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WALSH, fei tiM Olerk's office of the Distriot Coart of the United Stfttet, fcr the Southern Distriot of Ohio. tf TO THB AM E RICAN PEOPLE TB€SB PAGES ABU RFSPECVFULLY MDICATBD BY tamtf. SINCEBB FBIBND THE AUTHOB. w %h PBEPACB. ttorty years, during which time I ha™ la, bored as a Catholic missionary thr„rt . t^a United States. I W^^Ja^illatl' olace to place. giving Missions, with soarcelr any '"terruption, and have repeatedly traversed the eonntry .„ every direction from Virginia to Yo.k o Minnesota. I t„o.v America, and knowu far better than my own native country. I« the conrse of my Missions, it has often happened that Americans expressed a desire ,o he r men their own language. Whenever I .ddressed them, I was struck with the profound .«enUon wnh which they honored Jy e«el . vi PREFACE. porary cHbrta. I noticed on such occasional and indeed, in all my intercourse with the Dative inhabitants, so many excellent qiinlillef of mind and heart, that I could not but vittw ivith the sind^srest feelings of compassion, bo noble and intelligent a people seduced by religious error, when it would be so easy fof them, by a little candid inquiry, to overcome the prejudices of education and habit, and diBCOvei; th \t the Catholic Church is the only means of salvation for men. Americans, I do not mean to flatter you ; but I may safely assert that there is no nation upon which the Catholic Church looks with more tender solicitude than upon yours ; none mora worthy the labors of priests and people foi their conversion. My vocation as a Missionary among the Ger man and the French population has seldom allowed me to address you from the pulpit. Urged on by a deep feeling of duty to aid in disabusing you of the prejudices of your Pro- testant education, I have thought of fulfilling this important duty of ChrisfJan and brothcr]> PBEFACE. .M .fetion O,rough .he pre,.. I hope, with the ble,.,„g of God, that my arg„„>e„., if examined d.spa«,onateIy and meditated on ,vith eandor ""11 prove amply .uffieient to induce ^,,rf candid man among you to aclcnowledge the traihofthe Catholic Church. All that h needed to test a man', .incerity, ^ to place before him those first principle, which, like the sun in heaven, are evident by their o>vn light. For him who closes his ey., against such evidence, whole libraries of con- ^oversial works would prove insufficient: he dehberately adheres to error, because he i. unwilling ,0 make the sacrifices which c'onver- Bion to the Catholic faith would impose upon mm. The mists that rise from sin exclude the sunbeams of the truth. I fear, indeed, that no. a few are guilty of deliberately rejecting th. wen-known t™th. particularly among those who find It for their worldly interests and conveni- ence to remain Protestants. It is not for such men these page, are -tten, but for that larger class who are Z tostant, only because they were bom and • 5! ■■■p mipi fiii PREPAOa. Drought up in Protestantim..; who are sincere, willing to ©aaaine, and determined to follow their convictions. To this class it is ray •arnost wiah that ali my readers may belong. Throughout the whole of this appeal; I mean to be plain Hpoken ; this I owe to the import- ance of the subject, and to the honesty of your character; I am prompted to it by my own disposition, I am authorized in it by your example, and still more so by the plainness of the Gospel. The Gospel ca3ls everything by its own name, and makes use of no more cir- cumlopution in characterizing a lie, than in testifying to the truth. Disguising none of my convictions, I will tell you the truth, and even unpleasant truths expressed in the plainest language. A physician is guilty of no wrong in calling his friend's sickness by its real name, and prescribing for him the best remedies whether palatable or not : should he act other- wise, he is not a true friend. I am your friend God knows. Never have I harbored or experi- enced any bitterness of feeling towards Pro- testants or Infidels My only sentimen FR1VA0& . j. toward, you, I. that of lov. .„d compa„,o„ , my only „i.h. ,0 extend to yon a brother', hand, .„d to help to .ave you. Your .al»«,i„, f» my only object in offering y„u the«, page, and I have no doubt that, before laying dow» too book, you will be fully convinced of it My argument., I hope, will be .olid; but ia order to give to the work the character of a friendly conver.«tion, rather than of a dr» polemical dl.cu..io„, I .hall occasionally intro- duce .ome incident, of my mi.aionary life. While .uch mcident. will ,erve to illu,trate mv proof, they will, pertap.. al.o enable you to ZIT ""' "'' '"• ^-''«- •"• ™™ Amerioan,. read, reflect, and decide ft yonnelve,, THE AUTHOR TABLE OF CONTEOTS. PurAOB „^ **•* IVTBOODCTIOir "*** ' I CHAPTEB L T»* Chabacteb OF Pkotestamtism „ I SECTION I CONTROVEKTED DOGMAS COxMPABEB. rHe Primitire Condition of Man and the Fall Ihe Bedemption The Church " TheMeanaofSalratfon Baptism. ^ S4 Confirmation » The Eucharist , Penance— Indulgencei , xii CONTENTS. Extreme Uaction '^** Holy OfJors .. datnmonj „ ,, „ ood Works _ 89 Purgatory ^ The Communion of Saints i *- SECllONIl CoHfllQUBNOBS. • - Ulterior Consequences „ „,^ '" bm i ^ CHAPTER IL Tm Pmhcipm of Pkotbhtaktism Ill SECTION 1 B»1«K0TH OF THl CATHOLIC PaiKClPM, WHIOE IS, THAT TN T.ACHINO Of THK TB0E ChUBCH OF ChbisT K THI TBUB J Bulb OF Faith WA ANBWBBABIB ProOF, FOUMDBD Of TBB HABK OF AfOSTOLIO, ITT, THAT THB CatHOwcO ChUBCH 18 THB TBUB ChUBOH ofChbist ,„ „, **'" igf fl« Otheb Masks of thb Tbuk Chubch of Chbist bbloto ONLY TO THB GaTHOLIR ChUBCH j«j tTnity.. Boiinesi * 131 Umversality - ^ , ^ • 139 Indestruotibmty tJONTBNTS. xiii Conoionv. P^oo, ot ta. IxrAtLiBitiTT Of rn. Catholio^"' ChuBCH, as the TB0K ChDBCH of CHBiSX-HKB IKFAI^ tlBIUTT IB THB RuLB OF FaITH Ill SECTION IL TM WbAUBSB ATO ABSraiMTT OF TBI PBOTaSTAlT* Rvi.1 OF Faith 5?W PWTATB iBTBBPBBTATIOir OF THB BlBEB HAS HOW OF MB RbQUISITBS of A TbITI RuiB OF FaWH The Rule of Faith must b*- Clear CoBaplete* As old as the Faith itself Universal ,,^^^ *'* Aoceuible to every one, aad Final Th. Protkstaht Rhl. of Faith i^cw all tu^mCba^o. tbbistics-Thb Catholic Rulb of Faith pos3bss«i III IM 168 in 174 thbx all OHAPTEB III. PTOtWTAirT Pbbjtoiow ..„ .... irr in SECTION 1 Rttioiora Pbkjpdxobs The Pope *." ""* The Clergy •"................ "^ Confession , ^^ Indulgences * TheBibl 203 BaiDts< ►•» •• «. <•• » , 250 Morality 264 The Sabbath 258 The Sovereignty of the Pope and his Civil Government- 267 Republicanism «-, Freedom of Discussion * 265 CHAPTER IV. rKFIMLITt THE UwiMATB CoSSKQtTBNOl 0» PBOmV- ^''"SJi 278 SECTION!" IlVIDBUTT RkFUTSD. -SkvBIC COMCLTOIVB ABOrMSHTS AOAIKST IVFIDKLirr o 280 The Undeniable Existence of God 280 The Undeniable Immortality of the floul. 2g| CONTENTS. XI The Undsnlable Necessity or Religkn .. "*5 The Fndeniabia Necessity of a Divinely Revealed Reli- gion ,^ • 288 The Undeniably Divine Misiuon of Chrlit 39, The Undeniable Superhuman Character of the Church of Christ •* • 00^ The Undeniable Axiom "Where Peter is, there is the Church" 806 SECTION n Objections Answkbed The Incomprehensibility of Mysteries .[ ^^ Everlasting Punishment, The Supposed Contradiction of Revelation with Gei>'lo«y ^^ and History, *' ***** •*• ifi Cowmouzzif f. INTRODUCTION. W imr we examine into the real chaincter of Prot-stantisui, taking into consideration itf starting point, and its logical tendency, we are forced to pass upon it a judgment, which may Beem harsh and offensive, but which is never- theless legitimately true. This judgment re- garus more especially the psychological char- acteristic of Protestantism, to which, perhaps, sufficient attention has not been hitherto called. It is the startling fact, that Protestantism, as taught by the early Reformers and as held in substance to the present day, has rejected precisely those articles of the Catholic Creed, which are best calcolated to inspire consolation and hope, and has set up, instead, just such doctrines as must inevitably sadden and crush the soul, and ultimately lead to utter despair. That characteristic if true, is, you will ac- knowledge, fatal to the claims of Protestantism 2 INTRODUCTION. ;; ^H^^H ^nf * lb considered as a Divine Religion. It ie so evi. de.itly incompatible with the wants of the heart and the requirements of reason, that on the upposition of Catholicity and Protestantism bemg both of them mere human inventions, i| would be easier to explain how Protestant, could have become Catholics, than to assign a valid reason why Catholics should ever have become Protestants ; for who would not choose to believe doctrines tending to cheer and con- sole rather than such as are only fit to crush the heart and lead a man to despair ? I con elder it ohe of the most astonishing facts in all nistory that your ancestors rejected Catholicity with all Its consolations, and adopted, instead, a Religion of distress and despair. Such a choice could never have been the effect of calm reflec- t^on, but must have been, as history proves it was, the result of violence and blind passion. lo prove my assertion it is not necessary to demonstrate the divinity of the Catholic Church and her doctrines ; I shall do that, in a brief •nd conclusive manner, in a subsequent part of the work, when I come to the loeds ; one which alone would be sufficient to overwhelm us with distress. The worst of it is, that this doctrine is n^i peculiar to the chiefs of the Reformation, but iias passed into the principles of Protestantism ^3 appears from the Formularies of Faith and the symbolical writings of the early Protestants. They do not all, in- express terms, go so far aa Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, or Zwingli, but they proceed far enough to imply the whole doctrine by logical sequence. The most im- portant among the early Protestant symbolical writings, is the Formula of Concord, or '-Solida Declaralio'' of the year 1577. That Formula says expressly, " The likeness of God has dis- appeared in consequence of original sin, and an evil substance has penetrated into the spi- ritual being of man, whereby that being has be.come most abominable."* The Svyiss, Bel- gian, and Scottish Confessions of Faith, contain. in substance, the very same doctrine. [n opposition to this doctrine the Council of Trent enacted the following canon : " If any one shall say, that all the works which are dona before justification, in whatever manner they may be done, are really sins, or deserve the • Solid!. Declar. c. 9 and 10. De Peccat. Orig, \ 3 aii4 22. II. De liib. Arbit. | 14. ' ?tXi^_ OF PROTESTANTISM. 18 e sufficient to )rig, 3 3 aD4 22. hatred of God ; or, that the more a man strives to dispose himself for grace, the more griev ously he sins ; let him be anathema."* Calvin, Zvvingli, and their adherents even gc BO far as to assert that Adam could not help falling, because God had decreed that he should fall.f Americans, are you ready to admit doctrines like these, inculcating, as they do, the most blasphemous libel on the justice and sanctity of God, and the principle best calculated to banish all consolation from the soul ; leaving man to groan helplessly under the weight ol - irremediable wickedness, and under the irresisti- ble tyranny of an unjust God ? THE REDEMPTION-. In misfortune we long for relief. When *«lief is given, we are consoled; when loss ia changed into gain, and good drawn out of evil, our consolation rises in proportion to our former sorrow. This, if we accept the Catholic doctrine, is an imaje of the nature and tli« effects of the Redemption. * Cone. Trid. Sess. VI. can. VII. t Calvin. Instit. I. i., cap. 18, § 2. ; 1. iii., c, 23, § 8 and 4 Beza, Adv. Caluui Genev. 1861. Zwingliua, Pe Provid. • 5 and 6. :'/ 14 THE CHARACTER The Church teaches, that, to redeem us t-or,. original sin and its consequences, Christ the Son of God assumed our nature and died for us on the Cross ; that, by His merits, we are really freed from sin, and by the infusion of Bupernatural sanctifying grace into our souls, are again united to God, and become per- sonally pleasing in His sigh-t. You will not deny, that it is an immense consolatijn for man, after having been tortured by remorse, and weighed down by the sense of unworthi- ftess, to know that he has been really pardoned, that he is once more really free froa guilt, truly pure and holy before His Maker. The Catholic Church further teaches, that man co-operates in his justification by co- operating, with perfect freedom, with the grace of God, which prompts and strengthens him to do penance and amend his life. To be allowed to co-operate with the grace of God, renders his consolation still greater, for it makes him conscious of a meritorious personal triumph over his own passions and over the power of Satan. Indeed, in the Redemption we have gained far more, infinitely more, I might almost say, than we lost in Adam hence, the triumphal chant of the Oatholic Church in the solemn ser- 'cc on PJ Saturday, " happy fault, which OF PROTESTANTISM. 15 hd8 deserved so great and glorious a Ile- deemer." For our Saviour has not .only con- quered Satan, and released us from his power, lie has not only raised us to a supernatura* Btate of grace, like that in which Adah^ wai constituted ; but He has, besides, enabled us to practice higher virtues than Adam could have practiced in the state of unfaJlen nature, and prepared for us a proportionately higher glory in heaven. By the union of the Divine with the human nature He has raised our nature above the angelic choirs, and communicated to us a grav.e far more powerful and of much higher dignity than was originally imparted to our first parents. A far higher field of virtue ts opened before us in the accomplishment of the Christian law, and the keeping of the evan- gelical counsels. According to the Catholic doctrine, the natural consequences of the fall, concupiscence and the sufferings of life, may be turned by us, if we will, into occasions of new and most glorious merits and proportionate reward in eternity, so that our condition, after the fill), may even, in some respect, be envied by the angels, vi^ho could never, by sufferings, prove their obedience and their love of God! Thus the Catholic doctrine allows us to taste the full sweetness of the Redemption, to enjoy its efficacy, and have a rea^ share with oiu 7/ 16 THE JHARaCTER Saviour in His triumphant res^srection from the dead and complete victory c rer the powers of darkness. Of thia consolation Protesta.^tism deprivet •ou. 'The doctrine of Luther, Calvin, and tlieir adherents, is, that no sin, ^^ hether origina. or personal, is ever remitted ; but is, at best, only covered by the merits of Chi ist.* Accord- ing to their doctrine, man, after bei^ig justified through Christ, remains in sin as much as before, with thi^ only difference, tiiat, afcer his justification, he is not liable to be punished fo< his sins. For a man who lovea his God it ia hard to conceive a more distressing doctrine - to such a man the ofllsnce is more hateful than the punishment, and he finds the thought intol erable, that God, though unwilling to punish him, yet should allow him to he no better in His sight than a whitened sepulchre. Besides it is a genuine Protestant doctrine, that maa has no share whatsoever in thus covering hii eins, because he has altogether lost his free will, and is as passive in the act of his justi/i cation, to use one of Luther's illustrations, i4 che pillar of salt into which the wife of Lot v ai changed.f After his justification, as beforf it, * Luther. Expos. Epiet. ad GaM. Solid. Declar I J6. Calvin. Instit. 1. III. c. ii. t Luthor in Genes, cap. ¥\x. i'l OF PROTESTANTISM. 17 ism deprivei Calvin, aac? ether origina4 ut is; at best, it.* Accorrl- ei/ig justified as much as hat, afcer his punished fo< his God it ia ng doctrine . hateful than lought in^ol g to punish 10 better in e. Besides le, that maq covering hia 3st his fVee ' his justi/i trations, j«j J of Lot V ai IS befoff it, Deolat I I, I man remains completely incapable of perfoifn- ing any really good work, or of gaining any real merit before God. Thus Protestantism would leave no true state of justice on earth ; it would banish the hea- venly consciousness of innocence regained ; it would make us believe, if possible, that the wounds inflicted by the fall are so deep, that the blood of the Redeemer cannot heal them ; our ruin so hopeless that the mercy of the Almighty cannot repair it. Such is the second stage of its distressing system. Do you think it preferable to the Catholic view ? THE CHUECH. In all our undertakings, and especially when great interests are at stake, we wish for secur- In the pursuit of knowledge, we long for '^Inti^. When some important object is to accained, we are glad to find that the way to attain it, is obvious and free from danger, or, if uncertain, that we have some faithful friend to guide us. When there is question, not merely of a temporal object, but of eternal life, it is of infinitely more importance to us to imow with certainty the way that leadj to it, and l^at th© 18 THE CHAKACTEB * i way should be secure. No questio«3 o«,. b, r.ai;a«l? "7'"'"°*''" "•« ---y that lead. Re it io r, '^"" '• ""^ *■" I "ot. i" the true ft IT? : ""' "'"'' ""■''""''y -«-". or i. eauh that can satisfy my ^M on these all" important questions ? Protestants and Catho hcs agree that the answer is to be soughTfor rises" 'T'tf "• '''" """'^ ^""^^ O"-"- aiises I, there any autAorUi/ on earth, that • •="" '^^"y '='«'»■• "P all doubts, and give unerring cma.„ty on these momentous questions ?^ The r»,w "." ""'"'"'' '" ""« affirmative. The Cathohc doetrme is, th.-.t Christ has in- s .tuted an inf,mk Chureh, to whose gul" d,ansh.p He has intrusted His doctrines and the means of salvation, and which He eatab hshed forever. That Church is the Ca otc Word of God \ ''f """^ ^■''^^'"- "' 'he le t„ h V '"''' ""'''" <"• ""'Written. I i^;"-.- -hfver Christ has taught her « H.S mfalhble representative, she min- aters to men all the means of salvation which He has given her. The Catholic doctrine furlhermore asserts, that the mission of the Cathohe Chureh, as the infallible teacher tad "nernng gu.de of men. will remain unaltered OP PROTESTAOTISM. 19 l» i\e end of time. Throu^'h her Christ uriitei th •iii«^ OF PKOlKSTANTlSM. 