Catholic Bishops and Clergy
to a footing of equality.'' With whom, or with what, my
Lord ? Now, when this measure becomes the law of the
land, my readers will find in the next speech of his Lordship,
that word, not, will be effaced. In fact he has, for the pre
sent, just put the cart before the horse.
The editor is of opinion that it will not be irrelevant here
to introduce to his readers the opinion of a learned Romish
Priest on the subject of Catholic emancipation : — " Let the
English Government," said Priest Morrissey, "grant the

XV.
Catholic claims, and they will unsheath the inquisitorial sword,
and unveil the rack and torture." Such was the declaration of
this Priest in the year 1821. This solemn warning to Eng
land was renewed in the year 1822, when the same Reverend
Gentleman wrote as follows : — " As the inquisitorial laws are
general and unqualified, so must the Catholic emancipation
be general and unqualified in the end. The Pope must have
the nomination and appointment of Roman Catholic Mo-
narchs to these realms. Ireland must be tributary to him
again. The Bishops and Clergy must be reinstated in their
sees, and church livings. The forfeited estates must be re
stored to the right owners; and the Established Church must
be Roman Catholic; all the heretics (Protestants) must be
exterminated, and their properties confiscated ; and the nation
must be purged from heresy. Then, and only then, will Ro
man Catholics consider themselves fully and unconditionally
emancipated !" Such, my respected readers, is the testimony
left on record by a Popish priest, who himself died, as he
lived, a Papist. Unqualified catholic emancipation ! — many
of my readers, no doubt, will exclaim — what does that mean ?
The editor's response to their curiosity shall be brief but
poignant. I mean, gentle readers, simply to have power
granted to the Church of Rome to proclaim what she deno
minates, her pure Catholic faith, with unrestricted sway
over England. Then, to the astonishment of John Bull (and
of every Protestant in Europe), would be descried the un
hallowed banner of Antichrist unfurled, and waving from the
steeples of every cathedral and parish church in the empire.
Let this once be conceded by Queen Victoria, acting under
the advice of her Majesty's confidential advisers, and the
Protestants, her faithful subjects, would soon espy a wonder
ful metamorphose — not of Jupiter turned into a bull, nor
of Lycaon into a wolf — but animals much more hideous
and obnoxious than either, transformed, in fact, into a

Popish hierarchy, called Legion, for they are many. These
emissaries from Rome would soon make their entree into Lon
don, yielding the most marked outward attention, while in
wardly treating their numerous candidates for conversion to
their new faith with the profound humility of great contempt.
Yes, my readers, and not many days would elapse before
John Bull would hear a Popish mass in an unknown tongue;
and behold Popish priests preaching publicly, by mandate
from their respective Bishops, either at Charing-Cross, in
order to recall to his recollection olden times, and Queen
Mary, or in the Protestant churches throughout the metro
polis, just as their mitred lordships might deem it expedient
to decree. Thus, in obedience to the task allotted to them,
and being each judiciously provided with Popish ammunition
for the onslaught, issued out from the sacred arsenal in the
Vatican, in Rome, from whence are fulminated the thunders
of the Pope, from infallible missiles, against all who venture
to oppose his authority : — these instruments are not capable
of erring, as they possess an attribute, which belongs to God
only — infallibility. They consist of bulls, canons, councils,
and traditions ; — deadly weapons ! which are discharged from
the ecclesiastical dep6t, belonging to the Pope, in vollies of
well-directed matters, extracted from those bulls, councils, &c,
— and with sure aim, too, against heretics of all descriptions !
that is, all who are not of the Romish faith — a faith which,
if we are to believe the Bible, the inspired book of God, is
opposed to the established truth, as it is revealed to man
therein by the finger of Jehovah ; — a faith, nevertheless,
which the poor Papist is taught and compelled to believe and
prefer to all other creeds now extant, and which the Church
of Rome is about to introduce to John Bull ; — a faith which is
to supersede the Protestant institutions which uphold spiritual
religion, therefore must be cut down and destroyed ; and the
traditions, councils, &c. &c, are intended to be set up in its

stead by a church, forsooth, to which every creed of man is
preferable to the establishment of the divine truth, as it is
revealed to us in God's holy word ; cutting down with the
sword — not, indeed, of " the Spirit," — but of her own assumed
infallibility, all the protestaut institutions, upholding, as she
is well aware they do, the spirituality of gospel truth, which
constitute the chief safe-guard and bulwarks against papal
power, in this our hitherto marvellously-protected country
against the enemy of all righteousness, by the mighty ann
of God, and of God alone. O, that the confidential advisers
of our protestant Queen might be touched in the heart,
through his divine grace, to ponder on this all-important fact :
— " Hear, then, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see ;
for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor among
the nations." Now, as it frequently occurs to the Papist to
taunt the Protestant, by asking him where was his faith be
fore Luther, the editor feels curious in his turn, to ask the
Papist where his faith was antecedent to the year 1564 ? and
from whence arrived in that year, a new creed, with twelve
new, and anti-christian articles of faith, making its appear
ance in the world like a new born babe, under the pontificate
of Pius IV. in the year 1546 — the very year in which the
immortal Luther died. Now here the editor desires his
readers to remark, that Martin Luther declared before his
death, that " he would have no visions ; — he would only
have the simple, written, unquestionable word of God, as
the main proof of his whole system of faith." O, this declara
tion is worthy of that great man. But to return to these
new lights — the twelve new articles of that new creed. — Was
his holiness, Pope Pius IV., then, engaged during this long
interval of years, with his compeers, in preparing these new
doctrines for mankind ? — having first cast off and discarded
his first born, the ancient faith, the covenant, or foundation
of faith, against which, the holy Scriptures assure us, the
A3

gates of hell shall never prevail; and which faith has
ever continued to be that of every true christian to this very
day ? Truly, then, the editor feels quite at a loss to account
for the delay— a period of eighteen years — unless, indeed, it
was deemed expedient by the hierarchy of Rome, to wait
patiently for the demise of a man who had literally paralyzed
their fingers and muzzled their mouths from the commence
ment of his warfare against the idolatrous Church of Rome,
until the very last hour of his sojourn here on earth. Oh !
what pains and time, then, must the darling child of Anti
christ, if not the identical being, have bestowed on his new
doctrines, which were fully designed by him to supersede the
sacred truths which God had communicated to man, for his
instruction and direction, in the sacred oracles of the Old
and New Testaments. Well, then, after all, from whence
came those new revelations ? Were they sent to the Pope
by an angel ? Probably so ; but it must have been by one
of those " who kept not his first estate," to deliver to that
Italian priest, who had the most awful, tremendous, and
blasphemous title assigned to him of Dominus Deus Noster
Papa, by his deluded followers — which means, Our Lord
God the Pope. Now this profane title requires examining
into ; and as the editor can find no satisfactory explanation in
any popish work, the following exhortation from St. Paul, will,
he makes no doubt, tend not only to open the eyes of all his
readers on the subject, whether Protestants or Papists, but
convince many of them also of its inspired truth. " Let no
¦man deceive you by any means," saith the Apostle, "for that
day shall not come except there be a falling away first, and
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who op
poses and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of
God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not,
that when I was with you, I told you these things? And

now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in
his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work ;*
only, he who letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the
way. And then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming ; even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and
signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of un
righteousness in them that perish, because they received not
the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should
believe a lie ; that they might be damned who believe not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The editor having already taken occasion to remark the
frequent and usual taunt of the Papist to the Protestant,
as to where his faith was in former times, is now desirous
to ask the Papist where his faith is in the present times :
he therefore is most anxious, while he ventures to assure
him, if he will but muster up sufficient strength to turn
his mind for a few moments from his present credence of
the pardoning and punishing power of his priest (attributes
which belong to the Supreme Being), a power so strong,
however, and of which the editor is quite aware, as to
make him adhere with the most convulsive tenacity to it ;
and also to another false and fatal doctrine, of one only
saving faith, inseparable from the Church of Rome, and
which secures everlasting life to all her members, f Never-
* It is asserted by several writers, of good authority, that before the
Reformation the word mystery was written in letters of gold on the
front of the Pope's mitre. — Baxter.
f The candid reader, however, whether Protestant or- Papist, must
be constrained to admit, that this same strong — headstrong faith in the
efficacy of the Popish religion, can subsist in the soul of the Papist, in
connexion with the grossest immorality as to his religion. On this sub-

theless, the editor can venture to assure his readers that,
from a long residence in Roman Catholic States, it is not so
much out of reverence or admiration for what this deceiver
and deceived confessor teaches the poor moon-struck Papist,
as from downright personal fear, which, in fact, strengthens,
yea, rivets, the authority of this son of Belial over the very
soul of his deluded victim, as well as of all those who belong
to his parish. And it often happens that many good and
amiable persons, more from want of courage than knowledge,
are at this moment pining under the yoke of papal tyranny;
for they are aware, from what has befallen others, there is
no possible way of escape — and woe unto the man who dares
divulge what he knows and believes to be the truth. Alas!
" For this cause," the Apostle Paul says, " God shall send
them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." 0,
how greatly to be pitied, and devoutly to be prayed for, are
all those poor benighted slaves, chained as they are to a re
ligion which exhibits its multifarious artifices and idolatrous
practices, to the true believer in the everlasting gospel of
Christ, in the most deplorable and distorted views of pure
Christianity ; assuring mankind that they behold in the Sove
reign Pontiff the sacred person of Christ, whom he (the
Pope) represents on earth.* The Church of Rome is, and
ject, that profound casuist and Popish Bishop, Doctor Doyle, makes the
following ingenuous remark: — "I believe," says this prelate, "that
ninety-nine out of every hundred Irish Roman Catholics, who would
freely shed their blood for their faith, are now living in such vices, as
St. Paul assures us exclude mortal man from the kingdom of God ; and
yet these very persons expect salvation with as much confidence as did
the Apostle himself."
* The Univers, a French newspaper, devoted to the interests of
Romanism, informs the Public that the Bishop of Gap, in France, in his
mandate, published on the occasion of the death of the late Pope Gre
gory XVI., thus expressed himself: — " We do not forget," said his lord
ship, " the great emotion, the profound feeling, with which our soul was
filled, whilst at the feet of the Sovereign Pontiff: we beheld in him the

ever has been, the most deadly enemy, not only to Christ
ianity in general, but to the whole human race, ever since
its dawn; a Church which, nevertheless, most tenaciously
evinces a disposition still to hold fast her supposed and as
sumed right and title to infallibility, and proclaims aloud and
in all languages, — in France for instance, " Hors d'Eglise
point de salut ;" and thus, in others, which means in plain
English, " No salvation for man, woman, or child, without
the pale of the holy Roman and Apostolic Church of Rome."
The editor having already alluded to a new Creed, introduced
under the Pontificate of Pope Pius IV., which invention is
as much opposed to the faith of the ancient Christian church
as light is to darkness ; and moreover, as it is to be appre- -
hended that much ignorance prevails, not only among Pro
testants, but also among Papists themselves, in a still greater
proportion ; he is anxious, in order to avoid entering into a pro
lix narration of that mystery of iniquity, — that new and anti-
christian Creed of the Papal Church, and proposes to intro
duce a comprehensive summary of the whole, extracted from
the " British Protestant, or Journal of the religious princi
ples of the Reformation," which from its conciseness will,
perhaps, be more satisfactory to his readers. The editor, in
furtherance of his object, is most anxious, first of all, to place
before his readers an important document, prepared by the
Fathers of the Council of Trent; which Council may pro
perly be called the Roman Catholic Bible, — and well may it
the sacred person of Christ, whom he represented on earth. Prostrated
before this supreme majesty, we venerated, with affection, the heir of
the Apostles, the universal doctor, the centre of Catholic unity, the chief
of the church of the world, — him whom St. Bernard calls Abel, by pri
macy ; Noah, by government ; Abraham, by patriarchate ; Melchisedech,
by order; Aaron, by dignity ; Moses, by authority; Samuel, by juris
diction ; Peter, by power ; Christ, by unction, the pastor of pastors :
and we received with filial and profound religious respect the plenitude
of his apostolic benedictions." — Univers, June 21, 1846.

XX11.

be called so, from the precautions that were taken by these
Fathers to prevent the promulgation of that sacred volume,
in which the revelations of God, the principles of Christian
faith, and the rules of practice are contained ; which book
is, by way of eminence, called the Holy Bible, and is also
received and esteemed as such by all orthodox Christians;
while on the other hand that very Bible is placed, by order
of the Pope, in the index of prohibited books; that is,
among those forbidden to be read by the people, by order of
their priests, as dangerous to religion. The document in
question begins thus : — " Inasmuch as it is manifest, from
experience, that if the Holy Bible translated into the vulgar
tongue (English or any other language) , be indiscriminately
allowed to every one, the temerity of man will cause more
evil than good to arise from it ; it is, on this point, referred
to the judgment of the Bishops or Inquisitors, who may,
by the advice of the priest or confessor, permit the reading
of the Bible, translated into the vulgar tongue by Roman
Catholic authors. But if any one shall have the presump
tion to read or possess a Bible, without such written permis
sion, he shall not receive absolution until he has delivered up
such Bible to the ordinary. Booksellers, however, who shall
sell or otherwise dispose of Bibles in the vulgar tongue to
any person not having such permission, shall forfeit the value
of the Books, to be applied by the Bishop to some pious
use, and be subjected by the Bishop to such other penalties
as the Bishop shall judge proper, according to the quality of
the offence ; but regulars (by which term is understood, per
sons belonging to a monastic order, in distinction from the
regular Clergy) shall neither read nor purchase such Bibles
without a special licence from their superiors.''

XX111.
"THE OLD CHURCH AND THE NEW CHURCH: — THE OLD
CREED OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, AND THE NEW
CREED OF THE CHURCH OF ROME.
"The Creed of the Ancient Christian Church, as com
posed at the Council of Nice, a.d. 325,— recapitulated by
the Council of Constantinople, a.d. 381, — the Council of
Ephesus, a.d. 431, — the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451, —
proved to have continued unchanged hy the Council of
Trent, February the 4th, a.d. 1546. This was the Creed of
the Christian Church up to December the 9th, 1564, and is
now the Creed of the Protestant Church of the United
Kingdom. "'I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
" ' And iu one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son
of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of
God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not
made, Being of one substance with the Father, by whom all
things were made : Who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy
Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was cru
cified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and
was buried, And the third day he rose again according to the
Scriptures ; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the
right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with
glory to judge both the quick and the dead : Whose king
dom shall have no end.
" ' And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
life ; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son ; who with
the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified ;

XXIV.

who spake by the Prophets. And I believe one Catholic and
Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the re
mission of sins. And I look for the Resurrection of the
dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.'
" The XII. novel Articles, added to this Ancient Creed
by Pope Pius IV., and published as the New Creed of the
Modern Church of Rome, Dec. 9th, 1564, are as follow :

•< ' '

I. — I most steadfastly admit and embrace Apostolical
and Ecclesiastical Traditions and other observances and con
stitutions of the same Church.
" ' II. — I also admit the Holy Scripture, according to that
sense which our Holy Mother, the Church, has held and
does hold, to which it belongs, to judge of the true sense and
interpretation of the Scriptures ; neither will I ever take and
interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous
consent of the Fathers.
" ' III. — I also profess, that there are truly and properly
seven Sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ,
our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though
not all for every one ; to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucha
rist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony,
and that they confer grace ; and that of these, Baptism, Con
firmation, and Orders cannot be reiterated without sacrilege ;
and I also receive and admit the received and approved cere
monies of the Catholic Church, used in the solemn adminis
tration of all the aforesaid Sacraments.
" ' IV. — I embrace and receive all and every one of the
things which have been defined and declared in the Holy
Council of Trent, concerning original sin and justification.

" ' V. — I profess, likewise, that in the mass there is offered
to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living
and the dead ; and that in the most holy Sacrament of the
Eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially, the body
and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord
Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conversion of the
whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole
substance of the wine into the blood ; which conversion the
Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation. I also confess,
that under either kind alone, Christ is received whole and en
tire, and a true sacrament.
" * VI. — I constantly hold that there is a Purgatory, and
that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of
the faithful.*
" ' VII. — -Likewise, that the saints, reigning together with
Christ, are to be honoured and invocated ; and that they offer
prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be held in
veneration. '" VIII. — I most firmly assert that the images of Christ,
of the Mother of God, ever virgin, and also of other saints,
may be had and retained; and that due honour and venera
tion are to be given them.
* Purgatory. — The Council of Trent which is, in fact, the Bible of
the Popish priesthood, affirms, in direct contradiction to the Holy Bible,
that " there is a Purgatory, or place of torment after this life, for the
expiation of the sins of good men which are not sufficiently purged
here ; and that the souls there detained are helped by the masses, pray
ers, and other good works of the living. " — ( Cone. Trid. VI. , Can.
30, Sess. 25, Decret de Purgat. ) If, then, the Article of the Church of
England which declares that the mass is a blasphemous fable and a dan
gerous deceit, be true, the supporters of Popery, in and out of Parlia
ment, are now aiding and abetting the priesthood of the idolatrous
Church of Rome to blaspheme God and deceive their fellow men.
A4

" ' IX.— I also affirm that the power of indulgences was
left by Christ in the Church, and that the use of them is
most wholesome to Christian people.
" ' X. — I acknowledge the Holy Catholic, Apostolic, Ro
man Church for the Mother and Mistress of all Churches:
and I promise and sivear true obedience to the Bishop of
Rome, Successor to St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and
Vicar of Jesus Christ.
" CXI. — I likewise undoubtedly receive and profess all
otlier things delivered, defined and declared by the Sacred
Canons and General Councils, and particularly by the holy
Council of Trent ; and I condemn, reject, and anathematize
all things contrary thereto, and all heresies which the Church
has condemned, rejected, and anathematized.
" ' XII. — I, JV. JV., do at this present freely profess and
sincerely hold this true Catholic faith, without which no one
can be saved ; and I promise most constantly to retain and
confess the same entire and inviolate, with God's assis
tance, to the end of my life. And I will take care as far
as in me lies, that it shall be held, taught, and preached by
my subjects, or by those the care of whom shall appertain to
me in my office; this I vow, promise, and swear — so help me
God, and these holy Gospels.'*
" This Creed was not known in the Christian Church until
December 9th, 1564 — and yet it is now the Creed of the
Church of Rome.

* The words in Italic constitute this Creed the Oath of all beneficed
Priests, Professors, and Bishops — who must take it ; and these are used
when it is administered to them.

" Reader, which is the New Creed, and which is the Old
One ? — which is the New Church, and which is the Old One ?
" Surely you must see and acknowledge from the above,
that the Creed of the Church of Rome composed a.d. 1564,
is the New Creed, and that the Creed received by the Pro
testants, and composed a.d. 325, is the Old Creed ! "
With a scornful look, and contumelious taunt, Romish
Priests frequently accost Protestants in the following insulting
invective ; this question, however, is plainly answered : —
"'WHERE WAS YOUR CHURCH BEFORE LUTHER?'
" Q. How is the true and ancient Church known ?
" A. By holding the true and ancient faith.
" Q. How is the new Church known ?
" A. By holding the new faith.
" Then it follows, that whatever Church holds the true and
ancient faith, which can be proved to be so by Councils, and
can stand the test of the Scriptures, this is the true and
ancient Church.
" And whatever Church holds the new faith, that can
neither stand the test of proof by Councils, nor by the
Scriptures, this is the new Church.
" What then is the true and ancient faith ?
" Let us now ask, was this whole Creed composed or

known at the first General Council ? No. The Church of
England Creed, that is, the first part, was composed at the ;
Council of Nice, establishing and expanding the Apostles'
Creed, and thence called the Nicene Creed, a.d. 325.
" The latter Creed was never heard of in the Church at
that time.
" Then it was composed at the second General Council,
the Council of Constantinople ? No. This Council, held,
a.d. 381, recited and improved again the Nicene Creed, but
never heard of this new Creed.
" Let us go to the third General Council, the Council of
Ephesus, held a.d. 431, and let us ask which of these Creeds
was held by that Council ? Hear the very words of the
Council itself. The Nicene Creed, that is, the First Creed,
is read aloud ; circumstances are related of some who
attempted to alter it; then the Council decrees as follows:
" ' Decree of the Council of Ephesus, a.d. 431.
" ' These things having been read, the Holy Synod de
creed, that it should be lawful for no one to profess, to write,
or to compose, any other form of faith than that defined by
the Holy Fathers, who, with the Holy Ghost, had been
assembled at Nice.
" ' But those who shall have dared to compose, or to pro
fess, or to offer, any other form of faith to those wishing to
be converted to the acknowledgment of the truth, whether
from Paganism, or from Judaism, or from any sort of heresy,
that these, if they were Bishops or Clergymen, that the
Bishops should be deposed from their episcopacy, and the

Clergy from their clerical office ; but that if they were Lay
men, they should be subjected to an ' anathema.' Mansi,
vol. iii., p. 1362.
" We see this Creed, then, established up to the year 431.
" Now we shall see the Decree of the next General Coun
cil, that of Chalcedon, in the year 451, and see which of these
Creeds was set forth there :
"Extract from the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451.
" ' The Catholic faith delivered by the Holy 318 Fathers,
(viz., at Nice,) and by the Holy 150 Fathers, (viz., at Con
stantinople,) also by the other most Holy and glorious Fathers,
(viz., at Ephesus,) we guard, and according to that we believe.
The most Rev. Bishops exclaimed, " No person makes any
other exposition of faith. We neither attempt nor dare to do
so. For the Fathers have taught, and in writings are pre
served, those things which have been set forth by them : and
other than these we cannot speak.''
" ' Those principles which have been set forth are suffi
cient; it is not lawful to make any other exposition.'
" We learn, then, from the Council of Chalcedon, that
this was the faith of the Church for four hundred and fifty-
one years after our Lord.
" Now, we have another infallible witness, to prove that it
had never been changed up to the year 1546. This witness
the Church of Rome must admit, for it is no less than her
own Council of Trent. This Council, in the Session held
Feb. 4th, 1546, declares as follows: —

" Extract from the Third Session of the Council of
Trent, February, 4, 1546.
" ' In the name of the Holy and undivided Trinity of the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
" ' This Holy, oecumenical, and general synod of Trent,
lawfully assembled in the Holy Ghost, the same three
Legates of the Apostolical See presiding in it, considering
the magnitude of the subjects to be treated, especially of
those contained under these two heads, the extirpation of
heresies, and the reformation of morals ; on account of which
chiefly it has been assembled : but acknowledging with the
Apostle that it is not to wrestle with flesh and blood, but with
spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. With the same
Apostle it exhorts all and every one, in the first place, that
they should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his
might ; in all things taking the shield of faith, by which they
can quench all the fiery darts of the most wicked ; and that
they should take the helmet of the hope of salvation, with the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
" ' Therefore, that this its pious solicitude may have its
beginning and continuance by the grace of God, it determines
and decrees that before all things the confession of Faith is to
be premised, following in this the examples of the Fathers,
who in their Sacred Councils were accustomed to oppose this
shield against all heresies, in the beginning of their actions,
by which alone they both sometimes drew infidels to the faith,
vanquished heretics, and confirmed the faithful.
" 'Wherefore it (the Council) commands that this Creed,
which the Holy Roman Church uses as that summary in
which all who profess the faith of Christ necessarily agree,

and that firm and only foundation against which the gates
of hell shall never prevail, shall be read in these words, in
which it is read in all the Churches, which is as follows : ' —
" Then it recites the Nicene Creed, and not one Article of
the New Creed.
" Now mark these witnesses for the truth of the Creed.
" We have first the Council of Nice, establishing and ex
panding the Creed from the days of the Apostles, a.d. 325.
" Then this confirmed by the Council of Constantinople.
a.d. 381.
" Then, again, both by the Council of Ephesus. a.d. 431.
" Then, again, these three by the Council of Chalcedon,
a.d. 451.
" We have the Council of Ephesus denouncing those with
an anathema who shall dare to alter it, add to, or take
from it.
" Then we have the Council of Trent proving them all,
asserting not only that this was the true faith of the whole
Christian Church, but that it was ' the firm and only foun
dation of faith against which the gates of hell shall never
prevail,' and this to the year of our Lord 1546.
" Now which of these Creeds do these five Councils prove
to be the true Creed of the ancient holy Catholic Church to
the year 1546 ? What Church holds it, and throws open the
Bible to prove its truth to the people ?

" The first Creed only, the Apostolical Nicene Creed is
proved that of the true Church.
"Whence came this New Creed, then, with its Twelve
Novel Articles ? What Council set it up ? What Council
published it? What ancient Church professed it? In what
records of the Catholic Church is it to he found ? Where
did it originate ? What Church maintains it now ? and does
she throw open the Bible to prove it to the people ?
" No Council ever set it up. No Council ever published
it. It was never seen in any book of the ancient Catholic
Church. The Council of Ephesus pronounced a curse on
any who should ever publish any such. The Council of
Trent disowns it in the Creed she recites, and declares the
Old Creed to be the ' firm and only foundation of faith,
against which the gates of hell shall never prevail ; ' and this
in a.d. 1546, — the very year that Luther died. This was
the faith of the Christian Church before Luther, and it is the
faith of every true Christian this day.
" These twelve articles of this New Creed were first pub
lished in the year 1564, by the Pope at Rome, who blasphe
mously calls himself the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth.
" This is the Creed of the Church of Rome ; she has turned
from the ancient faith to this novel Creed, and she fears that
the people should read the Bible, or their children be taught
it, because these principles of their new Creed are not to be
found in the word of God."

The editor, therefore, requests the Papist to take away all
the additions that the Church of Rome has made to the

Christian faith, — all the innovations she has introduced into
its rites, — and that which remains, he will discover to be
pure and primitive Christianity;* which constitutes the re
ligion of Jesus Christ and his Apostles ; a truth which it is
to be hoped no true Christian will venture to disprove. But,
alas! a black cloud seems to have been lowering over England
ever since that epoch of woe, when, in a fatal hour, an evil
spirit tempted the confidential advisers of George IV. the
Protestant monarch of a Protestant nation, contrary to the
sage opinion and advice of the Earl of Eldon, who was then
Lord High Chancellor of England, and Keeper of the Great
Seal; a man whose magnanimity and sound policy on that
memorable occasion, when the question of emancipation came
before the House of Lords, should never be effaced from the
memory of the Protestants of the British empire.
The editor is desirous here to assure all his readers (and
among them John Bull in particular) that, although he has
uo intention of alarming any of them, he deems it necessary
to inform them that he is by no means singular in certain
apprehensions which he entertains respecting the present un
usually busy movements of the Papists all over England,
aided by their artful and numerous emissaries, the Jesuits.
Moreover, it is the confirmed belief of many sage politi
cians, as well as that of several friends of the editor, sober-
minded men, whom, under serious thoughts and reflections
of past events, almost foresee that, from what they can learn
respecting the present political sentiments of many of the
Members of the British House of Commons, respecting ap
proaching events, from which may be readily gathered their
* " Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, this people
draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their
lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. xv. 7, 8, 9.
a5

xxxiv.
religious opinions, as far as they concern the Church of
Rome aud her doctrines, one of which as much as declares
that Popery and Protestantism deserve, alike, the same favour
from a Protestant Government. Weak reasoning this ; never
theless, sufficient to excite in the mind of John Bull a mix
ture of gloom and horror, who is well aware that, if ever
carried into effect and becomes the law of the land, will lite
rally tear up by the roots the Protestant Constitution of
England. Notwithstanding, however, a most unaccountable
apathy and indifference to passing events, still continues to
pervade almost the entire mass of the Protestant population
of England, from the mitred prelate down to the humble
peasant ; a state of lethargy, which it seems almost next to an
impossibility to rouse them from, so as to convince them of
their impending danger. Thus, then, while they will not
exert themselves, and that they are also unhappily divided
in opinion, the Church of Rome is creeping slyly, but
unitedly, and rapidly onward to the completion of her object;
while England is verging fast towards an awful crisis, when
her present cherished Institutions, which now appear so se
cure in the eyes of those indolent slumberers, who do not
even dream of the impending danger, will vanish ; yea, it is
at hand and will burst upon them suddenly, like a flash of
lightning ; when the apathy of the Protestant hierarchy, the
doubts and divisions of their people, and the exertions of a
decidedly Popish Government, will eventually complete the
entire ruin and overthrow of the whole ! Nevertheless, in
despite of the solemn warning of the noble Chancellor, his
ministerial colleagues resolved to transgress the laws, change
the ordinances, and break through the everlasting covenant,
— a fatal policy, however, which their successors in office
resolved to adhere to, and have scrupulously done so ever
since, even up to the present hour, advancing year after
year large sums of money to the Popish hierarchy, as an

XXXV.
able and learned divine of the Protestant Church emphati
cally remarked, " as much as if they had been lavishing it to
undermine the throne, in buying barrels of gunpowder which
were to have been used by Guy Fawkes."
The editor is anxious, likewise, to caution his readers
against another set of men, — harpies, who assume the name
of modern enlightened religionists, tolerant and indulgent
Protestants, names which are assumed by Jesuits in disguise,
whose apparent frankness of manner is only surpassed by the
depth of their dissimulation. These hypocrites endeavour to
persuade the common people, that Popery has lately become
quite an altered religion ; that the Church of Rome has now
become mild and gentle as a lamb ; that she is compassionate
and full of mercy and long-suffering to all erring sheep who
crave and seek her fostering aid, her protection, and her prof
fers of acceptance within her holy pale, beyond which there is
no salvation ; in fact, they aver that, at present, there is hardly
a shade of difference between Papism and Protestantism. The
Ethiopian, then, has changed his skin, and the leopard his
spots ; forsooth, yes, this is what those tutored missionaries,
the Jesuits,* wish to assure John Bull of, as a matter for
rejoicing ; but even if John admits they have done so, he
will naturally demand what kind of garment they have sub
stituted for their hides, formerly black and spotted, and in
which they are now clothed withal ? The answer must
be obvious to the mind of the true Christian ; — the sable
folds of Satan's dismal and hideous mantle, in order still
to entrap the unwary sons of men. O ! be not thus deceived,
my readers and fellow Protestants, the editor implores you,
* See " Awful Disclosures, being extracts translated from the Moral
Theology of Alphonsus Liquori, who was canonized in the year 1839,
with Remarks thereon, by the Rev. R. P. Blakeney, B.A. , Incumbent of
Hyson Grove, Notts. 1846."

but rather be bold and on your guard against all sophistical
reasoners, neither suffer your minds to be led away by any
caballers ; for the Church of Rome, he must again repeat to
you, is at this moment what she has been ever since the
twelfth century. In her will be found no variableness nor
shadow of turning. Impossible ! for she has proclaimed
herself aloud to the whole world to be the only true, pure,
and sinless Church on the face of this earth ; therefore, being
incapable of erring, she must be governed by one fixed prin
ciple, which exactly accords with the ancient laws of king
Darius, monarch of the Medes and Persians, which altered
not. Neither do nor can the doctrines of the Church of
Rome alter ; for the most minute deviation would nullify the
whole, and uproot and destroy the devil's strongest hold upon
earth, which invisible power and agency he was permitted to
possess and exercise, during former ages, when few innova
tions occurred. However, when the new and anti-christiaD
Creed, already dilated upon — Satan's own handy-work —
was finally discussed, in 1564, at the infamous Council of
Trent and sanctioned under the pontificate of Pius IV,,
as the readers are already apprized of, which circumstance,
the arch-fiend immediately took advantage, by diverting,
cajoling, and turning away man's ears from the truth, and
by his desperate suggestions to induce him to listen to a lie,
being himself the father of lies and the spirit of pride.
Thus did the tempter commence his cunningly devised plan
on those who would not understand, but chose rather to walk
on still in darkness, so as to introduce amongst them a soul-
destroying system of his own, — all fair without, but all foul
within ; symbols, however, so ingeniously mingled with
divine truths, as to obscure the light of the glorious Gospel
itself, disguised as they were under the folds of his sable
mantle with such consummate subtlety, that while significa-
tively they were calculated to bias and please, they were

XXXVll.
intended expressly by the inventor and founder of the whole
scheme to deceive and everlastingly to ruin all who hearkened
to the tempter. Truly this was a most ingenious fiction of
Satan, whom, nevertheless, our Lord informs us, " he beheld
as lightning fall from heaven ;" so much so, that an able
writer once ventured to declare that " such an amalgamation
of false doctrine, with pure Christianity, was so admirably
suited to the carnal and worldly-minded man, and withal, so
calculated to quell his fears, while its object was to keep him
at a distance from God by its superhuman ingenuity, that
the mental powers and faculties of man's understanding,
without an invisible agent at his elbow, could never have
devised so perfect a system to enable the devil, as he has
done, to impose upon mankind for so many successive cen
turies, and thus to keep, as it were by permission from on
high, the human race in thraldom." Surely, then, this false
religion was and still continues a Satanic scheme of delusion,
and will continue so, until the day of " the Lord cometh with
fierce anger, to punish the world for their evil, and tlie
wicked for their iniquity ; when he will cause the arrogancy
of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible, and destroy them with the spirit of his moulh and
the brightness of his coming." From the beginning of the
seventh century till towards the reformation, the people of all
ranks were unlearned ; consequently, credulity and supersti
tion, the inseparable companions of ignorance, prevailed
almost universally. In the early time of the Apostles there
was also a prevailing notion, even among many of the primi
tive Christians, that the day of the Lord was at hand, and
the second coming of Christ soon to be expected. Now, in
order to be assured of this palpable mistake, the editor re
quests his readers to turn to the language of inspiration, to
examine for themselves what the great Apostle, St. Paul, has
recorded on this important subject, in the second chapter of

his second Epistle to the Thessalonians, a part of which has
already been quoted in this little work, in which an immediate
and direct reference to the character of the Pope of Rome
may readily be discovered ; for it is quite evident that no
individual has arisen since the time of the Apostles, who has
gained such unbounded power, assumed such high preten
sions, and set up such an authority, both in temporal and
spiritual matters, as he who styles himself the sovereign Pon
tiff. Now the titles of the man of sin, spoken of by the
Apostle Paul, appear to correspond exactly with the titles the
Pope assumes, the reverence he expects, the obedience and
worship he requires, together with the practice of wicked
arts, which were then, as they are now, played off by the
priesthood to impose on their credulous multitude ; in fact,
Rome has created a tribunal so admirably adapted to secure
to her priesthood* a despotic sway over their adherents, that
so long as that tribunal stands, her empire is not likely to be
overthrown, nor to be despoiled of the unhallowed sceptre
which she has wielded for ages. Having gone thus far,

* The celebrated French nun, Sister Nativite, informs us, that our
Saviour Jesus Christ appeared to her, more than twenty times, in his
alb and stole, attired for mass, in order to inspire her with profound
reverence and awe for the priesthood : and she adds, our Saviour
once appeared to her in the form of the Pope, when in full pontificals,
to convince her that the holy Father truly represented Christ. This
nun likewise informs us that she once heard a piercing and dreadful
voice, crying, "humble yourselves j" which she says was to denote the
fear and respect due to the Pope, as the head of the Church of Home, as
to Christ himself. Sometimes, she adds, our Lord would join his
voice to that of the herald who made this proclamation, in order to shew
that the voice of the sovereign Pontiff was the voice of God. * To the
followers of this enchantress the editor would say in the words of Jere
miah, " Hearken not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your
dreamers, nor to your enchanters ; for they prophesy a lie unto you, and
by their sorceries are all nations deceived. "
* For a full and admirable account of this nun, see the " Revelations of tM Somr
de la Nativite," in an article in the Quarterly Review.

the editor proposes now to lay before his readers a few of
those lofty titles which the Roman Pontiffs have invariably
assumed. He is not, however about to accuse their Holi-
nesses of dubbing themselves Knights of the Garter, of the
Thistle, of St. Patrick, or of the Legion of Honor. No ; their
holinesses have always soared much higher, even on eagles'
wings; calling themselves the successors of St. Peter; and
from that Apostle they pretend to have derived a divine
right ; and they have often risen to such a height, that they
have even trampled on the necks of kings and emperors.
From this trait of historical proof, the consequence is ob
vious, that Popery is unchanged and unchangeable ; Popery,
in fact, is anti-Christianism. Again, the Popes of Rome
assume the title of Christ's Vicar to rule and judge the
world, together with all powers, potentates, and dominions in
it; which authority, by the way, was formerly consigned to
them, not as the legal heirs and successors of St. Peter, but
by the act of earthly potentates, in the days of the Emperor
Justinian, Otho, &c. Yea, and such has been the pride of
the Popes ever since that era even to this day, that they have
even dared to lay claim, each Pope in succession, to put on
his own head the crown of Melchisedech — the union of the
Prophet, Priest, and King, which shall yet be worn by Christ
on earth — yes, that literal tiara, or triple crown upon his own
forehead, — his three usurpations of Christ's titles.* May the
* Though Scripture is totally silent on the subject of St. Peter being
the successor of Christ, as Bishop of Rome (a city in which neither of
them ever were during their lives) — the Gospels do not announce it ;
the Epistles do not record it ; the writings of the primitive Christians do
not even refer to it ; — though Scripture is silent, history is not ; for it
tells us that, in the year 606, the murderer, Phocas, who assassinated
Mauritius, Emperor of Rome, and his six sons, received absolution for
those murders of his master and his sons, and the usurpation of his
throne, by the then Bishop of Rome. Phocas did, on that account, six
hundred years after St. Peter's death, establish the claim of that Bishop
as being the successor of St. Peter, in opposition to that of the Patriarch

xl.
base alloy of this unrighteous domination which the Church
of Rome, still goaded on by the Wicked One, has mixed up
with the pure gold of the sanctuary, be extracted from its
foul dross, in the final process of refining, and separating;:;
the good from the bad, is the humble and sincere prayer of
the editor.
Let it he observed here, by my readers, and by all who
receive the inspired word of God for their guide, what a faith
ful portrait has been delineated by St. Paul, and what an
accurate description he has given of this so-called Vicar of
Christ in the inspired pages of his second chapter of the
second Epistle to the Thessalonians, which he concludes by
exhorting his brethren to continue unflinching in the truth
they had received. He shews them, also, that there shall be
a departure from the faith, and a discovery of antichrist,
before the day of the Lord come ; and thereupon repeateth

of Constantinople. On this foundation, then, treason, murder and
usurpation, rests the claim of the Pope of Rome to the succession of
that chair, which St. Peter never occupied — a claim never urged in the
Christian Church for six centuries before, and was expressly disclaimed,
even by Gregory, the predecessor of Pope Boniface I. : — " Whosoever,"
said Pope Gregory, Bishop of Rome, " calls himself, or desires to be
called, universal Bishop, is a forerunner of Antichrist." These are the
recorded words of that Pope. This proves beyond a doubt, that there
was no chiof or prince among the Apostles ; therefore, that Peter was
not chief; consequently, the Pope of Rome, who claims a title to autho
rity over all the Churches, upon the ground of Peter's supremacy,
builds without a shadow of authority from the scriptures. Kay ; the
person who assumes the title of universal Bishop thereby seals his own
condemnation. But what said the Lord to his twelve Apostles, when
disputing for precedence among themselves? — " If any man desire to be
first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. " If, therefore,
there was to be any primacy among the Apostles, why was Christ on this
occasion silent respecting it ? On the other hand, if our Lord had, in
the hearing of others, conferred it on Peter, what occasion would there
have been for the Apostles to dispute about it ? — " He that exalteth him
self shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

xii.
his former exhortation again, and prays for them. Never
theless, each succeeding Pope has disregarded the solemn
exhortation of the Apostle, by disputing the orthodoxy of his
prophetic address to the people, who also opposed his opinion
and judgment in divers anti-christian acts which have been
recorded against the entire race of Popes, as monstrous, im
pious, and arbitrary; — and also informed us that Pope after
Pope, as far, at least, as they dared invariably to persevere
in the same course of ungodliness, setting the Lord and his
Apostles at naught, and, as it were, representing to Christen
dom, Jehovah, and his inspired Prophets and Apostles,
as being subordinate to a Pope, and incapable of acting in all
matters concerning men's salvation, without the assistance of
his Holiness. Blasphemy like this, a Protestant might sup
pose, would at once unclose the sealed-up eyelids of the poor
Papists, and expose to their new sight the manner, as well as
the means, which from age to age have been uniformly em
ployed by their spiritual tyrants to hold them fast in the iron
grasp of their hitherto spiritual bondage, which slavery, how
ever, they are quite satisfied to bear, from a steadfast belief,
zeal, and love for a religion and a Church which, in the face
of Heaven, dares to assure them, and all her blind votaries,
that she is indued from on high with a power from God
to frank whom she will to the residence of the angels and
blessed spirits, without parting with their sins, but not
without paying for them to their priests.
Now, the compendious creed of every member of the Ro
man communion is, " / believe whatever holy Mother Church
believes." This is the grand secret, and accounts at once for
the joyous and most unhesitating reliance in a creed which,
however fallacious in its principles, may be professed by the
silly Papist on such easy terms. Alas ! had such an one been
taught the knowledge of the Bible, he would readily have dis-
a6

xiii.
covered in that inspired volume what Jehovah has declared by
the mouth of his Prophet, that no man may deliver his bro
ther, nor make agreement unto God for him, for it cost more
to redeem their souls — so that he must let that alone for
ever. But, after all, does the poor beguiled and ignorant
Papist suppose himself to be in error all this time ? no such
thing ; for, having from his earliest childhood resigned the
everlasting concerns of his soul to the keeping of his confes
sor, he thinks he is in the straight path which leadeth to
peace and to heaven ; fondly but vainly trusting, on his part,
in the punctual observances and rigid performances of the
multifarious exteriors of religion, and of duties and ceremo
nies imposed on him by his church, for pardon and forgiveness
of sins. Thus, the much misled, deceived, and bamboozled
Papist, being convinced in his own mind that such a lively
faith as his must be sufficient in itself to save his soul, and
having to boast withal of his own good works, as if the hap
piness of heaven were no more than a just recompence of his
deserts ; he proudly exclaims to all who are not of his sect,
" Stand off! I am holier than thou ! " and thus pursues his
mistaken course, rejoicing in his own self-righteousness to the
end of his mortal career. Alas ! my christian readers, what
a strange adoption of false principles do we discover here, on
the part of an assumed christian teacher ; a Popish priest,
forsooth, in the guise of a good shepherd of the flock of
Christ ; a sanctified hypocrite, who, with every appearance of
a spiritual guide, rears his victim up in all the false and
blasphemous doctrines of Antichrist (which the editor need
not remind John Bull is Popery in every sense of the word),
while the charlatan makes his poor dupe believe he is an
orthodox Christian, if not a saint.
If these statements be true, the editor will once more sub
mit the facts of the case to the judgment of every candid

xliii.
Christian, whether he be Papist or Protestant, and will put
this plain question to each, — Can the same strong faith in the
efficacy of the Roman Catholic religion subsist in the soul
of the Papist in connection with every kind of immorality ?
The editor boldly, as far as his humble opinion may be
offered, declares it an impossibility ; inasmuch as the unfor
tunate soul of the Papist does not belong to him, it is not
even in his own keeping. Thus, as a matter of course, when
ever he begins to feel any disquietude of mind, or is over
taken by some inward qualms of conscience, the poor mis •
taken sinner never thinks of applying to Christ his Saviour,
who saith, " Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest," but immediately flees to
the confessional* for pardon, assured of which, by his con
fessor, he falls on his knees at his footstool, as a being who
hath power to forgive sin, acknowledges his transgression,
when his deceitful monitor pronounces his sin to be remitted,
and absolves him forthwith, and he gets up as clear of sin as
a new-born babe.
A doctrine of such interest and importance to a Papist, as
well as to a Protestant, requires to be inquired into with
* The Rev. Mr. Bourke, a Roman Catholic priest, who withdrew
from a controversy to which he challenged the Rev. Mr. Coneys, a Pro
testant clergyman, has been preaching controversial sermons since that
epoch, in the town of Ballinrobe, in Ireland, where he delivered the
following statement from his pulpit, on the subject of confession, for the
purpose of setting forth to his congregation the excellency of Popery in
opposition to Scriptural Christianity, or Protestantism : — "My friends,"
said the preacher, " if ye have a falling out one with another, will ye be
content until ye tell it to some one ? No, ye will not : ye all know this.
Now suppose a Catholic and a Protestant went out and murdered a man,
there would be a gnawing at their consciences. The Protestant would
not tell it to any one, not even to his minister. 'Why ? Because he
¦could do nothing for him. But the Catholic comes at last to his priest
and kneels before him. The priest gives Mm absolution — when he gets up
as clear as ever he icas in his life //"

the most scrutinizing exactness. The editor therefore pro
poses to follow up the subject by an examination into the
truth of the orthodoxy, as well as the announcement of the
fallacy that appears in the doctrine of what is termed by the
Roman Catholic Church, oral confession:* in attempting
which, the editor will endeavour to act with strict regard to
justice, not biassed in favour of one party more than another,
in order to make manifest the truth as it is in Jesus. In
proceeding with the subject, he wishes his readers, and the
Papists also, if they can obtain permission from their priests,
to refer to the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, in a
portion of which it is said that " our Lord entered into a
ship, and passed over, and came into his own city, when they
brought to him a man, sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And
Jesus seeing their faith said unto him, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee. And behold certain of the scribes
said within themselves, this man blasphemeth, who can for
give sins but God only ? But Jesus knowing their thoughts,
said, wherefore think ye evil in your hearts ? for whether is
it easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise and
walk? but, that ye may know that the Son of Man hath
power on earth to forgive sins (then said he to the sick of
the palsy) arise, lake up thy bed, and go into thine house.
And he arose and departed to his house." Nevertheless, my
Christian readers, the Church of Rome denies that the power
of this Gospel truth belongs solely to Jesus, as it is recorded
by St. Matthew, and,, by a most daring and blasphemous at
tempt, in her new doctrines, she has placed the Virgin Mary
between Christ and the everlasting Father. This trulv

• A Canon from the Council of Trent, which, as the editor has ob
served, constitutes the Popish Bible, declares, that whoever does not
receive with like piety and reverence the oral tradition, as well as the
oral confession, as he doth the Bible, is accursed.

xiv.
Satanic doctrine, so worthy of the Council of Trent,* and
its prototype, the Breviary, which contains the daily service
of the Romish Church, for the use of her priests, appears to
the editor of such mighty importance, in contending for the
divine truth of the Gospel dispensation, as well as the vital
concern of the soul of man, that he is of opinion that it re
quires to be followed on by irrefragible testimony, impossi
ble to be overthrown by Popish arguments, even though
Satan himself stood in his usual place — at the right hand of
the Bishop of Rome — to prompt and aid him to the attempt.
Now, although the editor must have already proved, in a
manner clearly to be understood by his readers, the divine
power of Christ to pardon sin ; of that Messenger of Peace
to mankind who is " the way, tlie truth, and the life," being
of one substance with the Father ; whom God hath appointed
heir over all things, and by whom also he made the worlds ;
who, being the brightness of his glory, God of gods,
Light of light, and the express image of his person, up-
holdeth all things by the word of his power. Notwithstand
ing, however, these plain, evident, and truthful Gospel testi
monies of the oneness of Christ, proving his power to forgivte
sin, as well as his divinity, in whom dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily ; and of the admonition also of his in
spired Apostle, St. Paul, who thus said to his disciples, " As
* According to the undeniable testimony of fact and history, it has
been proved that the doctrines of the Church of Rome, so far from being
as old as the Apostolic times, were introduced, the earliest at the period
of 370, and the later at the startling period of 1000 or 1200 years after
the death of Christ ; and the whole mass of error and corruption was
never even embodied into a distinct system of Popish theology till the
Council of Trent, held, m the year 1543, when, by her daring decrees,
she set the seal of papal authority on them all, and in so doing, con
signed, by her own decrees, to everlasting damnation, all the members
of her own Church for 1500 years preceding, myriads of whom had never
even heard of the doctrines which she then declared indispensable to
everlasting salvation, destroying, at the same time, at one blow, all her
own pretensions to antiquity.

ye, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk ye in him; and beware lest any man deceive you,
through vain deceit, after the tradition of men, and not
after Christ." Nevertheless, in defiance of these plain, un
sophisticated proofs, which ought to appear to a Christian's
mind so very easy to be comprehended, that, as says the
Prophet Habakkuk, " He may run that readeth," — in op
position, however, to them all, and, above all, of Him in
whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, —
Gregory the XVI., who died in 1846, appears by his last en
cyclical letter to have regarded the exclusive power of the
Lord to forgive sin, without the concurrence of the Virgin
Mary, with perfect unbelief; no doubt according to the ortho
doxy of his deep erudition in Popish theology, as expressed
in his letter, written in latin for the edification of his subjects.
" Now," said his holiness, " that all these events may come
to pass happily and successfully, let us lift up our eyes and
hands to the most holy Virgin Mary, who alone has destroyed
all heretics, and who is our greatest confidence, even the whole
foundation of our hope. May she be our patronage in this
trying situation of the Lord's flock, implore a prosperous re
sult to our efforts, designs, and actions. Let us ask this, with
humble prayers of Peter, the prince of the Apostles, and of
his co-Apostle, Paul, that you may all stand as a rampart to
prevent the laying-on of any other foundation than that which
is laid." In this blasphemous letter of the Pope, asserting
that the Virgin Mary was the sole foundation of his hope,
my readers will discover additional proof of a continuation
of the same apostacy in the encyclical letter of his successor,
Pope Pius IX., written at Rome, under the ring of the
Fisherman, in the first year of his pontificate. " And that
the most merciful God," writes this brother-blasphemer,
" may more readily hear our prayers, and grant our desires,
Jet us have recourse to the intercession of the most holy

xlvii.
mother of God, the immaculate Virgin Mary, our most sweet
mother, our mediatrix, our advocate, our finnest hope, the
source of our confidence, and whose protection is most power
ful and most efficacious with God. Let us invoke also the
Prince of the Apostles, to whom Christ gave the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, whom he chose for the foundation stone
of his Church, against which the gates of Hell shall never
prevail, and his co- Apostle Paul, and all the saints of Hea
ven, who, already crowned, possess the palm, that they shed
down upon all Christian people the treasures of divine mer
cy." The foregoing authoritative document appeared shortly
after the encyclical letter of his Holiness to his patriarchs,
archbishops, and bishops, both of which were published
within the few months that he has occupied the Papal chair.
In the latter will be found a proclamation of a jubilee, ac
companied with a grant of a pleniary indulgence therein ac
corded. In both these documents of Papal authority, or rather
of Satanic blasphemy, the editor feels assured his readers, as
well as John Bull, will discover, with half an eye, as it were,
the real principles and spirit of the reigning Pope, Pius IX.
The editor regrets, however, that he cannot afford room in
this little work for the whole of this pontifical exhibition,
which affixes forgiveness of sins to the visiting of a church or
two in Rome, or elsewhere, and fasting on Wednesday and
Saturday. Extracts from the second document of Pope Pius IX., to
which the editor has alluded : —
" And as" it is certain that the prayers of man will be more
agreeable to God if they flow from pure hearts, that is to say,
from consciences free from every stain, we have resolved to
imitate the example which our predecessors have given us in
the commencement of their pontificates, by opening with

xlviii.
apostolic liberality to the faithful of Jesus Christ the celestial
treasures of indulgences, of which the dispensation has been
confided to us, in order that, excited in a more lively manner
to true piety, and washed from the stains of sin by the sacra
ment of penance, they may approach with confidence to the
throne of God, may obtain his mercy, and find favour in
seasonable aid.
" For these reasons we announce to the Catholic universe
an indulgence in the form of a jubilee. Wherefore, confiding
in the mercy of God Almighty, and in the authority of His
blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, in virtue of that power of
binding and loosing, which the Lord has conferred on us,
however unworthy, we give and accord, by the tenor of these
presents, a plenary indulgence with regard to all their sins
(in the same manner as is usually granted in the year of the
jubilee to those who visit certain churches within or without
the city of Rome) to all and every one of the faithful of both
sexes, dwelling in our good city, or visiting it from the second
Sunday of Advent, that is to say, from the 6th of December
inclusively, unto the 27th of the same month, also inclusively,
the day of the Feast of St. John the Apostle, who shall twice
yisit, during these three weeks, the Basilicas of St. John's La-
teran, of the Prince of the Apostles, and of St. Mary Major,
or one of these churches ; shall there pray with devotion du
ring some space of time, and shall fast on the Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday of one of these weeks, and during the
period shall confess their sins and reverently receive the most
holy Sacrament of the Eucharist ; and shall give alms to the
poor, each one according to his devotion ; and to all others,
dwelling wherever it may be, out of the aforesaid city of Rome,
who shall twice visit the churches appointed upon the receipt
of these presents by the ordinaries of the several places or
their vicars, or officials or in pursuance of their authority, and,

xlix.
failing them, by those who have in these parts the care of souls,
or any one of them during a like period of three weeks, which
will be determined by the above-named authorities, and shall
perform with devotion the other works above enumerated."
The document concludes with mentioning that : —
" Full dispensation is given to the clergy to absolve the
faithful who comply with the terms of the jubilee from all sins,
even those specially reserved for the consideration of the Holy
See, and directing its promulgation throughout Christendom.
" Given at Rome, at St. Mary's Major, under the ring of
the Fisherman, this 20th day of Nov., 1846, the first of our
Pontificate. "A. Cardinal Lambruschini."
Now, as it cannot fail to appear obvious to the minds of
impartial men, whether Protestants or Papists, who may
have reflected on the subject-matter contained in the two
encyclical letters, which the editor has laid before his readers,
namely, that anti-Christian and idolatrous doctrines are em
bodied in them both ; and, moreover, are the productions of
two Pontiffs of modern times, Gregory XVI., who has been
summoned to his last account but a very few months, and
Pius IX., the reigning Pope, who now occupies what is de
nominated the Chair of St. Peter ; the first occupier of that
chair, Peter, having also been promoted to the rank of Prince
of the Apostles, under the authority of the Church of Rome.
Now, with respect to these awful and ominous documents,
the editor cannot but feel truly anxious to entreat, nay, and
even to urge all his readers, to weigh well the soundness of
such assumed orthodoxy in their minds, and to scrutinize the
a7

purport of each of the encyclical letters with critical minute
ness, inasmuch as they have been openly and unblushingly
published, by their modern holinesses, as a kind of official
manifesto, for general circulation among the benighted Pa
pists, whom they believe to be the faithful, as well as to re
cord their own confirmed faith and belief in the divinity of
the Virgin Mary, invested, as she has been, by the Hierar
chical dignitaries of the Church of Rome, with the exalted
rank, honour, dignity, and title of Mother of God. More
over, although unintentionally, as the date of his eminence's
letter will shew, the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyons, prior to
the demise of Pope Gregory XVI., in the month of Nov.,
1842, thus addressed the clergy of his archdeaconry : " The
true Roman Catholic," said his eminence, in his exhortation,
or charge, " no longer prays, except through the Virgin
Mary ; for, that far from her there was no hope. That her
name was incessantly on the Catholic's lips. That God had
placed in the hands of his mother, his omnipotence; and that
she diffused the rays of truth, and the waters of grace." — A
being, however, let it be here emphatically understood, both
by Papists as well as by all true Protestants, that the latter
venerate from their very souls, as a woman highly favoured
by God, and to whom the angel Gabriel came to announce
that she was blessed among women, and that the Lord was
with her ; " Therefore," said the seraph, " fear not, for thou
hast found favour with God :" when Mary replied, " Behold
the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy
word ; and the angel departed from her." The meek and
humble Mary immediately began to express her grateful
feelings, in a hymn, called the Magnificat, which is recorded
in the New Testament, and is supposed to be of her own
composition ; when this modest, meek, submissive, but cho
sen vessel of Jehovah commenced chanting her own heavenly
theme, in softest strains and melodious voice, which well ac-

corded with her inspired words, and sung, " My soul doth
magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand
maiden. For behold from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me,
and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear
him throughout all generations." Thus did the humble, but
blessed Mary sing unto the Lord. We do not, however, dis
cover, throughout the pages of the sacred volume, anything
more relating to Mary of any great interest as to her public
life, until towards the melancholy close of our divine Saviour's
mission on earth to lost mankind. At his crucifixion, and
even when nailed to the cross, we find the compassionate suf
ferer not unforgetful of his mother in the flesh ; and we read,
that " there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother 
when therefore he saw her, and the disciple standing by
whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy
son ! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother ! and
from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
Thus did blessed Mary continue to live in retirement, con
fided as she had been to the special care of St. John, to the
close of her temporal existence.
But, in continuation of this interesting subject, consonant
both to scripture and reason, the editor further requests his
readers, and especially John Bull, to solve the following
question to him : — How then can it be possible that the
blessed Virgin Mary could form a part of apostolic Chris
tianity in the life-time of the apostles ? If that had been the
case, they must all have been greater idolaters than the very
heathen, as they must have worshipped a woman, who was
then actually alive, and living in the house of one of them,
according to the expressed wish and command of the Lord
himself. But what saith J. Nuremberg on this subject.

lii.
whose opinion we find recorded in a papistical work, entitled,
" The Glories of Mary"? " Who," says this Jesuit,* in order,
no doubt, to prove her omniscient power, " gave Christ to us,
when, in virtue of her jurisdiction over him as his mother, she
gave him permission to deliver himself up to the Jews to be
crucified." But this Satanic doctrine does not even rest
here ; it further compels the poor moon-struck Papist to be
lieve, that the Virgin Mary was born without original sin,
and consequently, has no need of a Saviour ; moreover, he is
further taught by this servant of Satan, his spiritual guide
and confessor, that the divine kingdom and empire of Jeho
vah has been divided between the blessed Virgin and her Son,
God himself bestowing one-half (the Kingdom of Mercy) to
Mary, and the other half (the Kingdom of Justice) to
Christ ; and all the deluded votaries of Popery are enjoined,
under divers penances and other penalties, to invoke the
blessed Virgin as their intercessor with Jesus, and to regard
her as the fountain of grace in whom the Holy Spirit dwells;
— to call her the comforter of the afflicted, the refuge of sin
ners, and the advocate of all Roman Catholic Christians,
giving her the additional title of Queen of the Angels,
Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles. That Mary was highly
favoured, we are assured by the angel Gabriel, as being the
chosen vessel for the reception and production of the Man
Christ Jesus, must be an undoubted fact that none but the
infidel can doubt ; but on the other hand, that there is to be
found in this announcement of the angel, or in any other
chapter of God's inspired word, any expression which war
rants the adoration and worship which the Pope and the
members of the Church of Rome pay to the Virgin Mary is,
* Father Paul, of Venice, who was acquainted with the Jesuits from
the very first of their institution, describes their true character hy the
appropriate designation of " a kennel of foxes," and he adds, " that it
is certain, as certain can be, that these men would absolve the devil
himself from all his sins if he would but be of their mind."

liii.
and must be, pronounced gross and idolatrous falsehood.
If, then, the sacred volume is silent, if the apostles are silent,
if the primitive fathers were silent for nearly five hundred
years after the death of Christ, from whence sprung this
awful error ? A certain woman, whom we read of in the
gospels, lifted up her voice, doubtless, with strong feelings of
mind bordering, perhaps, on adoration, when she exclaimed,
" Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which
thou hast sucked." But what was our Saviour's reply to her
ardent expressions of adulation ? — " Yea," said Jesus, " ra
ther blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it."
No one can, oi ought to deny, that Mary was the mother of
Christ's human nature ; but since Christ's body was like that
of every other man, Christ's mother's must also have been
like that of every other woman. And Mary, in her reply,
clearly shewed on what her mind was fixed. Not one word
of self-exaltation escaped her lips, but still she rejoiced in
the prospect of pardon and deliverance for herself and others,
through the merits of the coming Saviour : " My soul," she
said, " doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour." Did Mary then call Jesus her Sa
viour ? Yea, she did ; nevertheless, he could not have been
her Saviour if she had no sins to be saved from ; and being
a sinner, she must have been sinful, like other women (though
honoured above them all) ; and therefore, as a sinner, she
ought never to hiive been the object of religious worship.
Let, then, the faith of my readers seek higher ground, and,
like that of Mary, rest on the promises which our Lord has
made; and let their hearts join with the editor's, and mag
nify the Lord, and their spirits rejoice with his in that Jesus,
who, being God, is able to become our Saviour, whose con
descension hath regarded their low estate in which sin hath
plunged them all, and whose almighty power and love hath
exalted us to see and enjoy the mercies which, in obscure

liv.
intimations only, were promised to the patriarchs. But truly
the editor feels himself constrained to terminate a subject, so
appalling, which causes his very heart to sicken, as he pro
ceeds to recount to his readers such repeated instances of that
accursed and idolatrous worship of a creature, uniformly paid
to Mary* by all papistical worshippers ; nevertheless, though
supported, as he feels himself, by the open attestation of pro
phets and apostles, recorded by them in the word of God,
and the finger of inspiration ; still, however, he desires to close
his humble attempt to combat for the truth as it is in Jesus,
with an appeal to all his readers, yea, and to every man who
aspires to the glorious title and hope of a Christian, as to the
soundness of what he has advanced, as being in accordance
with the genuine doctrines taught in scripture. Lest, however,
any individual amongst them might require further evidence,
* With regard to the worship of the blessed Virgin, Peter Tullo, who
lived five hundred years after her death, made the first mention of her as
being invoked in prayer, and in the year 600, Pope Martin decreed that
whosoever did not adore her as the Mother of God should be accursed.
In a century afterwards, she was called the Lady and Governor of all
creatures. In a few years afterwards, it was required that her carved or
molten image should be placed before the altar. But all this was not
sufficient. No ; for the memory of that holy and blessed woman was
further martyrized by blasphemous expressions of— the Mother of God,
Queen of the World, Window of Heaven, Tabernacle of God, Tower of
David, Morning Star, with a thousand other nicknames, insulting to the
feelings of a christian. Lastly, that this awful profanation might want
no formality to embody it into an orthodox and standing ritual, the psal
ter of Bonaventure, a Popish Bishop, wrote a daring paraphrase on the
Athanasian Creed — " Whosoever," pronounced that idolatrous prelate,
" will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold a firm faith
concerning the Virgin Mary, which faith, unless he do hold, he shall
perish everlastingly." Now let it be remarked, that this was written
more than a thousand years after the death of the Virgin ; surely, then,
the Roman Catholic religion is anything but the religion of Him, whose
kingdom is not of this world; and that if the words of Christ be true,
" By their fruits ye shall know them" the doctrines of the Church of
Rome will appear the most awful corruption of Christianity that ever
was produced by the energy, the pride, and the wickedness of the mind
of man. O Satan, it was all thine own work.

Iv.
he will at once anticipate their wishes, by answering them in
the words of St. Peter, — " To him give all the Prophets
witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him,
shall receive remission of sins ;" and in the words of St.
John, " The works which Christ did, in his Father's name,
they bear witness of him ;" and in those of St. Paul, " That
God hath given this assurance unto all men, that he will
judge the world by Christ, in that he raised Jesus from the
dead." Upon such clear and conclusive evidence as this, the
faith of the Gospel stands. The Christian's hope, therefore,
can have no dependence on any other, but rests secure on
that immoveable foundation. Truly, then, such papistical
inventions, mixed as they are, like those cunningly devised
fables, spoken of by St. Peter, with the so-called inspired
doctrines of the Church of Rome, introduced by Satan him
self, surreptitiously, on the world, as the truth, but neverthe
less, amount to a complete denial of " the faith which was
once delivered to the saints ; which faith, St. Jude, exhorts
all christians earnestly to contend for, because false teachers
are crept in to seduce the people, speaking lies in hypocrisy,
forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from
meats," as saith St. Paul. But what said the Lord Jesus to
all such damnable doctrines ? — " They worship me, teaching
for doctrines the commandments of men, laying aside the
commandment of God; they hold the tradition of men,
making the word of God of none effect through their tradi
tion." Are not then such doctrines as these, so plainly pro
pounded and withal condemned by Christ himself, positively
the work of Beelzebub, in opposition to that Saviour who
hath declared, " that he will not give his glory unto another,
neither his praise to a graven image"? What, then, are all
such worshippers, but the very men spoken of by the Apostle,
who have crept in unawares into the sheepfold of Christ, —
who profess that they know God, but in works deny him,

lvi.
even the Lord that bought them. Will not, then, the blessed
Shepherd himself reply to these idolaters who have provoked
him to anger, and rebuke them, as he did the devil, when he
essayed to tempt him, — " Get thee behind me, for it is writ
ten, thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve"?
Before the editor proceeds to detail to his readers the con
versions of those priests whose names are specified at the
commencement of this work, he feels anxious once more to
have recourse to the authority of the inspired oracles of God,
with a wish to bring them forward to the view of those who
profess what is called the Roman Catholic faith, but, alas !
are debarred by their spiritual guides from the use of that
blessed book. Under this impression, the editor proposes to
lay before all such hood-winked and religiously-oppressed
persons, whose souls are not in their own keeping, many im
portant, consoling, interesting, and soul-comforting passages
which will be found interspersed throughout the pages of his
humble book, and tendered to them in the name of Jesus
Christ, the Lamb of God, who came into the world to take
away the sins of all who flee to him for salvation. If, then,
it should happen, perchance curiosity or any other motive,
that any priest or layman should fall in with this work, the
editor can venture to assure them that they will discover
many quotations interspersed throughout its pages, extracted
from that gospel of salvation, which contains a revelation of
the grace of God to fallen man by a mediator, to announce
which, the angel Gabriel was sent to make known "good
tidings of great joy to all people :" — "And there was also
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising
God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, and good will toward men." Nevertheless, let it be
remarked here by all attentive readers, that the same Gos-

lvii.
pel revealed by Jesus Christ and his Apostles is, on the other
hand, equally impartial as it is severe in condemning all false
doctrines, and among them the sin of idolatry, against which
the wrath of God is particularly denounced, and the awful
threat of Jehovah seems in an especial manner to light upon
and condemn that most fallacious, impious, and idolatrous
invocation and intercessory prayer, offered by the Roman
Pontiff and his worshippers to any being, dead or alive, upon
this earth, or in heaven, save to God and his Christ. " Search
the scriptures," said our blessed Lord, "for in them ye think
ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me."
0 that it might please the Lord to touch the hearts of the
Romish priests to seek the path they have not known,
wherein there is no death, so as to induce them to make the
holy Scriptures a portion of their daily study and sole medi-
tion, in lieu of the Breviary (such an exchange would be to
part with vile and filthy dross for pure and unalloyed gold),
and then, and then only, they would be led by the gentleness
of Christ, the good Shepherd, to invoke the supreme Being,
the Lord of all power and might, in spirit and in truth, —
flinging away their idols to the moles and the bats, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every proud thought to the obedi
ence of Christ, casting all their care upon him, for he careth
for them, each of them, humbly imploring God in the lan
guage of Scripture, and earnestly praying unto him, " Shew
thou me," O most- merciful Father, " the way in which I
should walk, for I lift my soul unto thee." Then indeed
would the night of all such suppliant petitioners be turned
into day, when once the words of Jehovah became a daily
portion of their prayers and religious meditations ; neither
would they any longer suffer false and misleading prayers,
offered on bended knee, to the relics of saints, real or pre
tended, of dead men and women, and of angels, to misguide
a8

lviii.
them in their studies and devotions in the revealed and in
spired volume of Biblical theology. In that sacred book
no Popish doctrines are to be found, nor were any ever yet
discovered. Moreover, all such converted persons, priests
and laymen, would then find to their great joy and astonish
ment the bandage of their former spurious Christianity fall
from their eyes, in despite of all the mighty efforts of Satan
to perpetuate his intellectual slavery over all mankind, by
the substitution of outward forms for inward essentials of the
pure religion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Still, however,
there is one, blessed be God, great in counsel and mighty to
save, who, willing to make his power known, endureth with
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
who seek to obtain a righteousness of their own, not by faith,
but by their own good works, amounting even to supereroga
tion. Notwithstanding such wilful violation of God's word
and commandment, his eternal Son is still the same merciful
and compassionate Redeemer, who, in the most endearing
language, invites sinners to seek him while he is to be found.
" Come unto me," saith the Lord, " all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light. But ye will not come unto
me that ye may have life everlasting." Then, and then only,
having fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them,
would the misled Romanists diseovfer themselves emancipated
out of the trammels of their fori iter taskmasters, from the
body of corruption in which they were enthralled, but freed
also from their idols, with a conscience purged from dead
works, and enabled cheerfully and gratefully to serve the
living God in newness of spirit, without fear or dismay, and
with strong consolation through Him who is mighty to save
all that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide

lix.
their feet into the ivay of peace. Thus preached and thus
wrote the inspired Apostles, holding out the same invitation
of a merciful Mediator to those who felt the burden of their
sins, urging them to apply unto Him who continues the
same long-suffering Saviour, even though they persist in
wavering to the eleventh hour in denying his all-powerful
attributes to pardon sin without the intercession of another,
or the intermeddling with all wisdom by a priesthood walk
ing in craftiness and handling the word of God deceitfully ;
whose minds the god of this world hath blinded;* which
believe not, lest the unsullied light of the Gospel might
illumine tlieir dangerous innovations upon the pure doctrines
of God and his Christ; being alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in them ; " Why dost thoupreach
my laws and takest my covenant in thy mouth, whereas thou
hatest to be reformed, and hast cast my words behind thee ;
thou hast let thy tongue speak wickedness, and with thy
tongue thou hast set forth deceit. Like clouds without
water, carried about of winds," they neither can nor will dis
cern between right and wrong ; having their understanding
darkened they are " blind leaders of the blind, and if the
blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Thus,
the deceivableness of their unrighteousness and priestcraft
overlay and disfigure the gospels of truth. Now these hypo
critical idolaters, who, as St. Peter says, " through covetous-
ness, and with feigned words, make merchandize of them,"
are nothing but Jesuitical swindlers, the very anti-type of
Judas, who sold Christ for money. But what said the same
* In the month of January, 1846, the Bishops of France issued pas
toral letters, recommending public prayers in favour of the conversion
of Great Britain to Popery. And on the 19th of the same month, Car
dinal Patrizi, Vicar General, issued a proclamation for a novena, or nine
days' service, to take place in the Church of the Jesuits, to implore from
Almighty God the wider spread of tlio Roman Catholic Church in
England.