23 Wous 0,' our race to heaven. They all follcved the .ame path of faith which I follow, and walkmg ,„ their footstep., I can not doubt that 10 heaven. Th,3 ,a my consolation, great in IZZ '- ''^ ^'""^' ""•'•-'^ ^'-^ - Of thi3 consolation Protestantism utterly deprives you. In your Protestant view the Ohurchisony anaffoTeo-it„„f,„ ' * memhpr. P ,f°^'''*'"''"'any separate members. Every Protestant explicitly holds hat here .a.,no infaUible Church : he regards' the claim of infallibility in matters of faith as an msul. to God, accuses the first Chu^ h o aposta,^ and brands her with the namt ol mtdlhble ecolcsiastieal authority. The ft nda menta doctrine of Protestantisfn is, thaV Got ir s it rr "'^"''' "'^ «*'- -^" maKe out of it a faith, each for himself in the This ,s a distressing doctrine, for it makes it absolutely .mpossiblc to arrive ^t any cZatntv in matters of faith A« Tc^^ii i ^ ^*^^iainty «fro...o„^„ - • ^«^^^ha^i«how more fully ~~^ ^"^ ^^'"^"^ even prove that th« ir 24 THE CHAKACTER Hible ia the Bible, or is an inspired book, uriijst you abandon your Rule of Faith, and appeal to the authority of the Catholic Church. Unlea you assume the infallibility of the Church, who has given you the Bible, and defined that it i the word of God, I confidently challenge you to produce a single proof of the inspiration of the whole Bible, such as will satisfy even your own mind. In the whole Scripture, you cannot show a single passage, in which it is revealed that the whole Bible is inspired ; and, while you admiK the Bible alone as your Rule of Faith, ajift reject Tradition and the authority of the Catho- lic Church, you will look in vain elsewhere for your proof. But even granting, for the sake of argument, that you have proved the inspira- tion of the whole Bible to the satisfaction of intelligent men, whence do you derive any in- fallible certainty that you understand it, and that you do not err essentially in the faith which you extract from it ? Here lies the great difference between the consoling security of the Catholic, and the dis- tressing insecurity of the Protestant. The Catholic relies on the infallibility of the Church, and hence is infallibly sure that his faith is Divine. The Protestant, as such, having nothing beyond his private interpretation to 'ely on, cannot attain to any thing higher than OF PROTJ-STANTJSM. 25 a mere private opinion very liable to error llie Catholic rests on the infallible promise of Christ, that " the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church." The Protestant has to meet and cannot get rid of the fearful denun- ciation of Christ, " If he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen, and the publican."* The Catholic sails securely in the imperi hable bark of Peter. The Protestant clmgs to a wretched plank, thrown out upon a raging sea : perhaps he may be saved by it • this IS the utmost limit of his hope. The Catholic Church can confidently say to her children, " Trust to my guidance, I am of God Let your lives correspond to your faith, and you will be saved." Protestantism, throwing mto the hands of its adherents a venerable book dishonored by a thousand conflicting interpre- tations, says to them, " Read for yourselves, and discover the truth, if you can ; make out your own faith, and hold fast to it, if you are able; perhaps it will save you." Can the human heart be placed in a more distressing condition ? At best, you can only say, - T^ may be that I have succeeded in discovering the truth ; but it may als. be that I have filled • John, xxri »V, S f I THE CHARACTER / i!! illl'i and, if so, what is to become of my soul in Some fanatic Protestant religionists, to escape the uncertainty inevitdbly attending all ipnrcly human opinions, have set up the doc^ trim; of Private Inspiration; they affect to believe in an inward teaching of the Holy Spirit, and would fain persuade themselves that this imaginary guidance is as safe as the infallible authority of a Divinely commissioned (Jhurch. This pretended inspiration they themselves ultimately resolve into mere feri- mg, which, of all sources of error, is the most open to alarming illusions. Indeed, it is hard to conceive how any man of common Intel- bi^ence can be so rash, as to build his faith, and his hope cf heaven on so delu.ive a foundation. All the world knows to what extravagance some Irotestant secta, especially the Methodist,* * I here wish to direct your attention a^^nin to what J have already remarW in the Praface. I only consu errors in .locLrine, not .e^sons. It is my firm convictio. that ,„ the ranks of the Methodists, especially American Motaod.sts, there are, as w.l] at .n other sects/large nam! . bers .f honest and very res.nentablo persons. TJiey only indulge .n excUcn,ents like tlm.e referred to in tho text becaius they feel an immense w^nt of some signs of cer- ta.nty about their salvation ; and bo-n^ uninstrucLed in the Cathchc doctrine, they give v/ay to s.ioh delusions. If ia kh« course, i th. discussion, I mentma tU Methodists more OF PBOIBSTANTISM. 27 .!.»« Ihemselves to be carried, in consequence of th, pnncple of Private Inspiration Ti,e «..te„.nt, on so,„e occasions, amounts to ^al rel,s.-,ous intoxication. I hope the ex- presMon vv.lj not offend any one. 'l appeal 'o he ,n,pres3io„ which must occasional^^ ht, »een made on every one of my readers on passmg by a Methodist, camp meedn!;, a hearm, ,. discordant singi:,, the o^ii:',: and contortions, in „hich those" it ,1 eTr2 giomsts indulge. Every sober-minded ^ have br ' "' "'•"' '"^^"•^-f"' "hiWtions ence Th" "T- ''' "'" "' ^ ^"'"^ '"A- fanaiici '"""' '"'"'^'^'i"" vanishes. re tan «ul fi-csh v,g„r upon (he poor victim of delusion; h,s faith, that delighted him ye^- day^appears to him uncertain, and raci ,,. sects that have been disputing, for tinee cen- turies, about the meaning of the Bible, and it^Sl'T;"'? ^'°*«='"""' " " -' »-»-e I have, ta. nenily feel,,,, toward, tl,,.,,,, but beomiw the, avlZt ' 11 i f 1 ff! ; I 28 THE CHARACTER ' III f I have pretty nearly exhausted all Imaginabk extravagances and all possible contradictions. Such is the result at which you have anive'l. Vou have set - ;^ principle of Private Intei^ pretation as you .^ Rule of Faith. The legi. timate consequence has been your conflicting sects, and as many conflicting opinions as there are independent minds in Protestantism. The aspect of so much discord, so much confusion, so much uncertainty, can surely present no comfort to the human soul, born for the truth, and invincibly desirous of possessing it in security. It is clear that, a religious system which unavoidably^eads to such'results, neces- earily engendering in its own bosom an endless multiplicity of contradictory systems, cannot have come from God, and, therefore, cannot be true. God is Truth : the Spirit of Truth can- not reveal contradictions. Truth, like God, ia one and unchangeable • a faith, therefore, that comes from God, must -e one, like Him, and cannot change. Your faith has changed, and is ever changing. It cannot, therefore, be true, Luther himself shuddered at the sight of the . vast variety of inconsistent tenets that had sprung out of his principle, even in hig own day, and, at times, could not help confessing , that he saw in them an evident mark of e'rror OP PROTESTANTISM. 29 luid falsehood. To-day the state of thinga ie »vorse than ever. Where, at the present time, IS the Protestantism of Luther and the early Reformers ? I question whether a single* Pro- testant can now be found, who holds the sama doctrines with them in all respects. Protest- antism bears upon its face, more clearly marked than ever, the unmistakable seal of error. Here, then, my Protestant friends, you have, on one side, the sublime attitude of the Catho- hc Church, claiming to be Divinely commis, sioned and Divinely guided, her faith infallible and unchangeable, her chief on earth repre- Bentmg her unity and maintaining it ; a Church, who«e unerring guidance gives absolute security in the way of salvation. On the other side, you have the fluctuating conduct of your sects,' endless changes of opinion which no logic can reconcile, interminable disputes, confessions of laith framed to-day, and obsolete to-morrow teachers opposed to teachers, leaders without authojity or influence, except that founded on momentary fashion or caprice ; and hence no possible security in the way of salvation. With or without the Bible, learned or un- earned, the Catholic is secure. Protestantism eaves the ignorant without re«ource, and the learned without ceitainty ; the ignorant cannot ''I Mil KO THE CHARACTER ,' I ill avail themselves of the principJe of iLrivate interpretation, and the learned aval themselves of it in vani. To pretend to give even a toler« able interpretation of the Bible, learning if required: the higheat learning, left to its owr private interpretations, has not succeeded, never can succeed, in framing a reliable system of faith, whilst the claim of Private Inspiratioh Bet forth by some of th-; Protestant sects, is but a vain and desperate -eflbrt to possess Infalli Dility by infatuation rather than by authority. The contrast between Catholicity and Pro- testantism, in regard to the teaching authority needs no further comment. In point of com- pany. Protestantism is equally unsatisfactory. The Catholic treads in the footsteps of milliona of men illustrious for virtue, of whose salvation there can be no doubt. Can you point to a parallel series of Protestant martyrs, confessors, doctors, fathers, virgins, benefactors of man- kind, all unquestionably eminent for heroio Christian vijtue, and of whose salvation you can entertain no doubt ? If you can, please let ns have a list of their names. Even if you claimed any Protestant saints, would you be able to show that they held the very same faith with you ? This you have no means of determining for there is neither a common Protestajit infaJ OF PROTESTANTISSI. td lihJe authority to which all submit, nor a com con o m, The CathoJic is sure that every Catholic samt beiieved as h^ .ln« , ^ norp non 1^ u ^ "°®'^' ncithej nore nor less, because every Cafhrl... k.- •rhflt tha n\ 1 . ^ v^amoHc bciievea What the Church teaches as of faith neifho. more nor less Vn,, . . ' "^""^r ^ne of v. ^""°^ ^'"^^ «^ a single ^ne of your great men, whether he held th« same faith with you or not ^ Luther evidently made .a dangerous experi- ment, to say the least, when he left the hi!h '^ay by which ■millions for fir.« ^ undo, .he i„fa„ib,e ^In e of Th/ ctfh had gone to heaven, and cho.e to g.ope I « Ltr;;toTre„ttsror^;f- •.as„„„„.adetheexpeH.„ent'n.::::/Jr /I. testaut infaJ THE MEAWS OF SALVATTX. When a great object is to be aft»,-„„ i v • not enough to know ho.v ,o attaint ' " aUo have the means. ulol^ZlnJur'' !«te.raoeofGodX„:r„:;"-;r'^-'^«'' i-^ll 32 THE CHARACTER In the Catholic Church every want U oii ioul is amply provided for. The C.Mhb'ao aoc- .^rine on this subject is, that for every rroneral A ant, Christ has instituted in Hia Church a pariijular means of grace. Thcie rjeans are the Sacraments. Of the consoltJions to be derived from them none but a practical Catho- lic can form any adequate idea. It is the doctrine of the CathoUc Church, that Christ instituted seven Sacra?iients, each ol them corresponding to a great general neces- sity, and all of them together answering all the spiritual wants of the soul. As the super- natural life bears an analogy to the natural, so the means of grace have au analogy to natural necessities. In the natural order, man is born, has need of strength and nourishment, and of medicine in sickness; in the supernatural order, he is spiritually born by Baptism, strengthened by Confirmation, nourished by the Holy Eucharist, restored to spiritual health by the sacrament of Penance. Besides, as there ore two principal conditions of Christian life, each with peculiar and important duties, and consequently with grave and peculiar wants the Clerical state and that of Wedlock, there are two other sacraments, Holy Orciers and Matrimony, the latter sanctifying marriage and eiving grace to fulfil its duties, the former con- OF PROTESTANTISM. 33 ferrinff Ecclesiastical power with grace to use it worthily. Lantiy, for the hour of death when man stands in greater need than ever of spiritual strength and consolation, and his fate fir>r eternity is to be decided by his last actions, Christ, according to the Catholic doctrine instituted the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Of these seven sources of grace. Protestant- ism has kept only two, or rather none. Pro- Jestants, indeed, generally hold Baptism to be a Sacrament, though many among them look jpon it as a mere rite conferring no grace. But whether you admit it as a Sacrament or not, the Sacrament of Baptism does not pro- perly belong to Protestantism, for, as I shall show a little further on, there is only one true Church, viz., the Catholic Church, the gate of which is Baptism, and so every one truly bap- tized, becomes a member, not of a Protestant sect, but of the Catholic Church. With regard to the Holy Eucharist, Protestants have re- tained it only in name, for rejecting Holy Orders, they have no true Bishops, and there- fore no true Priests, clothed with the power of changing bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. But allowing, for the sake of argument, that you have the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy i^ucharist, in substance as well as in 6 it, !ii ''M i ^1h I 84 THE CHARACTER name, stil. it remains true, that the Protestant doctrine deprives you of the consolations of these and all the other Sacraments of the Oatholio Oiiurch. This I will ehow at b'^omi length. 1 M a! uM r h 1 * , { THE SACRAMENTS I. BAPTISM. The Catholic Church teaches ^hat Baotinm realiy remits sin, and 'v ashes away every stain of sin ; tliat man, " bom again of water and the Hol> Ghost," is raised by it to a state of » Bupernatural grac.^, and entera the glorious condition of the children of God, becoming in a peculiar mannex- entitled to call God his Father, and vested, as the heir and brother of Christ, with a right to heaven. At the moment of Baptism, he is associated with the angels, at a future citizen of heaven. By the sanctifica- tion of baptismal grace, h^e is rendered capable of meriting before God, of increasing his merits daily and hourly throughout the whole course of his life, and by the mcrease of his merits, heightening the crown won for him by the blood of his Redeemer. Thia very consoling OP PROTESTANTISM. ^b doctrine m„,t. I think, come home .0 c™,^ Of tbi. Protestantism deprives you, for 1. acknowledges no real remission of sin by Hap. torn but at best only a covering of „i„ L the «. m, of Christ, and rejects personal me u! wUh every thmg else that follow, from the Cathohc doctrme. Many sects look on Baptise as a mere ceremony, conferring no grace, Lht or effect whatsoever. Hence it =. „„ j ^ *k«* ,. iicnce. It .s no wonder that many Protestants have come t» regard Bapusm with complete indifference. .tTno wonder that there are large number, in Pr" feed L'r*"" ?" '" ■"" -- '^ "« bap- tized at all, or who are baptized lal^ ir life h It '", *•" '"'"""i^t^ation, or upwor.hUv theTt^" 'tuf'' -essary disposition on' Ame^icrMimo'nVVrnttli^^*-'- eamng themselves Christrs.i:;memZr^ ine various Protesfant a^^.^ • . '^'' "« -ever been batted "k ::»"-"' h"" «n ihe desolation of heathtll " "'''""' IT ^1' If. 4 il IT. CONFIRMATION. A true Christian wishes to lead a life worthy THE CHARACTER ofhis faith; and earneatly desires the strength necessary to do to. The Catholic Church teaches that the Sacra- ment of Confirmation confers the strength ivhich he needs. Whoever receives that sacra- ment worthily becomes a living temple of the Holy Ghost, a well-armed champion in the cause of Christ. If he remains faithful in co-operating with the grace which he has received, the Holy Ghost will continue to dwell in him, « the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the Spirit of know- ledge and of godliness, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord." Of this consolation Protestantism deprives you, for it rejects the Sacrament of Confirma- tion, and, instead of it, tells you to renew your promise to live like a Christian, without giving you any new strength to do so, and even whilst denying that you can do so at all. The last part f Christ. Whenever you partake of what is called among you the Lord's Supper, you receive bread and wine, nothing more. No wonder your Com- nunion gives you no consolation, and that few among you care to receive it. Nothing la gained by receiving it, nothing lost by abstain- ing from it. What you should lament as one of your greatest misfortunes, is the loss you have incurred by your separation from the Catholic Church, the loss of the Real Presence and of the true Catholic CommuDion, the y we recelvi greater will ver receiveg 9 Spouse iq le, and I am denies you. low of Com- 'its doctrines signifiea the ist by faith ; , but only at laHt opinion 1, for, admit- claim any lange bread J of Christ, ailed among 3 bread and your Com- md that few Nothing la by abstain- lent as one he loss you 1 from the al Presence lUDion, the OF PROTESTANTISM. 49 ■upreme good of man on earth. Prott.tantism has robbed you of it, and left you. in thi., respect no better off than infidels or J.^,, We have an altar, whereof they have ii« power to eat who serve the tabernacle "• IV. PENANCE. Man is conscious of hi, frailty. Loaded w h guilt, stung with remorse, in di =ad of the judgments of God, a Christian who has fallen into mortal sm after his baptism, would surely be glad that Christ had instkuted a securl means of obtaining pardon. A fiiend seek riend, the s.ok disclose their secret disorders o physicians ; men apologi7.e for their offence* to each other ; criminals sometimes, goaded on by remorse, give themselves up to publk justice, or after being condemned, seek to u„' burden their conscience by a public confession. The advantages of a confession of faults to a friend who can advise and instruct us, were noticed even by Seneca and other pagan phil- ^."phers : so deeply is the principle of Con- lession seated in our nature. Nothing, indeed can be imagined more in harmony with ou» • Hell,, liii. 10. , 6 t 11 iiJ k .' 60 THE CHAKACTER ii m frail nature, or more desirable, especiaUy for a Christian, tJian Confession under proper «afe^ guaruc. I have offended God. Would ther<» were on earth some representative of Christ to whom I might with safety confess my sins, and receive a sure pledge of Divine pardon ; a man whom I could trust as a friend, a guide, a father, the physician of my soul; whose counsels might aid me to persevere in virtue, and who would never, under any circumstances reveal any of my failings. The wish is fulfilled in the Catholic Church Like the rainbow after the Deluge, the Sacra- ment of Penance is a sign and a pledge of reconciliation between God and repentant sin- ners. By the Sacrament of Penance, sins are truly forgiven : the condition of pardon is Confes- sion, accompanied by a sincere contrition and a hrm resolution of amendment. The Con- fessor is the representative of Christ, the friend guide, father, and physician of our souls! feuch IS the doctrine of the Catholic Church, founded on the explicit words of Christ • « Re- ceive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you Bhall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose wns you shall retain, they are retained."* • John, XX. 22, 23. OF PBOTESTANTISM. 