Ix.
Apostle to such traffickers ? " Thy money perish with thee,
because thou thoughtesl that the gift of God might be pur
chased mith money."
The editor requests his readers to pause here, and to call
to mind what our blessed Lord himself said, on this momen
tous subject, " How hard is it for them that trust in riches
to enter into the kingdom of God." Whereas, iu violation;
and contradiction to this warning, the Church of Rome de
clares that a man may safely trust in his wealth ; and, pro
vided he can enrich that Church in some way or other, he
may cheerfully set his heart at rest ; for, in case of necessity,
all that the church requires will be done for his soul's good
after his demise. Let no man, the editor implores his
readers, trust himself to such a system of religion — so utterly
fallacious — a very refuge of lies, which, ere long, he can as
sure them, if there is truth in God's holy word, will be swept
away by the besom of destruction. Yes, and that person,
whomsoever he may he, Papist, Puseyite, Tractarian, or one
of the new lights, when he comes to depart this life, whether
he be a member of the Church of Rome, it matters not, or
of any other of those meteoric conventicles which have lately
appeared like mushrooms, an order of fungi which grow on
dunghills, and spring up lately in divers parts of England,
and will disappear, as suddenly as they have made their
appearance, in the garb of self-righteousness, semi-Papists,
in fact, who are now employing their utmost artifice, covering
themselves with their own apostacy, as with a cloak, in
order to sweeten and disguise their newly-acquired, corrupt,
and anti-protestant doctrines, whose propensity is public no
toriety — dissembling hypocrites, who are now courting and
abetting a Jesuitical and Popish priesthood, to confound and
obscure the splendid light of gospel truth, and to substitute

lxi.
by falsification and juggling, the gloomy darkness of a bas
tard, and supposititious Christianity instead thereof.
The editor begs to digress here from his subject to observe
to such judicious readers as are really in quest of truth, that
they will find abundantly wherewith to satisfy themselves,
by examining the matters of fact, stated by him, to establish
his exposition of Popish doctrines on the firm basis of Apos
tolical principles ; and such readers would do well, also, to
consider, yea, and rejoice, that the purest branch of Christ's
church at this very day, existing in Christendom, appears still
to be committed by divine Providence to this highly favoured
nation. How long this protection may be continued, he who
ruleth by his power for ever and ever, and whose eyes be
hold the nations, only knows ; for the kingdom is the Lord's,
and he is the Governor among the people.
But, unhappily for England, at this crisis, a certain poli
tical faction has latterly sprung up among all classes of the
nation, in Parliament and out of Parliament, men who
openly assume religious indifference, which they endeavour
to pass off among the people for religious liberality ; per
sons, however, to whom all religions, or none, are alike ; who,
in fact, have no choice, or care about those matters, their
object being to make their nominal Christianity subservient
to their own selfish and worldly policy, many of whom, par
ticularly those who are esteemed among their partisans the
most liberal of the liberalizing members of the Commons'
House of Parliament, who, being freed from all prejudices,
are labouring hard to advance the march of Popery, men who
have been heard to declare that the same favours should be
conferred by a Protestant Government alike on Papists as
well as Protestants, in all respects, even in Church and
State ; and in this opinion the weak, feeble, and temporising

Ixii.
Ministers of the Protestant Queen of England concur. But
what saith John Bull to such logical subtleties ? doubtless,
the reader feels curious to be informed. Well, honest Mr.
Bull still adheres to his old opinion : " Popery," he says, " is
what Popery was, therefore Protestantism and Papacy can
never exist together in England. No, my brother Pro
testants," saith he, " for there must be a Protestant ascend-
ancy, or there will inevitably be a Popish supremacy, with
resumption of legislative and executive power in this Pro
testant state, followed by idol worship, tradition,* and all the
other mummeries of the Church of Rome, all of which
would predominate, and if unchecked, consequences would
follow, and lead to the same results which invariably attended
such a dangerous experiment, and the fires which translated-
Archbishop Cranmer and his brother Bishops, Ridley and
Latimer from the dungeon in Oxford, in the year 1551, to
their rest in heaven, would be lighted up again in Protestant
England." Such is the manly, sound, and truthful opinion
of honest John Bull, who would himself suffer martyrdom as
those sainted Bishops did for the truth, rather than apostatize
to Rome's idolatrous Creed.
Mr. Bull having, however, brought before my readers the
revered names of those three martyrs, the editor presumes the
following historical account of their latter end, melancholy as
it may appear, will not be considered inapposite in such

* It is a remarkable fact that tradition and scripture cannot live in
harmony together in the same church or communion. One or the other
must have the ascendancy, and the one must flourish on the ruins of the
other. The Scripture is generally depressed because it is hated by the
unsanctified heart of the Romanist, and tradition elevated to all com
manding dignity and power, by his priesthood, just because, being of the
earth, it ministereth to every earthly and carnal passion. The wise
course then of the lover of truth and of Christ, who taught it to fallen
man, is, never to allow the two to come into competition.

lxiii.
gloomy times as the present forebode to England. When
Styrpe wrote his Memoirs of Archbishop Cranmer, in the
year 1693, he found the book, in which the expenses of the
martyrs, during their residence in Oxford, were entered by
the bailiffs of the city, was in existence, and is probably still
preserved among the manuscripts of that University. It may
not, therefore, be thought inappropriate in times like the
present, when Protestant England appears, yea, and is at
this moment the only country in Europe (if we except Aus
tria) where popery is fostered and encouraged, and that, too,
strange to relate and to repeat, by tbe Protestant advisers of
a Protestant monarch.
The editor will now proceed to lay before his readers the
several items, with their cost, paid for the burning of Arch
bishop Cranmer, and his two fellow-sufferers, Ridley and
Latimer, as they appear on the book.
"rFor One Hundred of Wood Faggots... £0 6 0
For One Hundred and a Half of Furze
Faggots  0 3 4
To the Carriage of them  0 0 8
To Two Labourers  0 14
To Three Loads of Wood Faggots, to
burn Ridley and Latimer  0 12 0
Item, One Load of Furze Faggots  0 3 4
For Carriage of these Four Loads  0 2 0
Item, a Post  0 1 4
Item, for Chains  0 3 4
Item, for Staples  0 0 6
Item, for Labourers  0 2 4"
The above are exact transcripts from the bills, by the
person who had charge of the funeral piles.

O let us, then, Protestants of the present day, as we would
save our souls, carefully preserve them from the perpetrators
of popish cruelties and idolatries ; and, while we are assured
in our own hearts that we can never hate error and super
stition too much, let us on the other hand rouse all our zeal
in the cause of Christ's holy religion to a serious and earnest
opposition, joined with a charitable and sincere attempt to
open the blind eyes of the unhappy Papists to a spiritual
view of the fallacy, the senseless, tyranical, and ungodly
principles of their corrupt faith and church ; let us try to la
bour, also, for their conversion, and pray for their salvation,
while we abhor the thoughts of imitating their cruelty ; and
above all, let us be patient under every persecution for the
profession of the gospel, and never let us be ashamed of
Him, who hath the words of eternal life, our Lord and only
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.
The editor will now, in continuation of his exposure of the
ungodliness of those " who hold the truth in unrighteous
ness," proceed to lay before his_readers some further insight
into other doctrines of the Church of Rome, which, hitherto,
he has not much touched upon. They are two in number,
and approach very near to gross superstition, if not to idola
try. The first relates to certain rites and forms in the Ro
mish Church, prescribed to her priesthood to be observed on
solemn occasions ; for instance, when called in to visit the
sick chamber of the dying. The second relates to a sup
posed place called Purgatory ; in which departed souls un
dergo purgation in its fires from all impurities of venial sins,
before they can be received into Heaven. Surely such farci
cal doctrines as these can only excite in the minds of all en
lightened Christians disgust and contempt. But, to proceed,
the first, as the editor has observed, commences by a cere
monial form, prescribed to the priest, never to be omitted by

lxv.
him, on all such doleful occasions. When this physician of
the soul enters the sick chamber of the dying, the solemn
ceremony, which is fraught with multifarious acts of devotion
(many of which are too absurd and ridiculous to enumerate),
commences. Mass must be said for the ease of the soul of
the departing, and holy water is used ; but as well might this
necromancer offer to one who is blind a looking glass, or tell
a tale to the deaf, as to address the insensible mortal before
him ; nevertheless, dead or alive, the juggler is not to be
arrested in his duty, when, after he has performed several
capers, such as prostrations, incurvations, pulsations, humi
liations, and genuflexions, worthy of the elegance, grace, and
agility of a French dancing master, he proceeds to terminate
the deceptive ceremony by anointing the body of the expi
ring or rather expired man with the extreme unction, or
sacred oil, which he applies also to the five senses ;* then,
having finished all his laborious operations, he sends the dead
man off, as he had been taught by this juggler to believe, full
freighted to the next world, with all the soul-saving treasure
that Rome could bestow, — but all in vain, as he might have
discovered in the Scriptures, which would have informed him,
that none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor
give to God a ransom for him. Yea, and however firm
might have been the hopes of the poor bamboozled mortal in
the pretended power of this mountebank, with his assumed
infallible panacea for sins, nevertheless, when the sick man
had given up the Ghost, what must have been his surprise
and dismay when, alas ! he discovered the cheat, and that all
his fond hopes had vanished into smoke, and he himself left
* " The extreme unction of oil of olives is blessed by the bishop, and
the form of applying this oil to the five senses are in these words : —
' By this unction of holy oil, and his affectionate mercy, may God forgive
thee whatever sins thou hast committed by sight and the other senses. ' "
— Ordo Adminstr., London, 1831.
A9

lxvi.
poor indeed, to appear, to his eternal confusion, in the pre
sence of his Judge, to render up his account, not having on
a wedding garment ! " And when the king came in, he saith
unto him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither ? and he was
speechless. Then said the king, Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And who, pray,
some of my readers may ask, was that king ? The editor
will answer them in the words of St. Paul : — " He, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God, whom God hath highly exalted, and given him a
name, which is above every other name : that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the
glory of God the Father, who now sitteth on the right hand
of God, and from thence he will come to judge the quick
and the dead; yea, and then shall he say unto them on his
right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
and shall say also to them on his left hand, Depart from me
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels." Truly, then, it may be said, that a native of
ancient Pagan Rome has as much title to the name of a
christian as any besotted and puzzled-brained zealot of mo
dern Rome. Oh ! if the members of the Church of Rome
would but take the trouble to examine with attention those
numerous texts contained in an orthodox translation of the
Bible, which are in such direct contradiction with Rome's
dogmatical and unscriptural doctrines, they could not possibly
fail to perceive how they were trusting to lying words and
inventions that never can profit, but on the contrary will be
against them in the day of trouble and distress, and that
they are reclining " on the staff of that broken reed whereon

Ixvii.
if a man lean it will go into his hand and pierce it:' they
would discover, also, that whoever among them should depart
this life without a true and well-grounded faith in Christ, and
Christ alone for salvation, would never see the kingdom of God.
No ! for his religious profession would avail him nothing, in
the hour of need, if he had lived at a distance from that di
vine Saviour, even though his conscience might have been
quieted with pardons, auricular confessions, penances, indul
gences, masses, and absolutions. He would also find out
that neither angels, nor saints, nor images, nor popes, can
pardon sins. Moreover, that neither traditions, decretals,
councils, or bulls, were spoken of in the Bible ; and that in all
ofthem the " truth of God had been changed into a lie;"
yea, and they would in vain seek even for one solitary record
of those spiritual institutions, in Jehovah's Word, which
they had been taught to believe were conferred, by His spe
cial decree on the Church of Rome ; such, for example, as
holy water, penance, the mass in latin fso strongly repro
bated by St. Paul, in the 14th Chapter of the 1st of his
Epistles to the Corinthians), extreme unction, purgatory,
invocation of saints, the worship of the Virgin Mary as an
intercessor with God and Christ, image worship, baptism of
bells, celibacy of the priesthood, indulgences, vows, pilgrim
ages, relics, with divers other doctrines, all of which have
been pronounced to be of equal force and as authentic as the
sacred charter itself, by the standard of modern popery, that
trinity of blasphemy and spiritual wickedness — the Council
of Trent, the infallible Pontiff, and the Congregation de pro
paganda fide.*
* A wish of Luther is recorded, that all those who are to preach the
Gospel would diligently read what he calls the popish abominations,
decrees and books, that they might understand the mystery of iniquity ;
which must be inconceivable, from its extent and magnitude, to all who
have not bestowed some pains in considering it. In one respect alone,
the Papal church has approved its pretension to immutability (an attri-

lxviii.
As there may yet be some among his readers who, like the
Jewish rulers of old, might still be inclined to doubt, marvel,
and say to each other, How can these things be? — the
editor feels desirous to repeat, before he enters upon a
description of a place called Purgatory, that he means no
offence to any individual among those who believe in such a
state. No ; his warfare is solely against that Church, self-
called infallible, and which claims to be the supreme mis
tress of all churches ; calling herself Catholic, too ! that is,
universal, which she is not, nor ever was. And although his
opinions should be as offensive to a Pope of Rome as a Pope
of Rome is obnoxious to the pure religion of Christ, the
editor would not shrink, but would declare to his last breath,
his firm and unalterable belief, that the Church of Rome is
anti-christian in her principles, anti-christian in her doctrines,
and anti-christian in her practices. Nothing therefore shall
ever deter him from fighting manfully as a soldier of the
great Captain of his salvation, Jesus Christ (his watchword
being — No peace with Rome), under the banner of whose
cross fear was never felt when engaged in contending against
anti-christ, that man of sin, who opposeth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God
(as saith the apostle) sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God. St. John saith, " I heard another
voice from heaven saying to all nations, kindreds, and
tongues, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not par'
takers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues,
bute of God): it repeals none of its decrees; it disavows none of its
acts ; and it proceeds everywhere, as far as circumstances will permit,
in the same course ; neither expressing shame nor contrition for its
crimes. Luther's advice is therefore as applicable at this day as it was
in the age of the Reformation ; and never at any time, since that age,
has it been more necessary than at present that the character, and the
practices, and crimes of the Romish Church, should be thoroughly ex
posed and understood.

lxix.
for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remem
bered her iniquities." The editor is quite aware, however,
that such awful enunciations will appear mysterious and
dubitable to the sceptic and the nominal christian, whether
Papist or Protestant, who, like Gallio, care for none of these
things further than the external forms ;* men who have no
sense of the fear of God, and consequently no concern about
pleasing or displeasing him. Happily, however, there exists
another description of christians, who make the inspired word
of God their constant study, their hope, and their trust. To
them the fear of offending is their only apprehension, and
all their concern how they can sufficiently please Him, whose
divine commands are made so clear and comprehensive to
their understanding, that he may run that readeth them,
and whose ivord is a lamp unto their feet, and a light
unto their path ; in whose sacred pages they meditate
with devout attention and deep . humility. To this class
of christians, then, the editor is desirous particularly to
address himself, assured. from his own experience that to
every other description of religionist his words would seem
like vain babblings and as idle tales. Neither would the car
dinals in the Conclave of the Vatican, in Rome, nor the Doc
tors of Theology of the Sorbonne, in the University of Paris,
give credit to any assertions advanced that were founded on
the belief of a heretic, that is, of a person not being a mem
ber of their Church. " Ye will not come to me that ye might
have life," was the lamentation of the compassionate Saviour
of mankind ; but, on the contrary, ye labour incessantly, as
ye have continued to do ever since the glorious reformation,
to extinguish the light of my gospel, and to establish in its
* " 'Tis one thing not to believe in Christ because we know him not ;
'tis another to know him and to disbelieve him. Though such igno
rance maybe an excuse, yet such knowledge must be condemnation." —
Sherlock.

Ixx.
room the commandments and doctrines of men. Is it not,
then, almost surpassing credit, that human beings, professing
to be of a sane mind, and calling themselves Catholics, and
also professing to be wise (as St. Paul remarks), have become
fools, while they fancy themselves immaculate, and even en
dowed with exclusive salvation, being an heir-loom, they per
suade each other, left on record to the papacy as their
natural inheritance, and who taunt every one who is not of
their communion, as if they were ready to reproach them,
saying, Stand by thyself, come not near, I am holier than
thou. Now, all this proceeds from sheer ignorance of their
knowledge of the Bible, never having learnt from that divine
book that Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God by
miracles, and wonders, and signs, like the great prophet
Moses, and came after him, in the full power and authority of
God, to make a new covenant, not with one people, but with
all the nations of the earth. " Then Peter opened his mouth
and said, Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of
persons : but in every nation he that feareth him and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Moreover,
the greatest wonder of all, and it is marvellous in our eyes,
as the apostle saith, is, how so many men who are learned
and intelligent among the Lords and the Commoners of
England should so steadfastly resist the evidence of truth,
which stands in such array against them, and not emancipate
themselves from the galling yoke that presses on their intel
lectual powers, rather than suffer the chains of superstition,
idolatry, and blasphemy, to be still rivetted so firmly round
their understanding by their spiritual guides, who cry peace
when there is no peace. Nevertheless, by such false guides,
who use also many other curious arts to gull and impose upon
the imaginations of the poor papists, they almost frighten
away their very senses, in order to shut out all other thoughts

Ixxi.
from entering the mind;* careful indeed, and troubled, they
are, about many forms concerning the Popish doctrines of a
Church which lays claim to exclusive salvation, but about
the one thing needful, which our Lord mentions in the Gos
pel of St. Luke, these Romish priests say not one word ; no,
they are mute on the subject. Nevertheless, the same mer
ciful Saviour assures us " it shall never be taken away" from
those who earnestly seek to possess it, as his promise also
declares in his everlasting Gospel, in which is recorded
all saving truths, and which discloses knowledge unto salva
tion to all who seek it therein.
The editor has now to apologise to his readers for his de
viation from the subject which ought to have immediately
followed the sacrament of Extreme Unction, namely, Pur
gatory, with which article he will proceed forthwith. How
ever, he must premise to his readers, that he is about to
approach an abode of artificial heat somewhat difficult to de
scribe, being the invention of an artificer skilled in knowledge
of a peculiar kind which passeth human contrivance ; he would
also apprise them that every other doctrine of popery, as well
as Purgatory, is so ingeniously contrived and constituted, by
the same artist, as to be made profitable to the Roman Hier
archy. We discover, nevertheless, in history, that after some
confused traces of Purgatory, in the ideas of Pope Silvester,
about the year 310, and of Pope Gregory the Great, in the
year 600, that still it was never preached till the time of the
latter Pope, and even then it required the approval of the
Popish doctors, which, being obtained, in the first place, as
necessary on their parts, and yet a more important sanction

* The unhappy papists are required, individually, to make the follow
ing declaration: — " Hereby I utterly renounce the judgment of my
senses and all human understanding." — English Manuel, Edit. 1725. —
Semper Eadem.

lxxii.
of what were looked upon as infallible, namely, the general
and most sacred councils, became expedient for the purpose
of obtaining a final ratification of the whole. But, after all,
Purgatory did not receive the sanction required as to its ortho
doxy for nearly 800 years after, when, for the first time, it
was established as an article of faith by the General Council
of Florence, held in the year 1439. Moreover, to strengthen
the people in its belief, it has since been registered as an ar
ticle of faith by the Fathers of the Council of Trent, under
the authority of Pope Pius IV. ; and from that period all
true members of the Church of Rome (for there are nominal
Papists as well as nominal Protestants) have been obliged to
give their assent, as well as to confess that they constantly
hold in the belief of a Purgatory, and that the souls detained
therein are helped out by the suffrages of the faithful.
Under these favourable encouragements, as may be sup
posed, the Church of Rome was not very backward in adopt
ing this lucrative but most unscriptural doctrine, which she
soon had interwoven into the system of her religion. Oh, yes !
for she was well aware that even Demetrius himself, nor his
craftsmen at Ephesus, could have been greater losers by the
destruction of the Temple of Diana than the Church of
Rome would be by the extinguishing of the fires of Purga
tory. Therefore, it is not to be wondered at that her priest
hood love to fan its flames. Now it would appear rather
queer, according to popish theology, that St. Augustine, a
canonized saint of the Church of Rome should write against
Purgatory. " Know ye," said this saint, " that so soon as
the soul is departed from the body, it is straightway, either for
the good merits placed in Paradise, or else for sins thrown
headlong into the deep dungeon of Hell."* And St. Cyprian,
• •¦ Ad fratres in Erimo, Ser. 57."

lxxiii.
another canonized saint of the same Church saith, " When
we depart hence, there is no place of repentance ; life is
either lost or won."* However, holy mother Church, as
she is called, in opposition to the doctrine of her own saints,
to whom her members pray, decreed that prayers should be
offered up for the dead, and that alms should be given to
release relatives and friends out of the flames of Purgatory.
Now this is not christian charity, but chicanery, in the hope
of gain; and even Richer, the historian to the general
Councils, charges the Church of Rome with making the sins
of men her golden harvest. Here, then, we have a proof
from what the Papists themselves call the authority of the
Fathers ; two of them, in fact, exclaiming against Purgatory,
and the third, one of their own historians. The editor, then,
falling in, as he does, with the opinions of these two saints,
desires now to appeal to the most Purgatorian doctor of the
Romish Church, in order to learn how it can be possible for
any Christian, who rests in faith in Christ, in a place of
light and peace, can be tormented in burnings and torments
in Purgatory — if even there were such a place, as Papists
feign, which there certainly is not.
Now we read in Scripture, that there are but two kinds of
persons, faithful and unfaithful : the first, after their de
parture, go immediately into everlasting life, and the second,
into everlasting punishment. In the parable which relates
to the invisible world, no intermediate place is mentioned
between heaven and hell. The rich man who was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and who fared sumptuously every day,
and the beggar, named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate,
both died; the rich man was cast into hell, and the beggar
was carried to heaven. Now, as far as Purgatory was con--
* " Contra Demel."
A 10

lxxiv.
cerned in this matter with the death of the wealthy man, and
had there indeed been such a place known in those times, he
would certainly have been consigned to it ; for, according to
the scholastic theology of the Church of Rome, his sins were
not of a mortal but of a venial nature, for he was only a
gluttonous, luxurious, and extravagant person, whose minor
trespasses, even though considered of a trifling sort, never
theless required purification in the flames of Purgatory,
which he would have been cast into, particularly as he left
great wealth behind him. Unfortunately, however, for the
Pope and his priesthood, some centuries had elapsed after
the death of this voluptuary, before that middle state for
souls departed this life, was discovered by his Holiness's
geologists; — therefore the man escaped. Now, in another
point of view, the editor is of opinion, that Purgatory might
also be compared at present, to a rich banking house, belong
ing to the Church of Rome, on which the pontiff and his
hierarchy have unlimited credit to draw at all times and sea
sons. The editor is aware that many of his readers are dow
ready to inquire of him how he happened to gain so much
information respecting the wealth of this supposed bank.
This circumstance he will immediately account for to the
satisfaction of them all. Well then, now, from ocular demon
stration which exposed to his view the mode by which this
purgatorian recepticle for lucre was generally supplied, to
replenish its coffers so abundantly as to keep up an unlimited
credit sufficient to satisfy the continual demands ' of the pa
pistic hierarchy.* Now, in the year 18&7, Charles X., king
* The methods the priests take to increase the trade, and drain the
purses of the laity, on pretence of praying the souls of their friends and
relatives out of this dreadful fiery furnace, are many and various. Al
most every penance contains masses to be paid for, for the relief of the
souls in purgatory ; sermons are preached, wherein the condition of
these poor souls is represented in the most terrific and affecting light ;
and there are paintings in the churches where this dreadful fire, and the

Ixxv.
of the French, not long after his enthronization, by the sage
advice of his clergy, projected a plan for reclaiming all his
irreligious subjects, for which purpose he sent popish mis
sionaries to preach to them in many of the great towns
throughout France ; and it so happened, the editor, who
was then travelling on the Continent, met with some of
those missionaries in one of the towns he was passing
through. Being, however, informed they were about to com
mence their labours there, he determined to profit by the
circumstance, and resolved to delay his journey in order to
hear what they had got to say on the subject of religion.
The first thing, however, he had occasion to remark was, a
kind of temporary shed, or shop, which they had caused to
be erected as near to the church they intended to preach in
as could be conveniently done. This shop was furnished
with a prodigious variety of articles suited to the occasion,
all of which were called holy, such as beads, rosaries, chap-
lets, crosses ; bones of the dead, called relics ; images of
wood, male and female, which they called saints and saint-
esses ; scapulars, charms, with books of devotion, and pic
tures, the whole on sale at moderate prices for the benefit
of all pious believers. This idolatrous warehouse did not
want for customers until they were all summoned to Church,
the editor making one of the party. A circumstance here
occurred not unworthy of remark. The English Chaplain of
Geneva, being curious to hear these missionaries, ventured
into France without a passport, when he was immediately
arrested and conducted to prison. On his way thither he
was asked by the soldier who had charge of him, how he
dared to enter into France without a passport ? " Travel," he
replied, " I am no traveller; why, I came here to see the
persons tormented in it, are represented in the most strong and striking
colours, to induce their friends and relations to contribute to their
relief.

Ixxvi.
missionaries and to hear them preach." " O, if that be your
object," said he, " you have no need of one." And he imme
diately released him. This seemingly trifling circumstance
is mentioned solely to shew the high importance the bigoted
king of the French attached to the preaching of his accredited
missionaries, and to assure his readers, that no other excuse
under the sun could have saved the worthy chaplain from
incarceration. But to resume the subject. The Church, which was a
spacious and noble edifice, was crowded to suffocation, and
the missionary was already in the pulpit, when the editor
entered : his reverence, however, waited patiently till all were
accommodated with chairs. Here the editor wishes to di
gress, for one moment, to inform his readers, that it is the
interest of the Romish Clergy to have it thought that Pur
gatory is a dreadful place, and accordingly, they take every
occasion in their sermons to describe it (as such of my
readers will presently be convinced of), and to paint the
horrors of it in the strongest colours, so as to affect the
hearts of the living with compassion for the dead, and open
their purses for their relief. The missionary now perceiving
that the whole congregation were seated, and somewhat im
patient to hear his reverence address them, stood up in his
pulpit, and in a loud and commanding voice spoke as follows :
" My Brethren, — I have been given to understand that
many in this town have been informed that the missionaries
travel over France from a greediness of gain — in short, to
collect money : but I tell you, nay ; all such reports are
false. Our mission is solely to preach the Gospel ; there
fore we seek none of your filthy lucre. I shall confine my
subject, for this morning's discourse, to a rigorous definition
of the nature and use of that fiery gulf, so dreadful in

lxxvii.
idea to all unbelievers, which Holy Church denominates
Purgatory ; a salutary place, however, in which the souls of
the faithful are purged from all carnal impurities before they
can be received into Heaven — a place which, I am appre
hensive, several of you, my brethren, are doubtful about,
others ignorant of, and perhaps the greater part (as to its
probable existence) altogether unbelievers. But 0 ! what a
fatal mistake ! Let it then be my business this day, by a
suitable discourse, as a minister of the Gospel and a mis
sionary of Holy Church, to disperse and for ever banish
from your minds all such sceptical notions, which, I flatter
myself, I shall presently be enabled to do, by informing
you, in the first instance, that the temperature of Purgatory
is not only hotter than red hot iron, but hotter — yea, -my
brethren, ten thousand times more so — than the sun itself."*
Having thus quaintly, but terrifically described the scorch-,
ing sejour, for purifying and burnishing the souls of the poor
Papists, the preacher cast his eyes earnestly among the con
gregation, but was observed to look more particularly at a
few persons who appeared in deep mourning ; then, fixing
them sternly on a widow lady, who had recently lost her
* Cardinal Bellarmine, after having mentioned a great number of
uncertain conjectures about this imaginary prison, proceeds to inform
us that most good Catholics believe it to be in the bowels of the earth-
There, they suppose, is a vast, deep, and dreadful cave, or dungeon,
which is divided into four apartments, the lowest and deepest of which
is Hell, the second Purgatory, the third the place of departed Infants,
and the fourth the prison where the souls of the Patriarchs are confined
who were all released by Christ when he descended into Hell. Such
is the division which the fancies of the Roman Doctors have made this
cavern to possess : but the priests, to make tbe best hand of the prison
of Purgatory, have divided it into eight apartments, containing eight
degrees of intenseness in its fire ; the hottest apartment is for kings and
princes, because they are best able to pay for masses for their relief;
the most moderate for common people ; and the other six divisions for
the different degrees betwixt them.

lxxviii.
husband, he thus accosted her : — " And you, Madam, 0 ! if
you did but know the torments your late partner in life is
now enduring in purgatorial flames, how earnestly would you
implore his release at my hands by such meritorious alms-
deeds and oblations as might secure for his soul the expia
tory Sacrifice of the Mass." Then, immediately shifting
his eyes on the other individuals in black, he exclaimed,
" And you, Sir, are you aware of the actual sufferings of
your Father ? and you, Miss, of those of your Mother ? and
you, young man, of those of your Uncle ?" and so on in suc
cession to several others. Such an unexpected and most
appalling description of Purgatory had the desired effect.
By the way, let the editor observe here, that this, too, was
another trap — a very master-piece of papal policy, cunning
ly laid by the missionary to procure what he set out by dis
claiming — the lucre of gain — the money of the living for the
benefit of the dead. Not, however, that those persons whom
he had just been addressing were in his secret. 0 ! no"; this
was not necessary : the crafty Jesuit calculated that, by sim
ply working upon the feelings of a few of those among his
congregation who had recently lost relatives, of which, with
out their knowledge, he took care to inform himself, he
should not fail to excite a general sympathy throughout the
whole : he knew that a little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump : and the scene that followed will prove his consum
mate skill in all the wily trammels of popery.
Nothing was now heard throughout the church but lamen
tation ; some sobbed and sighed, some screamed aloud,
while others swooned away,* and all bitterly bemoaned the
* It is well known in France, that the popish missionaries, besides
pretending to miracles, employ the use of gunpowder, as in days of yore,
to enforce their arguments ; and, that when they have succeeded in

lxxix.
torments their departed friends and companions were en
during in the intense flames of Purgatory.
The artful missionary having succeeded thus far to his ut
most wishes, sat himself down most tranquilly in his pulpit
for several seconds ; when, rising abruptly, with rather a
louder tone^ of voice, he exclaimed, " How now, my bre
thren ? What ! do you imagine I have travelled all this
way to muse over your tears and sighs ? by no means, my
friends. It is your alms I demand, which will enable me to
obtain, through the sacrifice of the Mass, the powerful inter
cession of the Virgin, and the prayers of the Saints, a remis
sion of those burning torments which your relatives and
friends are suffering at this moment in Purgatory."*
working upon the minds of their congregations, so as to throw many of
them into a state of perturbation bordering on despair, by representing
the day of Judgment or the torments of Hell as nigh at hand and ready
to overtake them, a small cannon or engine charged with a few pounds
of this powerful and destructive article, is discharged at a convenient
distance from the Church in which the sermon is preaching, sufficient
not only to shatter every pane of glass in the windows, but even to shake
the very foundations of the building. The effects produced on four or
five hundred poor papists, by such an explosion (another gunpowder
plot, if not to kill, to frighten) may be readily conceived. A mild and
persuasive manner truly of preaching the Gospel ! one which at least
terrifies people into a belief of popery. — The reader is requested to see
an able account of the preaching of popish missionaries in France, in
the celebrated speech of Dupin, the French advocate, when defending
the cause of two editors of French Journals, prosecuted by that govern
ment, for a libel on the Romish religion.
* Every true Christian believes that Christ made a full satisfaction
for the sins of all who believe in him. How absurd and ridiculous is it,
therefore, to suppose that he has made a satisfaction for the guilt of all
deadly sins, but that there still remain some small ones, for which no
satisfaction has been made to divine justice. Now, the popish distinc
tion between mortal and venial sins is nowhere to be found in the word
of God, but is a wicked imposition of the Church of Rome, designed to
answer her own ends and carry on her trade. The least sin is a viola
tion of the holy, eternal, and immutable law of God, and the language
of inspiration is, " He that transgresseth in one point is guilty of all."