5^ VTords cannot be more decisive. « If there ia any thing Divine in the Catholic Church," saya Leibnitz, though himself a Protestant, « it i Confession, or the Sacrament of Penance " Catholics are certain that the sins which ihey confess will never be revealed. The lips of the Pnest are sealed, and the seal cannot be broken. Under no circumstances can a Priest disclose what he has heard in Confession. Alter Confession, he cannot evca speak with the penitent of the sins he has confessed, with- out the penitent's express permission.' You know how completely the secret of Confession IS kept : you have had pubhc proofs of it in your courts of law. A Protestant traveler in Italy had always believed that Priests do not keep the secret of Confession. While at Rome, he determined to obtain a p Dsitive proof of his opinion. Having T^\ . u' ^^' ^ '^''^''''^ «^ ordination! which had belonged to a Priest, he put on tfite ecclesiastical dress, went to a church, and asked for a Confessor. He accused himself of Baying Mass without being ordained, and de- clared that h-e would continue to do so, as it was the means by which he made his living. The Priest, of course, refused him absolution. I^e Protestant then following him to th. V<^H li '•'■III m . 52 TEE CHARACTER sacristy, asked leave to say Mass, which tha Priest, after having examined his papers, gave him without hesitation. The Priest with his own hand prepared the chalice and the vestments. For a moment, the Pro testant looked on in silent astonishment, and then exclaimed, " Now I see undeniably that Priests do keep the secret of Confession. I want to be a Catholic." He was received into the Church, and soon experienced the consola- tion of having made a real Confession. Protestantism deprives you of this consola- tion, for it rejects Confession, and holds that it is enough to confess to God. But where is it written that this is sufficient ? Why has Christ said, " Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained?" "Were these words of Christ spoken to no purpose," asks St. Augustine, "and are the keys which Christ has given to the Church, without power, that you should sa}-, I confess only to God?'* Would it not have been unworthy of Christ to have made use of the solemn ceremony of breathing upon His Apostles, and to have given them the Holy Ghost, with power to for- give or to retain sins, if, after all, He meant to give no such power ? Would it not have been U ,:-:. OF PROTESTANTISM. 53 equally unworthy of the Divine Intelligence to have given them a discretionary power to remit or to retain sins, and not to have obliged Christians to a full confession of their sina^ which is the only means to determine whethef the sins are to be forgiven or to be retained ? Then the words of Christ, would only have . amounted to this : Receive ye the Holy Ghost to no purpose ; receive ye the power to forgive or to retain sins, to no purpose, for no one, after all, ne^d apply to you to be forgiven: it is enough for men to confess to God. Who would think of attributing such a grant to our Lord? And how could Confession have the advantages to which I have referred above, if we do not open our conscience fully to the Confessor, as to a physician, guide, friend, and father ? Let me relate an incident which happened some years ago in Paris. A Protestant lady, married to a Catholic Count, always noticed in him a peace of mind and heart to which she was a total stranger. On asking him the cause of it one day, she received for answer, " I am a Catholic, and Catholics can open their hearts to the Priest, the Representative of Christ Confession is the cause of my peace.'" Not long after, one evening, when her mind wa» H THE CHABACTER more disturbed than ever, the Countess sentff God's infi' nite mercy by a sincere Confession." For a few moments he was silent and thoughtful, and then said, "You are right. When can I make my Confession?" I took him immediately to the church He went home another man. grateful, and with joy depicted on his counten' ance. , If Methodists sometimes pretend to a similar sentiment of forgiveness, it is only a temporary delusion. The sentiment is merely personal, not warranted by any Sacrament or sign insti- tuted by Christ. If they spoke sincerely, they would confess, that they themselves cannot rely on the feeling, as remorse invariably returns soon with as much keenness as ever Even, if they could believe themaelves for given, they could not, on Protestant principlea, believe in any thing more than a mere cover- mg of guilt and freedom from nnn,«l,rr,-»„t i M'l N m m THE CHARACTER not a real cleansing of the soul. There u no consolation in reconciliation without true for- giveness, and guilt that remains on the soul KiAist continue to burden and torment it. Indulgences. — It is a Catholic doctrine, that, though truly absolved from sin and eternal pains, we often remain subject to temporal punishments for our sins : this is a check on relapse, worthy of the Divine Wisdom, and tempers Mercy with Justice- Nathan, after saying to David, " The Lord hath taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die," added, " Neverthe- less, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme for this thing, the child that is born to thee shall surely die."* Like David, we should wish to be freed, if possible, even from the temporal punishment, or to make up for it by meritorious works. The Catholic Church teaches, that the tem- poral punishment can be made up lor by meri- torious works, or remitted by Indulgences. To gain a plenary Indulgence, it is an indispensable condition, as every Catholic knows, to be truly contrite and fully resolved to amend one's life, io as not to harbor any wilful attachment to a • 2 Kings, zil 13, 14. 1 J 1 ' f H vi liuiilJ OP PROTESTANTISM. 57 ■hi^lt; sin. Hence Indulgences are, also, a powerful means of Christian perfection. Protestantism deprives you of this consola- tion, and this powerful means of viitue. It rejects Indulgences, and denies that the Catho- lic Church can grant them; as if Christ had not said, " Whatsover you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven ;" and as if the power of forgiving sins,—" Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them,"— did not include- the inferior power of remitting the temporal punishment due to sin. It is to be deeply regretted, that many Pro- testant ministers are, especially on this subject, constantly doing all they can to distort the Catholic doctrine, and render it odious. They never cease repeating, that to grant Indul- gences is to grant an unbounded license to sin, though every Catholic child could inform them that to gain an Indulgence and to sin, are aa incompatible a« truth and falsehood, as heaven and hell. The Catholic doctrine is, that out of the state of grace, there is no Indulgence what ever, and that a perfectly pure heart, ia necessary for gaining a plenary Indulgence. That a Protestant should reject Indulgences we can easily conceive : to be consistent with himself he must do so Not believing a II i- . PfH, u TBE CHARACTER ♦eal conversion possible, he does not believe io i^urgatory ; he feetrs Hell alone. mm W ,fi .M V. EXTREME UNCTION. A Christian, if true to his vocation, lives, not for fleeting time, but for eternity, which ia rapidly drawing nigh. His chief care is to die well, to end his life in the friendship of God. He remembers his last end, and the warning of the Holy Ghost, " If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be."* He remembers that " all is well, that ends well," that eternity depends on his last struggle, heaven or hell on his death. Not one of us fully knows what it is to die, but we all feel a natural repugnance to death ; while the Christian is assured that, in our last moments, Satan" does his worst to overpower us, and draw us \'ith him into eternal ruin. In that last and awful struggle, the souT needs extraordinary assistance. Has Chrial y^ven to His Church any such extraordinary assistance ? The Catholic Church teaches that He ha» done 80 in the Sacrament of Extreme Unction * Eccle., xi. 8. I ji ' OF PROTESTANTISM. 5fi I That Sacrament has a twofold effect, one on the body, and another on the soul. In regard to the body, it confers relief, ot perfect recovery. Facta are constantly occur • ring: which bear witness to this efficacy, as promised by St. James : " Is any man sick among you, let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord : and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him."* Even Protestant and Infidel physicians have often acknowledged the efficacy of Extreme Unction in this respect. In Catholic countries they are anxious that the sick should receive the last Sacraments in due time, because they find that the repose which results from the reception of Extreme Unction, serves to give efficacy to the medicine which the sick person receives. The spiritual effects of this Sacrament are still more certain and immediate. According to the Catholic doctrine, it removes the remain- ing effects of sin, and fortifies the soul in its « last struggle. Protestants, on visiting their sick Catholio friends, are frequently convinced by their own • James, y. 14, 16. ^1 60 THE CHARACTER obHervati(ui8, of the wonderful calm and foi*U« tUdo imparted by Extreme Unction to the dying. Catholic Priests frequently meet with Protestants in hospitals, who are converted to Catholicity, by the r^vilent efficacy of Extreme Unction. It has often happened, in the course of my ministry, especially while I attended the Commercial Hospital in Cincinnati, that Pro- testant patients called and entreated me to give them Extreme Unction. They had witnessed the extraordinary peace and strength of mind which descended from Heaver* on their Catholic fellow-sufterers, at the moment they received that Sacrament; and many Protestants, from their desire of receivins the last consolations of the Catholic Church, became Catholics on their death-beds. This reminds me of another fact still more remarkable, and, by itself alone, going far to prove that thft Catholi- Church is the true Church, and that earnest and sincere inquirers, acknowledge it as such, as soon as they over- come, with the Divine assistance, the prejudices of education, habit, and public opinion. Hun- dreds, I might say thousands, of Protestants become Catholics in the last awful nour, when aiusions vanish and chmgs appear as they are. There are few Priests engaged in the ministry, OF PROTESTANTISM. 61 who cannot testify to this from their own experience. Now, Americans, I would ask you, and I would aak all the Protestants in the world, whether they have ever heard or known of a Catholic becoming a Protestant ou his death- bed ? I never have ; and neither you nor your descendants to the end of time shall ever know or hear of a single one. The Catholic Chlirch er^ioins it on her ministers, as a strict duty, to assist the dying with the most lovin^ care, the most watchful solicitude, the tenderest zeal of which they are capable. You know the heroic zeal of our Priests; the whole country has*witnessed it in times of cholera and yellow fever. No sooner does a Catholic fall dangerously ill, no matter how contagious his disease, than the Priest hastens to his bedside, and, if possible, remains with him to the last moment. He stands by his side, like a consoling angel at the threshold of eternity, whispering confidence in God's mercy, until the soul takes its flight and then, following it with the prayers and blessings o{ the Church, in her name he invites the angela and tl saints to descend and accompany the departed soul to heaven. Protestantism deprives you of this consola- tion. It rejects Extreme Unction and all out ,+' \!i'\ 62 THE CHARACTER last consoling ministrations. Just at the moment when the aid of the Church is most needed, you are forsaken : your ministers can give you no comfort but that of exhorting you — to help yourselves. Many of you hav« experienced it, all have witnessed it, and none of you expect any thing better I ask you, Americans, when an epidemic breaks out among you, who are amongst the first to secure their safety by flight ? Is it not very frequently your ministers? And who are the first to hasten, even from a distance, to places infected by the contagion ? Is it not Catholic Priests, and Catholic Sisters of Charity ? Ask Norfolk, New Orleans, and other cities ; every man in them will tell you. I ) VI. HOLY OEDERS. A Christian who has a lively faith in the Church and in the dignity of her sanctuaries, in the Divinity of her Sacrifice and the holiness of her Sacrament?, feels the propriety and necessity of intrusting sacred things to sacred hands. The ancient Pagans, obeying the instinct of our common nature, had a Priest- hood set aside for their temples. Under the Old Law, though the Mosaic rites and sacrificei OF PROTESTANTISM. 68 were only figures of things to come, j-et God had act apart one of the twelve tribes for the service of the Temple, and had chosen, out oi this tribe, one family, which was empowered to offer up sacrifice. In the Catholic Church, the holiness of the sanctuary demands far more imperatively, that an order of men should be consecrated to serve at the altar and administer the Sacraments. The highly responsible oliicea of the Priest, require likewise that he should receive special graces for the faithful discharge of his duties. Has Christ provided for this ? The Catholic Church answers that He has done so in the Sacramenlf of Holy Orders. The solemn and sublime ceremonies of a Catholic Ordination are in complete harmony with the solemn duties and sublime ministry of the Priest. I wish all of you could witness a Catholic Ordination. It would leave on your minds an impression of sanctity, which years could not efface. Eveiy prayer, every rite in a Catholic Ordination has a deep signi- ficance, and, indeed, breathes a superhuman majesty and a heavenly spirit : the unction of the Holy Spirit is diffused throughout the whole The newly ordained Priest, often perceptibly eels the affluence of Divine grace pervade hia 64 rHE CHARACTER I r \-\ whole being, maidng his Ordination felt, and rendering him vividly conscious of the new power with which he is invested. He hat Iways the assurance of actual graces that will liable him to be true to his vocation, and Oecomes conscious, in a manner which he could not have anticipated, that he was chosen from amongst his people, like Aaron, and has become a representative of Christ on earth, a mediator between Him and men, a priest, teacher, shepherd, friend, and father of His people. In accordance with his high dignity, is the life of continence, which the Church imposes upon the Priest. That life perfects in him the image of Christ, who, as St. Paul says in his Epistle to the Hebrews,* is a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech, with- out father, mother, or genealogy. By his life of continence, and by it only, the Priest is able, without any domestic care to impede his action. to make himself all things to all men, to become the spiritual father in Christ of all his congre- gation, and to command in an unexceptionabk manner their full confidence. Protestantism refuses you the consolation oi • Heb., V. 10 ; vii. 8. ■mi', k I * OF PROTESTANTISM. 65 having arinisters thus sanctified and absolutely set apan for the Divine minisstry, for Protest- antism rtejscts Holy Orders. Its ministers aro without awy higher than a mere human ordina- tion and & mere human authority. Their niissioa, like that of civil officers, emanatei from men, rtot from God. A Protestant mini- ster is the minister or agent of his congrega- tion : they pay him for his services, and dismiss him when it suits them. If he gives up his profession, he becomes a mere layman. His station, compared with the exalted position of the Catholic Priest, looks worldly, common, and low indeed. As Protestant ministers acquire no essentially new character in their ordination, so aa to be forever distinct from laymen, every one may be admitted to the ministry. Very often, especially in this country, in the comparatively numerous sect of Methodists, we find merchants, farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, artisans of every trade, assuming the office of preachers on Sunday, and returning to their usual avocations for the rest of the week ; and that not only in country towns and districts, but in the largest cities of the Union. No wonder Protestantism enjoins on itf ministers no mode of life above that of laymen M ■ - ( 66 THE CHARACTER But the consequence is, that, being burdened with wives and children, Protestant ministera become a burden to their congregations, and ake more care of their household, as they are in duty bound to do, than of their flocks, have read in a newspaper a complaint of an Episcopalian Biehop, that he either had to apply for a divorce, or give up the idea of making episcopal visitations, as his wife's jealousy would not allow him to absent himself from home VII. MATRIMOKY. As the Priest holds the position of spiritual father to the Christian people, and needs parti- cular graces to fulfil the peculiar duties and meet the peculiar difficulties of his position; so parents require special graces in the duties and difficulties pertaining to their condition. The Christian who is called to the state oi Matrimony, feels the necessity, and desires the grace of this Sacrament, for on his conduct in Macriage depends his happiness or his misery in time and in eternity. Has Christ provided any special grace for the state of Matrimony ? The Catholic Church answers that He has done so by raising Matri- mony to the dignity, and gi^ ing it the efficacy 01 PROTESTANTISM. 67 of a Sacrament. This state which would seem altOi':f'ther worldly, has been spiritualized and sauctified ; indeed, Christ has so exalted it as to make it the symbol of his own union with the Church. Tlius the grace of the Redemption, as undei"^ stood by the CathoUc Church, reaches to every condition, if life, and sanctifies and exalts them all. Anot>ier point of Catb '" doctrine, which goes farther still to sanctu'y Marriage, and powerfully tends to make husband and wife regard each other with a holy awe, is the indis- BoTubility of the bond of Matrimony: the married couple are united for life, as Christ is united with His Church for eternity. Thus the whole state of the Christian family is sanctified. Protestantism deprives married persons and the family of this consolation, for it rejects Matrimony as a Sacrament. In the Protestant view, the matrimonial contract is only a civil act, and Matrimony nothing more than a union of man and wife in the natural order. Hence, Protestantism permits divorce and sanctions new alliances, thus paving the way to unre- trained licentiousness, by furnishing the vici- ous with an easy means of uniting with other parties, whenever passion prompts them to do BO. Hence, stripped of all its Christian sane 68 m fi THE CHARACTER thy, Matrimony but too frequently becomes a Bource of scandal. Cases have been made public, in which women, after having had five or six husbands, in consequence of repeated divorces, at last returned to their first husband after a new divorce. Does not Marriage, in this way, come to have more the character of a brutal connection, than of a Christian alliance? Indeed, Protestantism seems but too much inclined to sanction even polygamy, as was actjially done by the Baptists in Luthct's time, and by Luther himself, along with Melanchthon and Bucer, when these founders of Protestant- ism gave leave to the 'Landgrav; Philip of Hesse to have two wives at the same time. Mormonism, too, is one of the noble plants grown in the hotbed of Protestantism. P '] y GOOD WORKS. By the grace of the Sacraments, and by the actual graces of the Holy Ghost, a Catholia feels himself strong enough to resist every temptation, able to overcome all obstacles ti virtue, to become more virtuous every day more and more like to Christ by the daily practice of good works, to increase in merii before God, every hour and moment, and to gain an ever increasing crown of giory by his OF PROTESTANTISM. 