Ixxx.
Having made this second artful, but forcible appeal for
money, to a congregation whose minds, from what they had
previously heard, were worked up into a state of anxiety and
compassion for those poor souls burning in the flames (how
ever pure they might be represented) of Purgatory, the vene
rable missionary again sat down most composedly. And
now the ingenuity of his trap began to display itself in full
force, for not less than ten or a dozen persons presented
themselves in different parts of the church with tin boxes
(not for the lucre of gain — O ! no ; but only for the alms
demanded to purchase Masses for the dead) ; these boxes
were handed round with incredible dexterity ; and, on the
other hand, such was the hurry of the poor deluded multi
tude, not indeed to escape out of the trap they were actually
caught in, but to get their hands into their pockets — in short,
to get at their money, in order to subscribe towards these
holy Masses for the dead, that in their earnestness and
haste, some of them literally tore off parts of their garments;
and it was reported (how true the editor will not take upon
him to say) that the missionary succeeded to his utmost
wishes, and carried off the full contents of every pocket in
the church belonging either to male or female ; and thus
ended the purgatorial sermon.
In concluding his account of Purgatory, the editor very
naturally feels curious to ascertain how it has come to pass
that the late Pontiff, Gregory XVI., who has been dead
many months, happened not to have gone to Heaven at once,
but, on the contrary, is now actually in Purgatory ? What !
the Roman Pontiff! whose infallible power when in this
world was even more than sufficient to release whom he
thought fit out of the flames, and yet not able to save him
self! Marvellous indeed ! A Pope in Purgatory ! ! Pass
ing strange ! ! Nevertheless, such is the fact ; yea, and it

lxxxi.
has even been announced in the London Newspapers that
high mass has been said in a popish Chapel in Moorfields, in
that City, and consequently in all other popish conventicles
throughout the metropolis, in order to pray his holiness's
soul out of that little hell in which the poor man is now
suffering for his venial sins. How many grand masses this
infallible personage may require, or from what quarter the
money is to be forthcoming to remunerate the officiating
priests for their exertions to release his holiness from his
present hot berth, the public papers have not informed John
Bull ; many persons, however, among Protestants and Pa
pists, surmise that, as the sum required to pray a Pope out
of Purgatory must be considerable, the Catholic nobility
and gentry of England have already come forward in the
momentous concern of the soul of their triple-crowned sove
reign, resolved, cost what it will, to get him out. O ye un
wise, all-concealing priests of the one Church, out of whose
pale ye declare there is no salvation, but who have, neverthe
less, been fancying by an assured appearance intended to
deceive, that ye have been enabled, cunningly, to keep popery
disguised in England up to the present time. Ye have,
nevertheless, sillily, inadvertently, and most unadvisedly
thrown off the mask from your want of judgment, by bringing
to light, before a Protestant people, the very darkest and
most fictitious doctrine among the whole code of your lying
wonders and your satanic inventions. John Bull, however,
whose eyes are now wide open from the additional light your
blundering has thus thrown upon the subject, is now enabled
with one glance to view your popish hell with additional
scorn and contempt. Nevertheless, in common courtesy,
John, no doubt, will offer his condolence to the successor of
the defunct pope, aware that the feelings of his holiness must
at this present time be most acute whenever his mind hap
pens to dwell on the sufferings of his purgatorial brother and
All

lxxxii.
predecessor, foreseeing, as his holiness naturally must, that
it will come to his turn, ere long, to pay his respects to the
same hot and dismal abode in which Gregory the XVI. is
now broiling. Alas ! his holiness must necessarily pass many
a miserable night, full of ugly sights and ghastly dreams
flashing across his brain : he sleeps not on a bed of roses— -
no foretaste of heaven for him ; on the contrary, nothing but
anticipations of what awaits him in purgatory, for there he
must go and there remain up to his very eyes in its purifying
flames, until fallible priests, like his once pretended infallible
self, by dint of high masses, have prayed him out, all of
which, however, must be paid for, and of course will be paid
in this country by the English nobility and gentry, par
excellence, calling themselves Catholics. Truly, then, it may
be said, and Mr. Bull, no doubt, will agree with the editor,
•that if there be anything plain in any book in the world,
this is plain in scripture that without holiness no man shall
see the Lord. This is the foundation of all religion. What
then are we to think of popery ? ar, who will venture to deny
that the- substitution of pageantry and outward forms for the
inward essentials of the pure religion of Jesus Christ consti
tutes its genuine character ? Would, then, that it might
please Jehovah to give those blind followers of blind leaders
a heart to love and dread Him, so as to enable them, without
fear of their present spiritual gnides,* to live after his com
mandments, and that he would vouchsafe them the means of
salvation through that divine Being, who hath told us him
self, that this is eternal life, to know the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent; —
" Pointing the way that leads to God,
Salvation through a Saviour's blood."
* If the word spiritual has any meaning, spiritual obedience must
mean obedience of the mind, and those who profess it, as they hope for
salvation, must renounce by that act every right to use the powers of
their mind on matters of faith, and morals, independently of the Pope
and his Church.

The editor having, he trusts, by this time, succeeded in
cooling, if not extinguishing, the fire of Purgatory, as far at
least as the safety of the souls of his Protestant readers, and
he also hopes, of all christians concerned, as to the pro
bability of the existence of any such place, he will now, there
fore, revert to the abjuration of the three priests, introduced to
their notice in the introductory matter at the commencement
of these pages, the narration of which cannot fail to interest
all his readers, and, in fact, all denominations of true Chris
tians, while they will afford them an opportunity for reflec
tion, and inquire with critical minuteness, weighing well in
their minds the frank and ingenuous arguments of the three
Reverend ecclesiastics, in the examination of which, the
readers cannot fail to discover throughout the whole an utter
detestation of falsehood and hypocrisy, clearly evinced on
their parts and openly declared in their avowals to the true
faith as it is in Jesus, each of the converts now exclaiming
with joyful vehemence in the words of the Psalmist, My
soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler ;
the snare is broken and I havejscaped. And ready also to
render an account to every man that askethfor the reason
of the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear ; having
a good conscience, that those who speak ill of them as evil
doers might be ashamed of falsely accusing tlieir good con
versation in Christ; for having turned from sin to holiness,
and feeling assured if the will of God be so, that it is better
to suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing.

ABJURATIONS FROM POPERY.

AN ADDEESS
TO PERSONS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PERSUASION,
BY JAMES A. DWYER,
Showing some of his reasons for leaving the Church of Rome.

My Dear Friends,
Many of you, I doubt not, will be astonished to
hear that I have renounced the errors of the Church
of Rome, — that Church in whose doctrines and super
stitions I have been educated. Indeed I may say, that
they have grown with my growth, and strengthened with
my strength. The struggle between my duty to God
and gratitude to the Church of Rome, for providing so
respectably for six priests of my family, was certainly
very great; but God, in his mercy, has shown me
the error and delusion under which I laboured, and has
constrained me to forsake error and embrace the truth.
B

You will necessarily require from me the cause of this
wonderful change ; and I can only say, that God has, of
his own free gift, shown me that salvation can only be
found in the volume of inspired truth, professed in the
reformed, or Protestant Church. And it is my heart's
desire that you, my friends, may become partakers of
that peace of mind and contentment of soul I now enjoy.
In the first place, on reading the Bible carefully and
prayerfully, I could discover no passage in the New
Testament to support the doctrine of Transubstan-
tiation, as defined by the Council of Trent, and received
by all Roman Catholics, that Christ is really and substan
tially present in the Eucharist, both God and man, the
same body and blood, soul and divinity, bones and sinews,
as he died on the cross. They bring the Gospel of St.
Matthew, c. xxvi. v. 26, 27, 28, to support this carnal
eating of the body of Christ; but may I entreat of you,
my friends, to read the 29th verse of the same chapter,
which follows and clearly explains the 26, 27, and 28th
verses : "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth
of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink
it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Now Christ
held in his hand the same cup which he gave his disci
ples to drink of, and looking at it, he says, in the 29th
verse, "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine ;" that is, I will not drink of this wine made of
the fruit of the vine. Now, if it were his blood, as
your Priests make you believe it to be, how could God
the Son, the second person of the Trinity, call it "this
fruit of the vine " ? Would he not have been con
strained thus to say in the 29th verse, " But I say unto
you, I will not drink henceforth of this blood," &c. ?
If it were his blood, and he wished his disciples to be-

lieve it to be so, he would have called it his blood : but
my dear friends, he does no such thing ; he calls that
which was contained in the cup, "the fruit of the
vine" — that is, real wine, and not his blood. And,
indeed, it is nothing but wine that the Priest has in the
cup or chalice, and nothing more than a wafer composed
of flour and water, in the bread. This doctrine of tran-
substantiation, therefore, is of man's invention, and of
modern growth, and was never defined by the Church
of Rome, in any of her numerous Councils, until that
held in Trent, in the sixteenth century, not three hun
dred years ago.
2ndly. I find that the imaginary, but lucrative doc
trine of Purgatory is altogether unfounded, and cannot
be supported by any text from the Old or New Testa
ment : it was never even heard of until the year 1438,
and is plainly condemned in numerous passages of those
inspired writings. St Paul informs us, that when the
believer is absent from the body, he is present with the
Lord; and our Saviour plainly teaches, that there are
but two ways and two ends — the narrow way, which
leads to life, and the broad way, which ends in destruc
tion. And, in his words to the dying thief, he assures all
penitent believers of an immediate entrance into Para
dise after death: "Verily, I say unto you, this day shalt
thou be with me in Paradise." St. John, the beloved
disciple, echoes the words of his master, in the well-
known passage in the book of Revelation : " Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ;
and their works do follow them." Rev. c. xiv., v. 13.
These are a few of the many passages in holy Scripture,
which must convince any man that Purgatory is a fiction.

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zen serpent to be made when the Israelites were passing
through the desert, and placed on a pole, so that the
people, when bitten by the fiery serpent, might look on
it and be cured. The serpent, which the Lord ordered
thus to be set up before the people, was a type of Christ,
who when raised on the cross was to cure us, through
faith in the merits of his blood shed on the cross, from
the wounds inflicted on the soul of christians by the fiery
serpent, the devil. I implore you to read the second
book of Kings, c. xviii. v. 4, and see how the Lord
praises King Hezekiah for breaking this serpent which
the Israelites used, as you use your images. "He re
moved the high places, and brake the images, and cut
down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent
that Moses had made, for unto those days the children
of Israel did burn incense to it, and he called it Nehush-
tan," that is, a bit of brass. Read the following verses,
and you will see that the Lord was well pleased with
Hezekiah for what he did to this brazen serpent,
although it was a type of Christ, and made by his faith
ful servant, Moses.
Are we, then, to pray to, or worship, Angels or
Saints? In the Acts of the Apostles, c. x. v. 25, 26, it
is expressly forbidden. "And as Peter was coming in,
Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and wor
shipped him, but Peter took him up, saying, stand up,
I myself also am a man." " Then the priest of Jupiter
which was before their city, brought oxen, and garlands
unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice, with the
people, which when the apostles Paul and Barnabas
heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the
people crying out and saying, Sirs, why do ye these
things ? We also are men of like passions with you,

and preach unto you that ye should turn from these
vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein."
Acts, c. xiv. v. 13, 14, 15. Yes, the apostles preached
doctrines contrary to those which the Church of Rome
preaches ; for they preached to turn from the vanities of
praying to creatures, for they are not able to help or
assist us. Yes, for truly they preached and exhorted us
to turn unto the living god, which made heaven and
earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein : not
to give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils,
as preached by the Church of Rome ; but to worship the
one only true God, through the one only true Mediator,
Jesus Christ: "For there is one God, and one Mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." My
dear friends, fly from this accursed apostacy, this mys
tery of iniquity which has drawn you away from the
good old way, taught by Christ and his apostles. Hear
the words of God himself: "Come out of her (the
Church of Rome,) my people, that ye be not partakers
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues ; for
her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities." Rev. c. xviii. v. 4, 5. You
cannot remain in the Church of Rome with safety.
Idolatry is the worshipping of the work of men's hands,
as if it were God. " They worship the work of their
own hands, that which their own fingers have made."
Isa. c. ii. v. 8. And idolatry is a damnable sin. Gal.
c. v. v. 20. You cannot go to mass without committing
this damnable sin ; for the wafer which is there set up
to be worshipped, is the work of a man's hands, and
therefore an accursed idol ; I say, then, my dear friends,
imitate my example, and fly out of the apostate Church
of Rome ; fly, for the life of your souls is at stake, and

fly to Jesus, the loving and mighty Saviour, who is able
and willing to give to the uttermost to all that come
unto God by him. I remain your faithful friend,
JAMES A. DWYER.
Missionary Settlement, Achill, May 6, 1846.
P.S. I have this day been informed by a Roman
Catholic, who is a person of truth, that he heard a Priest
declare on the Altar, that all converts are obliged to
take an oath, in which a term, which decency forbids
me to repeat, is applied to the blessed Virgin. In
order to frustrate the wicked design of such misrepre
sentations, I here subjoin the form itself: —
" The Minister addressing the Congregation, says,
" Good people, this convert has been recommended for admission
into the Communion of our Church ; nevertheless, if there be any of
you who know any impediment or notable crime, on account of
which, the profession he is about to make should not be looked upon
as sincere, let him come forth in the name of God and shew what that
crime or impediment is.
" Then addressing the converts he proceeds : — ¦
" I require, and charge you, as you shall answer at the dreadful
day of Judgment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed,
that if you be not convinced in your conscience of the corruption and
false worship of the Church of Rome, and if you be not firmly per-
suaded that the Doctrine, Communion, and Worship of the Protestant
Church, is the true and safe way to Salvation, as taught in the Holy
Scriptures, you declare the same, and go not on to mock the
Almighty, by pretending to a persuasion, which, in truth, you have
not. " Convert. — I solemnly profess, in the presence of God, that
I come here in sincerity and truth.

" Minister. — That this Congregation, here present, may be fully
satisfied that you are well acquainted with the doctrines which you
renounce, and also with those which you come here to profess, I ask
you : —
" Do you utterly renounce the Sacrifice of Mass as offered up to
God in the Church of Rome ; and do you trust only in the Sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ, made upon the Cross, once for all ; and, do
you own no other merits, whereby man is saved, but His only ?
" Convert. — I do.
"Minister. — Do you renounce the doctrine of Purgatory, and the
practice of praying to the Virgin Mary, or to Saints or Angels, or to
Images and Relics ?
" Convert. — I do.
" Minister. — Do you believe that in the Holy Communion there is
no Transubstantiation of the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood
of Christ ?
" Convert. — I do not believe that any such change is made.
" Minister. — Are you persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain
sufficiently all doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation,
through faith in Jesus Christ ?
" Convert. — I am so persuaded.
" Minister. — Let us pray that these, our brethren, may have grace
faithfully to persevere in the profession of a good faith, which they
have now made.
" Lord have mercy upon us.
" Christ have mercy upon us.
" Lord have mercy upon us.
" Minister. — O Lord, save thy servants.
" Answer. — Who put their trust in thee.
" Minister. — Create in them new hearts.
" A,nswer. — And renew a right spirit within them.
C

10
"Minister. — Restore unto them the joy of thy salvation.
" Answer. — And establish them with thy free spirit.
" Minister. — O Lord, hear our prayer.
" Answer. — And let our cry come unto thee.
" Let ns pray.
" O most merciful God, who according to the multitude of thy
mercies dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent, that thou
rememberest them no more, open thine eye of mercy upon these thy
servants ; receive them into thy favour ; strengthen them with thy
Holy Spirit ; preserve and continue them faithful members of thy
Church, to the glory of thy holy name, and to their everlasting
salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
" The minister then stands up, and-laying his hand upon the head
of each Convert, says,
" In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
we receive thee into the Communion of the true Catholic Church,
established in this realm. Amen.
" Now unto God's grace and mercy we commit thee ; the Lord
bless thee and keep thee ; the Lord be gracious unto thee ; the Lord
lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace, both now and
evermore."

CASE OF SECESSION OF A SPANISH PB1EST ;
AND THE CAUSES OF HIS JOINING THE PROTESTANT
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

"The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." — Proo. xii. 10,

The following account, relative to the secession of
a Spanish Priest, whom the editor met with on the
Continent, was communicated to him by that individual
himself, who was a dignitary high in the church of
Rome, and whose learning and abilities had gained
him much credit among the Spanish Clergy, by whom
he was selected as a fit and proper person to go on a
mission to Rome, to transact some important Ecclesi
astical business for them with his holiness, Pope Pius
VII. There, in a city devoted to all wickedness, in his
capacity of Envoy, he had an opportunity of peeping
behind the curtain, and of beholding Popery undisguised,
stripped even of all external decency. This hideous
spectacle, coupled with a former act of barbarity and
compulsion exercised towards himself by a Bishop, his
relative, gave him such an abhorrence of his church,
that he resolved im his own mind, if ever a favourable
opportunity should offer, to abjure a religion, the
fallacy, wickedness, and intolerance of which, he had
already felt almost to the rending of his heart, and
latterly witnessed with his own eyes at Rome in all its
naked and natural deformity.
It pleased Almighty Providence not many years after
his return from the accursed city, to open a way of escape

12
for this unhappy man, enthralled as he had been by
compulsion, for so long a period, in fetters of misery
and affliction ; when he was delivered " as a roe from
the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of
the fowler," out of the trammels of that idolatrous
synagogue of Satan — the Church of Rome; and he
arrived in England in the year 1824, exercising his
functions as a minister of the Church of England, in
London, under the authority and license of Doctor
Howley, the Lord Bishop of that see, and preaching the
pure gospel in that city with great force and effect, in
the church of the French Protestant Refugees ; whose
forefathers, in order to escape the bloody persecutions
in France, occasioned by the revocation of the edict of
Nantes, in 1685, by Lewis XIV, fled, like this poor
Spaniard, for refuge into England, — free, and then
Protestant England — and in which free country their
descendants have ever since continued to live in the full
enjoyment of civil and religious security.
The editor will now proceed to develop to his read
ers the particulars of this interesting conversion, per
suaded that it will not fail to impress on their minds
a just abhorrence and loathing at the turpitude and
effrontery of that antiquated prostitute, the Church of
Rome, " which doth corrupt the earth with her fornica
tion ; " and although she feels herself almost exhausted
with age and sin, nevertheless perseveres in adorning
and painting herself without, the more her inward parts
are full of iniquity and deceit.
" You have frequently, my dear Sir," said this
Spanish Monk, to his friend the editor, "heard me
assign many strong, and, to your mind, conclusive rea-

13
sons for renouncing the errors of the Church of Rome,
and becoming a minister of the Church of England.
Nevertheless, there still remains one behind, locked
up hitherto in my own bosom, which I never before
imparted to any man, but which I now feel inclined to
disclose to you, who in all my distresses both in Swit
zerland and in England ever proved my benefactor and
friend ; assured as I am, in the first instance, that in
doing so, I shall benefit my benighted countrymen, who
are still groping in the dark for the truth, inasmuch as
you will apply my communication, one day or other, to
sound religious purposes ; — in the next, that my disclo
sure will afford additional proof of the iniquity of that
false church and priesthood, to which I formerly
belonged ; — and lastly, tend to confirm in the minds of
all unprejudiced men, those decisive facts which you
have published in your late Exposition of Popery.
Know, then, I am descended from an old and respect
able family in Spain ; but my father being a younger
brother, and not in very affluent circumstances when he
died, left a numerous family by my mother, of whom I
am one, rather scantily provided for. I had been bred
up to the Law, and was following my profession very
contentedly, when I was one day sent for most unex
pectedly by my uncle, a bishop, and my father's brother.
On my arrival, his lordship accosted me in an unusual,
and what I thought rather an imperative manner.
'Young man,' said he, in a commanding voice, 'you
must give up the Law, and go into the Church ;' intima
ting that if I took holy orders he would provide for me.
Not from any dislike to my church, or my religion, at
that period, but from the circumstance which I am now
about to relate, my uncle's proposal confounded my
very senses, and I was so overcome with fear and

14
wonder, that I felt totally unable to give him a direct
answer. His lordship soon perceived my embarrass
ment, and angrily demanded the cause ; asking me if I
doubted his inclination or ability to provide for me?
' Neither the one nor the other,' I replied, respectfully.
' What do you hesitate then about, nephew ? Answer
me, sir, directly : ' when I acknowledged to him most
ingenuously, that I was engaged to be married to a
young lady in my neighbourhood. This simple, but
frank confession, produced a distorted smile of scorn
and contempt on the countenance of my uncle; who,
looking me full in the face, exclaimed — 'How, block
head ! is that all ? A woman ! give her up then at once.
Renounce one, and you shall have thousands at your
command;' — the meaning of which diabolical proposi
tion I but too well understood from what I already knew
of the dissolute lives of the greater part of our young
clergy. And O ! it made my very blood freeze on my
veins when I heard it issuing forth from the mouth of a
mitred and hoary headed Bishop of our church. How
ever, prudence whispered in my ear, that non-compli
ance would lay me open to suspicion of the holy office
of the Inquisition. I acquiesced, therefore, outwardly,
when in my inmost thoughts, and very soul, I vowed if
ever an opportunity — a door of escape — was afforded
me, to abjure an unhallowed religion, which, under the
outward garb of celibacy, secretly sanctioned and en
couraged fornication.
" Thus by my uncle's positive command, and the fear
of the Inquisition, I took holy orders ; forced as it were
into the church, and compelled to renounce the woman
of my heart ; when, according to his promise, his lord
ship presented me with a piece of preferment — a rich

15
Abbaye,* so abundant in tithes of corn, cattle, fruits,
wine, and oil, that I frequently had a regiment of Eng
lish cavalry quartered on me, feeling its number no
more than if it had been composed of but one man.
Matters went on in this manner for a considerable
period of time, when, behold ! a revolution broke out
in Spain, which restored the Cortes, and gave a new
and liberal constitution to the people. Perceiving the
golden opportunity, which I so long and so ardently
prayed for, to be approaching, when I should be en
abled to throw off the garb of restraint, and the mask
of hypocrisy which my uncle compelled me to wear, I
secretly aided and encouraged all those generous and
noble-minded patriots who were so anxious to establish
and secure such a blessing for their country as far as my
means and authority allowed me ; when, alas ! through
the machinations of the Pope with the Holy Alliance,
their efforts were crushed ; the Constitution put down ;
the former king and tyrant, Ferdinand VIL, restored to
his throne; and a price set upon the heads of all the
patriots — myself among the number. I had therefore
no alternative but to fly for my life, which I speedily
did with many others, into France, where I abode some
months. " But even there I perceived I was in danger of being
delivered up to the Spanish Ambassador, at that Court,
should he be informed of my retreat. I therefore made
the best of my way to Switzerland, and in poverty and
rags, and quite worn out with fatigue, arrived at Geneva,
* This is a good illustrative specimen of the " character and influence
of the clergy," so largely dilated upon in the Roman Catholic Magazine ;
but we think it would be difficult to find such an instance in a Protestant
Church. — Ed.

16
where I intended to fix my abode. But, O ! judge of
my extreme surprise and disappointment, when I was
informed, that no Spaniard could be permitted to so
journ in that Canton more than forty-eight hours, in
consequence of a request, or rather an authoritative
demand, made by the Holy Alliance, to that once free
republic, to that effect. In this forlorn condition, and
destitute of every thing but health, the greatest of all
blessings, I experienced, for the first time, that heavenly
consolation which is ever vouchsafed to those who put
their trust in the Almighty Providence of God ; and
which I began sincerely to do from the moment my eyes
were open to the abominations of a Church into whose
ministry I had been thrust against my will : and thus,
while others, in dark despair, were flinging themselves
into the Lake of Geneva, I felt an inward monitor in
my bosom, urging me to be of good cheer, and saying
to my soul, 'be not afraid, it is I, the Lord, who,
because thou didst trust in me, will deliver thee in
six troubles, yea, in seven, there shall no evil touch
thee.' Such consoling assurances as these, written too
by the finger of God himself, in that divine volume
which I was now enabled to study without fear of mo
lestation, greatly soothed my troubled spirit ; and while
I was pondering them in my heart, a pious pastor, and
evangelical preacher of the Church of Geneva, came
most unexpectedly to visit me, who, on hearing my tale
of woe, desired me to accompany him to his friend, the
English chaplain of that city. By him my present
wants were speedily supplied, with a request that I
would call the following day to give an account of my
self, in order, if it proved satisfactory, to set on foot a
subscription in my favour. I accordingly attended at
the appointed hour, when I met eight or ten Swiss and

IT
English gentlemen assembled, all disposed to assist me,
if found worthy of assistance. I was questioned by
them about many things, and they were satisfied as to
the correctness of my answers, with the exception of a
wish I expressed to change my religion, and become a
Protestant, which they seemed to suspect arose out of
worldly policy and motives. This led to severe and
scrutinizing interrogatories, and I was re-examined by
two clergymen, who inquired first, into my general
knowledge and notions of the doctrines of Christianity ;
and, secondly, into my motives for wishing to become a
Protestant. To all these, my answers appeared so satis
factory, that I was pronounced to be, not only orthodox
in my views of Christianity, but sincere in my reasons
and intentions regarding my proposed renunciation of
Popery. A subscription, in consequence, was instantly
begun ; and before the forty-eight hours were expired,
1 found myself furnished with ample means to depart
from Geneva, in comfort, and to undertake a journey to
England, to which country I was recommended by one
of the party (the editor) to go for security. I accord
ingly, and with a truly grateful heart, took leave of my
benefactors, and travelling by way of the Rhine, arrived
in safety in London.
" I commenced my career in that renowned city as a
translator of religious works from the English into
the Spanish language, for one or two of the religious
societies, to send out to South America; and I also
gave lessons in Italian. The letters of introduction,
with which I was kindly furnished, procured me the
acquaintance and countenance of many learned and
good men, some of whom made my story and wishes
to renounce Popery, and to become a minister of the
D

Church of England, known to Dr. Howley, Lord Bishop
of London, who, being satisfied as to my motives and my
sincerity, granted me a license to preach in a French
Protestant church in the metropolis of his diocese, to
which I was appointed curate. My discourses from the
pulpit were much liked by all those of my congregation
who approved of evangelical doctrines. I took for the
text of my first sermon, the second verse of the second
chapter of St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians;
and I have continued ever since to preach and set forth
the pure and beautiful Gospel : ' for 1 determined not
to know any thing among them, save Jesus Christ and
him crucified.'
" When I found myself firmly established in my min
istry, and likewise a licensed preacher, and a clergyman
of the Church of England, consequently free, and at
liberty to marry, as the Apostles were, and many of
whom did take wives, my thoughts very naturally re
verted to the dear woman whom my wicked uncle com
pelled me to renounce. I accordingly wrote to her,
giving her a true and circumstantial account of all that
had befallen me. I told her I was become what they
termed in Spain a heretic, and was then preaching in
a Protestant church against Popery; that, in point of
pecuniary circumstances, I was worse than a beggar;
in short, I informed her all was gone but my attach
ment for her, which was as faithful and strong as ever ;
and moreover, that according to the laws of God, after
which the English constitution was framed, I was now
at liberty, legally, to marry.
" Having dispatched my letter, I waited in the most
anxious suspense for a reply; for, in fact, I was not

19
perfectly certain that this beloved object of my steady
affection was then in existence ; and O ! judge of my
surprise, my joy, my delight, when, instead of a written
answer, she presented herself to me in person, having
taken shipping for England immediately on receiving
my letter. My first care was to procure for her a
suitable lodging, and then, by degrees, to explain to
her my motives for having changed my religion ; to all
of which she listened with profound attention. The
conduct of my uncle towards, me, entirely overpowered
her senses for some time, and tended greatly to shake
her former bigotry, and to undermine her faith in a
church out of whose pale she had been taught to believe
there was no salvation. A few weeks of study and re
flection, with the Bible (to which she had always before
been a stranger) constantly before her, shewed her the
fallacy of her religious creed; convinced her of its
errors ; taught her the truth as it is in Jesus ; and
established in her mind a sincere conviction, and firm
belief in the pure and holy faith of the Church of
England; in confirmation of a belief in whose sound
and saving doctrines, and of her own sincerity, she
publicly received the sacrament at its altar.
" Need I add, that in time she gave me her hand,
and we were united, in due form, in the bands of holy
matrimony, in which we now happily live, with hearts
full of gratitude to the Lord, whose tender mercy and
goodness opened the eyes of our minds to the false, ab
surd, and destructive doctrines of the Church of Rome ;
and in prayer to the Father of mercies we always begin
and end every day. O ! then, if there be any truth in
holy writ, it is most certain that the doctrines of Popery
teach nothing but ' lies and hypocrisy,' encouraging for-

20
nication, by ' forbidding to marry,' though God himself
has pronounced that state innocent and honourable ; and
' commanding us to abstain from meats which he hath
created to be received with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth.'
" What cause then, I repeat, have not I and my dear
spouse, for abundant thankfulness to the Almighty, for
enabling us both to escape out of the trammels of a
Church whose entire canons are a tissue of falsehood
made up of ' profane and old wives' fables,' mixed with
the ' doctrines of devils ; ' divining lies unto the people,
saying, ' Thus saith the Lord,' when the Lord hath not
spoken ; deceiving the hearts of the simple, and turning
the ears of the unstable from the truth ; doctrines, which
are no where to be found, save in that master-book of
lies, that vocabulary of Satan, the Popish traditions —
spurious documents, which the world is given to under
stand are deposited in the Vatican at Rome, and en
trusted to the holy care and keeping of the Pope, for
the spiritual edification and instruction of his priesthood,
and of all those who, like them, 'love and make a lie/
'sporting themselves with their own deceivings.' For
God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to
agree, and ' give their kingdom unto the beast,' until
his words shall be fulfilled ; ' lest the light of the glo
rious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them ;' for ' their sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered their iniquities.'"

AURICULAS CONFESSION:
AN EXTRACT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF THE CONVERSION
OF THE REV. MR. NOLAN (WHO IS NOW A CLERGY
MAN OF THE REFORMED PROTESTANT CHURCH),
PUBLISHED BY HIMSELF.

" During the last three years I discharged the duty
of a Romish Clergyman, my heart often shuddered at
the idea of entering the confessional. The thoughts of
the many crimes I had to hear — the growing doubt upon
my mind, that confession was an erroneous doctrine —
that it tended more to harden than reclaim the heart,
and that through it I should be rendered instrumental
in ministering destruction to your souls, were awful con
siderations to me in the hours of my reflection. The
recitals of the murderous acts I had often heard through
this iniquitous tribunal had cost me many a restless
night, and are still fixed with horror upon my memory.
But, my friends, the most awful of all considerations is
this, that through the confessional I had been frequently
apprised of intended assassinations and most diabolical
conspiracies ; and still from the ungodly injunctions of
secrecy in the Romish creed, lest, as Peter Dens says,
the confessional should become odious, I dared not give
the slightest information to the marked out victims of
the slaughter. But though my heart now trembles at
my recollection of the murderous acts, still duty
obliges me to proceed, and enumerate one or two in
stances of the cases alluded to.

22
"The first is the case of a person who was barbarously
murdered, and with whose intended assassination I be
came acquainted at confession. One of the five conspi
rators (all of whom were sworn to commit the horrid
deed) broached to me the bloody conspiracy in the con
fessional. I implored him to desist from his intention,
and of becoming an accomplice to so diabolical a design.
But, alas, all advice was useless — no persuasion could
prevail, his determination was so fixed — and his only
reason for having disclosed the awful machination to his
Confessor, seemed to have originated from a hope that
his wicked design would be hallowed by his previous
acknowledgment of it to his priest. Finding all my
remonstrances unavailing, I then recurred to stratagem.
I earnestly besought of him to mention the circumstance
to me out of the confessional, in order that I might
apprise the intended victim of his danger, or caution the
conspirators against the committal of so inhuman a
deed. But here ingenuity itself failed in arresting the
career of his Satanic obstinacy. The conspirator's ille
gal oath, and his apprehension of himself becoming the
victim of brutal assassination, should he be known as the
revealer of the conspiracy, rendered him inflexible to my
entreaties; and awful to relate — yes, awful — and the
hand that now pens it shudders at the record it makes
— a poor inoffensive man, the victim of slaughter, died
a most cruel death by the hand of ruthless assassins. Oh,
my dear Protestant countrymen, you will now naturally
ask, whether am I, or the perpetrators of the bloody
deed, most to be censured ? I who knew the murderers
and the murdered previous to the act — I who had met
the intended victim of slaughter in the public streets but
a short time antecedent to his death ? But, my friends,
the prejudices of my early life in favour of the doctrine

23
of auricular confession, and the influence of subsequent
education, instilling into my mind the inviolability of
that iniquitous tribunal, must plead before my God and
the public, as my only apologies for the concealment of
the diabolical conspiracy. And now, you Romish
priests, I ask you, could the Lord Jesus institute a doc
trine so monstrous in its practice, and so subversive of
the principles of humanity — a doctrine that beholds the
dagger pointed at the human heart, but hushes the
warning voice that would apprise the devoted victim of
his danger? I must now proceed with the recital of
another case more revolting to humanity than even the
former one. It is that of a female administering poison
to her parent. Her first attempt at parricide proved
ineffectual, owing to an immediate retching that seized
the parent after taking the draught. The perpetrator
of this foul deed afterwards came to confession, and
acknowledged her guilt, but circumstances showed that
she only sought for priestly absolution to ease her mind
and prepare her for a speedy repetition of her heinous
crime. Again she attempted the act, and it proved
successful. I was called on to attend the dying parent.
The unnatural throes and convulsive agonies of the un
fortunate man convinced me that the disease was of no
ordinary nature. The previous confession of his daugh
ter, who at this time made her appearance, rushed upon
my mind, and suggested that the parent was a second
time poisoned. From what I had known through the
confessional, I could not even hint at the propriety of
sending for medical attendance, for the Romish doctrine
impressed an inviolable secrecy upon my lips, and pre
vented me giving the slightest intimation of the malady ;
whilst the poor patient, unconscious of the cause of his
death, died in the most excruciating agonies of which

24
humanity can form a conception. Oh ! monstrous sys
tem of confession ! Will you dare any longer to ascribe
your origin to the great Eternal, and thus affix to
nature's God the blasphemy of your tenets ? Oh, thou
iniquitous tribunal ! thou cloaker of crimes — thou abettor
of wickedness, thou brutal murderer ! A child attempts
the most diabolical act against a parent, but thou, by
presuming to erase the past transgression, only encou-
ragest to a repetition of the crime. A parent suffers
the most agonizing tortures, and dies in the most excru
ciating pains from poison, administered by an unnatural
daughter, but thou, polluted tribunal, wilt not allow the
priest, acquainted with the circumstances, to disclose the
cause of this heart-rending death. Oh, my Roman
Catholic countrymen, why not awaken from your lethar
gic slumbers — why not arise from the mystic spells that
bind you, and cast off that unnatural yoke which would
dare to unite your God in an unholy alliance with such
monkish blasphemy? Should any unacquainted with
Romanism question the veracity of these statements, let
him consult history, and he will find many similar facts.
Did not the Romish priest, the Rev. Mr. Garnet, the
provincial of the Jesuits, justify his concealment of the
gunpowder plot, on the pretext of its being revealed to
him at confession? Did not Father d'Aubiny, the
French Jesuit, put forward a similar plea of justification
for concealment, when the assassin, Ravillac (who stabbed
Henry IV., in 1610) acknowledged to him in the con
fessional his plan of regicidal murder ? But why need I
refer to such circumstances, as every priest who has
acted in the capacity of a confessor must admit the fact
of similar cases frequently coming before him at the
confessional."