69 merita TMa is truly a great consolation for a man who ioves God, and is desirous of improv- ing in virtue. " I can do all things in Him who Btrengtheneth me."* I can do ail things, if I only have the will to follow Christ with the fervor of the Saints. If I only have the will, '* my present tribulation, which is momentary and light, will work in me above measure an exceeding weight of glory." Protestantism deprives you of this consoling and powerful motive for practicing virtue, by teaching you that you can do no good works at all, even with the aid of Divine grace, and that what appears right in your eyes is a sin before God. Many among you, unacquainted with the original doctrines of Protestantism, and Pro- testants only in name, may be disposed to accuse me of calumny. Tc jrove my assertion, I make some quotations from the works of the early Reformers. Lutbjr says, "Every good work, though performed as well as possible, ia still a inial Ein."f " Yea, every action of the just man is damnable and a mortal sin. "J ! Ilfi" Pi I M * Philipp., iv. 4. '\ Assert. Omn. Ait. 0pp. Tom. II., p. 325. X Cp. A; M.^ ' I. (Coufut. Luther. Rat. latom.) fel. 4A^ THE CHARACTER Melanchthon is just as explicit. He says, " Al. our actions and exertions are sins."* " Yea, even to eat, to drink, to work, to teach, all this id sio/'t Calvin teaches the same doctrine: " Never yet has a pious person done a pious work, which was not damnable in the sight of God/'i How, with such a prospect before them, can men have any zeal for Christian sanctity or genuine virtue ? The certainty of offending God by our best works, must inevitably deaden cr.d destroy, in the very root, every desire for virtue. The doctrine, if generally acted on, must sweep every vestige of virtue from the <3arth. In all cases, when adhered to in any degree, it is enough to sadden and deject, and degrade in his own estimation, every honest man, who believes in God and longs to be pleasing in His sight. Jf you ask the Reformers, What hope can a man ha\e of saving his soul, if he is not able to do any thing towards saving it ? Ycu pro- mise him salvation, and command him to hope ; but on what ground is his hope to rest? I jilil • Melanchth. Loc. Theol., p. 108. " t Ibid, p. 92. t Calvin. Instit. 1. II. c. yiii. g 69 ; 1. III. o. ir. I 28, m4 0. X«T. «U = OF PROTESTANTISM. 71 The early Reformers answer, and consistent Protestants at the present day agree with them, that man, as he is thoroughly wicked, can only be saved by faith. If he has the faith, sin can- not injure him, and he has no need of good works. Some of you may put this down as an unheard of calumny, and indignantly ask me when and where the Reiormers ever uttered BiLch abominable doctrines. Open Luther's works, for instance his " De Vaptiviiale Babylonica,'^ and you will find this doctrine taught and inculcated.* In a letter to Melanchthon, his friend and co» Reformer, he uses the following language : " Sin as much as you can, but believe still more firmly. We must sin as long as we live. It is enough to believe firmly in Christ, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. From Him sin will not separate us, were we to commit murder and adultery a thousand times a day.f Some of Luther's followers went so far as ta assert that good works are dangerous to salva- tion, on the false ground that they impair the «aving confidence of faith. Nicholas Amsdorf, hfl 1 - 'I iliiil I ■ ! ri 11 * De Captiv. Babyl. 1, IT., p. 26. f Epist. Dr. Mart. Luth. a Joan. Aurifabro coUecto toi (. Jena, Ib&tf. ' M . i 72 THE CHARACTEB an old friend of Luther's, maintained this, in tha year 1 559, as genuine Lutheran doctrine.* The doctrine is held by some Calvinist Protestants to this day. Some time ago, I met with one who defended it, a Swiss Calvinist preacher, with whom I happened to travel to St. Louis. As regards Americans, I hope there is not one among them who takes such abominable views of the Christian Religion. Yet it must always remain true that the Reformers inculcated them as the pure doctrine of Christ; and, with Buch leaders. Protestantism must, to say the least, look exceedingly suspicious. THE STATE OF MAN AFTER DEATH. I ^n he be con * t Mach., xii 18. OP PROTESTANTISM. 75 dieinned to Hell, since nothing defilf^d can entef Heaven, and i! ould bo injustice in God to condemn a man to Hell who is not guilty oi any j2:rievou8 transgressions. Whither then hail ' ' sent? On this point, an infidel could convict Pro- testantism of error. If you admit Heaven and Hell, he might say, you are forced either to admit Purgatory, nr to maintain that the slight- est failing is a mortal sin deserving Hell. The Reformers, as we have seen, mjuatained the latter alternative. But 1 greatly doubl whether any of you are ready to go so far, and would eay that every slight fault, such as a useless word, or a momentary irritation, is a grievous sin and deserves eternal punishment. Every intelligent man must come to the conclusion that there is a middle place. Infidels would sooner deny the existence of Hell than that of Purgatory. In fact, the Universalists do so, and^ many modern Protestants agree with theni, for the Hell which they admit not being eternal, is nothing more than Purgatory. The d'^nial of Purgatory is as inconsistent with reason as It is distressing. It is as repugnant to the mind as to the heart, to think that our departed friends, whom we cannot believe to have been >ii ■ I M V'' ill i i 1, • r.'-i 1 i i ■i 1 ' j ■ .'{ _^i',i ^^^Mfpprtl 1 ■-■■ "^ ^ A Ui tMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A -^ &.0 A 2c /a \ 1.0 I.I 1.25 iil lili i2.2 tm ■ u: 1; 2.0 L8 U i L6 P» y # *w >^ / # >^ '^ ,m>. Photograpiiic Sciences Coiporation «^ SJ V m ^ V '^ o \ '^.-.^ "CN* ^. 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTEX.N.Y. )4S80 (716) 872-'">03 ^ 76 THE CHARACTER without failings, are all lost, and beyond the reach of our prayers. THE COMMUN-IOif OF SAINTS. As Christians we believe that all who are free from oin at the moment of death, enter Heaven. We should naturally wish to remain in communion with them, if possible ; to make them acquainted with our wants and sorrows, and receive from them some efficacious assist- ance, just as we remain in communication with our friends in distant countries, and are united with them in feeling, affection, and mutual services. The Catholic Church affirms that there exists a Communion between us and the blessed; that the Saints know our wants, sympathize in our joys and sorrows, and pray for us, because they love us. They have reached the haven, and now extend a helping hand to their brethren still on the stormy ocean. We might, of course, pray to God alone, but God, in his infinite wisdom and love, has united all hia children, in time and in eternity, in the bonds of a mutual, intimate, active, efficacious love. This is the order of Divine Providence. As we pray for the souls in Purgatory, so the SaintP in OF PROIESTANTISM. ' Tt « Heaven intercede for us, and the prayers of all are efficacious. Tiiis beautiful Communion witii the Saints carries along with it the recol- lection of theii virtues, and warns us to secure a part in their glory for ourselves by imitating their example. There is in this Communion of holy lOve a consolation which all must acknowledge. Wherever faith exists, consolation ^s sought in mutual prayer. We ask each other's prayers, and find a comfort in the thought that those who love us pray for us and y^ith us. Virtuous parents and children are consoled by knowing that each fulfils his duty of holy love by pray- ing for the other. The consolation of Catho- lics often exhibits itself visibly, when a Priest promises to remember them at the altar. The Apostle himself asked the prayers of the newly converted; and the early Christians were united in the joys of mutual prayer, as well as in mutual love. There is a mutual consolation even in death, when parents can close their eyes with the assurance that their children will pray for them, and when children hear from the dying lips of their*parents the parting promise to remember them before God in heaven, 'i'here is a consolation for all the faithful iq the tboughtj that in losing a brother or dear 78 THE CHARACTER aints from us to £.a unapproachable region and leaves no trace of a livin/ , active Com munion between the Church on earth and the Church m heaven. Death, if we would believe Protestantism, ends all CV)mmunion between brethren. The dead are dead, is the climax of the icy, deathlike, and deadening doctrines oi Protestant theology. Here I close my comparison. Whoever has gtVen the preceding pages an attentive perusal will, I nope, acknowledge that I have fully made out the charge that Protestantism is a 8U THE CHARACTER Religion of Distress, that it has rejected the consoling doctrines of the Church, and substi tuted for them most distressing tenets. I am, Iherefore, justified in asking you with deep nslonishment and unfeigned compassion. How could your ancestors reject the Catholic Church for such a Religion ? How can their descend- ants have blindly clung to it for three cen- turies ? You will agree, that, on the supposi- tion of both the Catholic and Protestant doctrines being mere human inventions, there would be good reasons, founded on real wants, for becoming Catholics, but not a single valid reason for becoming Protestants. A learned Protestant, Lessing, has said, f* Considering the faith of a Catholic Priest, I can imagine no man happier than he must be." This is the truth. Happy, indeed, is he, and happy beyond the 'measure allotted to other men, who has been ordained to be th** dispenser of the mysteries of grace under the iew Law, and the representative of the mercies of Chiist to men. I need only point to the privilege o| ofTering up in real Sacrifice to God the Body and Blood of the Redeemer. If you conceive what a Catholic priest is, you must see that it is a sur- passing consolation for a man purchased by the blood of Jesus, to be permitted to stand in Mi '< OF PROTESTANTISM. 81 «o fntimate a union with Him, and to offer such a Sacrifice for his own salvation and the 'lalvation of the world. The Priest is placed on Calvary and near the Cross, in a manner given fo Rone but him. I shall say nothing of the consolations he derives from the administration of the other mysteries of grace, at whose source he stands. I will only remark, that Lessing might just aa well haT3 said, "Considering the faith of a Catholic, I cannot imagine a happier man than a practical Catholic." Lavater, another cele- brated Protestant, said as mucn in his « Por- table Library for Friends:" "I consider a Dractical Catholic as one of the most honorable and blessed of men." He is blessed indeed, for he enjoys in the certainty of his faith, in the infallibility of its promises, in the consolations it administers, that « peace of God, which sur- passeth all understanding," which the world cannot give, and which Protestant sects desire, but seek in vain. I here recall to mind a fact which happened at Mihvaukie, during a renovation of the Mission. A physician, a man oi education, followed me to my room after a sermon, and threw himself into an arm-chair in an evident itatc of despair. I asked him, " What do you 82 THE CHARACTER want of me, sir." "Comfort, comfort," ha answered, "I want consolation and peace, and cannot find it in my Religion." " What ii your Religion ?" " I am a Protestant." "Have you the courage to examine?" "Certainly." ** Then you will scon be a Catholic, and find consolation." And ^ > it proved. Learned Protestants, such as Leibnitz, Clau- dius, Haman, Jacobi, Schiller, Goethe, Novaiis, Wolfgang Menzel, seem to have anticipated the consolation which the Catholic religion would have given them. They longed for itj but had not the resolution to brave public opinion, and avail themselves of the consola- tions that would have secured their happiness here and hereafter. It happened, while I lived at Vienna, that a celebrated Protestant minister mounted the pulpit on Good Friday, to preach a sermon on the Passion of our Lord. He said in a mourn ful tone of voice, " Ah, what a death, my brethren ! I ought to comfort you, but aias , « myself have no consolation. Amen." With- out adding another word, he left the pulpit, This theatrical display had but too much truth in it. The death of Christ has no power to comfort us, if we refuse to approach the ■treaiiis of consolation that fiow from it. That OP PROI'ESTANTISM. f^% minister spoke as if standing in spirit »n Cal vary, and pronounced judgment against him self and against the whole system of Pretest- antism Luther himself declared that « he had ^ev.r derived any consolation from his new Rehgion, and that he could not draw any con- iolation from the death and resurrection o1 l^linst, m consequence of his want of faith"* Protestantism is, and must forever be,* a Religion without consolation, a Religion of distress. It appears such, especially, wheri its doctrmea are compared with the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The only consolation Protestantism as such has to offer, is a wicked one^-Sm, but believe. n thus stigmatizing Protestantism, and in all 1 have to add in conclusion of this portion of my subject, I do not mean to speak of Pro- testants in general, and least of all of modern Protestants, most of whom are Protestants only m name, and have never fully examined thti genume Protestant system as it came from the hands of the early Reformers. Whoever exammes Protestantism in its origin, primiUva direction, and logical developement, must come to the conclusion that it is only fit to console 9 wi,ii r ;^^J mn B4 THE OHARACTER wicked heart : I believe, therefore I may sin 08 much as I please ; sin can do me no harm, for with all the crimes in the world on my con- science, if I have faith, I am sure of heaven. This is the secret starting point of the Reform- ation, its real origin, and root; it gave birth to all the doctrines peculiar to Protestantism, and contains an obvious explanation of all it has rejected. The primitive Protestant principle once admitted, that a man may do all thai h^ pleases, and still be saved, provided he believes, there is no longer any use for Con- fession, Indulgences, Extreme Unction, the Invocation of Saints, nor for any of the peculicir doctrines of the Catholic Church ; the laws of God themselves aie practically abolished. The primitive Protestant principle, as it leads on the one hand to a vicked presumption of the mercy of God, and an unfounded hope of heaven, as its only consolation ; sc, on the other hand, it generates despair. Extremes meet. I have asserted, not only that Protest- antis»m is a Religion of Distress, but that it is a RiiHgion of Despair ; this may be partly con- cluded from the preceding pages, and I now (iroceed to prove it more fully. ;t-.- OP PROTESTANTISM. 66 SECTION IL CONSEQUENCES. Protestantism leads to despair, because it denies free-will. This alone proves the asser- tion. For a large number of Protestants, despair is the consequence likewise of the fundamental Protestant doctrine, that the Bible is the only Rule of Faith, and that every one must make out his own faith from the Bible, for no one can come to any certainty in regard to faith either by Private Interpretation or by Private Inspiration ; and for those who cannot read, or cannot succeed in imagining that they have any Private Inspiration, nothing evidently ia possible but despair. Luther himself confessed that he was tempted to despair. On one occasion, Dr. .Tone -, in q conversation with him, quoted the tex« of St. r I 86 / 1!HE CHARACTER .•4 Paul, " For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice," and exclaimed, " How beau* tifuily the Apostle f peaks !" •* Yes," replied Lather, " but I do not think he believed as firmly as his words seem to indicate. People imagine that I believe as firmly, as I express myself strongly in my sermc.is; but that is not the case."* Indeed, Lulher, not only confessed that he was tempted to despair, and that he was frequently so tempted, but he thought that St. Paul was tempted to despair as well as he,' and in this sense he explained the words of the Apostle, " I die daily." Protestantism has also advanced the doctrine of Predestination. Calvin taught explicitly that God, from all eternity, has predestined a portion of the human race to salvation, and the rest to eternal ruin. He says, " We call Pre- "destination the eternal decree of God, by " which He has ordained of His own free-will " what He will do with every man, for all men " are not created in the same manner, but "some are appointed 'for eternal salvation, " others for eternal damnation. Hence accord- " ing as a man is created, we say that he is ** predestined either to eternal life, or to eternal '♦ damnation."! Calvin goes so far in this • Luther. Colloq. p. 133. t Calv. IiBtit. J.III. c. 21. n.». OF PROTESTANTISM. sr blasphemous doctrine, as to say, that "God • permita those who are predestined to eternal ' damnation to do some good in this life, but ' Jhnt lie permits it only in order to make them • the more guilty and punish them the more • severely in eternity."* Not only Calvinists but all true Protestants, even such as do not hold Calvin's horrible axioms explicitly, are in consistency bound to admit the doctrine of absolute Predestination. This follows from the doctrine of Luther and hi=. followers, admitted Dy all genuine Protestants, that the fall has completely ruined our nature, and, hence, destroyed our free-will. Salvation or damna- tion, therefore, cannot in any degree depend on free-will, for free-will does not exi^t; hence, it must depend absolutely on Divine Predes- tination, the more so, as, according to genuine Protestant doctrine, there is no such thing as co-operation with £:rac6 or with ju8tificati6n. The same consequence follows from the Pro- testant doctrine of saving faith, for, as taught by Protestantism, this saving faith no one can give to himself, or co-operate in obtaining. Melanchthon agrees with Calvin, and says mthout hesitation, "Everything that happens, • Instit. 1. in. 0. 2. n. 11. 88 THE CHARACTER ny hi' Hi happens necessarily by Divine Predejttnattfi^ir tiierefore our will has no freedom."* In opposition to this general Piotestanj doctrine, the Council of Trent has framed the following canon : " If any one shall say, that the grace of justification is given to those only who are predestined to life eternt 1 ; but that all the others who are called, are cail'^d indeed, but receive no grace, because by Divine power predestined to evil ; let him be anathema."-j- , After this, my candid American friends, judgf) whether I have exaggerated my charges against Protestantism, considered, chiefly, in its origin and primitive direction. I hope I have torn away from the face of Protestantism the mask of a Divine Religion. It is not my fault if Protestantism now appears to you like a spectre, risen from its grave of three cen- turies of corruption, staring you in the face with the empty look of desolation, and welcom- ing you with the ghastly smile of despair, ULTERIOK CONSEQUENCES. But there ia worse than despair in its un- earthly aspect. Taking Protestantism' in iti • Melftnchth. hoc, Theol. edit. Angab, 182L * CJonc, Trid. Sees. vi. tad. xvil. I'll' OF PROTESTANTISM. gg origin and primitive direction, I have to Uand It with a stiJl darker stigma. On a more tiiorough investigation, you will discover in it abominations such as. were shown to Ezcchiel in the vision of the w^.li of Jerusalem. A, with the prophet, who at first did not see any . thing offensive, but, after digging into the wall, t.eheid the abominations of the city ; go it id v>'ith many Protestants, particuJarJy with such as beheve in Christ as the Redeemer of the world, and the Founder of a Divine Church. They only see in Protestantism a peculiai developement of Christianity, with nothing that Btrikes them as offensive. To hold that every man must make out his religion from his own Bible, does not seem to them to have in it any thing very alarming. But this is not the whole of Protestantism, nor Protestantism as such, that is, Protestantism considered in its origin' tendencies, and logical developements. It is' only upon a closer examination than ordinary that Protestants come to discover its real nature and entire meaning, and are forced to admit that it is odious in itself and abominable in Its consequences. I will show you that Pro- testantism in its origin and logical tendencies. IS a Religion of immorality, of insubordination and despotism, of irreligion and blasphemy 1 Ti ■r^ K ii H il 1 i 90 THE CHARACTEE You may feel indignant at these charges^ and they must appear to you to be most atro- cious calumnies ; but before throwing away the book, glance at my proofs, and refute them ii you can •. this much I have a right to expec from your candor and independence of char acter. I call Protestantism, in its origin and logical tendencies, a Religion of immorality. Here ia my proof. Luther and his associates taught that Christ had abrogated the whole moral law; that the moral law was only to be regarded as a rule of policy for holding society together, but that, as a matter of conscience, the true believer need not trouble himself about it. Read Luther's " Commentaries on the Epistle to the Galatians," and you will find this very doctrine word for word. Among other things he has the following : " Therefore we B-ay that the Ten Commandments have no fight to accuse or frighten a conscience in which Christ reigns by His grace, as Jesus nas annulled such a right in the Law." And again, " In general, Christ did not come to instruct mankind as a Teacher. This He has only done by chance. His office was only that of coveiing the sins of men." This is what Luther and the other Reformerg ii "iii OF PROTESTANTISM. 91 understood, or pretended to understand, by the freedom of the Gospel. They all taught that the moral law can give no uneasiness to the conscience of the believer, because he haa faith in Jesua, who by His merits has covered every transgression of the Law. Hence thej . say, " The Holy Ghost is principally called the Paraclete or Comforter, because He comforta the disquieted consciences of believers, by enlivening theii faith, which renders every wound of conscience harmless."* Luther calls Catholic Theologians fools, who lo not know what they say, when they main- tain that Christ has abrogated the ceremonies only of the Old Law, not the Commandments. In his " Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians," he compares the sensual man to Abraham's mule left behind in the valley, while Abraham ascended Mount Moria with Isaac. He says, " The mule at the foot of the mountain could do what it pleased. So the minds of believers may without uneasiness sun themselves on the mountain, without troubling themselves with what the mule of the flesh may do." The Ten Commandments are only an ex • Solid. Tecla''. V. De Lege et Evang. 'I'I'I i i P>' ■* ! J! 92 THE CHARACTER planation of the natural ]aw : v<6rogate them, and there is an end of all morality, and W6 need no longer talk of virtue. As is amply proved by the complaints of the early Reformers, the new gospel morality soon bore its fruit ia the frightful licentiousness that sprettd far and wide even in their own lifetime. Protestantism, in its origin, was bo deeply infected with this kind of gospel freedom, that the contagion crossed the ocean and covered all England. The Methodist Conference, linder Wesley, in 1770, declared publicly, that the reason of the fearful, universal immorality then prevailing, was the wide- spread opinion that " Christ had annulled the Moral Law, and that evangelical freedom dispensed with the Ten Commandments." Many of the adherents of the Reformers, no doubt, spurned this wicked doctrine ; and there is not, perhaps, a man among you who does not repudiate it with scorn and disgust. Stilj, as Protestants, you are the followers of the first Reformers, and honor them as your leaders The birth-place of those men, who receive so much of your praises, is still infected with the breath of their noisome teachings. How long will you endure a Religion of whose funda- mental doctrines such teachmga are tho le^iti OF PROTESTANTISM. 93 mate deductitns ? I say legitimate, for if man has no free-will, as Protestantism has main- tained, he cannot be bound by any law, any more than the brute. Were you to discover that a single accredited Catholic theologian has ever taught that the Ten Commandments are not Dinding on the consciences of Catholics, I verily believe you would instantly drive us all out of the country. Why do you not turn against Protestantism, the same indignation that would be raised against us ? Can that be right in the case of Protestants, which in the case ol Catholics would be an atrocious crime ? I have called Protestantism, in its origin and logical tendency, a Religion of disorder and despotism. If the Divine law has no binding force, it is evident that human laws can have none. Whoever has a right to say, I am my own authority in faith, my own judge in Reli* gion, my own master in Divine things, must be allowed to say, and have the courage to proclaim with no less boldness, I am my own Sovereign and my own law-giver, and will not be bound by the laws of the State. There is no need of being a Louis XIV. ; it is enough to be a consistent reasoner, after you have once said / am the Church, to take the next step and say, * V etat c'est moi- ^ am the State." When ( I i .t y.J |! 94 THE CHARACTER iJ once this step is taken, confusion, tumuli violence, bloodshed, anarchy, must ensue ; oi if they do not, it is because men are inconsist- ent, and afraid to carry out their opinions, to their full length, in practice. Indeed, ycu are, in general, much better men, than logicians. When Germany was deluged with blood by the rising of the peasants, Erasmus was right in writing to Luther, " We now reap the fruits of your spirit. You do not acknowledge the leaders, but they acknowledge you. You have, it is true, disowned their proceedings in your frantic little book, but you do not prove that you have given no occasion to the calamity by the books which you have written against monks and bishops, and concerning evangelical freedom." Protestantism, in its origin, likewise estab- lished the principle, and furnished the justifica- tion of despotism. Luther says in his " Com- mentary on the Epistle to the Galatians," " Human laws have nothing to do with con- science." And writing about the Rebellion of the Peasants, he says, " Let cannons roar around the heads of the peasants , these. are the only reasons to be given to those fellows. It matters not if, some innocent man perish in the conflict." This is a pretty despotic counsel OF PKOTESTANTISM. 93 »» AH mow how faithfully it was followed by Henry Vlll. and Elizabeth. "My Lords, either your consent, or your heads," said Henry VIII., to his stubborn Parhament, and then rubbed his hands together with quiet self-complacency. The original Protestant principles make the Sovereign a despot over the Church as well as in the State. You are acquainted, I hope, with the famous old Pro- testant axiom, " Cujus est regio, illius est religio — He that rules the country is master of its reli- gion.''' Even in our own days, a woman rules the Church of England as its supreme head. Some of your prejudiced historical writers con- tinue to repeat the exploded fable of a Johanna Papissa—Fope Joan : in England, we have a real female pope in the person of Queen Victoria. Lastly, I have called Prote«tantism, in its origin and logical tendency, a Religion of irre- ligion and blasphemy. I prove it. Where no free-will exists, there can exist no religious duties, and a Religion v^ithout religious duties is no Religion at all. A Religion that denies free-will and abrogates the Commandments, contradicts the very idea of Religion, as ia evident from the derivation and meaning of the word. Religion comes from religare, to bind ■i I'M 96 THE CHARaCTEB anew, and points to dogmas and duties, bind ing on tiie intelligence and conscience, and uniting us to God. The denial of free-will and of the obligation of the moral law, destroys the bond, and therefore annihilates the primary, fundamental, essential idea of Religion. Protestantism, as it came from the hands of the first Reformers, deserves, also, to be branded as a Religion of blasphemy, for they made God the author of sin, and thereby evi- idently destroyed, on the one hand, uie idea olf sin, and, on the other, the idea of the infinite Sanctity of God. Here is the proof of my accusation. Besides Luther's writings against Erasmus, to which I would refer you, I may quote Melanchthon, Luther's intimate disciple. In " the following, Melanchthon faithfully expresses his master's opinions : " It is certain that all hat happens, whether good or evil, comes from God. We assert, that God not only permits his creatures to act, but that He himself doea every thing, so that as the vocation of Paul was the work of God, so was the adultery of David ; and as the vocation of Paul was the work of God, so also was the treachery of Judas."* • Martin. Chemnitz, Loo. Theol. p. 1, p. 173 Leyser, 1615. OF PROTESTANTISM. 97 Many others among Luther's adherenta advocated the same opinion. Hence the Church in the Council of Trent framed the. Jbllowing canon against the Reformers: '* I( any one shall say, that it is not in the power of man to render his ways evil ; but that God does the evil works, as He does the good, not only permissively, but properly and through Himself; so that the treason of Judas is God'a own work, no less than the vocation of Paul ; let him be anathema."* Calvin, Zwingli, Beza, the three chief Swiss Reformers, are just as blasphemous in their doctrine as Melanchthon and Luther. Calvin makes use of such expressions as the following, not once only, but in a countless number o passages : " God impels man to do evil. He orders his fali, and for tliis purpose makes use of an interior inspiration in the heart of man."f Beza, the head of the Calvinists after Calvin's death, goes farther, and adds, " God creates a portion of men, only that He may use them as instruments to do evil. "J By way of proving» that this is not contrary to the justice and «anctity of God, Zwingli resorts to reasoning • Oonc. Trid, Seas. vi. can. vi. t Calv. Instil. 1. iv. c. xviii. § 2 1. iii. c. xxiii. } A t Beza, Aphorism, xxii. 10 ^'-ffll ) M 1 ' ir'\ 1 f \\-\ 1 1 * U' ^ THE CHARACTER thai would be laughable, were it not so shoclic in if. He says, '• God ia above the law, there he cannot transgress the law, and conse quenlly there ia for Him no moral evil. He may do what He pleases. But the creaturt Ihat commits evil by his impulse, sins, becaust God has given it a law." This Zwingli illustrates by a comparison worthy of th« blasphemy. « A bull," he says, " may fill a whole herd of cattle with calves ; this would 6nly increase his merit, for he has no law. But, on the contrary, if his master should have more than one wife, he would be an adulterer, because a law has been given him, but the bull has none."* God and a bull ! What a com parison ! And still Zwingli „_. on to explain by It that, though David's adultery was God's vvork, yet it was no sin in God who compelled him to commit it, but was a sin in David alone. I leave it to you to decide whether I have a right to call Protestantism a Religion of blas- phemy. You may say. What have we to do with Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, Beza, or Zwingli ? We do not agree with them. I grant it, bu| can you deny that you honor, as the authors of • /wingl. De Prov'd. cv. et VI. J!f OF PROTESTANTISM. 99 che Reformation, the very authors of all this blasphemy ? la not the presumption against a Religion founded by such men ? Must nol Buch a Religion, at first sight, appear exceed* ingly suspicious, chiefly when you reflect on the commentary which the lives of the Re- formers furnish to their teaching ? Can you deny that they were passionate, and that Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and their first follow- ers publicly called each other wicked, mutineers, interpolators, reprobates, devils, and arch- devils ? Have you ever read any such thing of the Apostles and of the Fathers of the Catholic Church? Have you ever read that they loaded each other with insults, like those which Luther hurled against Henry Vlll., and Henry VllL in turn against Luther ? Such are the men from whom you have received your Religion. Their first unfortunate adherents would have done well to have asked them some higher proof of their mission thau insult. At a later time, when some Protestant ministers came among the converts of St. f'rancis Xavier in India, after the death of that great Apostle, and exhorted thera to become Protestants, those newly converted savages made this very striking and just reply, " Aa for your doctrines, we will not take the trouble to !•<» li ; - ■ ■ 'if ■ mm Ui ■1 fi ■ m 100 THE CHARACTER m examine whether you are right or wrong; we are not learned enough for that ; but we will propose an easy test that will at once clear up the whole matter. When the great Father [thus they called Xavier] came among ua, he raised three dead men to life. If you wish ua to change our faith for yours, you must first raise six dead men to life, that we may have more reason to believe you than him." Your English forefathers would have done 'well to require a similar proof from the preachers of the new doctrines. They should have demanded from them, not only to raise six dead men to life, but to work twice as many miracles as had ever been wrought by all the Apostles and Saints of England, and by all the Apostolic men and Saints of the Catholic Church in the whole world, particularly as there was question of changing a Ileligion of consolation for a Religion of distress and despair, and the more so as this Religion was forced on them by the blood-rt lincd hand of power. Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, with their favorites and creatures, violently tore England from the Catholic Church. I have never read of their resuscitating the dead, but J have read of their murdering in cold blood hundredf OF fKOTESTANTISM. 101 of Priests and zealous Catholics, to introduce Protestantism into the country. These are historical facts. Your own writers have re- cordec' them. Read the portrait of Henry and Elizabeth diawn by the famous Protestant Cobbett, in his "History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland." He says of those two founders of the Englis^h Reforma- tion, *' Historians have been divided in opinibn, as to whi^h was the worst rfimi that England ever produced, her father, [Henry Vlll.j or Cranmer ; but all mankind must agree, that this [Elizabeth] was the worst woman that ever existed in England, or in the whole world, Jezabel herself not excepted."* Protestantism in its origin was by no means popular in England. It was introduced by tyrants, and forced on the nation by violence and bloodshed. It originated in the lust of Henry VIII. Indeed, Protestantism everywhere sprang from the two crimes which you most abhor, lust and despotii^m. It was originated in Germany by a lustful apostate monk ; it was introduced in England by a lustful despotic monarch, who, after having written against Luther's Protestantism, ended by adopting it * Cohbett,A History of the Prot. Refon-a., «fec.. Letter sX,, No, 318. See also DoeHinger's celebrated IJistory of tbt Reforuiatiwn. See Bishoij Spalding's History of the llutoraa' lioa. I m » ' ^ 1 f :' 102 THE CHARACTEll himself in order to satisfy his own adultercaw desires, and because he wished to be his o-.vn pope, a? the Pope of J^ome refused to sanction iis crime. The despotic work begun by Henry, was completed by a lustful, tyrannical Queen, his daughter. There is nothing better authenticated in all history than these startling facts, that Protestantism came from licentious apostate priests and monks, and from despotic licentious sovereigns, not from the people. The origin alone of Protestantism renders it in the highest degree suspicious. Protestantism is so far from having originated with the people or being the palladium of their liberties, that it was grasped at by monarcha as an instrument of despotism. The aim o* the first Protestant rulers was to unite in their own hands both the temporal and spiritual powers, to enslave the souls as well as the bodies of the people, and be checked bv no one. Wherever Protestantism failed to intro- duce despotism, it was owing in a great measure to the people, who turned against their sovereigns, and in some instances, by a just retribution, hurled them from their throne. You are, then, Protestants to-day because ■^nglish tyrants forced Protestantism on your ancestors. You have thrown off the political jrvxi.v VI j:iitgiauu, uut yuu iliXW UOl gOC TIQ OI OP PROTESTANTISM > 103 her religious influence. In a great measure, you remain Protestants because England re- mains Protestant. England's conversion to Catholic truth, could hardly fail to be followed by the conversion of the United States. You owe it to your love of truth and muopendence to determine your own course, and not to remain in Protestantism from mere education and habit. ■if 11 m IJ! ! ..