25
The editor is of opinion that it will not be inappli
cable, here, to add to this extract of the conversion of
the Rev. Mr. Nolan, a few more important facts relating
to Loyola's gang, as the Jesuits are emphatically called,
but who, nevertheless, impiously and presumptuously
dare to style themselves the Company of Jesus. Now
these men are taught to look upon the foul deed of mur
der as a sinless act when perpetrated by virtue of any
command or secret instructions from a Pope, or the
General, or head of their Order. History furnishes
repeated instances of murders perpetrated on kings and
princes by the Jesuits ; and, alas, this nest of scorpions,
unfortunately for England and Protestant Christianity,
is again let loose for abetting and encouraging their
agents to spread their pestilential doctrines throughout
the land, with a promise of absolution from all sins past,
present, and to come, and a sure passport to heaven to
all who succeed in the work committed to their especial
charge. For instance, in the case of assassination : —
When the Jesuits have succeeded in working upon
the mind of the wretched fanatic whom they have chosen
for the perpetration of some foul murder, they introduce
him secretly into their oratory or chamber of meditation,
and there expose to his view the deadly weapon, a dagger,
(beautifully ornamented with appropriate devices, and
bearing the Image of the Lamb of God,) with which he
is to be armed. Having with profound solemnity, and
deep devotion, unsheathed this instrument of death
before him, they sprinkle it with holy water, and fasten
to its handle some consecrated beads of coral, promising
the deluded votary to deliver as many souls out of Pur
gatory, as he shall give stabs to the victim they have
doomed to die : they then formally present the dagger

26
to the assassin, when one of them pronounces the fol
lowing benediction : —
" Receive from our hands the sword of Jephthah, the
sword of Samson, the sword with which David cut off the
head of Goliath, the sword of Gideon, the sword of Judith,
the sword of the Maccabees, and the sword of his holi
ness Pope Julius II., with which he delivered himself
out of the hands of many kings, and caused the streets
of several towns to run with blood. Go forth then,
Chosen One; be prudent, be courageous, and may God
give strength to your arm."
Every one present then kneels down, and the senior
Jesuit among them invokes all the host of Heaven, to
be propitious to the plot, in the following form of
prayer : —
" O Cherubims, Seraphims, Thrones, Powers, and
Holy Angels, come down and fill this blessed and cho
sen vessel with an eternal glory. Offer to him daily the
crown of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of the holy
Patriarchs and Martyrs. But lo ! you have already
admitted him into your blessed society, and he is no
longer among us. And thou, O invincible and terrible
God, who has vouchsafed in this our holy chamber of
meditation, to inspire thy servant with a resolution to
exterminate the heretical tyrant that now fills the
throne, in order that he may place his crown on the
head of a Roman Catholic King ; uphold, we beseech
thee, those hands which we have consecrated for the fit
execution of this holy work ; augment his strength, that
he may be enabled to accomplish his purpose ; and fur
nish him with powerful and divine armour from on high,

27
that he may escape out of the hands of those who may
seek to take him ; and, O ! give him wings, which shall
carry his holy and consecrated person, beyond the reach
of all traitors and barbarians ; and further, pour into his
soul that lively joy, which expels all fear, and which
upholds the body in the midst of dangers and torments."
This holy prayer being ended, the venerable brothers
of the Company of Jesus conduct the parricide up to the
altar, over which is placed a painting, which represents
the history of James Clement, a dominican Friar, sur
rounded by the Angels, which defended and carried him
up to heaven. Having shewn him this picture, they
again beseech the Lord, to behold, with an eye of com
passion, the man whom he has chosen as his instrument,
to execute his righteous and just decrees ; so that all the
saints may present themselves to make a place for him
among them in their celestial abode. The above cere
monies being ended, four Jesuits are sent to converse in
secret with the wretched parricide, who do not fail to
assure him, that they have already seen him over
shadowed by a divine light ; and, that as to themselves,
they are struck with it to such a degree, that they feel
compelled to embrace his hands and his feet, as one no
longer to be considered as a mortal being, but a beati
fied soul which is already numbered among the saints ;
and they carry their dissimulation so far, as even to seem
envious of the glory and happiness to which this wretch
has been exalted; and sighing profoundly before him,
they exclaim, Would God we had been chosen in your
place, so that by the commission of such a glorious and
christia?i-like deed, we might be exempt from the pains
of Purgatory, and thus enjoy at once eternal glory !

28
Now, if it should so happen, that he, whom these holy
men supposed quite prepared to execute their diabolical
purpose, should evince, perchance, any symptoms of ter
giversation, or attempt to resist their instigations, they
have then recourse to nocturnal spectres, such as, appa
ritions of monsters (as in the case of the Lovedays, at
Paris), in the hopes of frightening him into a fulfilment of
his vow. If these fail, they then cause the figure of the
Virgin Mary, of angels, and others of the heavenly host,
(probably a St. Dominic or a St. Bartholomew) to ap
pear ; and not unfrequently, as a further excitement to
the execution of the murder, the effigy of St. Ignatius
and his followers.
It is thus, that these teachers of parricide, these lovers
of human blood, who make virtue of vice, and vice of
virtue, succeed in seducing the ignorant and fanatical
papist, to perpetrate every crime in that black catalogue
of wickedness. Such is Jesuitism 1

CONCLUSION.

The editor, before he concludes his strictures on the
Papacy, deems it a duty which he owes to his readers,
to lay before them a salutary and precautionary admo
nition, given to the Protestants of England in the
seventeenth century, by the eminently learned and
truly pious Bishop Shirloch, — a prelate, whose private
character was adorned with the purest virtues of bene
volence and humility ; and will, he trusts, lead them all
to reflect with that Protestant spirit which John Bull
inherits from his forefathers, on past events, as well as
urge them to meditate on the political scheme to favour
and advance Popery (which is now, unhappily for the
nation, carrying on before their eyes) in order that they
may all be vigilant, and on their guard against future
encroachments on the Protestant constitution of the
realm. " Our forefathers," said Bishop Shirlock, " who
lived under the dread of Popery, are most of them
gone off the stage, and have carried with them the ex
perience which we, their descendants, stand in need of,
to make us earnest to preserve the blessings of liberty
and pure religion, which they bequeathed to us. Oh,
that I had words to represent to the present generation
the miseries which their forefathers underwent ; — that I
could describe their fears and anxieties, their restless
nights and uneasy days, when every morning threatened
to usher in the last day of England's liberty ! Had

30
men such a sense of the miseries of the times past, it
would teach them what consequences to expect from any
successful attempt against the present establishment
There is nothing," adds the same Prelate, "that an
Englishman has more to fear than the prevailing power
of Popery. To design the advancement of it, is to de
sign the ruin of the state and the destruction of the
church. It is to sacrifice the nation to a double slavery
— in fact, to prepare chains both for their bodies and
their minds."
The editor cannot resist his wish to add to this
admonition and promotive of public safety left on re
cord by Bishop Shirlock, the advice given by another
English Prelate, to Englishmen in general, on the same
subject. "Gentlemen," says Bishop Burnet, (in his
Legacy to his Country) " ought to observe these things,
and to entertain one another upon such subjects, to
raise in themselves, and spread around them to all
others, a noble ardour of law and liberty. They ought
to understand Popery well ; to view it in its politics, as
well as in its religious corruptions, that they may guard
against its secret practices."
Why, then, do not the Protestant Clergy speak the
word boldly, and without fear, knowing that they are
set for the defence of the Gospel to preach and pro
claim to all who may come to hear them, that nei
ther priest, nor pope, nor penances, nor pilgrimages,
however severe, imposed on the poor, ignorant, and
priest-ridden papists, have any atoning efficacy in them,
and will not avail the sinner at the day of judgment.
They should also make known to all such deluded, and
deeply to be pitied, persons, that not even an angel nor

31

an archangel may come between man and God ; and
that the keystone to light and life, which is the gospel of
Jesus, teaches us that Jehovah, through the intercession
of Christ, and Christ alone, pardoneth the sins of man.
How bas it come to pass, then, that the Clergy of the
reformed Church of England, who cannot but perceive
in the present perilous times the rapid strides that popery
is now making over the land, that some mystic spell so
influences those divines in their pastoral office, as to de
bar them from manfully exposing from their pulpits
the great enemy of souls, in maintaining the cause of
God against antichrist, with all his overlaid and dis
figured truths, his spurious traditions,* and his soul-
destroying creed, bequeathed as a spiritual legacy by
Pope Pius the IVth, as the pure light of the Eternal,
and to descend to all true papists, from generation to
generation, until time shall be no more ? To nullify,
then, this presumptuous behest by competent authority,
• let all ministers of the true reformed Church come for
ward, as they are required to do, in the service of the
Lord, and, speaking the truth in love, zealously preach
his gospel in opposition to the satanic doctrines, coun
cils, decrees, and bulls of popes, who have invariably
changed the truth of God into a lie, and still hold it in
unrighteousness, and walk not uprightly according to the
glorious gospel of the truth as it is in Jesus. Let, then,
Protestant ministers prove to all that come to hear them
preach that there is no atonement for sin but in the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once offered for the sins of
* The great mass of the Jews is very much in the same state with
reference to pure Judaism that the papists are with respect to Christ
ianity. Error has too much neutralized truth, and tradition buried
scripture ; Rabbinism goes as far to make void the law as tradition does
to make void the gospel.

32
the world; and that no man can by any means redeem
his brother nor give a ransom for his soul. Let them
also convince all gainsayers, with the bible in their hands,
that the word of God was in old times what it is in the
present times — the essential and distinctive doctrine of
unadulterated Christianity ; and that the clear and sin
cere belief of these truths has been, and ever will remain,
the best preservative against popery. Might not the
Clergy, also, the editor presumes to suggest, introduce
the following historical fact in their sermons as a mea
sure of precaution to the Protestants of England, so
that when the time arrives, that both parties, Protestants
and Papists, as to law and religion, are placed on an
equal footing, by the present confidential advisers of the
Queen, the former may recall to mind the following
expressions of James I., King of England? — "I am but
half a king," said His Majesty, " to the Papists, being
lord over their bodies, while their souls are the Pope's."
"Moreover," added the monarch, " there can be no
continued obedience where there is no true religion ;" —
a sage remark, truly, and made with much acuteness
of judgment by that Protestant king, who no doubt
called to his mind the words of the Saviour, who de
clares, in his sermon in the mount, that " No man can
serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the
other ; ye cannot serve God and mammon." So perfectly
assured, indeed, was King James of this, and that double-
minded men were unstable in all their ways, that his sus
picions made him doubt the loyalty of his Popish sub
jects, whose religion, let the reader observe, taught
Papists in those days, just what it teaches them at the
present time, namely, to destroy heretics, if they can, as
a deed pleasing to God. The Gunpowder plot, which

33
took place shortly after, verified, by competent evidence,
to his Majesty, the extent to which this deed was
pleasing to God* by the discovery of which infernal
conspiracy, " the King, the Queen, the Prince, and
all the royal branches," says the historian, "with the
Nobility, Clergy, and Commons of England, assembled
in Parliament, were, by popish treachery, appointed as
sheep to the slaughter in a most barbarous and savage
manner, beyond the example of former ages, all of
whom, however, by an invisible interposition of the
providence of Almighty God, were saved from sudden
destruction, and survived the consequences of calami
ties that would have been entailed on posterity had
that satanic plot been accomplished." Make the faces
of all such be ashamed, Lord, more and more, when
they shall know that thou, whose name is Jehovah, art
only the Most High over all the earth. This conspiracy,
however, may in these days of latitudinarianism and
Papism be looked upon by modern religionists and scep
tics as a by-gone event, unworthy of their notice. Let
the fluctuating opinions, however, of all such men, whe
ther they have altered for good or for evil, never impose
on Protestants as to any alteration having taken place
either in the creed or the politics of popery. And be it
recorded to the eternal disgrace of Spanish martyrology,
that the name of Garnet, a popish priest who made a
full confession of his share in the intended crime, is to
* In the fifth Council of Toledo, Canon 3, the Holy Fathers declared
as follows : — " We, the holy Council, promulge this sentence, or- decree,
pleasing to God — That whosoever hereafter shall succeed to the king
dom shall not mount the throne till he has sworn, among other oaths, to
permit no man to live in his kingdom who is not a Roman Catholic ; and
if, after he has taken the reins of Government, he shall violate this pro
mise, let him become accursed in the sight of the Eternal God, and
become fuel for the eternal fire."

34
be found at this day among the canonized saints of the
Church of Rome.
One thing must be obvious to the world as to the no
tions entertained by all such modern legislators, namely,
that their whole stock of knowledge is bound up with,
and in, selfish and time-serving politics. The editor
would hardly have noticed such mongrel lawgivers but
for a hope he entertains, that some independent Pro
testant may be induced to compassionate their ignorance
(if it be not counterfeit) and reiterate in their unprotes-
tant ears, from the history of Popery, that the Church
of Rome claims her undoubted and exclusive right to
infallibility from apostolic title and succession in direct
line from St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, conse
quently, any change in her prerogative or her dogmas
is precluded while the world lasts. Neither can the
priesthood of that Church swerve from their solemn
and public avowal of the faith promulged by the Pope,
at the Council of Trent, which faith became a canon
or rule of doctrine, enacted by a Council, and con
firmed by the same Pope, as an ordinance possessing
an entire exemption from liability to error ; therefore,
if the Church of Rome, as the editor has had occa
sion to remind his readers more than once in this
work, were even to venture on an alteration of the most
trivial character, her claim to infallibility would cease,
become a dead letter, and lost to her for ever. He,
therefore, is the more desirous still to impress on the
minds of all his readers, that not one jot or tittle of
Rome's canons, councils, bulls, traditions, edicts, decrees,
ordinances, or even her anathemas against Protestants,
have been either altered or abridged since the twelfth
century. Neither let them suppose that such ancient

35

documents have been laid aside as waste paper, or
locked up like dead capital on hand, which produces
nothing. No ! quite the reverse ; they are preserved
with the utmost care, to be referred to in any emer
gency : — for instance, should the Church of Rome feel
herself supported by English law to refer to the Third
Council of Lateran, which enjoins the persecution of
heretics, it would soon be forthcoming in evidence
against them, and received, as such, in condemnation of
Protestantism by every popish adherent of the sovereign
pontiff in the British empire, under pain of damnation
fulminated against them from the altar if they refuse to
comply with the damnatory denunciation of Lateran's
Councils — priests who stretch forth their mouth unto
Heaven, and their tongue goefh all through the world;
therefore fall the people unto them, and thereout suck
they no small advantage ; Tush, say they, how should
God perceive it? Such spiritual teachers, however, al
though they are perfectly aware that the persecuting
clauses (which the editor has already cited) from the
Third and Fourth Councils of Lateran, antiquated as
they are, still possess their infallible power, and it
appears are thought of infinite importance just at this
crisis by the Church of Rome ; so much so, indeed, that
they have been inserted, as authority, in the sixth page
of the " Guardian of the Soul," a work which, perhaps,
is the most read and widely circulated at this time of all
the Roman Catholic books of devotion. How long it
may be before Romish priests are called forth by the
Pope's legate, or ambassador, when his eminence makes
his entry into England with full credentials from his
Holiness to enforce the mild canons of the Council of
Lateran against poor John Bull, time will shew. O
Popery, thou art a system (not a religion) which even

36
exacts a divided allegiance between the subjects of kings
and the subjects of a pope ; on which system an able
writer of modern times makes the following remark : —
" English Protestants have vowed obedience to the
Queen and laws of England, but let it be clearly un
derstood that English Papists have another sovereign,
too, whose power as much transcends earth as eternity
outweighs the things of time."
Would that it might please Almighty God to arouse
the dormant faculties of the Ministers of the Reformed
Church into action, so as to enable them to shake off
the fear of annoyance and inconvenience, and come
boldly forward and commence preaching from their
pulpits such doctrines as they are well aware their
bounden duty towards the church they belong to impe
riously calls upon them to do at this time against the
false dogmas of Popery, whereby truth is almost, if not
altogether, driven out of the world. Unhappily, too,
for the holy and religious cause of Protestantism, these
timorous divines seek to shield themselves under a
plea that their sacred calling requires them to remain
passive lookers-on in all such matters, being professors
of a religion which enjoins peace, and that on such high
ground they feel themselves even called upon to dis
countenance all controversial subjects, not only among
the individuals of their respective flocks, but also among
those members of societies who assemble to expound to
the Protestant people of England the sinful nature of
the anti-scriptural doctrines of the Roman Church;
and while these exemplary persons warn them against
Popery, they also instruct them at the same time in the
pure and scriptural doctrines of the Reformed Church
of Great Britain, emanating from the pure source of the

37

glorious and everlasting Gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Such excuses for refraining to meddle
with Antichrist and his church, and also objections to
controversial discussions, may look very orthodox in the
eyes of some, and mighty plausible in those of others,
while they are at the same time well calculated to im
pose upon and overrule the weak and unsettled minds of
young aspirants to public notoriety, and to induce all
such to join with their elders in the ejaculations of
Peace ! Peace ! where, in fact there is no peace, but that
of drowsiness and inaction ; nor will the harbinger of
true peace, which passeth all understanding, ever be sent
to proclaim it to such mistaken souls. The Apostle de
clares that, " Without controversy, great is the mystery of
godliness ;" and it would indeed be a mystery at this
crisis without controversy. Are ministers, then, of the
Church of Christ, the editor wishes to be informed, com
manded in the Gospel which they both preach and
teach, to abstain from exposing error ? Quite the con
trary, answers the word of Jehovah. What, then, must
be the dismay and mortification of all serious Protes
tants who seek to uphold the religion of their forefathers
in its pristine evangelical purity, when, to their astonish
ment, they are told that many of those clergymen and
laymen who have been imperatively called upon by their
fellow Protestants to come, without hesitation, and unite
with them to fight the battle of their forefathers, for
pure Christianity, with the sword of the spirit, have de
clined to join them ? Alas ! respecting the falling away
of these persons, whatever construction their disappointed
brethren may have put upon such conduct, the Papists
have not been backward in giving their opinions also.
Some of them attribute this non-interference to down
right pusillanimity; while others of them, their wily

38
priests in fact, regard their conduct as an inclination to
wards Puseyism, which they consider as the first inward
moving or yearning towards Rome. Now, if those priests
should have proved wrong in their conjectures, let the
accused come forward boldly and prove their sincerity
by a public denial of their Tractarian fancy for the faith
of those blind followers of blind leaders— the Puseyite
leading the Tractarian, and the Tractarian leading the
Puseyite, till both fall into the ditch. And what, after
all, the editor would ask his readers, is Tractarianism,
or Puseyism, but Romanism wearing a mask in order
to deceive the unwary English Protestants ; hypocritical
mountebanks, covering themselves in maskery and other
tawdry and outward decorations, followed by observ
ances of pomp and grimace, substituting, alas ! gorgeous
habits for the life, and peace, and holy joy of inward
communion with God ?
Now, in the hopes of cautioning all such inexperi
enced and thoughtless young men as the editor has just
alluded to, who might be tempted to follow the example
of those triflers who have lately abjured the religion of
their ancestors, and gone over to that of Rome, he
now proposes to lay before these mistaken persons, for
their consideration, or, rather he ought to say, for their
gratification, and serious reflection, a letter, addressed by
Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, to a lady
who was seduced from the Protestant to the Romish
Church, written in the sixteenth century. Before the
perusal of this epistle, however, the editor presumes it
may be gratifying to his readers first to relate the cha
racter given in history of Bishop Taylor by his succes
sor : — " He was," said his eulogist, " a most learned
man, of solid judgment, keen sagacity, and the most

39

lively imagination ; to which were united all the mild
virtues of private life. His writings are much admired,
the best of which is the IAfe and Death of Jesus
Christ." This good bishop thus writes : —
" You are now gone to a Church that protects itself
by arts of subtlety and arms, by violence and persecuting
all that are not of their minds, to a Church in which
you are to be a subject of the King, so long as it pleases
the Pope: in which you may be absolved from your
vows made to God, your oaths to the King, your pro
mises to men, your duty to your parents in some cases ;
a Church in which men pray to saints in the same form
of words in which they pray to God, as you may see in
the offices of saints, and particularly of our Lady; a
Church in which men are taught by most of the princi
pal leaders to worship images with the same worship
with which they worship God and Christ, or him or her
whose image it is, and in which they usually picture
God the Father, and the Holy Trinity, to the great
dishonour of that sacred mystery, against the doctrine
and practice of the Primitive Church, against the ex
press doctrine of Scripture, against the honour of a
Divine attribute ; I mean the immensity and spirituality
of the Divine nature. You are gone to a Church that
pretends to be infallible, and yet is infinitely deceived in
many particulars, and yet endures no contradiction, and
is impatient her children should inquire into anything
her priests obtrude. You are gone from receiving the
whole sacrament to receive it but half, from Christ's
institution to a human invention, from Scripture to
.uncertain traditions, and from ancient traditions to new
pretences, from prayers which you understood, to pray
ers which you understand not, from confidence to God

40
to rely upon creatures, from entire dependence upon
inward acts to a dangerous temptation of resting too
much upon outward ministries in the external work of
sacraments and of sacramentals. You are gone from a
Church whose worshipping is simple, Christian, and
apostolical, to a Church where men's consciences are
loaden with a burden of ceremonies greater than that in
the days of the Jewish religion (for the ceremonial of
the Church of Rome is a great book in folio), greater, I
say, than all the ceremonies of the Jews contained in
Leviticus, &c. You are gone from a Church where
you were exhorted to read the word of God, the holy
Scriptures, from whence you found instruction, institu
tion, comfort, reproof, a treasure of all excellencies, to
a Church that seals up that fountain from you, and
gives you drink by drops out of such cisterns as they
first make, and then stain, and then reach out; and if it
be told you that some men abuse Scripture, it is true,
for if your priests had not abused Scripture they could
not thus have abused you; but there is no necessity
they should, and you need not, unless you list, any more
than you need to abuse the sacraments or decrees of the
Church, or the messages of your friend, or the letters
you receive, or the laws of the land, all which are liable
to be abused by evil persons, but not by good people
and modest understandings. It is now become a part
of your religion to be ignorant, to walk in blindness, to
believe the man that hears your confessions, to hear
none but him, not to hear God speaking but by him,
and so you are liable to be abused by him as he pleases,
without remedy."
The editor flatters himself that the preceding letter
of Bishop Taylor, which defines the doctrines of the

41

Church of Rome in their true character, and develops
the distinctive property of each so clearly in all their
points and bearings may be the means of confirm
ing in the minds of those persons among his readers
who shall have examined that epistle with impartiality
and seriousness, that they are each and all the inven
tion of man, aided in his unhallowed work by Satan
himself. As well, then, might the Roman Pontiff, with
his pretended infallible power from on high, attempt to
put out the light of the sun at noon day, as to endeavour
with such unholy munitions to extinguish the word of
God, which cannot lie. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, saith the Lord, but my word shall not pass away.
That Popish priests, however, professing themselves to
be wise, and calling themselves the acting ministers of
God, should have their minds thus darkened, is not to
be wondered at, so long as they continue to fancy them
selves spotless and undefiled, yea, and even endowed
with exclusive salvation, as their own inheritance con
ferred on them gratuitously without admission of parti
cipation to the rest of mankind. Thus, those men, or
rather, those much to be pitied Papists, rendered proud
by this fancied boon from the Almighty, and vauntingly
calling themselves Exclusionists, vociferate arrogantly
and presumptuously to every human being who is not
of their communion, Stand by thyself, L am holier than
thou. As a further proof of the high value set upon
this almost super-human power, claimed by this order
of men, the editor is anxious to communicate to his
readers a recent occurrence tending to corroborate, in a
most striking manner, an unwarrantable modern as
sumption of these same mass-mongers, to a legitimate
claim to the ancient ascendancy of their church over
the Protestant church of the British Empire, which im-

42
portant right easily accounts for the strenuous exertions
the Papists are now employing to recover it. " To re
cover what !" the editor can fancy John Bull exclaiming.
Oh, a trifle, Mr. Bull. Nothing more nor less than the
formerly usurped power of the Pope, once destroyed,
(and for ever, let all Protestants hope and pray) when
the crown of England was restored to its supremacy
over spiritual men and causes. It appears, however,
that a certain Popish Doctor, who was priest and
confessor to a well known personage, named Daniel
O'Connell, whose bold spirit and want of discretion, as
far, at least, as the reigning pontiff, Pius IX., was
concerned in the matter, seems to have out-dared the
noble Earl of Arundel and Surrey. To such a de
gree was the confessor excited, that in fact he resolved
to stand by his penitent to the last. Nay, he fancied,
and even believed that his spirit was invested with
sufficient power to overfly the very boundaries of
purgatory. Therefore he undertook, without troubling
himself about Pope, Bishop, Priest, Purgatory, fee, or
reward, to take the whole responsibility on himself, and
at once, with a single bound as it were, to transport the
soul of O'Connell clean up to heaven. In making this
successful voyage through the air, with his precious
charge, it is reported (how true the editor will not
vouch for) that, as the confessor passed over the pur
gatorial fires, his whole frame felt as if it was dissolving
into water, which continued pouring down in torrents
from his body upon tbe flames below, until he had
passed the limits of that scorching abode. How re
markable, no doubt, Mr. Bull will think it, that an
Irish priest should prove to be the chosen instrument
to act as the first enemy against the most lucrative of
all the Pope's possessions— for there cannot be greater

43

enemies to each other than tire and water. But, after
all, perhaps Dr. Miley bethought him of the soul of
poor Pope Gregory XVI., or he might chance to have
seen it still broiling there in the flames, as he passed
aloft with that of O'Connell, towards heaven — for it
does not appear that the priests of Moorfields have as
yet succeeded in praying it out ; and doubtless the com
passionate confessor was anxious to cool it with the
streams that were exuding from his body and showering
down into purgatory, while he was on his passage over
it Alas! Alas! Pope Gregory, who died in 1846,
still in purgatory, and Daniel O'Connell, who died
but a few weeks ago, has been translated direct to hea
ven, without undergoing any purification whatever in
the flames! What sort of penance or punishment
awaits the confessor for his extraordinary presumption,
which almost amounted to blasphemy, is best known,
and only known, to the present liberal Pope. Nothing
however can be more certain than this, that if this Irish
priest takes upon him to favour others with or without
fee or reward, as he did O'Connell, and enables them to
escape the fires of purgatory by franking them direct to
heaven, the Pope's church will soon arrive at a state of
bankruptcy ; for praying and paying to get out of this
little hell keeps salvation entirely in the pockets of the
priests. Woe be to O'Connell's confessor for thus in
fringing on and usurping pontifical power ! Oh, John
Bull, what a false, what a gloomy and damnable religion
is Popery ! — Daniel O'Connell pronounced by his con
fessor to be in heaven, while Dan.'s God upon earth is
in purgatory ! !
The editor feels a kind of reluctance to discontinue
this interesting subject without calling the attention of

44
his readers to the great kindness of Doctor Miley to Mr.
O'Connell; which, no doubt, arose from tender feelings
of compassion for the invalid, in the first place, and
from what he conceived to be his imperative duty in the
next, as an ecclesiastic of Holy Mother Church, to ad
minister spiritual comfort to him. The Doctor, also,
had ample reason to admire and applaud the exalted as
well as the religious feelings of a man who was believed
to be the liberator of his country by every Irish Roman
Catholic, a hater of Protestantism, and, further, for his
catholic zeal and strenuous exertions to uphold the pa
pal dignity in all its pristine grandeur, and, withal re
vered for his strong attachment to a church which he
firmly believed to be the only consecrated edifice for the
worship of God extant in modern Christendom. Never
theless, the Rev. Doctor as it has already been observed,
had been rather inflated by spiritual pride at being con
fessor to so exalted a personage as Daniel O'Connell,
who, in fact, was considered by the faithful to be the
Pope's own darling. Naturally enough, then, under
such exciting circumstances, might this priest have flat
tered himself that he was standing on high ground, not
only in the estimation of the Catholic world, but of the
Pope himself. Moreover, Doctor Miley was also the
chaplain and friend of that conspicuous character, and
his travelling companion to boot when on his pilgrimage
to Rome, whither he was journeying in order to cast
himself at the feet of his holy father, to obtain absolu
tion for the sins of his whole life. Matters, however,
were otherwise ordered, for the pilgrim was overtaken
by sickness, at Genoa, as he was proceeding onward to
wards the holy capital of the known christian world, and
alas ! ultimately expired in that city. Under such con
flicting circumstances, and the emergency of the case,

45
the confessor very naturally conceived himself to be the
person, not only qualified, but the very fittest priest of
all priests to administer both temporal and spiritual com
fort and consolation to his then expiring penitent, which
duty he performed with tender affection and sincere
grief. Overcome at length by such a lamentable catas
trophe, Doctor Miley consoled himself by writing the
account of it to the relatives of the liberator to whom
he addressed the following letter : —
" Dear Friends,
v " The Father of his country, the glory and
wonder of Christendom, is dead ! Dead ? No ! I should
rather say O'Connell is in heaven. The spirit which
had moved the world took its flight so peacefully, that
all who were there, except the angels who were waiting
for it, were in doubt if it had departed. The prayer of
St Bernard to our blessed Lady was mingled from time
to time with verses from the Psalms offered up to her.
The Jesuit Fathers also came and prayed beside the
sick bed. And the hand of the priest of God, privi
leged to bind and to loose on earth even as it is done in
heaven, was extended over him until be expired, which
was at thirty-nine minutes past nine o'clock, on Sunday,
the 16th of May, 1847. His heart had been placed in
a silver urn and transported to Rome, his body to Ire
land, and his soul to heaven. Is not that " (continued
the afflicted priest in a paradoxical manner) " what the
justice of man, and the mercy of God demands ? Oh,
blessed Comfortess of the afflicted, pray for us. Adieu !
"J. MILEY.
"Dated, Sunday, May 16, 1847."

46
The editor is anxious to follow up this interesting
subject, in order to throw more light on the present in
creasing perseverance of the priesthood of the Church
of Rome, just now, whose exertions prove almost be
yond any reasonable doubt, their characteristic bias and
policy, which at this juncture appear so favourable to
their artfully-cunning object, which enables them to in
troduce, step by step, their anti-social, anti-scriptural
superstitions and idolatries into general notice among
the rising generation of the youth of England. Under
this conviction, it becomes expedient to disclose a letter
of the reigning benevolent and liberal-minded Pope, as
he is termed,* to John Bull, and to all other Protest
ants. It commences thus : —
" Encyclical Letter of our Most Holy Sovereign, Pius
IX., by divine Providence, Pope, to all Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops.
" The Holy Father declares himself the living and
infallible authority that exists only in the church, which
was founded by Christ our Lord on Peter, the head, the

" It appears to be the fashion to praise the present Pope and his
liberal sentiments, and this is done, or at least operates, to lead thought
less young persons to believe that his Romanism differs from that of his
predecessors. There is no truth in this, as the following extract from
the pastoral letter of Blake, Popish Bishop of Dromore, containing the
present Pope's bull, published in the spring of 1847, will testify. It
states, that his Holiness has resolved to open with Apostolic liberality,
to the faithful of Jesus Christ, the celestial treasures of indulgences, the
dispensation of which has been confided to him : that, being animated by
a more perfect spirit of piety and washed from the stains of sin by the
sacrament of penance, they may obtain the mercy and favour of God.
For these reasons we announce to you, by order of his Holiness, an in
dulgence in the form of a Jubilee, by which, in virtue of binding and
loosing, which the Lord has conferred on him, he grants to all the faith
ful who comply with the conditions (certain penances), a plenary indul
gence and remission of all their sins.

47

prince, and pastor of the whole church, with a promise
that her faith should never fail ; and it has ever pre
served, uninterrupted, her succession of lawful pontiffs,
sitting in Peter's chair, and deriving the succession from
Peter himself. And since where Peter is there is the
church, and Peter speaks by the lips of the holy pontiff,
and ever lives and exercises authority in the persons of his
successors, and exhibits to those seeking it, the truth of
the faith thereof; the divine word, therefore, is evidently
to be accepted in that sense which the Roman see of
blessed Peter has held and does hold — that see which is
the mother and mistress of all churches. Have a care,
then, to impress upon the minds of the people the o5e-
dience and subjection which are due to the sovereign pon
tiff, teaching them, according to the apostolic precept,
that there is no power but from God, and that those who
resist the power delegated to the successor of St. Peter
resist the ordinance of God, and purchase to themselves
damnation. In the mean time, venerable brethren, let
me affectionately impart to you the apostolic benedic
tion." Given at Rome, at St. Mary's the Great, on the 25th
day of March, 1847, in the 1st year of our Pon
tificate."
Thus, it appears obvious from the preceding note that
there is no change in the creed of the so-called benevo
lent, liberal minded, Pius IX. Oh, no ; it is the very
counterpart of those Popes who preceded him for four
teen centuries with the most striking resemblance of
features, as may be seen in his bull, but in much plainer
language in St. Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians : —
"Let no man deceive you by any means," saith the
Apostle, "for that day shall not come except there come

48
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition, loho opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he
as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that
he is God." " Have a care, therefore," writes this blas
phemer, notwithstanding the prediction of St. Paul, " to
impress on the minds of the people that obedience and
subjection which are due to the sovereign pontiff, teaching
them that those who resist the power delegated to the
successor of St. Peter resist the ordinance of God and
purchase to themselves damnation." The obedience and
subjection to the sovereign Pontiff! Mark well these
astounding words, O ye readers, which no doubt imply
ascendancy over the mental faculties of John Bull and
incline towards the supreme power in the state. Vain,
however, will all such encyclical letters to Primates,
Archbishops, and Bishops be ; nor will they afford to
the present Pope power to achieve the object on which
his mind is strained and sedulously intent, namely, to
extinguish the light of the glorious and everlasting gos
pel of Jesus Christ. But what saith the Lord himself to
such presumptuous priests ? " Heaven and earth shall
pass away but my word, shall not pass away. Why, tlien,
dost thou preach my laws and takest my covenant into
thy mouth, whereas, thou hatest to be reformed and hast
cast my words behind thee ? Well hath JSsaias prophesied
of you, ye hypocrites, as it is written : this people honoreth
me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. How-
beit, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men, that they may keep their own
traditions, making the word of God of none effect through
them, und many such like things do ye : O ye fools, when
will ye understand? He that planteth the ear, shall he
not hear; or he that made the eye, shall he not see?