^^«:p. CHAPTER 11. THE PRINCIPLE OP PROTEST. ANTISM. i r w f HAVE remarked above that one of the reason, the I»™r^ T°."^ ^°" '"'"^'" Protestants, « the lack „n their par, of earnest examinatton. Youneglectespectally to investigate theprin of FaUh '"*""""' °' "" ^'•'"«»'a''t Rule The Catholic Rule of Faith is the infallible an.honty of the Church in matters of faith; thl Protestant Rule is the Private Interpretation oi be B.ble. The Catholic believes whatever the Church teaches, because Christ has given her authority to teach in His name, and to ^ac* 104 MB PWNCIPIE OF PROTEBTAKTISM. 105 infallibly what He has revealed. The Protest- ant professes to believe only what he can dis- cover ,n the Bible by his own Private interpre- If you read the following pages with candor, .vahout allowing yourselves to be swayed bv prejudice, and with the determination to follow your convictions in the face of all obstacles whether from your family, your friends'; or your worldly interests, it will be impossible for you to remain Protestants ; you will be fully con- vmced that the Catholic Church is the only true Church of Christ, and consequently that her mfallible teaching is the true Rule of Faith ; that Protestantism, on the contrary, is not the true Church of Christ, and that its principle of Private Interpretation is absurd, and conse- quently that you cann Jt save your soul in Protestantism. The 5; ent shall prove whether you have the courage to examine hr an hour with earnestness and candor. II • 1 r; I 106 THE PBIMCIPLI ' 1" III SECTION L. THE DIVINE TRUTH OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.— HER INFALLIBLE TEACH- ING— THE TRUE RULE OF FAITH i s, b The whole controversy turns on this single question : What is the real motive alleged by the Reformers for separating from the Mother Church? It is reproached that the Catholio Church fell into error in the fifth or sixth cen- tury, lost her primitive form by innovation* and abuses, and ceased to be the true Church of Christ. With this assertion Protestantism must stand or fall. The question is not ivhe tlier Tetzel and Leo X. were good or wicked Catholics, the question is about the Church alone. Has the Catholic Church, which was unquestionahly the first Church^themeinstUutedby Christ, changed OP PROTESTANTISM K)? fern f .1 'f!.'''"' ^ '''" ^"*°- <" P-'- an ' ^m attempted to reform the Church as such a Ohlh ''''^';^'' '■■'"" ''^'•- Th^ Church a, «.e?rrch:;r"^'°'''^™'''^™ To this fundamental supposition, which is he essenttal -Pport of Protestantism, I oppose the foilowmg assertion : As long as reLon remams reason, and Christ rem^ains ChrUt there can never, by any possibility, arUe a deterioration in a Church Divinely L«u,ed and consequently there can never ar e ant' occaston for a Ueformation, „or any Taw"^ reason for seceding from her. never be even a possibility of deterioraUon i" Ltr?f "";"'"''' '"'"'■'='•' «"<» ">. bare thought of reformmg such a Church « tha greatest absurdity that can enter the h^man m nd. This IS lear from the following evident pnnople of reason : Wkat^er God iasorjJ,Td for an end rnust e.ut as long as tkeend c^cists^l '«>^>',<'ngel,o,- demon can change it Here is an obvious illustration God has created natural laws,and powers in the visibll 108 THE PRINCIPLE f"- 1 world with a view to its existence, and no man no angel, no demon can change them. Man may use or abuse the powers of nature, but hange or reform them he oannot. What vould you think of Luther and the rest of the Kcformers, had they attempted to reform the Bun, moon, and stars, and nature in general? To think of reforming the system of the world is madness : to think of reforming a Divinely instituted Church is absurdity and folly greater in an infinite degree. The Church is a spiritual world, a universe formed by the power, and mercy, and grace oi God. This creation is of an infinitely higher order than the material universe ; it is more firmly fixed, more unchangeable, because it ia founded for eternity. "Heaven and earth," says Christ, " shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."* And again, " I say to thee. That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.^'f I do not inquire here what is meant by the rock, nor who is to be understood by Peter, but Aierely wish to direct your attention to the solemn, positive • Matt., xxiv. 36. t Ibid. xri. 18. OP PROTESTANTISM. 109 assurance of ChriBt, that « the gates of LeU shall not prevail against it." This brings me to the second part of my assertion, that while Christ is Christ, that \b the Incarnate Son of God, His Church cannot change, because she is Divine, and has Ilia promise to continue unchanged throughout all time. If you read the Scripture, you must know that all the promises of God, made by the prophets for a long series of centuries, had foretold that the Kingdom of Christ, His Church, would be eternal and unchangeable The angel who announced the Incarnation likewise referred to this characteristic of the Church : " He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end."* But I will here confine myself to the promise of Christ above quoted. That promise IS too clear and direct to be misunderstood^ ' The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." When Christ affirms so solemnly that th* Church will not change, how can a Christian presume to say. The Church has changed ? h the Church has changed, Christ is Christ no longer : He has not spoken the truth, and can not be the Son of God. Then He has eatal liUke, i. 32, 38. 'I'. , 1 ^T t' > 110 THE PRINCIPLE lished no Divine Church ; men need not care ivhether they are Christians or Pagans; there is no essential difference between Protestant* and Catholics, for both sides are deceived. I wish every one of you would reflect on thii argument as earnestly and with the same result, as an Englishman did, some years ago, in the Church of St. Peter's at Rome. He was a thorough and an obstinate Protestant. Like niany of his countrymen, he had gone to Rome from curiosity. It was the Feast of the great Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. The Pope, Pius VII., was to sing High Mass at St. Peter's. While the Pope, according to custom, was being carried through the Church, the choir sang the antiphon, " Tu cs P a r OP PROTESrANTiSM. Ill i wdden Jight had flashed upon him •. the grace of God had illumined him; he had suddenlv conceived the full significance of the promise of Christ the Son of God. For a while he wai absorbed in reflection, and then striking the floor with his cane, he exclaimed aloud in a decided ione,^^ Nonprucvalebunt—They shall not prevail." He left tb« Church a convert to the Catholic faith. A Febronian theologian employed by the famous Austrian Emperor Joseph II, was once BO forcibly struck by those words of Christ, on hearing them read at Mass, that he was taken Hi on the spot, so horrified was he at the thought of the crime he was committing in aiding the Emperor in his attacks on the rights of the Church. He understood that in spite of his impious efforts, the Church would continue as f?he was, and with her the Pope. If you had heard Christ Himself' address the promise to St. Peter alone of all the Apostleg around him, you would have been deeply im> pressed with a sense of its infallible certainty Ihe promise is the same now as ever. I( Christ is Christ, His promise is Divine ; it* will be true to the end of the world, and the Church along with it, and no man, angel, or demon can corrupt or change her. If all the calura rf^^ .1 W' J12 THE PRINCIPLE ill Hies ever invented against Popes, Bishops, and Priests were true, you couJd not draw from them a shadow of conclusion against the Church. If every Pope, Bishop, and Priest liad been a Judas, a Caiphas, a Pilate, a Htrod, and an incarnate demon, all in one, not one oi them, nor all of them together, could have viti- ated the Church, for Christ has instituted hep not for them alone, but for all men and for the salvation of men in all ages. The Church is not the work of men, any more than the world; therefore, they have as little power to corrupt one as to annihilate the-other. They are free to use or to abuse the means of grace intrusted to the Church by her Founder, but they can no more alter the Church and its means of grace, than they can the course of the sun and moon.' " Before you think of changing the Church," Baid St. Chrysostom in the fourth century, "change the sun, moon, and stars. Much sooner will you succeed in destroying the light of the sun, than in weakening the Church." Hence I say. The first Church is the trui Church, or else there is no Divine Christian Church, Americans, do you feel the irresistible power of this logical inference ? Whoever does not pause to reflect upon it, cannot- be in earnest to know the truth, ^n fact, either hd OF PK0TE8TANTISM 113 doeB not believe Christ to be tl , ^on of God . and tiie Founder of a Divine C.urch, or he is incapable or unwilling tc makr. a right u«o of his reason. Every one who believes Christ to be Christ, urid consults his reason candidly must hold this to be an evident principle, The Catholic Church, being the first Church, the Church instituted by Christ, is, and alone can be, the true Church of Christ. This principle, in the present discussion, is to reason what the sun is to the universe. If a man closes his eyes against the sun, and com- plains that every thing is dark, you will not have recourse to astronomy to convince him that the sun and stars exist. So in the all- important question, Is the Catholic Church the true Church of Christ, and had the Reformers a just right to secede from her ? I say the decision wholly depends on the question Is the Catholic Church the only Christian Church reac.ang back to Christ? If the question it answered in the affirmative, then the Catholic Church is the true Church of Christ, the Divine unchangeabie Church ; and it can never be law- ful to separate from her, for the promise of Christ cannot change. Every one who will not hear the Church, that is, the Church instituted by Him, must " be held as the heathen and the I I J if 114 THE PRINCIPLE ^ publican."* Whatever she teaches as a Church must be true, or else she could change, irhich Chridt has declared to be impoaaible: '• The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'* The irresistible force of this reasoning must b© evident to every Protestant. If he does no^ become a Catholic, the reason must be sought in his heart, not in his mind. This is candidly acknowledged by a learned Protestant writer of our time, Gfroerer, in his ** Critical Essay or Ancient Christianity." He thus expresses him- Bclf • " Catholic faith, if you. admit its first principle, (that Christ is the Son of God, and His Church Divine, which no true Protest- ant can deny,) is as conclusive as the books of Euclid. There is no article of Catholic faith, which cannot be justified upon that princip)9."f Even Rousseau makes the following frank p vowal : " Qu'on me prouve, qu'en matiere de foi je swis obiig^ de me soumettre aux decisions de quelqu'un, des demain je me fais Oatholique et tout homme consequent et vrai fera comme moi.J — Let it be proved to me that, in matters of faith, 1 must submit to the decisions of any • Mfttt., iviii. 17. t Vol. 1., Preface, pp. 16-17. t Ron38oau, Lettre do la Mont»fne 11. ■ \P PROTESTANTISM. 115 one, and to-morrow I will become a Catholic and every consistent and true man will do the MHine." Ilouaaeau is right in saying every man. At for the proof which he asks, it depends on th« simple hintorical question, Which is the most ancient, or rather, the first Church, instituted by Christ Himself, the Son of God ? I make the following supposition. A man dies in 1802, leaving an only son born in 1830, to whom. he has bequeathed all his property, and whose name, birthplace, and age, are all accurately described in the will. Two others come forward, each claiming to be the only son and universal heir of the deceased. The matter is brought before the court. As it is clearly proved that the deceased had only one^son, all the judge has to do is to find out the birthplace, age, and name of each of the claimants. On interrogating two of them, he finds that the age of one is fifteen, and of the other twenty, and the birthplace and name of both different from those mentioned in the will. The third claimant proves by authentic docu ments, and by the testimony of the. whole •neighborhood, that his age, name, and birth- place perfectly agree with the description in the will. No other claimants appear. Indec(f, • M 1' 116 THE PRINCIPIJ! the case is so clear that a child ten years old could decide it, and it is ridiculous to bring it before the court. The true son must be thirty- two years old, and every other claimant is an jnpostor. V The application to the Church is obvious Let us take a non- Christian, for example a Turk, as judge, and he will decide, without difficulty, which of the three great Christian families are the true Christians, the Catholic, the Protestant, or the Greek and Oriental schismatic. The Turk interrogates each of the three claimants: Do you sincerely believe that Christ vi'as the true Son of God, and spoke the infallible truth? All answer. We sincerely believe so. Do you believe that Christ said, My Church shall never fail, or, The gates of.helJ shall not prevail against it? All answer,* We believe so. Do you believe that the Apostles of Christ gave to His Church the name oi Catholic? We do. When did Christ maae that promise, establish His Church, and send forth His Apostles to announce it ? Eighteen hundred years ago. Now tell me, Protestants, how long have you- existed ? Three hundred years. Then, if four hundred years ago, a man wanted to become a OP PROTESTANTISM. 117 Pf otestdP.t, ivhere was he to apply ? Protest- antism was not yet in existence. What were your forefathers for fifteen hundred yeaia ? They were Catholics. Tell me, schismatic Greeks and Orientals, now long have you existed? Eight hundred years. What ic your name? Orthodox. What were your forefathers for a thousand years ? Catholics, And you, Catholics, how long have you existed? Eighteen hundred years. Where were you born?. At Jerusalem. Who first called you Catholics? The Apostles. Who calls you so now ? The whole world has called us Catholics for eighteen hundred years. How do you prove your age and your name ? The history of the world, the testimony of all gener- ations and of all races of men for eighteen hundred years prove it, and particularly the uninterrupted line of the successors of St, Peter,— Pius IX., Gregory XVI., Pius VIII., Leo XII., Pius VII., Pius VI., Clement XIV., and so on, back to Popes Clement, Linus, and Peter. The Turk's decision cannot be doubtful. II Christ instituted only one Church, and that eighteen hundred years ago ; if no Christian congregation but the Catholic, can prove that it J18 THE PBINCIPLB \im Nt has existed eighteen hundred years, or borne :he name of Catholic given to the Church by the Apostles; if the Catholic alone has tho ti'ue age, and bears the true name, then ho muat decide that the Catholics alone ai-e the true Christians. The Jew, in the well-known anecdote, gave a similar answer. Being asked by a Protestant and a Catholic, which of the two in his opinion was a member of the true Church, he answered, If Christ'is not the Messiah, then we Jews are the only members of the true Church ; if Christ is the Messiah, then the Catholics are ; but as for you Protestants, you can never be members of the true Church. You have come too late for that. When I was in Cincinnati, some years ago, a Methodist lady, whose daughter had lately become a Catholic, wished to see St. Philo- mena's church. The walls and ceiling of that church had been decorated with paintings. Standing before a large picture of the Blessed Virgin, she remarked to me, <' \Ve Methodists do not adore the Virgin Mary." " Neither do we," I replied, "but tell me, do you believe that the Virgin Mary was a Methodist ?" " No, indeed," "Well," I said, "for my part, 1 shfuld be unwilling to belong to a Religion \ <4P PROTESTANTISM. 119 which W&8 -»ot professed by the Mother oi Christ." Dr. Vd'-.fj and the Puseyites, in our time lave felt the truth of this axiom, Tlie JirA Vhuiifi is the true Church, or there is no Church, Hence they call themselves English Cathjlics, But it is as true now as in the age of St, Aufitin, that, " whether heretics like it or not, the whole world gives the name of Catholic to the Roman Catholic Church alone, and to no sect, even if the sects had a mind to claim the title." . This I have experienced in America. In 1852, at Manytowak, Wisconsin, I noticed a large and elegant church with a beautiful cross on its steeple, and remarked to an American lawyer, " I am astonished to find here so large a Catholic Church. Are there so many Catho- lics in this place ?■' " No, sir," he replied, " you are mistaken ; it is a Puseyite church. The Puseyites call themselves Catholics, Some time ago the pastor of that church wai at my house, and remarked to me, We, toO| are Catholics, not Roman Catholics however but English Catholics. I told him they weve not the right sort of Catholics, but counterfeit/^ The lawyer's remark was certainly apposite. Last year, i i Philadelphia, on seeing a \i '4« i«P n y 120 IHE PBINCIH* Church with a beautiful cross, and asWn. whether it w„, a Catholic church, 1 vva, toH 5 «a, not but that the congregation called them- CathoKos ?" I asked " If they can proie their r.gh to the name, I will be one of their num- ber this very day. But they cannot prove it. History shows too clearly that the Roman Cathohc Church alone has descended from the Apostles and in her alone is found the suc- cessor of St. Peter, in the person of the Pope and therefore she alone is the true Cathlo Church. Hence she is the only true Church of thnst, and can be easily distinguished from all other churches by simply applying the test of cLrthI"'"'' '"''" ""''" ''' *«'« - ">« Show me that St. Peter and his first suc- cessors were Protestants; prove that the earliest Catholics of England had Protestant parents; that England was Protestant fo, hfteen hundred years, and that the first Oatho- lie m England was an apostate from Protest- antism, and 1 will at once become a Protestant. Can you prove that ? You cannot, were you to argue for all eternity. But if, on the other band. It IS clear as day that England was Cathohc for fifteen nundred yearn ; that th» « OP PROTESTANTISM. ]21 firet Protestant on earth was an apostate ta hohc priest and monk, who had said AEasa and heard Confessicns for many years; i| it IS true that his most powerful lollower io England was an apostate Catholic King, and that all the original Protestants in En'^land had Catholic parents, then I say, that Uving and dying I will remain a Catholic. I am convinced that, if you believe in Jesua Christ and His promises, you must feel the evincible force of this argument, that the Catholic Church is the true Church, because she IS the first Church; and that Protestantism IS a counterfeit of Christianity, because it has not been instituted by Christ, nor has it descended from His Apostles : it is, and always will and must be, a mere deviation from the truth, an innovation introduced by a sensual apostate monk, and a despotic, adulterous' King. A Catholic, living among Protestants, waa once asked, whether he was not afraid of being buried in the Protestant graveyard. He re- plied, "No, gentlemen. Only dig a little deeper, and you will find nothing but Catholic bones." Americans, go to England, dig in the graveyards around the churches of your mother country, and under the dust of recent Protest «'f 122 THE PRINUIPLB • ant generations you will only find the aslea ot your Catholic forefathers. Standing by tho«6 graves in t>' --^r.en eariiestness of thought with svhich dciu : eternity inspire every man vho cares fot xas immox td hopes, reflect agran ^iid !).gain upon the irresistible force of this proposition, The Catholic Church, being the 6rst Church, is the true Church, or else there is no Divine Christian Church. If you do not wish to be Catholics, you must become infidels, in order to retain a shadow of consistency— for the consistency of infidels, as I shall prove below, is nothing more than a shadow. But if you are determined to be Christians, and to believe as heretofore that Chr\gt is Christ, and still persist in denying the truth of the Catholic Church, you do not, you cannot, retain even the shadow of consistency. Protestantism, in the light of revelation, his- tory, and sound lei on, in the very first step ol our examination, appears most glaringly and utterly inconsistent. OTHER MARKS OF THE DIVINITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Besides the unanswerRble proof that the Catho- )v: Church is the true Church, necause she if OF PROTESTANl^SM. 123 the first Church, or the Apostolic Church, there are other proofs, no less evident, of her truth The Church of. Christ had been foretold under the image of" a mountain on the top of moun tains, to which all nations should flow."* Christ compares her to a city built upon a mountain. The true Church of Christ must b« visible. Instituted for the salvation of men m all time, she must have visible marks, by which she can be distinguished, in all ages and countries, from every sect and schism. I will show that, besides the mark of aposto- hcity, of which I have just spoken, the Church of Christ must necessarily possess the charac- teristics of unity, sanctity, universality, and indestructibility; that these characteristics belong to the Catholic Church, and are com- pletely wanting in Protestantism. Their presence in the Catholic Church casts upon her the vivid light of truth, and clearly shows her to be the true City of God ; their absence In Protestantism leaves upon it the palpable darkness of error and exhibits it as ar edifice of falsehood, a pure deformation of the truth. • ^^f U. 1, 124 THE PRINCIPLE UNITY. The true Church of Christ mast he one ;n her founder, for her founder must be Oirist She must likewise be one in faith, one in hej means of salvation, one in government, and her unity must be visible. AH this is evident from the Gospels and Epistles, and the Acts of the Apostles. In regard to the unity of faith, it h evident that when Christ sent His Apostles " to tciich all nations," He did not send them to teach contradictory doctrines. He commands all men to believe the faith preached by rhe Apostles, for he says, « He that believeth Pot shall be condemned."* He requires the same unity in the duties to be fulfilled by Christiaus, for He says, "Go ye, and teach all nations . .' teachingthem to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you "f The promise oi salvation is attached to the faith, hope, and charity which He has taught mankind, and to no other; He prayed tc His heavenly Father • Mark, xvi. 16. t Matt., zxviii. 19, 30. mi ■ ■ OF PROTESTANTISM. 125 "that they might all be one, as the Father ig one in Him, and He in the Father."* Unity of government is a no less necessary and undeniable characteristic of the true t hurch of Christ, as is evident both from the manner in which He sent His Apostles and Irom the power which he gave them : « Aa the Father hath sent me, I also send you "f " If he will not hear the Church, >.t him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."^ Christ has made the characteristic of unity still more evident by the institution of a visible Head in the person of St. Peter, to whom He said in presence of all His Apostles, « I will - give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,"§ and later, in presence of several of His disci- ples, « Feed my lambs. Feed my 8heep."|| The Apostles, the inspired interpreters of the will of Christ, insist on the characteristic of unity as of absolute necessity to the Church of Christ. " One -Lord, one Faith,"^ says St. Paul, and he returns to the same point in hii 1.1 I * John, xvii. 21. t John, XX. 21. t Matt., xviii. 17. i Matt., xvi. 19. I John, XX. 16, 17 f Ephea., iv. ft 126 THE PRINCIILB l! k J '• N Epistlea to the Philippians,* Galatians,t Ro mans,J and Corinthians.^ St Paul likewise dwells on the necessity of unity in the means of salvation: ."The chalice of benediclion which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which \v« break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord ? For we being many, are one bread, one body, all wfho partake of one bread."|| In regard to unity of government, you well know that St. Paul frequently refers to it, particularly in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus. The Acts of the Apostles, in describing the first council of Jerusalem, bear clear testimony that the head of the Church was Peter. Wherever Christ speaks of the Church, He speaks of her as one Church. Indeed, since He is God, He cannot have founded conflicting Churches. All the figures under which Christ and His Apostles represent the Church, com- bine to demonstrate her absolute unity: a building, an inheritance, a flock, a kingdom, a city, an army, a body, and other figures made nee of in reference to the Church, Wth io • Philipp., ii. 2. t Galat., i. 6-9. X Rom., xvi. 17. { 1 Cor., i. 10. I 1 Cor., X. 16, ir. OF PROTESTANTISM. 1.27 ■be Uoapel, and the Epistles, are all stiiking emblems of unity. ' The absolute unity of the Church of Christ, as IS evide-.t from history, was universally acknowledged and invariably vindicated from the beginning, and throughout all the early ages of her existence, as well as in our own ^me. Every sect and schism that ever rose jas u„,fo™,y „„t oft- from her communion, unity '° •* incompatible with her The true Church of Christ must be one, contradictory doctrines cannot be all true ; they cannot have been taught by Christ, nor belong to the Church which He founded. nniV'rtr'n '^ necessary to prove that the unity of the Church must be a visible unity, for the Church IS necessarily made up of visible men those who are "to teach all nations to the end of time" must be visible ; the bonds of communion established by Christ, the Sacra- ment., the Primacy of Peter, are'visible ; tTe figures of the Church are all drawn fromvidbl, objec s, such as a city placed upon a mountain, « nation, a flock, an army. The Church mus be vis.be, for Christ established her as a means IX : ^"^ "" '"^" '" *" ^Ses : an invisi- ble Church would be useless as a ;:,«»„. 128 TiiE mmciPLB I'-f -^ of salvation, for nc man could discover her; nt man could possibly avail himself of the means of salvation for the sake of which the Church was establis^hed. That the Catholic Church possesses the char- acteristic of unity in faith, communion, govern meat, and possesses it visibly, and in the highest perfection, is too clear to need length- ened demonstration. No man on earth can assign for her any other founder than our Lord Jesua Christ. No man on earth can name a Bingle article of her faith, which is not equally professed by every Catholic in the whole world. No man can deny that she administers the same Sacraments over the whole globe, and offers the same Sacrifice from the rising to the setting sun. No one will affirm that Catholics, in any portion of the world, recognize any supreme visible Head in spiritual matters, but the successor of St. Peter, the Roman Pontiff. The unity of the Catholic Church is visible, and known to all the world. On the other hand, Americans, you need only cast a glance at Protestantism to see ita absolute want of unity. It is torn up by an enormous multiplicity of conflicting fragment- ary sects, retaining not the least semblance of union. Even in the lifetime of Luther, as 1 OP PBOTESIANTISM. 129 «l«erved above, Protestantiam was eplit „» o ,„ „a„y Ui^cordant charche,, as 'to p- I", '^""•«V» "•« eo„fe,»io„ that the irremedi. «l.le discord of Protestant sects JiZlA l'-lest«n«sm visibly with the seal n^ »n.l falsehood. °' *"'"■ livery one has heard of Bossuefs grea. ^ instory of the Variations of Protestantkm " an may read in that work the authentic pZft of .ts .nnnmerable changes. Indeed, Protes «nt.sm more changeable i„ its colors thin the haTitu H- T" ^""""«'" "' metamor^ho e than labled Proteus, is the strangest phenome- ::: joriT"'"'' "-" "- -- "•"'--<' *- ^ Ha;„igh,>u, a learned German author, coa testa,,, authors alone; not that he vbund in any of them a consistent body of Catholic doctrine, but by collectmg the fragments of Catholic truth scattered through their disconnected .ys- teus, and reuniti.^j,- them like the pieces of a orokcn „.,r,-^r. Nothing more is rc<,„i,.ed to r rl ^'^■"\»«^'" '^ only a departure fi»m Cathohc truth ;-that, like a prodigal nM.t has gone from its home, and squafd ered the venerable patrimony of the ancien ooly haith. 13 w \ 130 THE PRINCIPLE Some thirty years ago, the Duke of Anhall K.oetlien, on his return from Paris, where he Aad become a Catholic, assembled his council f State and a number of Protestant pastors, |n order to give them an account of his conver- iion. He told them that it was chiefly the consistent unity of the Catholic doctrine, that had induced him to examine it, and finally brought about his conversion. He had been unable to discover any unity among Protest- ants. The pastors contended that the accusa- tion was unfounded ; that Protestants agreed in the essential points. The Duke asked them, " Do you hold the doctrine of justification as an essential point of faith?" "We do." " Well, then," continued the Duke, turning to one of the pastors, " please tell me how you define that doctrine." The pastor gave hi.? definition, but had hardly done so when another pastor exclaimed, " Excuse me, Duke, that is not my idea of justification, I under- stand it quite difl^erently." A third one ioU lowed with a different definition. Tlie Dukt ended the dispute, by remarking, '• Gentlemen, you have just given me a proof of Protectant unity." You cannot say that Catholics contra diet each other in that man ler. In matters o! opinion they may and dc differ, but not ip OF PHOTESTANTISM. 131 matters of faith. The moment a Catholia denies an article of faith, were he an Aquinai m learning, he ceases to be a Catholic. A Protestant who contradicts your religious ideas remains a Protestant, and is free to maintaio hia views against all Protestants, for your Re ligion gives every man an absolute right to bt his own judge in questions of faith. SANCTITY Is the second necessary characteristic of the true Church of Christ. It is evident that the Church of Christ must be holy in her founder, for her founder is Christ Himself. Hor meana of salvation must be holy, for Christ established her to be a means of sanctification forever. •' For them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth," etc.* -^Be you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfecff The language and spirit of the apostolic Epistles, their precepts, institutions, admoni- tions, counsels, all demonstrate thai the true Church of Christ must be holy, and an ev dent • John, xvii. 19 et seqq. t Matt., V. 48. i v-tff 1.S2 THE PRINCIPLE means cf holiness. « Christ loved the Church and de/ivered Himbelf up for it, that He mighl ■anctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life ; that He m«ght present it to Himself a ^^brious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor any su «h thing ; but that it should De holy and without blemish."* History testifies that the Church of Christ, in the primitive agca, possessed the character of sanctity, and therefore she must possess it always, for, as 1 have shown, the Church of Christ cannot char ge. The Fathers and early pastors of the Church labored night and day, by word and writing, to sanctify the faithful, and only recognized those as living members of the Church, whose lives were truly Christian. The Catholic Church clearly possesses the character of sanctity. Her doctrine, her Sacra- ments, her Sacrifice are holy, and are means of holiness. Saints, whose heroic virtue God has attested by manifest miracles, are claimed by the Catholic Church alone, and belong to her alone. To be alone the mother of all the Saints, of all the heroes of Christianity, whose purity of life is the light and admiration of the • Ephes., V. 26-37 OP PKOTESTANTISM. 133 world, is an imposing mark of the trulh of the Catholic Church. In the first rank of her Saints, as I men- tioned in another point of view, appear seven- teen milhons of martyrs, of every age, sex rank, and condition of life, all of whom^'di'ed lor the truth of the Catholic faith. This was durmg the first three centuries of the Catholic Church. What was so magnificently begun, has contmued in every age down to our own day. Witness Japan, China, Tartary, Africa, America in the last two centuries. Witness the soil of our own United States, reddened with the blood and sanctified by the ashes ol the Missionaries who fell under the Indian tomahawk, or were consumed at the Indian stake. Witness China, Cochin-China, Ton. qum, and Corea, in the last fifty years, and oyna at this very time. Next in rank to these martyred heroes of the Cross, IS the venerable line of the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church, from Hermas. Clement, Justin, in the first centuries, down to St. Bernard, in the twelfth, all of whom were Uatholics. Along with them, in every age, there is a nost of other Saints, all witnesses to the truth of the Catholic Church. Beginning with St 134 THE PRINCIPLE Petck and Linus, his first successor, we have ft countless number of holy Popes, Bishops, rnen of learning and eminence, heroic Confessors of the faith in every condition and grade ct ■ociety. These are the true nobility, the^fiower of ouf race : their genuine greatness of virtue is admired even by our enemies. Leibnitz, one of the most learned Protestants of his age, con- fesses, in his System of Theology, that the Catholic Church has every reason to point to the heroic virtues of her Saints, in proof of her high birth as the Church of Christ. Ignorant men, and even persons otherwise well-informed, but prejudiced against the Church, may question the miracles by which God has attested the heroic virtues and the glory of our Saints ; but no one can question the eminence of their virtues. No one can question their astonishing actions, their zeal, their labors, their sacrifices for the conversion of nations and the relief of suffering ; and this, after all, is the main point. Uut as for the miracles themselves, they are not 8t» easily got rid of as some of you may imagine. It is not so easy to throw a reason- able doubt on them. You cannot name another Tibunal that performs its duties with OF PROTESTANTISM. 13(j » much impartiality, caution, and severity, a» f; ""'""'; '?''«. «he court in vvhicl, the merit, oi reputed .aints, and the miracle, wrought a .• the,r death, are discussed and decided :„ n., undeniable fact it i, worth while to ilia- Btrate at some length. When application is made for the canoniza- ^on of a reputed saint, no step is taken by th» brought forward upon oath, that the person in question practised, in life and « case of St. l!fn7 ^•""""'"""■S"' or St. Francis d. wilh a view to canonization. As to miracles -o„g, after death, Rome requires tharthe; lie 13,»h„p of the Diocese where they are said to have occurred, and testified to by creditab o "•■tnesses under oath. If the Bishop e he mn-acles. no further step is take' hfth. tf m 136 V TIIK PRINCIPLE Roman court. If he admits them ias genuine Rome is not yet satisfied, but appoints anothei iudicial commission to renew the investigation and the witnesses summoned are again exa- iiined under oath. If both commissions agree in declaring the miracles undeniably genuine^ a third process is instituted before the Roman Rota : all ^he facts are re-examined, the valua of the testimony subjected to a rigorous dis- cussion, and the case decided only after mature and protracted deliberation. Indeed, the slow ness of the Roman court is proverbial. A recent event will illustrate it. An Eng. lishman at Rome, in a conversation with a Cardinal on the truth of the Catholic Religion, expressed the opinion that Catholic Saints are made at pleasure, and miracles forged to sup- port the canonization. The process of the canonization of St. Francis Regis was thor pending. " Sir," replied the Cardinal, " the best answer I can give you, is to let yoq examine for yourself the pieces in a process o< canonization actually going on. Read these papers." The papers were the juridical record of some hundreds of miracles wrought by the intercession of St. Francis Regis \fter his death. The Enghshman was astonished at the accuracy of investigation di8i)Iayed in the OF PBOTBSTANTrSM. I37 record, a..d at the weight of testimony by *h.ch every miracle „a, supported. On returning the papers to the Cardinal, he could not help expressing his astonishment. "H every Roman miracle," he observed, " ,vero proved as well as these, I should have no diffl- culty m believing all the miracles we read ofi„ the lives of your Saints." " Why sir," answered . the Oardmal smiling, " the Roman court i. not satisfied with the proofs of a single one 0/ those miracles." Now tell me, my Protestant friend,, how many Saints Protestantism has produ. ,,d ; give me theu- names, and let me know wha , miracle, have been performed by their praye ., in their lifetime or after their death. The lives of your founders are notorious all the n-orld over. You would be ashamed to read Luther's Table Talk before yo,,r children. But not to enlarge on the sensual German Reformer, I will invite you only to look back to Uie country from which you have received the Reformation. Will you appeal to the adulterer Henry VIII , or to the Virgin Queen of more than suspicions memory ? How many Pro- testant martyrs, bishops, pastors, widows, Virgins are set down in yourCalendarof Saints? What miracles have they performed* You id« THE PRINCIPLE are so far from claiming any Saints of youi own, that the questions must appear ridiculouft. Still, in the Apostles' Creed, you say with us, •* I believe in the communion of Saints," and confess your belief in "the holy Catholi Church." The Church, such as j^ du have mad« it for yourselves, is a withered tree bearing no fruits of sanctity. The very names you receive at your birth must remind you of the absolute barrenness of Protestantism. You have not a single Pro- testant Saint. If you wish to give your child- ren a Christian name, the name of a Saint, you are obliged to have recourse to the Catholic calendar. You call your children by Catholic names, such as Charles, Francis, Henry, I'jdward, Catharine, Elizabeth. You even give (hem the names of Catholic Saints who lived lifter the Reformation, — Aloysius, Teresa, etc. Those among you who dislike all such names, because they would remind them too often of the Catholic Church as the Mother of Saints, have to go back to the old Jews, and borrow the names of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Reuben, Rebecca, Sarah, Judith, etc. ; or descend to a lower level, and adopt names fi'on: among the saints of the political tribune. You know as well as I do what has come to OF PROTESTANTISM. 