49

Now, therefore, 0 ye children, attend to the words of my
mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways ; go not
astray in her paths ; for she hath cast down many
wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers
of death. Confounded be all they that worship carved
images and that delight in vain gods ; for thou, Lord,
art higher than all that are in the earth, thou art exalted
above all gods.
There yet remains one mystery to be unmasked
among the many that are embodied throughout the
doctrines of the Church of Rome ; and perhaps it is one
of the most important, and certainly will be found the
most difficult, of all others to define — her faith. Mani
fold were the opinions and doubts of the Fathers on
this subject It is related in history, for instance, that
"when Cardinal Perron was ill of the disorder, of
which he died, he was asked by some of his friends what
he thought of transubstantiation. To this he answered,
he thought it a monster. His friends then inquired how
he came to write so learnedly and copiously in its de
fence. He repUed, that he had done the utmost which
his wit and parts had enabled him to colour over this
abuse, and render it plausible ; but he had done like
those who had employed all their force to defend an ill
cause. Melancthon, also, that profound theologian,
who renounced the Roman Catholic faith, remarked,
when speaking of the Fathers — " How often Jerome had
been mistaken ! how often Augustin ! how often Am
brose ! and how often," said he, " do we not find them
differing in judgment ! how often retracting their errors !
There is but one Scripture," said that great and good
man, " divinely inspired, and without mixture of error
h

50
(una est scriptura cadestis spiritus pura contra Eckium
defensio." — Corp. Reform, i. p. 115,). It is also related
of Archbishop Usher, a person of the profoundest
learning and the most meek and amiable disposition,
that " having convinced several Romish priests of the
errors of their religion, he asked them, what they who
said mass every day, and were not obliged to confess
venial sins, could have to trouble their confessor with ?
when they ingenuously acknowledged to him, that the
chiefest part of their constant confession was their unbe
lief as to the point of transubstantiation, for which they
mutually acquitted and absolved each other." How
could these most mistaken men have ventured to do so
but from their ignorant impressions of a false religion,
and thus to assume unwarrantable power, even the pre
rogative of God himself, to forgive sin ? Moreover, the
mystery of the Roman Catholic faith seems also to have
discovered itself, however cautiously it has been dis
guised, in the late Encyclical letter of Pope Pius IX.,
whose liberal principles in the present day are so highly
extolled, not indeed so much by his own subjects as by
unprincipled men of all descriptions, who are not fol
lowers of his Holiness's creed, nor of any other, except
that which leads to stir up strife among mankind. In
scanning and sifting the reigning and triple-crowned
Pontiff's Encyclical letter with attention, the reader will
readily discover, notwithstanding his Holiness's pro
fessedly liberal sentiments, that the truth will sometimes
peep out through the turmoil of mental struggle, and
betray the unchanged and unchangeable character of a
system which he seeks to dissemble while he is endea
vouring to prop it up. Moreover, if the aforesaid Pius
IX. had but his full sway in England, at this present
critical time, he would soon close if not condemn to the

51

flames his own greatest enemy, which is the Bible.* As
to this Pope's intention of suggesting any kind of change,
either in form or essence, in the doctrines or the penal
laws against heretics, it is nothing but subterfuge on his
part to hold out any such project Educated as his
Holiness has been from his boyhood for the priesthood,
taught to believe in the universal supremacy of the tri
ple-crowned Pontiff, and instructed carefully in all the
minute particulars and established principles of the
Church he was intended for, his Holiness must have
been perfectly aware that to alter a single dogma which
had once been hallowed, as forming a part of her Cath
olic creed, and established as such by the Council of
Trent as a law immutable and to last for ever, would at
once do away all pretensions to infallibility. Moreover,
even to hazard a hint at such a scheme would be at the
risk of his own life, as being an act of blasphemy : his
Holiness himself is perfectly aware of this at the pre
sent moment The time, however, has arrived, thanks
* In the year 1823, the editor, in his rambles through Switzerland,
when at Sion, a City in one of its Cantons, called, the Vatais, he was
struck with surprise at the extraordinary state of ignorance and super
stition which prevailed among its inhabitants, not only there but
throughout the whole of that Canton, the entire population being Ro
man Catholics. Many of them, however, whom he conversed with were
perfectly sensible of their deplorable condition and were anxious to pro
cure Bibles, which they were soon furnished with by the editor. The
circumstance soon reached the ears of the Bishop of Sion, who immedi
ately took measures to war against the word of God, by issuing an edict
to command every individual in the Canton of the Valais, who possessed
a Bible, or who lately had one given to him, to deliver it up to the pro
per authorities in their respective parishes, when a priest, in one of
them, who thought differently from his Bishop respecting the sacred
word of God, contrived privately in the dead of the night to convey a
case of Bibles, which the editor had sent there, back to his residence at
the Chateau of Blonay, in the adjoining Protestant Canton of Vaud.
Thus was the case of Bibles saved, even as a firebrand plucked out of the

52
be to God, for general investigation into all such reli
gious matters, as well by Papists as by Protestants, each
party being now anxious, but particularly the Romanists,
to scrutinize this solemn subject, so as to ascertain satis
factorily whether the Catholic faith they now profess is
really the pure and undefiled religion of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, the righteousness of whose testimonies is
everlasting, and his law is the truth.
It must now appear evident to all who weigh in their
minds the great changes that have taken place in the
present eventful period of our own time, that even the
very eyes of the generality of reflecting and dispassionate
Roman Catholics have been sufficiently unsealed to per
ceive the actual and active exertions of their own Clergy,
whose minds have been seduced and carried away by
imaginary prospects to aid and assist the anticipated
measures now manoeuvring progressively in thought to
wards the spiritual subjugation of the British empire by
their holy Father, the Pope, and his Committee of Car
dinals. It certainly does, however, almost appear mira
culous that John Bull, above all other beings, should
find himself indebted to an English nobleman of the
Roman Catholic persuasion for the perceptible cogni
zance of the antagonistic views of his Church, the drift
of whose incautious, impolitic, and most unguarded lan
guage (already alluded to in these pages) in the Com
mons House of Parliament manifestly pointed out the
determined resolution of the man who called himself the
Lord on earth, the Master of the universal world, the
Father of Kings, and the light of the earth, to persevere
to the uttermost in his systematic course of Catholic
duty in order to re-establish in England what he at pre
sent demands for his Church and her Pontiffs, with all

53

the former ancient and established rights to the supre
macy, which is paramount to all other considerations or
rights in the state ; moreover, that the holy exertions of
Christ's Vicar upon earth, assisted by the help of the
blessed Virgin,* to re-establish all the primitive and
* Now, with respect to the offering up prayers to the Virgin Mary,
although the subject has already been discussed by the editor, he never
theless wishes to say a few words more upon it because he thinks it one
of much importance, particularly to the poor Romanists, whose spi
ritual teachers debar them from all scriptural knowledge by interdicting
the use of the Bible. Let it then be observed that the members of the
Protestant Reformed Church, while they acknowledge and pay the
highest respect to the Virgin Mary, and are always ready to offer her
all the reverence that God permits — that of blessed among women, they
are notwithstanding of opinion that all Christians, whether Protestants
or Papists, who presume to call the Virgin Mary the Mother of God are
guilty of blasphemy. If God had a mother he must have had a begin
ning. What ! the eternal Lord Jehovah, who is from everlasting to
everlasting, have a beginning ! ! And does the Pope of Rome and his
hierarchy dare to utter such blasphemy ? Yes, they do, and pronounce
damnation to be the doom of all who deny it. Upon this false founda
tion, however, they have contrived to build the doctrine of image wor
ship, by paying adoration to tbe Virgin and her image, just as the
Ephesians worshipped the goddess Diana and her image. The Virgin
Mary was the mother of the man Christ Jesus by a miraculous concep
tion ; therefore, as man, Christ had a mother ; and no Popish doctrine
or any other subtilty of man's logic can ever turn the Scriptures on this
head. That the Virgin Mary lived afterwards with Joseph as his wife,
and that she had other children, there can be no doubt, from the infor
mation conveyed to us in the same scriptures. Moreover, St. Matthew
informs us that all this was done that it might be fulfilled that was spo
ken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a virgin shall be with
child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph took unto him
his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn.
Again, the same Apostle and also St. Luke informs us that the people
were offended at Christ, and said, Is not this the Carpenter's son — is not
his mother called Mary ? — and his brethren, James and Joses, and Simon
and Judas, and his sisters, are they not here with us ? Yet, in defiance
of all this authentic information, spoken from the mouth of the apostles,
Matthew and Luke, the Church of Rome denies the truth delivered by
these inspired men, and boldly and blasphemously affirm, and stamp
it as one of her most important doctrines, that all true sons of that
Church are required to believe, under pain of eternal damnation, that
Mary lived and died a perpetual virgin.

54
prescriptive rights, ancient title, and faith of holy Mo
ther Church shall never cease until the present Protest
ant, so-called, Church, with her heretical members, be
rooted out* of the land, and that the original standard of
the true Catholic faith and of her triple-crowned Pon
tiffs be hoisted and proclaimed throughout the British
empire, when the celebration of high mass and a Te
Deum for the godly victory shall take place, and a ple
nary indulgence to the faithful, with absolution from all
sins past, present, and to come, together with the gift
of the blessed rosary, or chaplet, of Holy Mary, the
blessed and perpetual Virgin, which she bestows on
every true believer to propound as an object of faith as
well as to count their prayers and good works to pre
sent to God. Now, John Bull should be informed, that
one of these gewgaws, which was lately sent to London
by Pius IX., has the following appendages attached to
it : — Eleven agate beads set in gold, with the head of
the Saviour engraved in cornelian, pendant from a
small gold tassel ; and to the other is attached a ring to
suspend it from the finger when used in prayer. The
managers of a Bank in Pall-Mail, as the public have
been informed, have kindly undertaken to exhibit this
holy article, and to receive subscriptions. The noble
names of Shrewsbury, Arundel, Surrey, Stourton,
McFarlane, Throgmorton, Sir James Kempt, and also
many others which are already on the list, leave little
doubt that the hope of realizing £100 in fulfilment of
the intentions of the benevolent and liberal Pontiff will
be easily accomplished without costing the holy Father
* Cardinal Bellarmine teaches that " heretics are to be destroyed,
root and branch, if that can possibly be done ; but if it appears that the
Catholics are so few that they cannot, conveniently with their own
safety, attempt such a thing, then it is best in such a case to be quiet, lest,
upon opposition made by the heretics, the Catholics should be worsted. "
— De Laicis, lib. Hi., c. 92.

55
a denier. Such, then, is the first "attempt of the most
benevolent Pius IX. (now occupying the Chair of St.
Peter) to introduce the idolatrous worship of the Vir
gin Mary to popularity in England, and it is devoutly
to be prayed, by all whose fellowship is icith the Father
and icith his Son Jesus Christ, that it will be the last
Now the reader must be further informed, that the na
ture of the devotion paid to the rosary is as follows: —
The poor idolatrous worshipper falls on his knees before
the image of the Virgin Mary, and while praying to her
devoutly, with the rosary in his hand, counting his
beads, he offers up one prayer, called in latin, a Paler
Noster, then ten prayers, called, Ave Marias, and one,
called, Gloria Patri. Thus, ten prayers are addressed
to Mary, for one that is put up to God.
The editor has once more to excuse himself to his
readers for venturing to trespass on their time and pa
tience, and would most willingly have stopped here, but
his conscience tells him he is bound to say a few words
in further elucidation of the nature and supposed rank,
on this terrestrial globe, of that extraordinary being
whose church and religion he has been discussing, or
rather, in the true acceptation of the word, of that arch-
impostor, called, the Pope of Rome, who, for so many
centuries, has been the scourge as well as the curse of
the human race. Now he who at present reigns has
filled St Peter's chair rather more than one year, and
has already sent forth a proclamation signed by himself
and published by Cardinal Gizzi, by order of his Holi
ness, to inform the people, that "the Vicar of Christ
has seen, with deep regret, that certain restless minds
are desirous to promulgate and are endeavouring to
establish doctrines and ideas totally contrary to his

56
maxims, or to impose on them others, entirely opposed
to the tranquil, pacific nature, and sublime character of
the person who is the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the minister
of the God of peace, and the father of all Roman Catho
lics, to whatever part of the world they may belong, and
finally to excite in the minds of the people, by speeches
or writings, desires and hopes of reform, beyond the
limits which his Holiness has indicated. The holy Fa
ther, however, feels assured that they will never find a
welcome among the people. The heart of his Holiness
would suffer still more if this state of things were con
tinued. The first year of his Pontificate is over, and in
this period of time the holy Father has been able fully
to appreciate the love, gratitude, and devotedness of his
beloved subjects, and he now asks a proof of these
praiseworthy sentiments, and this proof must consist in
the cessation of all unusual popular meetings on whatever
occasion, and all extraordinary manifestations, except
those for which, anterior to the present notification, per
mission had been received from the competent authori
ties," This proclamation, so unexpected by a longing
people, readily accounts for the present restless and un
easy feelings of the sublime person who now calls him
self the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the minister of the
God of peace, but who, nevertheless, begins already to
quail and dread the very excitement he himself gave
rise to in the minds of his subjects by his apparently
liberal sentiments, expressed towards them, which they
were enthusiastic enough to imagine would lead to a
reform in the Church and government — a reform, in
fact, in popery. In popery? Absurd! And John
Bull, had he been on the spot, would have told those
simpletons that the thing was impossible and that popery
was unchangeable unless for the worse. Alas, then,

57

what must have been the utter dismay of the much ex
cited but poor soul-stricken Romanists when the fore
going proclamation of their supposed liberal pope was
issued forth in Rome, interdicting all public speeches
and writings, and cancelling at once the hopes of the
expected reformation held out to them by his Holiness,
which might, perhaps, have afforded them a better insight
into the nature and doctrines of their own spurious reli
gion, an accurate description of which they would readily
have discovered in the Bible,* and, through God's especial
grace, would, also have perceived in its sacred pages,
the beauty, the purity, and the excellence of genuine
Christianity, and also the right way which leadeth to
peace and to heaven. Now, respecting the promises
of this pope and the doctrines of his Church, the
Romanist should also be informed further, that her
claims to infallibility render all reformation and al
teration utterly impossible ; and the promises held out
by his Holiness to his subjects were such as he was per
fectly aware he had no power to fulfil — mere moon-shine,
— therefore he is deserving of that disquietude of mind
which his hypocrisy has lately occasioned him. Oh,
then, how inconceivably strange must it appear in this
far advanced period of the reign and kingdom of Christ
on earth that there should still be men so befooled as to
suffer themselves to be hoodwinked by priestcraft, and
voluntarily to be detained in that land of darkness, in
fact, darkness itself, — a region where the very light is
darkness, but in which the people are told they must
abide patiently while in this world if they wish to make
* In the year 1793, the extinction of the bible was decreed by repub
lican France. The government proclaimed, at the same time, that the
French nation acknowledged no God ; and in the city of Lyons, the
bible was dragged at the tail of an ass through the streets.
I

58
sure of their eternal salvation in the next. Let John
Bull, then, for one moment, cast an eye of reflection
on the awful consequences entailed on mankind by
such a system of spiritual wickedness which teaches
for doctrines the commandments of men, ancLhe cannot
but feel great compassion for the poor Romanists in
general, but still more for those members of the
Romish Church, who, having been led to suspect from
studying the representations given (by some such au
thors as Voltaire or Boulanger) of Romanism (for Ro
manists dare not examine the Bible of their own free
will), in which they at once discovered that some cheat
had been put upon them by their priests, a detection
which, although coming from the infidel, has neverthe
less in the end betrayed the fallacy of their religion. O
what, then, must be the agony of mind of all such
persons ! The editor, however, can assure Mr. Bull,
and all his readers, that there are vast numbers of
such unhappy persons to be met with in France, and
all the other popish states, who are now pining under
their Satanic mental slavery, and in the abject bondage
of Rome's idolatrous Church. Let us then examine
for a moment into the spiritual condition of these de
luded beings. Does this most important discovery tend
to improve the spiritual condition of the unhappy Ro
manist, so as to strengthen the might in the inner man of
such delinquents — for such their former severe masters
would not fail to term them ? Not always, the editor
answers them ; and for this reason, Mr. Bull, because
he speaks from matter of fact which happened within his
own time, as well as from a knowledge of the sentiments
of such men. The papist, in fact, finding he has been
deceived, and his understanding (which is, or ought to
be, a well-spring of life to him that hath it) trifled with,

59
and that the doctrine he was taught to believe, and com
manded to receive, as the pure word of God, was no
thing but the invention of man — thus convinced of the
fact, he at first becomes refractory; then again his gross
ignorance of the Gospel of Christ, of which he hardly
knew even the name, added to the hatred and prejudices
he had been taught to cherish from his youth up against
it, as well as every doctrine of religion but his own.
Then, again, new and puzzling novelties and difficulties
render him seeptical,.aa& in the proud vauntings of
his own discoveries (not of the truth, but of error) which
had freed him from every restraint, he proclaims the
whole to be false. And now he begins to think for
himself, and to sneer at all those pompous ceremonies
and gaudy processions which were once the darlings
and the idols of his heart. His next contempt and
utter disbelief is in the infallibility of the pope, whom
he perceives (and with reason too) to be an old impostor.
And then come his misgivings and suspicions of a fu
ture state, and of rewards and punishments, never hav
ing been allowed to read St. Paul's declarations that all
must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
every one may receive the tilings done in his body accord
ing to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. And
again it is declared, that without holiness no man shall
see the Lord. Being entirely ignorant of all such divine
revelations to man, the poor Romanist consoles him
self in the prospect held out to him by his spiritual
guide, of his ability to relieve his soul from the antici
pated years of torment in the scorching flames of pur
gatory, in which, if we are to credit the present race of
London priests, according to their announcement (as
the editor has already apprized his readers) are still em
ployed in offering up masses for the soul of their late

eo
pope, Gregory, which it appears is still broiling in its
flames. Thus we discover that this now helpless soul
of him whoiii, while on earth was taught (as were all
popes who preceded him) that Christ had set one man
over the world funum prceficiens universis), whom he ap
pointed also his vicar -on earth (quern suam in terris vi-
carium ordinavit). Nevertheless, if the readers feel
disposed to credit the aforesaid public announcement of
the London priesthood, that a pope, lately defunct, who
assumed during his past pontificate the power of re
leasing whom he would out of the purgatorial fires,
could not, as it appears from the testimony of his own
ecclesiastics, release himself, what, then, in the name
of truth, has become of his infallibility ? In such case
the editor will venture (but with humility) to quote a
text from scripture even though it be on such an unhal
lowed subject. Now John Bull, as a biblical scholar, no
doubt may recollect, that when the Lord Jesus was
suffering death upon the cross, many of the unbelieving
Jews exclaimed, He saved others, himself he cannot save.
Let Mr. Bull, then, just reverse the latter section of this
quotation, and it will exculpate the editor from any in
tention of improperly introducing this scriptural text;
for the object of the Jews was to revile the Saviour,
and while they spoke in derision and mockery, they
were also uttering a gross falsehood. In the present
case, however, as far as it applies to that pope, who is
now suffering in purgatory, without power to save him
self or others, the Saviour Jesus Christ, on the con
trary, while upon this earth, had power to save and
to exercise this power for himself and others ; and,
in proof of which, in how many compassionate instances
was that divine and almighty power spiritually and
temporally evinced towards suffering humanity. The

sick, the maimed, the blind, and even the dead, re
stored to life, afford to the world ample testimony,
as may be proved to the reader, in the records of
divine revelation ; therefore, the whole quotation stands
as an incontrovertible truth never to be gainsayed. The
editor feels himself once more compelled to revert to
that doubtful and mysterious abode to which the Church
of Rome has consigned the soul of her late pope. Be
fore, however, he proceeds to renew the subject, he
desires to record his former affirmation regarding po
pery, in order to testify again to all persons who profess
the Roman Catholic faith whereon his dislike is founded
against that faith, and to assure them that his enmity is
not against individuals professing it, but his opposition
is to that frightful, hateful, lying, and ugly creed itself,
which he abominates, while he by no means entertains
angry feelings, but rather commiseration for its profes
sors, whom he most ardently desires to see freed from
the withering thraldom of its slavery, its hypocrisy, and
the never failing intolerance which its false doctrines
impose on the mind of man. But, alas ! who can ex
pect to check the growth of this most pestiferous weed
in England so long as there are persons among us so
infatuated and bewitched with the charms, the meekness,
the lowliness, and loveliness, of the new bride, intended
to be affianced to the Protestant Church of the British
empire, as to describe and compare her to a lamb, which
in the time of Queen Mary, tenderly (for the good of
their souls) burned five of our bishops, twenty-one of
our clergymen, eighty-four tradesmen, one hundred
husbandmen and labourers, and fifty-five women and
children ; but of such trifling matters the present minis
ters and match-makers of Queen Victoria do not inform
us. Of one circumstance, however, John Bull may rest

assured, that a lamb of the same progeny — the mighty
pontiff's emblem — will always be at hand, and ready
after the marriage supper is once over to receive any
new orders that may arrive in England from Rome ;
and whether they be in the shape of fines, imprison
ments, confiscations, sequestrations, or burnings, it mat
ters little; this lamb, or rather, Mr. Bull, this hyena*
will execute them with all possible dispatch, though it is
evident he has most unwittingly shewn _his fangs too
soon by an unguarded and most providential declara
tion (already cited by the editor) of a certain Roman
Catholic nobleman in the Commons House of Parlia
ment, whose elocution tended to warn Protestants of the
approaching danger, and has put them on their guard
against that implacable enemy, popery, which has
avowed its determination to exterminate Protestantism
from off the face of the earth.
The acknowledged transposition of the soul of the
late pope, and that of Daniel O'Connell, to purgatory,
by the English and Irish priesthood, and the doubts
entertained as to the fact on the other hand by numbers
of their clerical brethren, both in France and Italy, has
created a sudden alarm, if not dismay, throughout the
whole hierarchical camp, some crying one thing, and
some another. The timid among the laity, who, from
the nature of their idolatrous worship, are addicted to
superstition are assured by their confessors, that the
present agitated state of those terrific fires have lately
become seven times hotter than they were wont to be
since those two immaterial and immortal spirits have
* " Wolves," says Luther, " must not be treated like timid sheep.
The wolf cannot be handled too roughly, nor too much gentleness
shewn to the sheep."

63

mingled with their pure flames, while others are of
opinion, that the reigning pontiff, by his infallible agency,
will endeavour to lower the intenseness of their heat,
being moved with compassion for their sufferings. But,
on the other hand, Doctor Mc. Hale, the Irish Arch
bishop of Tuam, entertains a different opinion, and
thinks it improbable that his Holiness will ever make
any such attempt Therefore, under this assumption
that O'Connell's soul is, according to the canons of
holy church, safely lodged in purgatory, his grace
has now ordered propitiatory sacrifices of the mass
to be celebrated throughout his diocese for its repose,
pronouncing him to be the dutiful, heroic, and repeal
champion of the Church of Rome, so that by means
of prayers, and the unbloody sacrifice of the mass,
his soul, if detained on account of venial sins or un-
expiated guilt, may be freed from that prison out of
which there is no liberation until the payment of the last
farthing due to divine justice. Again : another priest,
Doctor Maginn, coadjutor and apostolic minister of the
City of Derry, declares, " that the least the priesthood
can do is to follow the spirit of their benefactor and
liberator to that God that made it, with their humble
prayers : nevertheless," continues the Rev. Doctor, " my
own opinion is, that he does not need them." Then
comes the very Rev. Theobald Mathew, who thus ad
dresses the public : — " The holy sacrifice that I daily
present for that great and good man before the throne
of the Most High is also put up on thousands of other
altars from the rising to the setting sun. These tremen
dous mysteries," adds the Rev. gentleman, " are also
celebrated by priests, pure and spotless as the long vests
of their sacred apparel (called stoles), for the eternal
repose of the soul of him who is wept for by the whole
world in common with all the inhabitants of Ireland."

64
However, in despite of all these workings and exer
tions of priestcraft to maintain their position in the field
of controversy, the simple declaration of O'Connell's
confessor appears to have occasioned a sudden panic in
the hierarchial camp at Rome, which has spread through
out all ranks of the clergy bordering on s^Jtsm, and
even likely to affect the boasted infallibility of the very
pontiff himself. Some of the higher orders of the
clergy accuse the rev. confessor of presumption and
pravity of will, for daring to pronounce O'Connell's
soul to have gone direct to Heaven, while others ap
prove of his conduct, and pronounce him to have acted
manfully and Christian-like. Another untoward cir
cumstance has . also increased this outbreak among the
Romanists : two priests, intimate friends, had the teme
rity to enter into a Protestant church during the hours
of divine service ; and it so happened that the clergy
man's sermon was partly controversial, in which the
absurd popish invention of purgatory was occasionally
introduced, and ably handled as it would appear from
the impression it made on one of them, as well as on
several Romanists who were also present. The latter
priest was so much struck with the reasoning of the
clergyman, that he could not refrain from expressing to
his companion his admiration of his doctrine, and, on
quitting the church they both got into disputation on
the sermon they had just heard, but were of different
opinions on the subject of purgatory. The death of
O'Connell was commented upon, and also that of the
late pope. One said that, according to the canon of
the church, the souls of both were in purgatory, and
reminded his friend, who expressed himself so pleased
with the Protestant sermon, of the anathema maranatha
(which means eternal damnation), pronounced against
him or her who dares to question the power, or to dis-

65
sent from the opinions of holy church, and that all such
dissenters are declared, by the infallible Council of
Trent, to be worse than infidels. The other priest re
plied to his friend, that, from the calm, dispassionate,
plain and sound scriptural doctrine and reasoning of
the Protestant Clergyman, his mind had been strongly
fortified in many opinions which had lain dormant in it
for months ; for he would now no longer conceal from
him that, even at the risk of being sent to the In
quisition, he had the rashness to possess himself of a
bible ; and must further acknowledge to him that
there was one among many other convincing passages
from Scripture, quoted by the clergyman in his able dis
course, which he could not but admire ; and moreover,
as if to add to his gratification, he discovered a number
of Roman Catholics in the church, many of whom were
personally known to him, and who all appeared to be
listening with intense interest to the Protestant preacher,
whose discourse, if he might be allowed to judge from
their animated countenances, with eyes rivetted as it
were on the preacher, whose plain, but forcible, and
evangelical doctrines were explained so simply and
truthfully, that he appeared as if he were teaching
rather than preaching to the congregation ; and as he
proceeded from one division to another of his subject, he
endeavoured to infuse into the minds of all present
nothing but scriptural light and knowledge ; and more
particularly so into the minds of some Romanists, whom
(to his surprise as well as to mine) he perceived were
among his congregation, many of them of the lower
class of our poor neglected and grossly ignorant popu
lace in regard to all religious knowledge, who through
curiosity had ventured into a Protestant church. One
quotation from his sermon, I observed, appeared to have
K

66
affected these poor men very much, which I, my brother
priest, noticed from their gestures after they had heard
it expounded to them and rendered sufficiently plain to
their comprehension so as to understand its literal
meaning. The passage was taken from one of St.
Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians: " If" said the
Apostle to the people who, in his day, were assembled
to hear his doctrine, " our Gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light
of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine into them ; seeing they see and do not
perceive, and hearing they hear and do not understand."
Now, as to all such persons, continued the preacher,
if they would but take the trouble to examine with
due solemnity (without the aid of a priest or con
fessor), the unadulterated word of God, in which is
centred the gospel of his Christ, of truth, and the
one thing needful; in which all knowledge not gathered
round it, and quickened and illuminated by it, is no
thing worth, but is as sounding brass or a tinkling cym
bal, and unworthy of the name of knowledge, then,
and then only, would they readily discover to their asto
nishment and confusion, the spurious ceremonies and
anti-scriptural doctrines of their own religion, which
instructed them to believe in the lying wonders and
wicked inventions of a church that never can and never
will profit man to the saving of his soul, but, on the
contrary, militate against all such followers of Baal;
and in the day of trouble and distress, they will find,
but then, alas! too late, "they were resting on the staff
of a broken reed, whereon if a man lean, it will go into
his hand and pierce it. And what is that staff, pray?
Why every true christian knows that it is frightful and

61

ungodly Popery ; yea, and Romanists (or as the learned
Cardinal Baronius chooses to call them — Papists) would
then, for .the first time, feel abashed at having, during
their lives, obeyed the commandments of men who sought,
and do still seek to turn them from the gospel of ever
lasting truth, by teaching them to bow and pray to gra
ven and molten images as their guardian saints, and thus
to implore aid and intercession from the work of men's
hands. They have mouths, and speak not, saith the
royal psalmist, eyes have they, but they see not. They
have ears, and yet they hear not ; neither is there any
breath in their nostrils. They that make them are like
.unto them, and so are all they that put their trust in
them. But he that dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh them
to scorn ; the Lord shall have them in derision.
These plain but impressive words, continued the
preacher, were pronounced against idolatry by the
man which the Lord sought after his own heart, even
David. 0 how appal ling must such denunciations
be, my friend, to any of our brother priests, who
happen by some accident to get sight of a Bible, and
discover among its pages such direful denunciations
against idolatry ; and moreover, when they read in the
same inspired volume the injunctions of the prophet
Elijah to the people of Israel, — " If" said he " the Lord
be God, follow him, but if Baal, follow him." Now,
my friend, it appears evident to me that what the Pro
testant minister has quoted from the mouth of David
tends to prove our Church to be idolatrous in her doc
trines. Truly, then, the encyclical letter, called also
apostolical, which our present pope has just issued for
general circulation, urges me to confess, that when I
heard the preacher allude to it, and then produce it and

68
read it from his pulpit to his congregation, I felt at the
moment rather abashed; and you, my brother priest,
I conjecture, must also have felt somewhat queerly, and
certainly it must have almost convinced those of our
own communion who happened to be amoag the con
gregation of Protestants, as I now confess it did my
self altogether, and I cannot but avow that his Holi
ness's manifesto not only savoured of inveterate opposi
tion to the Word of God, but also of the grossest idol
atry on the part of this same Christ 's Vicar upon earth,
as he styles himself; for in one part of this document,
his pontifical majesty, after having made use of the
most vituperative language against the holy Bible, as
well as against all societies in which it was read or cir
culated by the members among his loving subjects, with
his admonition, also, to the people at large, against all
Bible readers — a step which is considered a preliminary
to excommunication ; and, moreover, at page 27 of
this liberal proclamation, continued the preacher, this
worshipper of idols himself declares, " In order that the
most merciful God may the more readily incline his ear
to our prayers, and may grant that which we implore,
let us ever have recourse to the intercession of the most
holy mother of God, the immaculate Virgin Mary, and
sweetest mother, and mediatrix, and advocate ; our
surest hope and firmest reliance ; than whose patronage
nothing is more potent, nothing more effectual, with
God. Let us invoke, also, the prince of the Apostles,
to whom Christ himself delivered the keys of the king
dom of heaven, and whom he declared to be the foun
dation stone of his Church, against which the gates of
hell should never prevail, and his co-apostle, Paul, and
all the saints of Heaven who now possess the reward of
their labours, a crown of glory — that through their

69
prayers the abundant treasures of the divine mercy may
descend on the whole christian world." The preacher
paused there for a second, when, with an ejaculatory
prayer, and looking down upon his congregation with
compassionate feelings and faultering voice, he said
plaintively, " from such Christianity, good Lord deliver
us." Then, resuming his wonted energy and composed
state of mind, he addressed his congregation, saying,
" My brethren, I feel it my duty just to revert to the
supposed orthodoxy of the Christianity of the reigning
pontiff, Pius IX., whom, I trust, I have convicted of
being himself a gross idolater from his own public man
ifestation, and being also aware that there are several
persons of the Roman communion now in my church,
I desire to address myself to them, not however in anger
or rebuke, but with christian love and kindness, a strong
desire, yea, and invitation that they may further visit
this place of worship, with an assurance on my part from
this pulpit, that the sole object of my life ever will be,
through evil report and good report to proclaim and
inculcate on the minds of my hearers, by repeated ad
monition and instruction, the pure and unadulterated
doctrines of Christianity, as they have been delivered to
mankind by God's eternal Son, that ye may perceive,
as saith the apostle, the great love of Christ towards you,
that all should be fellow heirs of God's promise in
Christ by the Gospel of him who saith, All things are
delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the
Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal
him. Come, therefore, unto me. all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take 'my yoke
upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke

70
is easy, and my burden is light. Ask, and it shall be
given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it
shall be opened. What then, my friends, who now hear
me, can you possibly think of the intended, or rather
pretended, reform promised to your church and govern
ment, when you find from his public letter which I have
just read, that your liberal pope not only forbids your
reading the word of God, but commands you to join in
prayer with himself in order to invoke not only the Vir
gin Mary, but also the departed spirits of Peter and
Paul, and all the other popish saints, as intercessors
with God, saying, With my tongue will I prevail: who
are they that ought to speak — and who is Lord over me ?
The scripture, however, telleth us that God has been
reconciled to sinners by the death of Christ, who made an
atonement for the sins of the whole world, not however
assisted by the pope : mark ye all this, my Romanist
friends, for as such I venture now to call you. There
fore, as St. Peter affirms in his epistle, Christ is able
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them (without the fictitious aid of pope or priest), even
Jesus, whom God hath appointed heir over all things,
by whom also he made worlds, — the same which St.
John in his Gospel informs us was in the beginning
with God, and that aU things were made by him, and
icithout him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was tlie light of men.
Bear in mind, also, my Romanist friends who now listen
to me, what St. Peter, whom your pope has commanded
you to invoke as one of your intercessors with God, de
clares on this momentous subject, that there is none other

71

name given under Heaven, but that of Jesus Christ,
whereby we must be saved ; neither is there salvation in
any other ; for it pleased the Father that in him should
dwell the fulness of the Godhead bodily. St Paul, also,
in his Epistle to the Philippians, thus writes, "Wherefore,
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every other name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and
things on earth, and things under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. And again saith the
same Apostle, to whom your pope, also, my poor de
luded friends, has enjoined you to pray, as another
of your intercessors with God — but what saith humble
Paul of himself ? " This is a faithful saying, and wor
thy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Oh ! pon
der these words in your minds, my deceived friends,
" Sinners, of whom I am chief," and then commune with
each other, and revolve in your minds how it could be
possible that Paul, or Peter, or any other sinful mortal
that ever trod the earth, could intercede with God for
his fellow sinners. Moreover, the royal psalmist, while
describing the corruption of the natural man, tells us
that, God looked from Heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there were any that understood and did seek him,
but found every one ofthem gone back, and altogether be
come filthy, and that there was none that did good, no
not one. And you, my misguided friends, who are at
present thus alienated, and made enemies to God's
eternal word and divine truth, by the inculcation of
superstitious vanities, palmed upon your understandings
by a priesthood which caricature Christianity, and have
done despite unto the Spirit of Grace, suffer me, there-

72
fore, again to importune you earnestly, from this pulpit,
to shake off the very dust of your feet against all such
cunningly devised fables, which constitute an amalgam
of pagan, pantomimical, and papistical traditions, and
other political subterfuge, to avoid the force of argu
ment — mere inventions, in fact, of an anti-christian
church, which are in the present day what they always
have been and ever will be, — the scourge of the human
race and the curse of the .world. Cursed be the man
that trusteth in man, and maketh his flesh his arm, saith
the prophet. Nevertheless, my friends, it is an incon
trovertible fact which no member of the Church of
Rome will venture to disprove, that all who are sincere
Romanists commit their enthralled souls to the care and
keeping of their priest or confessor, whom they look
up to, with reverence and godly fear, as a holy being,
delegated by the great head of the Roman Church,
whom they believe to be the representative of Christ on
earth, invested with divine right to bind or loose, par
don or curse all who durst venture to deny his spiritual
prerogative, and who proclaims himself vicar and vice
gerent of Him to whom all power is given in heaven
and earth. It is probable, however, that many of my
Romanist friends, who appear to be now listening to my
discourse with seeming attention, may nevertheless be
trusting in man and making his flesh his arm, which
man, is the pope, who claims a spiritual ascendancy over
the four quarters of the globe, and whom, if there be
any truth in the inspired writings of the holy apostles,
is little better than a blasphemous impostor, to whose
pardoning power for absolution from your sins, as well
as your happiness in the world to come, you may be all
looking forward at this very moment, as likewise did
the late Daniel O'Connell, who purposed, as he travelled

73
towards the eternal city, to pay his homage and devotion
to Antichrist, and to the remains of the dead saints, but
who died on his pilgrimage thither. The soul, however,
of this religious champion in the cause of the papacy,
was franked at once to heaven, by his confessor, with
out suffering from the fires of purgatory ; and his heart
was abstracted from his body, by order of the same
priest, and borne by him in a silver urn to Rome, as
an offering to the sovereign pontiff and his people. My
friends, I have thus alluded in my sermon to Daniel
O'Connell, arrested, as he was, in his course by the arm
of death, solely with a view of opening the eyes of all
my congregation, many of whom may probably be igno
rant of the strenuous exertions of the Roman priesthood,
in order to blazon abroad, far and wide, the religious
fame of this man, whose merits, if we are to credit cer
tain rumours now afloat, have induced Pius IX. to
inscribe his name in the calendar of those persons who
are registered for beatification, after which, in due time,
his Holiness decrees canonization, which act, my friends,
if you have sufficient faith to give credit to Popish
priests, declares a man or a woman to be a saint or
saintess in heaven. O my friends, let me intreat you
not to suffer your priests to deceive you any longer ; be
assured that God is not to be mocked by any such pom
pous display to proclaim the merits of man, or by such
idle, profane, and godless ceremonies, which tend to in
crease those fiendish superstitions which have made so
many to err from the faith, and have no conformity
with that religion which Jesus Christ came into the
world to teach man not to rely on his own merits
and good . works, nor to commit with superstitious ho
mage, his everlasting concerns to the care of saints
and angels. Now, my Romanist friends, the Bible

74
informs us, in the Revelations of St John the Di
vine, that the angel who appeared to him would not
be worshipped by him, for when he fell at his feet to
worship him, he said, See thou do it not ; I am thy
fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony
of Jesus : worship God. But, after all, my Romanist
friends, this very individual, who maketh flesh his arm,
and whose heart, like the Israelites of old, hath departed
from the Lord, and whose idolatrous doctrines are writ
ten with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond
against him, do so exactly accord with the principles
of your head and spiritual chief, who still continues to
make his arm, or rather let us say his army of Austrian
soldiers, which is stationed for his protection in one
of his chief cities as well as for the safeguard of his
Italian provinces, that I feel myself warranted to ex
claim in the words of Nathan the prophet, Thou art
the man. Aware, as he is, that without the aid of this
army, in time of need, his triple crown, St Peter's
keys, his infallibility, together with all his other badges
of papal power and dignity would quickly be assailed,
not however, my friends, by those persons whom he
now stigmatizes as heretics and out of the pale of sal
vation, such men as, in fact, you are now sitting among
in this church, but whom nevertheless I will take upon
me to assure you feel at this moment, and at all times,
much more inclined to pray for you than to molest you.
No, my friends, but it is the pope's hereditary bonds
men, whom however he calls his loving subjects, that
he fears ; — subjects who if but once they could break
their soul-binding chains, would soon uproot the pa
pal throne and government, which, together with the
triple-crowned pontiff, would speedily vanish, and as the
smoke consume away. In conclusion, my brethren, I

75
shall now address myself to the whole of this congi'ega-
tion here assembled in this sacred edifice ; and let me
hope we have all met as brethren in Christ. Blessed is
the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the
Lord is; therefore I earnestly entreat that those few
Romanists among us, who at present differ in faith from
the majority, will not take umbrage if, as a minister of
the Lord, I feel myself imperatively called upon to
address them in all christian love and charity, to trea
sure up in their minds and ponder in their hearts the
spiritual, important, and soul-saving truths I have been
teaching as well as expounding to them from the word
of God, and particularly from St Paul's epistles, to
which apostle, as well as to St Peter, they address their
prayers as their intercessors before the throne of Omni
potence. But what account doth St. Paul, my friends,
give of himself in the Acts of the Apostles? I am,
saith he, the least of the apostles that am not meet to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God ; but by the grace of God I am what I am ; and his
grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain, but I
laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whe
ther it was I or they, so we preach, and so ye believe.
Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spo
ken of in the prophets : Behold, ye despisers, for I work
a work which ye shall in no wise believe though a man
declare it unto you. And lastly, let them not be
offended if from this pulpit also I declare conscien
tiously, fearlessly, and without compromise my solemn
belief and conviction, that a religion, which is false
as regards God, can never be for the best interests
of men or nations, and that there is just as much agree
ment between the pure religion of Jesus Christ and that

76
of the Church of Rome as there is between Satan and
an angel of light. Thus ended the Sermon of the Pro
testant clergyman. The two priests then bowed with
the other Romanists most respectfully to the minister,
shook hands with those members of the congregation
within their reach, and retired, to all appearance, much
gratified, and anxious, as they expressed themselves, to
purchase bibles and to pay a second visit to the same
church, " believing, as we now do," exclaimed one of
the ecclesiastics, " the holy Scriptures to be the word
of the living and true God."
The editor, in conclusion, still cherishes a most anxious
wish to call the attention of those of his Romanist
readers, who, perhaps, continue groping at noon day as
in the dark, to the interesting account, published and
recorded in these pages, of the three priests who have
discovered the light of gospel truth, with a view to en
courage all others manfully, and without fear or supine-
ness, to begin forthwith to think for themselves — follow
their example, and open their eyes wide in order to
examine, and resolutely commence the study of that
sacred volume, which at present is denied them by their
spiritual ¦ guides and task-masters, when they cannot fail
to discover throughout its inspired pages, the manner
those false, popish, and idolatrous teachers pervert the
ways of the Lord; in which Christ, and Christ alone is
preached to them, by his holy apostles, for the forgive
ness of sins. Moreover, the readers will also find that
St. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was
he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is pre
ferred before me, for he was before me. The law, saith
the same apostle, was given by Moses, but grace and truth
by Jesus Christ. Again, John bare record, saying, I saw

77

the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it
abode upon him ; and I bare record that this is the Son
of God, the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh
into the world ; and to as many as receive it he giveth
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name. The editor also requests his Romanist
readers to examine further, and with minute attention,
the reasons offered by those three priests, in proof of
their sincerity, in which they will perceive that, in the
face of persecutions, threats, scoffs, and extreme con
tempt towards them by their former worse than Egyptian
task-masters, they have proclaimed and sent forth to the
world a truthful exposure of the mystery of iniquity,
which might serve for an elucidation of the subject mat
ter, and also furnish a correct account of their secession
and abjuration from all fellowship and communion with
the Church of Rome. Alas ! how many ecclesiastics,
and other Romanists, if they could at this moment
but muster up sufficient resolution, would eagerly
follow the example of those priests; and it is, more
over, to be hoped that when the members, generally
speaking, of the Church of Rome come to be informed
that no less a personage than the librarian to the present
pope, who held the richest of Rome's church benefices,
and was about to be advanced to the princely dignity of
cardinal, has shaken the dust of his feet against all such
mammon and wages of unrighteousness, and is now a
zealous member and preacher of the Reformed Church
of Christ,* they may be induced to make the best use of
* The foUowing interesting account of Dr. A chilli is written -by
Dr. Camillieri, a Maltese Priest, who has left his church, and is waiting
with Dr. Achilli and several others to be received as Theological
Students into the Malta College.
Dr. G. G. AchiUi entered the Dominican order when he was 17
years old ;— his aim was learning. He was ordained priest in 1824, and

78
their natural powers, after the example of Dr. Achilli,
the pope's librarian, and no longer suffer either priest
or confessor to persuade them out of their senses ; so
that by conviction of their own consciences, and God's
grace vouchsafed unto them, they may be eiiabled to
abandon their former erroneous doctrines; and stand
fast, as saith St. Paul, in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made them free, and be not again ¦entangled in the
yoke of bondage.
immediately began to preach. He was then called to Rome and made
Master of Arts. He taught Philosophy for the space of seven years at
Viterbo, and was at the same time a Lecturer on the sacred Scriptures.
He then taught Divinity and was made a Bachelor in 1829, and in 1831
he took the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He then became President
of the Theological School of the Dominican order, Visitor of the Pro
vince, and Vicar to the Maestro del Sacro Pallazzo, by which office the
revision of books devolved on him.
He preached all that time throughout the States of the Pope in Tus
cany and at Naples. In 1838 he was presented with the charge of
Vicar-Apostolic in the Ionian Islands in place of Monsignor Hynes
(Irish). In that same year he preached on every day in Lent, at Naples, in
the church of St. James ; on which occasion he more particularly felt
convinced of the truth of the great doctrine of faith as it is professed in
the reformed church of Christ. Since that time he preached exclusively
from the holy Bible. This sacred book, so justly dreaded by the Church
of Rome, reformed his own soul ; and, by faith, he reputed it no loss to
abandon his country and honours, and sure prospects of being made
first Divine to the Pope, aud subsequently a Cardinal.
In the year 1842 he declared for the reformation at Corfu, and began
his labours about the Italian Reformed Church, by preaching and ex
horting all who are called of God.
The Principal of the Malta College writes : — " Dr. Achilli is a very
earnest, ardent Preacher ; his heart's desire is, to see a Reformed Italian
Church. He left Italy on account of a demand made on him to write a
book in defence of the Romish Church."
When the Pope was informed by an Italian Gentleman of the se
cession of Dr. Achilli, he struck his forehead with his hand, and
appeared much disconcerted.
It is a well known fact, that there are a great many persons in Italy
both among the laity and clergy, who arc longing for a Reformed Italian
Church.

79

It is earnestly to be wished that, in this enlightened
age, no unbiassed person, after he has examined the nar
rative of these abjurations with attention, will have the
hardihood to deny the unsoundness of a religion (if it
deserves such a name), which has repeatedly been proved
in the foregoing pages to be nothing but a sectarian
creed, which sanctions mendacity and fraud : yea, and
even oaths have no power to bind its moonling votaries ;
for the priest or confessor, as the editor has already
observed, is the sovereign of the mind and of the
inmost thoughts of the unhappy and almost soulless
Romanist, who can be compelled, just as the interest of
his church or priest require of him, first to swear, and
then to forswear, and after be declared innocent and
receive absolution from his perjury. In short, an oath,
in the estimation of all such men, whenever they are
required to come forward in support of what they call
holy mother church, becomes no longer an oath. John
Bull should also bear in mind that those Romanists
who have obtained seats in the legislature in almost
all cases when any measure has been brought forward
in aid of the national Protestant Church of England,
although they had subscribed to an oath binding them
not to interfere, have, in all such cases, disregarded it ;
and, with very few exceptions, it has been snapped
asunder Uke the seven green twigs that bound Samson,
which he break as a thread of tow is broken when it
touchetk the fire.
The editor will now proceed to inquire whether the
Church of Rome has not been encroaching on the De
calogue, or Ten Commandments, given by Jehovah to
Moses, on Mount Sinai, the second of which she has
literally effaced from the very catechism she has appointed

80
to instruct her youth in the principles of her religion ;
and for what cause, Mr. Bull? Because it forbids
image worship, which she delights in. And the seventh
commandment, also, which forbids the sin of adultery,
she has contrived to turn into one of her seven sacra
ments. Now, we read in our Bibles, thafc when the
Pharisees came to Jesus concerning divorcement, and
asked him if it was lawful for a man to put away his
wife, the Saviour answered, What God hath joined
together, let no man put asunder. Then said they unto
him, Why did Moses command to give a writing of di
vorcement, and to put her away ? Jesus saith unto them,
Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered
you to put away your wives, but from tlie beginning it
was not so ; and I say unto you whosoever shall put away
his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery." Now, as far as regards
this invented popish sacrament of matrimony, why, Mr.
Bull, the Church of Rome has not only pronounced it
to be such, acting always on the authority of her infalli
bility, but she has also declared marriage to be indis
soluble, that is, that no circumstance can render its
dissolution lawful, and indeed every member of her
church knows that divorce is held to be unlawful ; ne
vertheless, that tell-tale, history, informs us that, in the
year 1811, the pope himself, pronounced the sentence of
divorce between Napoleon Buonaparte and Josephine
Beauharnois, his first wife, to enable him to marry the
daughter of the Emperor of Germany. To this may be
added, that, although the Church of Rome abhors incest,
a pope, not a century ago, issued his dispensations for
the daughters of the King of Portugal to marry their
uncles, and his sons to marry their aunts ; and this
incestuous connexion continued for two generations,

81
among the royal family of Portugal in those days of
yore. The king of Portugal was the son of Queen
Isabella, by her own uncle ; and Don Pedro, his bro
ther, was married, at sixteen years of age, to his own
mother's sister, the Infanta Maria Benedicta, aged up
wards of thirty. All these incestuous connexions were
by the pope's dispensatory power. Nevertheless, the
church of Rome still dares to call that a sacrament,
which, according to her own unchanged, unchangeable,
and infallible doctrines, no divorce can annul. Never
theless, it may be seen recorded that her own extorted
divorce did annul it, while she still obstinately persists
in proclaiming it to be a sacrament, although she has
prostituted it to sanctify the incestuous marriages of
uncle and neice, nephew and aunt But what saith the
Lord God of our salvation, to the encourager and up
holder of such incestuousness ? — yea, and even at the
very point of the bayonet, too! which is at the command
of this archetype of Antichrist, and is proffered to him
at all times by a foreign potentate, who is his chief ally.
Now, John Bull, as well as most of the editor's protest-
ant readers, if not the whole of them, will readily believe
that a man who proclaims himself Christ's vicegerent on
earth, naturally claims unlimited power. Consequently,
acting under this unerring prerogative, he deems it no
presumption to efface the second commandment from the
decalogue, and forsooth, because God spake these words,
Thou shalt not make thyself any graven image, nor the
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the
earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou
shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them, for I tlie
Lord thy God am a jealous God, and visit the sins of
the fathers unto the third and fourth generation of them
M

82
that hate me, and shew mercy unto thousands in them
that love me and keep my commandments.
Thus far, then, the readers may judge for themselves
as to the little reverence the popes of Rome, in modern
times, have paid to the laws of God, whenever they
happened to interfere with their worldly interests or
carnal propensities, all of which are in direct opposition
to the gospel of Christ. Man, indeed, opposed to man,
may be wrong, or he may not ; but man, opposed to
Jehovah, unless he can overcome the Almighty, all of
whose commandments are true, as saith the royal psalm
ist, standfast for ever, and are done in truth and equity.
It will still, however, in the editor's opinion, be expedi
ent for the further information of all his readers, to
prove, from some facts in history, that those men who
so hypocritically assume the humble title of The servant
of servants, have, nevertheless, no objection to be wor
shipped, and to be called by the impious and blasphe
mous title of Holy Father, — Lord God, and on the
election to the popedom, suffer their feet to be kissed by
prince cardinals, and this ceremony is notoriously called
by the church of Rome, Adoration to him, who, on that
occasion has medals struck, with the inscription, Quern
creant adoranl. Now he who gives mankind to under
stand that the keys of heaven and of purgatory are com
mitted to his care, with power to bind and loose whom
he will, continues, nevertheless, even in this enlightened
age of the world, still to cajole and work on the credu
lity of the ignorant multitude, with as much astuteness
as his brethren in former ages were wont to do ; and
whom the readers will presently perceive were not one
jot behind hand in craftiness, and with a double advan-

83
tage too, in those days of spiritual darkness when po
pery triumphed over thrones, principalities, and powers,
so as even to bind kings in chains, and their nobles with
links of iron.
Now, in the fourteenth century, there was a schism
that lasted fifty years in that church which pretended
to such unity of worship. One pope resided at Rome,
and another at Avignon, in France. The papal chair
was often filled by men of the most abandoned and dis
solute lives, and consequently all manner of abomina
tions were committed by one who pretended to be in
fallible. The most diabolical arts were also practised
to obtain the papal dignity ; and sometimes there were
two or three popes at once on the tapis, each struggling
for tbe mastery. When, however, they were once elected,
princes bowed down before them, and emperors kissed
their feet; in a word, a pope was worshipped by the
great, and even kings whom he nevertheless deposed at
will, and gave their crowns to whoever he pleased,
calling himself universal monarch, and above every
power, in things temporal as well as spiritual, bowed
down before him, at the same time ruling with the
greatest tyranny and oppression that the world ever
groaned under, over both body and soul of man. Thus
it is, that by the daring acts of that mystery of iniquity,
the papacy has branded itself with the sin of heresy,
novelty, and schism, rejecting the ancient apostolic faith,
tramphng on the laws of heaven and proclaiming to the
world at large, that the pope of Rome now rules in the
place of the Most High. Some popes, nevertheless,
gained more ground than others in those unhappy times
of gross ignorance and error, and others less, but not

84
one of them ever lost an inch of what his predecessor
had obtained. Immorality, at length, in violation of all
religion and law, was approaching to its highest pitch,
and the choice of those who aspired to the pontifical
dignity became a political, rather than a religious object
to the several princes of Europe, many of whom were so
proud that they cared not for God, neither was God in
all their thoughts, and yet they said, Tush, the Lord shall
not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Con
sequently, men of exemplary piety, with sound principles
and capacities, were entirely out of the question, in the
estimation of all such persons, of whom the Apostle Paul
thus forewarns mankind, If our gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath
blinded their minds. O ye fools, saith the royal psalmist,
when will ye understand ; he that nurtureth the idolater
shall he not punish ?
These anti-christian stratagems to work wicked
ness, together with the scandalous lives led by the popes,
and the entire disregard that was shewn by them as
well as by their clergy to all religion and virtue, at
length reached the ears of his majesty Henry, king of
Germany, who, in the year 1045, resolved to go in per
son, and inquire upon the spot, both into the conduct of
the popes and the state of the church, for in those days
there were gods many and lords many, all strangers
from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and with
out God in the world. His majesty accordingly took his
departure for Germany, arrived at Sutry, and assembled
in council in that city, at which were present almost all
the bishops of Italy. The king immediately sent for
Pope Gregory VI. to clear himself of the charge

85

brought against him, of having purchased, with money,
the pontifical dignity. His holiness owned at once, what
he could not deny, the infamous bargain being well
known to every bishop of the council, when he immedi
ately divested himself in full council of his glittering
robes, gave up the pastoral staff, and then begging for
giveness, renounced all claim to the chair of St. Peter.
At another meeting of the same council, Pope Bene
dict IX., and John, Bishop of Sabina, who succeeded
him under the title of Silvester the III., together
with Benedict were declared usurpers, Simoniachs, and
intruders, and as such deposed and forbidden, on pain
of excommunication, ever to attempt the recovery of
a dignity, which they had shewn themselves unworthy
of, by their wicked lives, as well as by the means they
employed to attain it. History further informs us, that
Benedict, and John, archpriest of the Roman church (of
whom more anon) who was placed in his stead, under the
title of Silvester III., were both driven out of Rome, the
latter in three months after his election, but the former
through the interest of the Counts of Tusculum, and
with their powerful support was restored to his former
rank, in 1038, by the emperor Conrad, without heark
ening to the just complaints brought by the Romans
against him. Glaber also tells us in L. IV., c. 89, of his
work, that this very pope Benedict was several times
driven from his see, but that he always recovered it by
some means or other, but at last he made up his mind
to part with it, that he might the more freely indulge
himself in his debaucheries ; he accordingly sold it to the
aforesaid John, archpriest of the Roman church, who
was said by Pope Victor III. to have been a most reli
gious person at that time. What, then, continues the his-

86

torian, must the rest of the Roman clergy, have been
in those days, if a Simoniac was one of the most religious
men amongst them ?*
Having concluded our account of the reign of some
of the sovereign pontiffs of former eras, the editor, for
the information of his readers, many of whom may,
perhaps, not find time or opportunity to examine into
those books containing the history of the lives of the
Roman pontiffs, which indeed are scarce, and difficult to
be met with; he will therefore now refer to a more
modern date, and just select one pope from among those
who reigned in the fifteenth century, making choice of
Leo X., a notorious infidel, who, when he found the
papal treasury exhausted, in the year 1517, had recourse
to a new mode of raising money ; and in the exigency
of the case, betook himself to the sale of indulgences,
* The zealous and orthodox Cardinal Baronius, whom the editor has
already introduced to his readers in consequence of his having assured
the christian world, in one of his learned works, that the term papist,
when speaking of the members of the church of Rome, collectively or
individually, was the most honorable that could be used, — this same Car
dinal was also, in his day, one of Rome's ablest historians, in all matters
relating to her church and doctrines. Nevertheless, he frankly ac
knowledges, in another of his works, that during a succession of fifty
popes, there was not one pious or virtuous man to be found among them.
" The Alexanders, the Hildebrands, the Gregories, the Bonifaces," avers
this Cardinal, "were all famous (or rather infamous) in those times for
lewdness, debauchery, and all kinds of abominations. Who can be
lieve," continues his Eminence, " that these monsters were the vicars of
Christ ? Yea, and what execrable and hateful things has the sacred and
apostolic see, upon whose hinges the universal apostolic church turns,
been compelled to suffer, when the secular princes, although chris
tians, yet, in this respect, to be deemed most cruel tyrants, oppressively
arrogating to themselves the election of the Roman pontiffs. Oh ! to
our shame and grief be it spoken, how many monsters, horrible to
behold, were intruded by them into that seat which is reverenced by
angels !" — Baronius, a.d. 912.

87
and amongst other agents employed, commissioned one
John Tetzell, a Dominican friar, to preach their efficacy.
This man was furnished with a bull, or manifesto, by his
holiness, purporting to grant certain privileges to all
who complied with his demands; such as, permission
and license to eat meat in lent, and power to deliver
whatsoever souls they pleased out of purgatory, after
they had put into a box which he carried about with
him, a sum amounting to about ten shillings, English
money. Yea, and he even boasted that he had saved
more souls by Leo's indulgences, than St. Peter had
converted to Christianity by his preaching. This bull of
indulgence granted, also, a general pardon of all sin,
without confession, it was therefore a great temptation,
and was eagerly sought after by great and small, being
regarded a most holy boon by all the people. Vast
were the sums of money collected for Leo and for his
church, by this nefarious traffic ; and it is a notorious
fact, that his holiness's delight was so great at this ac
cumulation of mammon, that in his confidential mood, to
those around him, when beholding the treasure, he ex-
exclaimed, " Quam probit hac fabula Jesu Christi!"
"How lucrative is this fable of Jesus Christ to us!"
All Germany, however, rose in indignation at the pope's
commission for the sale of these indulgences, in the above
year; and before that century closed, England, Scot
land, half a million of the inhabitants of France, Hol
land, the greater part of Switzerland, nearly one-half
of Germany, Prussia, and the whole of Denmark,
Sweden, and Norway, renounced the vassalage of the
church of Rome, and severed themselves from her com
munion for ever and ever. Yea, and even St. Bernard,
one of the intercessors to whom the papists address their
prayers, declared that, " the Beast of the revelation,

to which was given a mouth speaking blasphemies, and
power to make war against the saints, is sitting in St.
Peter's chair." — Bernard, Epist. 225, Beslia, ilia, de
Apocalypsi, fyc.
The editor, as an humble layman, must candidly con
fess that he cannot refrain from expressing his astonish
ment that so very few of the ecclesiastics belonging to
the protestant reformed church, have felt disposed to
come boldly forward and exert the abilities which God
has blessed them with at a crisis which appears to all
reflecting protestant christians to foreshew the near ap
proach of a daring attempt to bring protestant England
under the yoke of popery; while, on the contrary,
strange as it may appear, these divines remain quiescent
while every one but themselves perceive the enemy lite
rally at the door. Under such appalling circumstances,
closely connected as they are with the apparently fair
pretences, and crafty wiles of insinuating Jesuits and
tractarian popelings, who have surrendered their religi
ous freedom to Antichrist, and now lie in wait to de
ceive the young, the ignorant, and the inexperienced;
nothing short of infatuation can account for the policy
of such perverts, who would now hand over to the ten
der mercies of Rome, the protestant reformed church
and nation of England. The editor therefore trusts, in
bringing before his readers so many notorious facts,
that they may produce the wished-for and salutary
effects on the minds of his readers with regard to the
rapid progress of popery ; while, at the same time, he
most deeply bemoans and regrets the almost unaccount
able circumstance, that among the clergy* some more
* The 114th English Canon enjoins, that "every parson, vicar, or
curate, shall carefully inform themselves every year, how many popish

89

able persons than himself have not been found to come
forward manfully, knowing, as they must, that they have
truth on their side, and exerted themselves, as they were
in duty bound, from their several pulpits, wisely and un
flinchingly, in defence of the reformed and christian
faith of that sacred religion, which for so many centuries
has blessed this highly-favoured country. Being aware,
also, that the most profound ignorance still harbours in
the minds, not only of many members of the reformed
protestant church, but even in a greater proportion,
among those of the church of Rome, he therefore most
earnestly recommends the attention of both parties to
the 23rd page of the introductory matter of this work, in
which they will find an authentic translation of the anti-
christian creed of the papal church, called that of Pope
Pius IV, blazoned to the world in 1562, purporting
to contain all that was necessary to man's salvation, and
denouncing eternal damnation on all who did not re
ceive the whole of its articles as the word of God. This
creed, then, let the readers bear in mind, is the sole
cause of all the divisions which now prevail between the
papal and all the other churches of Christendom. O !
it is a daring act, by which the papacy brands itself with
novelty, heresy, and schism, while it sets at defiance the
constant practice, and even the decrees of the ancient

recusants, men, women, and children, above the age of thirteen years,
and how many being popishly given, the inhabitants in any of their se
veral parishes ; and shall set down their true names in writing, and
present them to their bishops once a-year, under pain of suspension."
The 40th Irish Canon enacts, that " every minister, having any popish
recusant or recusants in his parish, shall labour diligently with them,
from time to time, thereby to reclaim them from their errors, and that
every bishop shall use his best endeavours, by instruction, persuasion,
and all good means he can devise, to reclaim both them, and all others
within his diocese who are popishly given."
N

90
catholic and apostolic church, by which act it puts itself
in the place of the Most High, and tramples upon the
word and laws of Heaven. Nevertheless, the proud
and self-sufficient Romanist, with contumelious taunts
reproaches the protestant, as being a heretic, who has
conformed to a new religion, the invention of an apostate
monk, named Martin Luther, a man unknown to the
primitive fathers of the church, a daring and presump
tuous rebel, whose desperate principles tempted him into
an avowed opposition, and public renunciation of the
holy, ancient, and Roman faith of the true and only
apostolic church now in existence. Treating, also, the
spiritual successor of St. Peter, in whose very shoes, our
holy father, the pontiff, was planted, with contempt;
scoffing, likewise, and setting at naught our ancient
church with its true and only Roman faith, which has
been handed down pure, and undefiled, received and
professed as such by all true believers in the pure doc
trines of the church of Rome, ever since the days of the
Apostles.* All this may appear orthodox in the eyes of
the proud ignorant Romanist, who, by the way, has not
been very sparing in his abuse of Martin Luther. After
all, however, facts must and will prove that the church
of Rome is the new church, and popery the new religion.
Let the protestant, therefore, boldly, and without fear,
just put a few such questions as the following to her
priesthood. Who ever heard, for instance, of the doc
trine of the host, and transubstantiation, before the year
1215 ? Where was the doctrine of purgatory before the

* The Church of Rome boasts of her hundreds of millions of wor
shippers scattered all over the face of the earth. Nevertheless, popery
is a deviation from Christ's commands, and therefore is sectarianism.
As the papists dissent from many of Christ's practices, they are, therefore,
sectarians, not disciples of Christ, but of men.

91
year 1438 ? And the sacrifice of the mass, where was that
to be found before the year 1563? Yea! and let him
defy the pontiff, himself, to prove them a day older.
Then let him further ring in the ears of the Romanist
another plain truth, not to be gainsaid, which, if he
refuses to notice, or denies, it must be with a lie in his
right hand, and because he quails before the bible.
Inform him, therefore, that in point of scriptural
truth and history, protestantism is the old religion,
because it is the religion of the Bible — the religion of
Christ, — and the religion of the first christian ages;
consequently, if the religion of the church of Rome
be true, the Bible must be false ; therefore, because the
members of the hierarchical government, must be con
scious in their minds, of having changed the truth of
God, as it is written in his holy book, into a lie, and wor
ship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is
blessed for ever, Amen, that sacred volume has always
been denied to its subjects, the Romanists, as a dangerous
book, even though written with the finger of God, by
the inspiration of holy men, chosen for the purpose, and
God is not man that he should lie. Again, let the pro
testant who has thus been taunted with being a heretic,
ask his orthodox re viler to point out to him, in what
part of the bible the doctrine of image worship is to be
found. What ! is he not aware that the materials of
images are earth, or wood, and which if he humbles
himself before, he humbles himself to Satan? Among the
seven sacraments, also, that of forbidding priests and
nuns to marry, is no apostolic Christianity, for we read
that St. Peter was a married man, and St. Paul declared
himself entitled to the same privilege; Have we not power
said that Apostle, to lead about a sister or a wife ? And
he further declared marriage to be honourable in all.

92
And then, if antiquity is to decide the point, the pro
testant faith must unquestionably be the true faith, as
well as the most ancient, because it is not one day
younger than Christ and his Apostles. It has, however,
been frequently remarked by several grave and reflect
ing protestants, that a certain class of men who boast
of their affinity with the members of that modern school
of philosophers who argue not according to what is right,
but what is expedient for the apparent time, and who
are both willing and anxious to proffer their aid not
only to endow the Romish priesthood in Ireland, but
also to give seats to the popish bishops, in the house of
lords, while they insidiously endeavour to assure John
Bull that the march of intellect impels them to advance
popery to a level in every respect with that protestant
faith to which England is indebted for every blessing
she now enjoys. These illuminati feel themselves in
such a perfect state as to have no need of religious or
dinances, and therefore propose by artfully making a
cat's paw of still more artful popery, to substitute reason
in the earthly form of a goddess, as the French nation
once did, and worshipped it, by which experiment they
expect to raise the British nation to perfection. More
over these mystifyers who are groping in the dark, be
cause they are living without God in the world, have
been heard to inquire scoffingly of protestant clergymen,
what was meant by the term true church, and demand
who were the members of that church. Any interro
gatories proposed by men, who by perverting the scrip
tures, have formed to themselves a confused system of
controversial arguments, on which as the scriptures
are profoundly silent, should therefore be answered
with caution. Nevertheless, these obsequious satellites
contrive to make their own imaginations the authority

93
for their unsound arguments, and the test of their or
thodoxy. Are such sophisters, however, aware of the
awful consequences they incur, by laying such an unhal
lowed, illusive, and sandy foundation ? O ! if Protest
ants, as well as Romanists, would but examine with
attention the word of inspiration, written by the finger
of Him, who is eternal truth, in that divine book, which
is as explicit as it is sure, having the certitude sealed by
the declaration of Omnipotence, that other foundation
can no man lay, save that which is laid, Jesus Christ.
This is the stone whick was set at naught of you builders,
which is become the head stone of the corner. Neither is
there salvation in any other, for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. For there is one God, and one Mediator, between
God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
The demand which has been made by those inquisitive
innovators, respecting the nature of the true church,
shall be forthwith given to them, — men, whom it appears
are resolved that neither Christianity nor infidelity shall
be any bar to the high privileges they purpose to obtain
for their liberal and liberalized friends among the mass
of the people — the blind leading the blind, — a confused
medley, lost and bewildered in their fruitless search
after phantoms they can never overtake, and who can
only be compared to those men whom St. Paul met
with at Athens, spending their time in nothing else but
either to tell or to hear some new thing, in which city
the Apostle also found an altar with the following in
scription: — To the unknown God, whom, said he, ye
ignorantly worship, and whom I now declare unto you.
To all such persons, then, who appear from their igno-

94
rant curiosity to profess no determinate religion them
selves, be it known, the true church, according to the
opinion and belief of all moderate, reflecting, and sober-
minded christians, free from prejudices, enthusiasm, and
bigotry, means, a community of christian worshippers,
all professing the pure faith of the gospel ; walking uni
formly in the spirit of its inspired doctrines as they were
received by the apostles aiuL-fathers of jpirDy that
church, all such persons,.,being severally bound and
united in one body as the confirmed disciples of its
sacred head, which is Christ Jesus our Lord and Sa
viour, to whom all power is given to gather in a church
out of all nations, and to govern and defend that
church against all enemies ; and although its members
may be dispersed throughout the world, still preserves
its faith whole and undefiled among them, as if it dwelt
but in one particular quarter, while it diffuses sancti
fying grace to each individual. Thus, all who profess
to worship Jehovah in spirit and in truth, although they
may differ in minor points of doctrine and modes of
worship, if their spiritual state be truly sincere in that
God and Father of all, their acceptance with him can in
no wise be shaken in his almighty sight ; — the deviation
of the branches is no proof of the unsoundness of the
root. Let it, therefore, be once more repeated, that
if christians join in holding by the vital truths of
Christianity, and their belief, conversation, and lives be
such as become the gospel of Christ, and that they
strictly follow and religiously observe the admonitions
of St. Paul, who, when addressing his disciples, said,
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for
there is no power but of God; whosoever, therefore, re-
sisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; for
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil,

95
wherefore ye must needs be subject for conscience sake,
and submit yourselves to every ordinance for the Lord's
sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto govern
ors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment
of evildoers, for it is the will of God. As free, not using
your own liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the
servants of God. Honor all men; love the brotherhood;
fear God ; honor the king.
Truly, then, it must be allowed, that the religion of
any man must be worse than pharisaical, who cannot
conscientiously extend the right hand of fellowship to
all who have embraced, and now observe, those precepts
so plainly and beautifully marked out by the apostle
St Paul, as a rule whereby all christians may, guide
and govern their moral and religious conduct in this
life, so as to be found worthy of a seat in that dwelling
above, in which there are many mansions. We cannot
all, it is true, in this world, be visibly united in one com
pact body respecting some few umimportant ceremonies,
forms of doctrine, but we shall, nevertheless, be united
everlastingly, in the world to come, with Him who is
the way, the truth, and the life, and the author and
finisher of our faith, even our Lord Jesus Christ, God
blessed for ever.
The editor of this work, now drawing to a close,
trusts, that while he has endeavoured to set forth Ro
mish superstitions and idolatrous doctrines, by argu
ments and observations strictly scriptural and historical,
he may be allowed, also, once more to repeat distinctly,
that while he has been carrying on his controversial
warfare throughout the pages of his introductory matter
against the colossal citadel of the Roman hierarchy, his

96
only weapons of defence being the bible, and history,
which harmless instruments he hopes will clear him
from all imputation of beTag bigoted or intolerant, viru
lent or uncharitable, collectively or individually against
its members, all of whom, clerical and laical, he most
ardently desires to see freed from the cruel and anti-
christian bondage imposed on them by that hierarchy of
a church, which he fearlessly declares, walks not in cha
rity according to the commandments of God or of the
doctrines of the gospel of Christ But, alas ! how can
the protestant reformed church ever expect to check the
growth of this most pestiferous upas tree, which has been
introduced into England as a most beautiful shrub by
certain gardeners called Jesuits, while its deadly quali
ties immediately paralize all who venture too near it ?
Nevertheless, there are numbers of individuals among
the higher and lower orders, both of the clergy — yea,
and laity, too, of the reformed protestant church, who
like the Pharisees of old, still require a sign from hea
ven. But Jesus answered and said, a wicked generation
seeketh after a sign, but no sign shall be given unto it.
In fact, these men require further evidence to convince
them of the truth : yet, after all, if the clergy go wrong,
what can be expected from their flocks ? Not satisfied,
as it now appears, with the divine revelation, which the
wisdom of God has deemed sufficient for man, they have
become curious, as it were, even to find out the Al
mighty to perfection, for which purpose many of the
former have made pilgrimages to the eternal city, as they
have been required by their tractarian task masters at
home, to seek therein instruction ; and it appears quite
evident that several among these perverts, who have re
turned to England, appear from their demeanour much
gratified at the progress they have made in their studies,

97
according to their own accounts, both as to the nature
and necessity of the new doctrines they are now to believe
instead of the gospel of Christ, all of which they will
shortly be required to practice, and afterwards to teach
them to John Bull, — that is, if they can; also, those new
duties which they are first to practice themselves, and
then to enforce them on the mind of honest John, which
they will find rather a difficult, if not a hazardous expe
riment. Now, it has been remarked in London, that
many of those travelled tractarians, who, by their awk
ward gait and popish dress, are readily recognized in
the streets, are become so proud from their introduction
to the pope and their introspection of the Vatican, where
they beheld, with awe and veneration, the prince cardi
nals, by whom they were directed to the proper autho-
ties — professors of theology, who would instruct and
confirm them in the true catholic apostolic faith. Such
condescension bestowed on these wandering enthusiasts,
by the prince cardinals, so flattered those wiseacres, and
encouraged them also in those newly imbibed princi
ples which they had acquired in the renowned Seat of
Catholicism, that they were almost inclined to fancy
themselves the very canon of orthodoxy, and felt as if
they were capable of forming rules for instructing
others in doctrine and discipline, forgetting at the same
time, in the excitement of their popish zeal, that it would
be required of them, before they could be received as
members of that ancient, true, and only church, into
which they craved admittance, to be introduced to the
bishop, and kneeling down before his Catholic lordship,
to repeat, in a solemn tone of voice, the Nicene creed,
and after it the creed of Pope Pius IV., in both of
which they had been previously instructed, by expe
rienced priests and Jesuitical theologians, who looked on
o

98

them, nevertheless, with an eye of contemptuous pity,
and obscured as much as possible, rather than explained
to them, the literal meaning of those two creeds, argu
ing as hastily with their bewildered pupils as the latter
acted rashly, by deciding and acknowledging to those
agents of Satan that they could discover nothing mis
chievous, unorthodox, or unscriptural in papal creeds or
papal doctrines. Alas ! alas ! had these young English
apostates but studied the bible at home instead of the
breviary abroad, they would have come to a very dif
ferent conclusion with their popish teachers, and in the
words of the royal and inspired psalmist have exclaimed,
Why dost thou preach my laws, and takest my covenant
in thy mouth ? — whereas thou hatest to be reformed, and
hast cast my words behind thee ; thou hast let thy mouth
speak wickedness, and with thy tongue thou hast set forth
deceit. These things thou hast done, and thou thoughtest
ivickedly that I am even such a one as thyself; but I will
reprove thee and set before thee the things that thou hast
done. But, on the contrary, these zealots, in the full
career of their mental phrenzy, imagined themselves
wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight :
they have pronounced evil good and good evil : they put
darkness for light and light for darkness ; bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter. To all such auxiliaries, as
the church of Rome would call such poor raving mor
tals, who no doubt, by special favor, have been suffered
to spend a portion of their novitiate at Rome, within the
walls of many a popish chapter room, in order to make
themselves better acquainted with the study of image
worship, to be instructed in graceful attitudes for the
performance of the mass, to devote their attention to the
decretals and the holy councils, but more particularly
the dogmas of the Trentine Council, which latter, let

99
every good, wise, and sound-hearted protestant be ap
prized, is purposely selected in order to teach mankind
to drive the gospel, as well as all biblical Christianity,
out of their hearts, by means of well-trained and artful
priests, who have succeeded in preparing their stulti
fied Tractarian scholars to behold at noon-day without
winching, although shrewdly pained, the sacred banner
of papal authority, raised, by means unperceived, almost
half-mast high, ready to unfurl, and wave aloft trium
phantly over the royal standard of England.
But, further, John Bull has a still more dangerous
order of priesthood to contend with, called Jesuits, whose
words are smoother than oil, yet are they drawn swords ;
— sychophants, who appear outwardly in sheep's cloth
ing, but are ravenous wolves inwardly, and are now cun
ningly availing themselves of the opportunity which
encourages them to profit by those new opinions that
have lately been taken up, and become fashionable
among a certain class of the young unthinking clergy
and other dolts of the Church of England, on opinions
of a religion, which in fact was never before heard of
by the protestants of England. But, it appears that an
alliance, half Romanist, half liberal, has lately been
formed between liberalism and popery on a grand scale ;
and that certain individuals of both parties have had
meetings in order to propose and concoct, in a new
and sublime style, a suitable creed for both parties, a
change for the better which they conceived the liberal
pope himself could not but approve of; a metamorphose
also, which numbers of those waverers among the young
Puseyite aspirants after notoriety were at once highly
pleased with. This, then, was a most propitious time
for the sons of Loyola, Jesuits, expert in fishing after

100
souls, to let down their net for a draught into this
stream ojJiovelty, when they readily trammelled at one
draught a good supply of gudgeons for the pope. Yea,
and the same expert fishermen are still employed with
their net, which they are now artfully and successfully
drawing together, closer and closer, for a further sup
ply of the same easily-captured fish, for his holiness's
table. But, alas ! there is still another net, of enormous
dimensions, already prepared, purposely for the capture
of John Bull himself; which requires further notice,
inasmuch as it is the avowed intention of the papists
never to relax in their persevering intentions until they
have accomplished their nefarious purpose, which is,
neither more nor less, than to exterminate protestants
and protestantism off the face of the earth. That this
was the ultimate end and aim of the Roman Catholic
Church, a noble member of the Commons House of
Parliament boldly declared before his fellow represen
tatives ; no doubt in kindness, in order to put John Bull
on his guard, and to caution him to beware of the nets
of the Jesuits. It is therefore most devoutly to be hoped
that honest John Bull will not only avail himself, but
also profit by such a public warning, sounded, as it
were, like the toscin, in the ears of the protestants of
England ; and coming, too, from a high authority, not
to be gainsaid. What impression, however it may have
left on their minds, still remains to be tested. Not so,
be it observed, with the pope's emisaries, these watchful
Jesuits, who hailed the sound of that alarm bell as a
signal to be at their posts, in order to redouble their
exertions and activity in the duty assigned them by his
holiness, their master, to work with their accustomed
restless and indefatigable zeal for the extinction of
protestantism, in order to re-establish in Great Britain,

101
a church whose typical designation is the dungeon,
the faggot, and the sword. Nevertheless, these wily
intriguers, and pests to society, who may justly be
designated Loyola's gang, and who have been driven
out of every christian nation under heaven, are now re
ceived and encouraged in England, not only by mem
bers of the legislature, but by an association of men
out of parliament, who, being wise in their own conceit,
have turned faith into faction, and are now confeder
ated to attack our existing religious institutions, by
abandoning the principles of the reformation, and, if
possible, to throw down the bulwarks which, under Pro
vidence, proved the security of our ancestors, and sub
stitute, in their room, reason for God ; by which experi
ment they expect to exalt the English people above all
the nations of the earth. Thus emboldened, the Jesuits,
who may now be considered the pope's body guard, and
who are, moreover, actually billetted, as such, over the
whole country, although disguised in a variety of cos
tumes to avoid detection, but who are nevertheless confi
dent in their expectations that, by some sudden political
and dextrous blow, levelled unexpectedly at John Bull,
they may prove themselves instrumental in terminating,
at once, that threatened antagonistic war, which, al
though foretold, is viewed at present at a distance, and,
as it were, in embryo, notwithstanding which it is ever
uppermost in the thoughts of all the pope's faithful sub
jects, ecclesiastic, civil, and military, dispersed, as they
are, among the nations, like the jews, and ever have
been since the year 672, the period when Udeodatus,
the first pope, reigned and filled the chair of St. Peter.
A war against heresy, then, if there be any truth
in popish legends, come when it may, will terminate
in the total extermination of protestants and protest-

102
antism* from off the face of the whole earth ; and it is
further foretold, in other popish prophecies, that Eng
land, which has ever been the enemy of Rome, and the
hot bed of schism, will then be reclaimed, converted,
and restored to her pristine spiritual and legitimate
rank among the nations, over which the pope, as their
supreme head, as vicar of Christ, reigns, with power to
bind and loose, and with authority to grant full pardon
of all sins, past, present, and to come. When, there
fore, the catholic warfare, which has already been pre
dicted, shall take place, and finally destroy protestant
ism in England, — then, and only then, will the entire
population of those who now call themselves protestants,
be received into the bosom of the holy Roman Catholic
Church, by his holiness the pope, with joy and open
arms, when absolution will be pronounced by the pon
tiff himself in favour of them all ; yea, and it might
also come to pass, according to the present opinions of
many of the popish professors and learned doctors of
scholastic theology at Rome and Paris, that the blessed
Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, might, through her in
tercession with her blessed Son, appoint Pius IX. the
reigning pope, who has already drawn tbe sword against
the Emperor of Austria, to defend his holy territories,
to draw it a second time in order to crush and destroy
heretical pravity throughout the universe, and thus, by
hastening to terminate at once the threatened and pre
dicted warfare against protestantism, prove thereby,
the verity of the popish legends, miracles, and prophe-

* The present unfavourable aspect of the times leads the reflecting
mind to fear that protestantism, with regard to the vast majority of pro
fessors, both of the higher and lower classes of society, is a habit, not a
faith ; without the co-operation and almost without the consciousness
of the understanding.

103
tic surmises of the learned doctors of the Vatican and
the Sorbonne. John Bull, most assuredly, cannot but
highly applaud the efforts already made by the valiant
Pius IX., who appears literally to have furnished himself
with two swords, the one temporal and the other spi
ritual ; and it is earnestly to be hoped that his holiness
will continue to wield them with christian fortitude, and
persevere in his onward career towards granting more
liberty to his enslaved subjects. Nevertheless, under
the present excited feelings of Mr. Bull and his friends,
for the cause of rational religious liberty, they are una
nimous in opinion that, in no one instance has his holi
ness evinced the smallest inclination to carry out this
desirable object On the contrary, this pope, notwith
standing his apparent liberal professions, appears by one
of his late public measures, to be diametrically opposed
to them, and must continue so, as long as he holds back,
and refuses to withdraw the public mandate now in opera
tion, in which he denies to his subjects, in terms of disap
probation, the freedom of speaking, writing, and publish
ing their opinions ; which document, however, so truly
worthy of the dark ages of popery, is now in full force
against them. Under these circumstances, the protest
ants have abundant reasons for suspecting his holiness to
be playing some underhand political game ; while, with
an outward affectation as though he was almost prepared
to barter away his very infallibility for modern liberal
ism, he is masking his real object, and hoodwinking his
subjects at the same time. Therefore they should con
sider the new title conferred on Pope Pius IX, that of
being the great champion of these days of constitutional
liberty, nothing better than a solemn mockery ; but
who, nevertheless, in the end, will be snared in the trap
he had set for others. John Bull, therefore, may now,

104
with confidence, warn his fellow-protestants that, what
with popery in the church, and popery in the state, it is
high time for them to awake, bestir themselves, and no
longer remain passive spectators of the designs and en
croachments of Rome, notwithstanding her pontiff's de
ceptive show of liberality, in order to mislead England's
Queen, her majesty's pro-popery statesmen, and her pro
testant subjects. Yea, and let the editor further assure
his protestant friends, that their utmost firmness and re
solution will soon be called for, to enable them to stand
the brunt of an overwhelming torrent, which, like mias
ma, is now floating in the atmosphere, and spreading
rapidly throughout the land ; and, moreover, that it
will be their bounden duty at once to rush in, as
it were, between the living and the dead, if, peradven-
ture the plague may yet be stayed. Now it is recorded
in the inspired word, that an angel was sent by God to
Gideon, the son of Joash, the Abiezrite, for the deliver
ance of the Israelites, who were oppressed by Midian.
And the angel said unto Gideon, The Lord is with thee,
thou mighty man of valour ; go, then, in this thy might,
and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midian-
ites. Have not I sent thee ? and by three hundred men
will I save thee and deliver the Midianites into thine hand.
And the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he
blew a trumpet, and the Midianites, and the Amalekites,
and all the children of the East lay along the valley like
grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels were without
number as the sand of the sea-side. And Gideon divided
the three hundred men into three companies, and he said
unto them, When I blow the trumpet let all that are with
me on every side of the camp cry, The sword of the Lord
and of Gideon ! And all the host of the enemy ran, and
cried, and fled, at the sound of the trumpet. O, then,

105
let protestants but call to mind, once more, the sacrifice
made by their forefathers, who were even content to die
in the flames of martyrdom rather than abjure their re
ligion; and, as if with the sound of a trumpet, and as
the voice of but one man, unanimously proclaim stout
hearted John Bull for their leader, and, under his com
mand, advance undauntedly to oppose the worst of all
tyrants; and scoff at his traditional, anti-christian, and
idolatrous religion, and with solemn pledge declare, in
face of the whole world, that the Italian priest, who
calls himself the Vicar of Jesus Christ, shall have no
jurisdiction within these realms. Fear ye not, then, O
protestants, neither be dismayed, but exclaim, like the
three hundred chosen men of Gideon, The sword of the
Lord and of John Bull ! and, even though an host were
encamped against you as numerous and destructive as
locusts, quail not, neither let your hearts fail, for the
Lord he it is that will go before you. And, if God be
for you, who can be against you ? Yea, and he will be
with you ; he will never fail you, neither will he forsake
you; and, although your watch-word to each other
must be, " No peace with Rome !" while through faith,
like Gideon, ye wax valiant in fight, beware, neverthe
less, lest, through a mistaken jealousy, from over zeal
in a righteous cause, for the honour of God, ye might
be excited to root out by violence those tares which,
alas ! through neglect of the husbandman, an enemy
was suffered to intermingle with that good and precious
seed which was sown by your forefathers ; and these
noxious weeds have been suffered to grow up with that
good seed even to the present time. Let, then, all the
faithful be vigilant, and on their guard; and, while they
are ready to die at their posts, in defence of that ever
lasting gospel ichich St. John saw carried by an angel,

106
who flew in the midst of Heaven, in order to preach it
unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
and tongue, and kindred, and people, let them not relax
in their duty, but, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, be
ready to endure hardships in that warfare which Al
mighty Providence still suffers to be carried on by the
three spirits of Popery, Jesuitism, and Infidelity, the
terrors of whose spiritual tyranny is the most apalling
that ever ruled on earth, against the church and
people of God.
Notwithstanding, however, the combined movements
and almost incredible efforts of the enemy, this war will
never cease on earth, till every high thing which exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God be cast down, and
every thought be brought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ; when we shall behold the walls of that now
" rejoicing city, that dwells carelessly, and says in her
heart, lam, and there is none beside me," broken down,
and "become a desolation, for beast to lie down in — and
an abode for the cormorant, the bittern, and the great
owl to build their nests in; so that every one that passeth
by, shall shake his head in reproach, scorn, and mockery,
over the ruins of the filthy, polluted and oppressing city
of Rome, that great Bazaar for the sale of Satan's wares;
which " obeyed not the voice, received not the correction,
trusted not in the Lord, nor drew nigh unto her God;"
therefore, she shall be remembered only as a thing to be
wondered at and abhorred.*

* The blasphemous and persecuting Bulla Cwna Domini, with which
Luther was excommunicated and cursed by Pope Leo X. , on Maunday
Thursday, the 24th of March, 1521, and by which all protestants are now
excommunicated, as accursed heretics, but, above all, her gracious Ma
jesty, Queen Victoria, and all authorities appointed by her, whether in

107
John Bull is here recommended, by the editor, to
warn his followers to weigh well the words of Ezra, so
applicable to the cause under consideration : — After all
that is come upon us, saittf that prophet, for our evil
deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our
God hath punished us less than our iniquities deserve,
and hath given us such deliverance as this [such protec
tion hitherto from the yoke and tyranny of the Roman
Catholic Church], should we again break thy command
ments, and join in affinity with the people of these abomi
nations, wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst
consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor
escape. Let, then, all the members of the reformed protestant
church throughout the world, supplicate Jehovah, that
the triumphant progress of Christ's kingdom may rapidly
advance on earth, and that the principles of his gospel
may so diffuse themselves throughout the souls of all
nominal Christians, papist or protestant, that they may
become truly sensible of the value it proposes to man
kind. Above all things, let us regard our Saviour,

church or state, — the first section of this atrocious and blasphemous
bull begins as follows : — " We excommunicate and curse, on the part of
God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by the authority also of
the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our own, all Hussites,
Wlcklifites, Lutherans, Zuinglians, Calvinists, Hugonots, Anabaptists,
Trinitarians, and Apostates whatever from the Christian faith, and all
singular other heretics under whatsoever name they may be classed, and
of whatsoever sect they may be ; and those who believe, receive, or fa
vour them ; and all those who defend them in general, whosoever they
be ; and all those who, without our authority and that of the apostolic
see, knowingly read, or keep, or print, or in any way whatever, from
any cause, publicly or privately, upon any pretence or colour whatever,
defend their books which contain heresy or treat of religion ; also, schis
matics, and those who pertinaciously withdraw themselves, or secede
from obedience to us, and to the Roman pontiff for the time being."

108
Christ, as the pearl of great price, and we shall not fail
to be owned by God as his, and spared by him as his
obedient children ; when our bodies shall be purified,
and shall shine forth like the sun in the Father's king
dom ; and, being fashioned like the glorious body of the
Redeemer, reflect the complete image of his holiness.
It is to be hoped that all Christians, whether protest
ant or papist, who may be tempted to read this little ex
position of popery, and find it accord with the spirit of
the gospel of Christ, and to have been written with a
single eye to his glory, may be urged, by its instru
mentality, to become living members on earth of his
truth and holiness everlasting. Then, and then only,
will divine truth gain the victory over them, and true
religion, which is scriptural Christianity, and which is
only to be found in the bible, will reign triumphant in
their hearts, which, that it may do, is the humble and
truly sincere prayer of the editor.

SUPPLEMENT.

The editor desires to recommend the following intro
ductory letter to his readers, which was sent to him too
late to insert in its proper place, after the three other
conversions.

" An affectionate Address to the Roman Catholic Priests
in Ireland in general, and to those in the dioceses of
Kilmacduagh and Kilfernora in particular. By the
Rev. Roderick Ryder, late Roman Catholic Priest
in those dioceses.
" Rev. Sirs, — I consider it a duty I owe to myself, to
you, and to the cause of truth, which I have embraced,
to address a few words to you on the most important
subject that can engage the mind of man — to wit, the
salvation of your immortal souls ; and in doing this, I
assure you most solemnly I have no object in view but
one, and that is your happiness here and hereafter, and
that of the millions under your charge. I do it the
more willingly, as I now stand in my true position
before the public, having been acquitted of a foul and
malicious charge, by the evidence of my late bishop, by
the charge of the judge to the jury, and by the fact

110
that nine of the jurors, (some of whom were Roman
Catholics) were for finding a verdict with considerable
damages, while three only held out for finding a verdict
with nominal damages ; and that not one of all the wit
nesses could prove one tittle injurious to my character.
"You must admit, Rev. Sirs, that things are very
much altered in this country; that the old state of
things is past, and probably gone for ever ; that a new
era, whether for weal or woe, is commencing ; and that
God never stretches forth his hand to punish a nation,
but for some great and merciful purpose, most generally
for correction.
" What was the old state of things in this country,
even so late as the years 1843 and 1844 ? It was this,
that the priest was lord and master in his parish ; he
held universal sway over the minds and consciences of
his parishioners, — often over their purses and persons.
Woe to the man who would have disputed his authority,
or disobeyed his commands. If any unfortunate man
had the moral courage to differ from him on religious
subjects, he must have made up his mind to endure a
persecution which but few have the courage to face ; and
this persecution would have increased ten-fold, should
the priest discover that his arguments were drawn from
Scripture, or that he was in the habit of reading that
sacred book ; and should any priest have expressed his
feelings honestly on the subject of religion, the bishop,
the neighbouring priests, and even his own parishioners,
would immediately commence a similar persecution
against himself. Thus there was a wheel within a
wheel ; two antagonistic powers, the one lay, the other
clerical, supporting a corrupt system, requiring a blind

Ill

and passive obedience in matters of religion ; and
making all the bodies within that system revolve around
one common centre, which is the Court of Rome ; while
the means adopted for the attainment of that great end
were the exclusion of God's word, and the substitution in
its place of that of man.
"You all recollect the monster meetings of 1843,
quorum magna pars fui, when our peasantry assembled
by millions, vowing vengeance against the Saxons. The
leader of the Irish people on that occasion boasted much
of their bravery, their numbers, and physical strength.
He even borrowed from Napoleon the most foolish of his
expressions, that there was no such word as impossible in
his vocabulary. He said this and much more, but not
one word about the Lord. What is the consequence ?
The Lord has shown that he liveth, and that man is but
as grass in his presence. Where now is that leader ?
— silent for ever. Where now are those multitudinous
masses? — like the Israelites in the days of David's en
rolment, they are smitten of the Lord ; they are now but
moving skeletons, beggars at the gate of every court in
Europe, and receiving alms even from the infidel ; while
those very Saxons, to denounce and intimidate whom
that leader, you, and I, convened those multitudes, are
now confessed on all hands to be our best friends, — the
angels of mercy that intervened between us and death.
The priests, instead of being lords and masters, are now
openly insulted, cursed, and in many parishes held up to
scorn and ridicule ; while the protestant ministers, here
tofore so much hated, are now applauded, blessed. There
is nothing new now in seeing multitudes assemble and
convey to the grave the remains of a deceased Protestant
minister, as was the case of the Rev. Mr. Pounden ; or

112
if he fell sick and recovered, to see them light bonfires
before his gate, as was the case of the Rev. Mr. Norman ;
or preparing to form a procession to welcome him home
after a long absence, as was the case of the Rev. Mr.
Nangle; or following in crowds so large that a field
could scarcely contain them, as was tbe case of the Rev.
Mr. Brennan ; and even as in my own case ; I am now
three months at home among my former parishioners,
yet not one of them has offered me the least insult, nor
censured me for what I have done, although the priests
are denouncing me each Sunday, and telling the people
in plain terms that they ought to hurt me; but the people's
eyes are beginning to open, and they say they only pity
the man who is weak enough to give utterance to such
sentiments. " Such was, Rev. Sirs, the former state of things, and
such is the present ; and if it be true that not a sparrow
can fall from the tree, nor a hair from the head, without
the providence of God, it is also true, that when a na
tion sinneth grievously against the Lord, he stretcheth
forth his hand, and breaketh the staff of life, sending
famine on the land. Dr. M'Hale (who has been profanely
called the Lion of the fold of Juda) told the clergy of
the archdiocese of Tuam in his lenten pastoral in 1845,
that as God, in days of old, punished the Jewish nation
for the sin of idolatry, by sending famine on the land,
so was he now punishing the Irish nation, in the same
manner, for the same sin. But what is the sin which
the Doctor calls idolatry ? — even the assembling of the
children of heretics under the same roof with the children'
of the faithful to receive education ! Was there ever'
such perversion of God's mind ? No, gentlemen, you*
all know what "'idolatry means -in scripture ;— so do I.f

113
I will not hurt your feelings by explaining it. Dr.
M'Hale has asserted it that God is punishing the Irish
nation for the sin of idolatry ; and I defy any candid man
to open God's word, and read it, and not to find there, in
indelible characters, the true nature of that grievous sin.
" I would beseech you, in the name of him in whose
name alone salvation is to be found, to watch the signs of
the times, and to act accordingly; and not to suffer
yourselves to be outstripped by the people, lest the fate
of the French priests in the days of Mirabeau and Danton
may be yours. You do not believe what you preach.
If you do not like to hear this in my words, you will
hear it in the words of a man whom you all know and
esteem, the Rev. Dr. Gaffney, of Maynooth. In the year
1844, some priests in Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora broke
loose through the canons. The scandal was great and
notorious. The Rev. Dr. Gaffney, a sanctified and mor
tified man, and Vice-President of the College of May
nooth, was sent for by the Bishop, to conduct a retreat
of six days, and to restore order. I shall never forget
the memorable words of that Reverend Gentleman on
one occasion. 'It is notorious,' said he, 'that many,
even the most of you, keep the linen which you have
about the Pixes while holding the sacrament, and about
your chalices on the altar, so soiled, so foul and filthy, as
to be intolerable to sight and smell.' This could not be
denied. 'Well,' said he, 'I believe in my soul and con
science, and I am as convinced of it as of my existence,
that whoever does so, does not believe in the real presence
of Christ in that sacrament' Conviction flashed on every
mind ; each countenance was alternately red and pale,
for he spoke the truth, and we all knew he spoke the
ifeth. If I were to adopt that rule (which I believe to

114
be a true one,) and to judge of each priest's belief, by
the degree of respect he pays the sacrament in the Pixis,
the number of believers would be found to be as few as
in Sodom, in the days of Lot
" A great crisis is now at hand, God has some great
purpose in view ; and what can be more needful than
that his people should know his will and do it ? and how
can they know it if they do not hear it or read it? But,
alas ! they never read it nor hear it ; and if they ever
hear a few sentences, it is in a language which they can
not understand. The grand Turk, or the Brahmins of
Hindostan, have not a greater aversion to the reading of
that book, than the pope and his bishops ; and not with
out reason. Now, therefore, is the time for you to de
clare for the Bible, and the religion it inculcates; to
give over preaching what very few of you believe ; and
to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, as you find it revealed in God's word ; and to
commit yourselves and the result into the hands of the
Lord. " You all know the effect that is produced amongst
your bishops and your neighbouring priests, when any
suspicion is awakened that the conscience of any one of
you is beginning to waver. You know how such a one
becomes the object of the most distressing watchfulness.
It is in such circumstances that a man feels the heavy
burthen of the chains in which the system binds him —
with his every action spied out and reported, he loses
even the comparative freedom which he before possessed.
Such a suspicion against a priest cannot be wiped out
but by the most decided acts, proving that he has stifled
his conscience, and is ready to go all lengths" in the

115
course from which he appeared to be shrinking. No
pause for consideration — no breathing time for thought
is allowed — and you know the deplorable condition to
which any one on whom the suspicion continues to rest
is reduced. But all this arises from his remaining in
voluntary submission to the authority by which this
power to crush and to destroy is wielded. A priest with
an awakened conscience and an independent spirit, has
only to step aside from this authority, and he is safe.
One step will take him out of the magic circle within
which the withering spell has power. Let him withdraw
his adherence to the Church of Rome, and neither the
bishop nor his priests can hurt, or hinder him. When
the people were wholly under the influence of their
priests, the danger of the step might have been indeed
as great as the danger of not taking it ; but now the
priestly influence in such a case is over, and the people
will be the first to receive such a priest with open arms,
to defend and protect him ; witness their conduct to my
self. As soon as the one step of leaving Rome is taken
the man is safe — he breathes the air of freedom — the
consciousness of independence gives him strength and
courage : besides this, the film falls from his eyes, and
he is able to read, and observe, and judge for himself,
unchecked by the alarms engendered by his previous
doubting, distrusted, and dangerous situation.
"But you fear persecution; be it so; Jesus Christ
and his apostles were persecuted before you, and for the
same cause ; and the disciples left the council hall re
joicing because they were found worthy to suffer for the
name of Jesus. A few years ago you would have been
persecuted, but the state of things is now altered ; I am
a living proof to you that you need fear no persecution ;

116
had I done two or three years ago what I now do, my
life would scarcely have been safe for twenty-four hours ;
there is the same safety for you, if you do likewise. But
you will say, 'what shall we eat? or, what shall we
drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?' Christ
tells you not to be over anxious about these things, as
the unbelievers are ; but to ' seek first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness,' and that all these things
will be given you in addition ; your heavenly Father
knoweth that you need these things, and will provide
them. Look at the ' lilies of the field, they neither sow,
nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
as one of them.' Look at the birds of the air, they
neither plough nor labour, yet your heavenly Father
provides for them. He is good and merciful, he con-
trolleth the storm, and meteth out raiment to the
shivering lamb. He opens his hand, and every living
creature is filled with his blessing. I have trusted in the
Lord that he would provide for me ; and thanks be to
his holy name, I have not been disappointed. I have
nothing to spare, nor do I desire it, unless for the poor,
yet the Lord suffers me to want nothing ; and so like
wise shall it be with you, if you act in like manner.
" In thus addressing you, I do but cast my bread on
the waters, yet I trust in the Lord to find it again. My
affection for you is unabated, for among you, were, and
I believe are still, some of my best and most intimate
friends; for which reason I have avoided controversy
and irritating topics. From my former intimacy with
you I know your feelings; but since my separation from
you, you cannot know mine. I assure you most solemnly
I never knew what peace of conscience was until I left-'
you; and that, like the old Roman, I feel that one

117
hour's freedom to worship God according to one's con
science, is more valuable than a long life past in slavery,
a puppet in the hands of another.
" I assure you that nothing but the importance of the
subject could induce me to address you ; for in this sub
ject is involved, the efficacy of the great atonement
offered on Calvary — the mediatorship on the Son of
God, and the decision of the question, whether millions
of immortal souls are to receive the knowledge, or to
remain in ignorance of God's holy will and word. And
wishing you that peace which the world can neither give
nor take away, — peace with God, and your own con
science, — my constant and most ardent prayer is, that
you and I may one day meet before the throne of God.
" With sentiments of the most affectionate regard,
" I remain, Rev. Sirs, yours sincerely,
"R. Ryder."

Printed by Charles Clark, 5, Bridge Street, Bath.

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