139 be the ideal of sanctity with many who call themselves Protectants. When they can say of a man, He is a perfect gentleman, or of a vvoman, She is an accomplished lady, they are satisfied. When a man outstrips his neighbo In business, and gets rich in a short time, he ia raised on the altars of public admiration. This language may sound harsh and bitter, yet every one of you will say. It is so. Con- fessing, as you do in the Creed, that the Church is holy, and still not to be able to show a single Saint, is bad enough. UNIVERSALITY Is the third necessary character of the Church of Christ. He founded His Church for all times and all places " Go ye and teach all nations. . . . And behold I am with you all days even to the consummation ' of the world."* " I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abiJe with you forever."f Hence the rapid spread of the Church in tho • Matt., xxviii. 20, t John, x'iv. 14. :i 140 THE PRINCIPLE very first age of her existence. Tht Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of St. Paul.* and all cotcmporary history, testify to her diflu.ion over the whole Roman empire, and beyond ihi boundaries, within the lifetime of the Apostles, it IS self-evident, indeed, that if Chriat founded any Church at all, it must hav'e be^u for the whole human race, because the wants ot men, which He designed His Church to supply, are substantially the same in all men and in all ages. The characteristic of universality evidently Delongs to the Catholic Church. She is universal in time and place. She exists in ail the nations and regions of the globe ; she counts her ages by the ages of Christianity ; the whole world is her home, and all time her duration. She is universal, particularly, in the sense that she is the Mother of all the races and tribes ever converted to Christianity. What Tertullian remarked of the heretics ot his time sixteen hundred years ago, is true tc day, "They can pervert, but not convert, that IS of Catholics they make non-Catholics ; o/ children of one Church, sectarians and schism atics; of Christians, non-Christians; of be lievers, infidels : but to convert one nation m^ • Rom., i. 8. ; C0I088. i. 6, 6 0? PROTESTANTISM. 14i heathens to Christianity i.s beyond their power. Such is the loud testimony of history in favoi of the Catholic Church." Every nation, that is Christian now, or evcl was Christian, was converted by Catholic mis- ■ionaries. Let us go through the list, begin- ning at the extreme west of Europe. St. Patrick and his companions, all Catholics, con- verted Ireland. St. Augustine, a Catholic, and his Catholic companions converted England. France was converted by St. Remigius and hia" Catholic fellow-bishops ; Germany by St. Boni- face. St. Kilian, Willibald, and others, all Catholics ; Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, by Ansgar and Sturmius, two Catholic bishops , Prussia, by St. Adalbert, a Catholic ; Sclavonia and Bulgaria, by Cyril and Methodius, two Catholic bishops ; Russia, by Ignatius of Con- stantinople and his associates, all Catholics. St. Stephen, a Catholic king, converted Hun- gary through Catholic missionaries. In Asia, from Japan, China, and India, to the Mediter- ranean ; in Africa, from ocean to ocean, every nation and tribe converted to Christianity, was converted by Catholic missionaries. On the Western Continent, since its discovery fjy Catholic navigators, it has been the same The savages of Peru, Chili, Brazil, Buenoi •w-J li!l 142 THE PRINCIPLE A-yres, Paraguay, the whole of South Amwica as lar as it is Christian, has been evangelized and converted by the Catholic Church. Catho" lies have converted and civilized many tribes of Indians in Central America and Mexico, Jn North America, your own historiajis have recorded the labors of CathoUc missionaries in every wood, desert, and prairie. The Christian tribes north of the Lakes and in several other parts of Canada, in Oregon, and Kansas, are the fruits of Catholic zeal ; and but for the out break and interference of Protestantinm, our success would have been much greater. Ca- tholic missionaries, observes Dr. Brownson, in a number of his celebrated Quarterly, have converted and civilized numerous Indian tribes in North America, and still more of them in South America. You ccyuld drive them before you, but you could not convert them. The islands of the Pacific, at this moment, are evangelized with great success by hosts of intrepid Catholic missionaries. Name, if you can, a single heathen nation converted by Protestants. No such nation exists. I know you have expended millions of money in keeping up large families of mission- arie.^, and scattering millions of Bibles on every «hore to which your vessels sail. But your OF TROTESTANTIS VI. 148 Bible missions cannot convert the lieathen. The savage and the Chinese use your Bibles to light the calumet or the 'opium bowl. The re- porfaofyour own interested and richly paid mi». iionaries, furnish sufficient ground ibr doubting your succrHs. It is certain that St. Francia Xavier alone, in ten years, converted a thousand times more Pagans in India and Japan, than you have done, with all your Bible and Missionary Aid Societies, in three hundred years. The mi^Hionary success of a single Catholic insti- tution, the Roman Propaganda, surpasses, beyond comparison, the combined result of the influence, wealth, and power of Great Britain ond America. INDESTEUCTIBILITY Is the fourth necessary character of th« Church of Christ, to which I propose to direct your attention. " I say to thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." « Go ye, and teach all nations. . . Behold I am with you all days, even to the *4r >1 !l 1 'H llf ? •■f - 144 THE PRINCIPLE consuiT-mation of the world."* From thesa and similar passages before oiteo, it is evident that Christ will never suffer Hia Church to ba destroyed. Hence, ifl the earliest times, indestructibility was held to be an essential characteristic of the Church of Christ. St. Jerome, in the fourth century, wrote, " The Church is built on Peter. No storm can shake her, no raging tempest overthrow her."f St. Alexander, Bishop o! Alexandria in the beginning of the same age, wrote to Alexander of Constantinople, " We acknowledge but one Church, the Cathojic and Apostolic, which, as she never can be van- quished, though the whole world should assail her, so, on the other hand, conquers and destroys every atrocious attack of heresy,'* Indeed, if the Church could be destroyed, Christ would have failed in the object he had in view in founding her, which was to make her a means of salvation for all ages. That Christ has failed in this design no one will Bay. Now, the Catholic Church a/one on earth possesses the character of indestructibility Everything on earth decays, except the Catho- * Bee texts, nt eupra, t Comment, in cap. xvi Matt. 4'A OF 1?R0TESTAH7U=IM. 145 .c Church. She is the image of ber Founder^ tlie most perfect reflection in the woAd of the Immutability of God, of that supreme Beauty, ivhich St. Augustine called ever ancient and «ver new. Like Christ her Founder, she w * yesterday and to-day, and the same forever." Like St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, tlie. Church, the Spouse of Tesus, rises out ot persecution with new vigor and renewed youth. You call her the Old Church. She is old, but as youthful in her old age, as when she went forth on Pentecost, fresh from the hands of the Holy Ghost, to the con<^uc8t of the world. Name a Church or sect in cur age that* equals her in vigor. You know the words oi Gamaliel, the Pharisee, in the Acts : " If this' design, or work, be of men, it will fall to nothing ; but if it be of God, you are not able to destroy it : lest perhaps ye be found to oppose God."* What would Gamaliel say at this hour, were he to rise from the dead ? Nearly nineteen hundred years have since gone jy, nineteen centuries of struggles and ol riumph. Power, learning, genius, heresy, chism, vice, determined foes without, en- venomed conspirators within, all earth and h(4J iS«!!: • Acts, V. 38, 39. 14 146 THE PllINCIPLE Ir coin))ined, have been laboring for niftc- een centuries at her destruction, and the Church aujvives in her pristine vigor. 1 he world has not seen any other example af such a duration. St. Augustine said of the rapid spread of Christianity, that by itself alone it was a sufficient proof of the Divinity of the Catholic Church. The dilemma he made .use of, is just as unanswerable when applied to the duration of the Catholic Church. Either the Catholic Church has existed for nineteen ceu- turies by a miracle, or without a miracle : if by miracle, she is Divine ; if without miracle, in 'spite of atrocious and ever-enduring opposition, on the ruins of all the empires that ever rose or flourished around her, then she herself is the greatest of all miracles, and you have the highest of all proofs that she is Divine. History presents no parallel to her insignifi- cant beginning, rapid growth, and permanent duration. At the moment when Peter came from x\ntioch to Rome, and entered the Impe- rial City, a poor, barefoot, way-worn traveler covered with dust, if a prophet standing at the gate had pointed him out with outstretched arm, and said to the passing throng, " Do you see that gray-haired stranger ? He is a poof U'iherinan from Galilee. The Buccessors oi 4— t!^ OF PROTESTANTISM. 147 Uint Jewish fisherman will rule the world to ita utmost boundaries from your own City and on the ruins of your Empire ; kings, princes, na- tions, republics, the Roman, Greek, and barbar- ian, will acknowledge their religious sway, and Obey their spiritual commands for centuries aftef the Roman power shall have departed forever and the remembrance of your glory hardly sur Vive in the memories of the remotest posterity.' Ever> Roman would have laughed at the pro phecy. and pointed at the prophet as a mad man ; t;nd when, not many years later, Peter was nailed on across with his head downwards, they might have brought the prophet to the spot, and baid in scorn, There hangs your pro- phecy. And yet upon that very spot, reddened vith the blood of the Prince of the Apostles, and known under the name of the Confession of St. Peter, has sprung up the mighty tree chat now overshadows the earth, its trunk rooted at Rome in the martyred ashes of the first Pope, growing more vigorous with every etorm that assails it, its brandies still spread- ing and growing mightier, as ages multiply upon its venerable head, and the nations that %eek shelter in its holy shade become more numerous' trom age to age. Religious, Catholic Rime, said Leo th« 148 THE PRINCIPLE Great, has b«^come mightier than Pagau R^m« in the meridian of her splendor. And wh/it ia particularly worthy of repeated notice, her im- equalled duration and unrivalled reli|;'ouf Bway have not been the work of human po'.ver all human power has opposed her. For nine teen hundred years the mighty hand of leaf^ued envy and malice has been upon the Tree endeavoring to tear it up from the soil, and leave it a withered trunk to be despised an forgotten. You know the fierce rage of the Rwman Empire against the Catholic Church for three hundred years. After Constantine had placed the Cross upon his crown and upon the banners of his armies, a new race of persecutors arose beginning with his son Constantius, and con- tinuing through the Middle Ages down to our time : emperors, kmgs, consuls have hardly ever ceased to assail the Catholic Church v\yth the cunning of a Julian or the violence of a Valens. The history passing befo:'e your own eyes, while I trace these lines, Turin, Paris the midnight conspiracies at Rome, prcsrnt ■cenes of consummate hatred, exquisite cun- ning, refined malice, bloodthirsty cruelty, that are not unworthy a Julian or a Diocletian. Philosophy, heresy, schism, have u^iitciil their m :| OF PROTESTANTISM. 14S e/fbrtfl vith the attacks of power. From Cel BUb, under the first Caesars, to Voltaire, Strauss, Saint-Simon, Fourier, Leroux, pliilosophy haa exerted its evil genius to sap the foundationa of Catholic dogmas. From Simon Magus and the Gnostics to Luther and the Mormons, from Photius to Febronius, heresy has not ceased to aim at the corruption of her faith, and schism at the destruction of her unity. Men have dug at the roots of the Tree, and sought to under- mine it ; they have tried to overthrow the ven- erable trunk, and have hacked at its branches. Still its roots are as firmly fixed as ever, the trunk stands upright, and growing still. If a branch" has fallen, it lies withered where it fell, and another bough has replaced it. When England and a part of Germany fell off from the Church, Paraguay, Japan, India, the ex- treme East and West, rose in their stead Earth and hell, passion and malice, have done their worst, and they have failed and shall forever fail. Were the Pope .nd the Church to be driven hack to the Catacombs from which they rose in triumph fifteen hundred years ago, the per- Becution would but prepare for them another triumph. Pius IX. knows it, and hence hit fearless attitude, awing his enemies, and 150 THE PRINCIPLE attracting the admiration of the world Th« whole Catholic Church knows it, and hence the calm with which we look forward to the future. Come what may, the Church wli stand "The gates of hell shall not prevai) against her." Christ is with us " to the conaammation of the world." Everywhere and in all times the Church conquers. Everywhere and in all times, she is the indestructible Kingdom of the Truth. She may be stripped and sent fwth naked into the world, still she conquers, if,v she remains the dispenser of the graces of God to men, the guide of the human race, the hand that opens the gates of heaven, the only hope of salvation. " I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom oi heaven."* New, turn to Protestantism, and compare it with the Church. The opposition between light and darkness is not more complete. The Catholic Church lives. Protestantism is dead. It is a branch fallen from the Tree, withered even in the time of him who cut it off, and hewn to fragments, its dry leaves long since reduced to dust and scattered to the four winds of heaven. The Protestantism of Lu- ther, Calvin, Zwingli b: destroyed. Hardly • Matt. xvi. 19. OF PROTESTANTISM. 151 any one now-a-days believes as they believed. Even Baptism is fast, being given up altogether. Many w^ho bear the name of Protestant^ aro Sn(idels in principle and practice : unba^ ..zedj they do not possess the necessary qaaliiication to be Christians. Unbaptized Protestants* are more numerous in this country, than the bap- tized adherents of all the Protestant denomina- tions put together. Your meeting-houses would long since have been deserted, your sects reduced to mere names, but for your keeping up a semblance o! life by your Revivals. The country, as far as it is Protestant, would no longer exhibit any sign of Christianity, were it not for your strict Sunday laws imposing an appearance of Christianity. But all your Revivals and Sunday laws, never will and never can revive Protestantism. Protestants may continue to exist, but Protest- antism U dead, and its death was almost coeval with its birth. A Protestantism, one and united, has no existence, if it ever had. To conclude, the Catholic Church alone has the characteristics of the Church which Christ founded ; she alone, therefore, is the true Church of Christ, and out of her pale there is DO salvation. Every candid man who examinet i 152 THE PRINCIPLE h ? the question, can easily convince liimself of it The Catholic Church is the City of God, visible 3\er the whole earth to every man of lood will. Protestantism lacks every one of die characteristics of the true Church of Christ, •nd cannot lead to Heaven. Study the history of Catholicity and that of Protestantism with the candor of the celebrated Svviss Protestant Hurter, and like him you will become convinced that Protestantism is nothing more than a deviation from the truth, and that the Catholic Church alone is the identical Churcl^founded by Christ. As soon as a Protestant begins to look into the groundwork of his creed, his belief begins to waver. A Catholic is secure. History, reason, experience, studies of every kind, confirm him in his faith. A true Catholic meets martyrdom with the full assurance that he dies for tlie truth. Peter the Martyr, a convert to the Catholic faith from Manicheism, when he fell under the hatchets of the heretics, and could no longer profess hia faith alouvi, wrote in the oand with his blood— I believe. Every Catholic is as firmly con- vinced of the truth of his faith, as that hero MToe when about to appear before God. OF PROTESTANTISM. 15a THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE CATHOLfO CHURCH, THE RULE OF FAJTll. The Catholic Church is the true Church of Jesuj Christ; therefore she is Infallible. No nfian of logical mind can dispute this conse- quence. The Infallibility of the Church follows evidently from her character as the Divinely commissioned Teacher of all nations to the end of time; and it is further confirmed by the express promises of Christ, and by the conduct of the primitive Church. I say, in the first place, that the Infallibility of the Church is a necessary consequence of her Divine commission as the Teacher of men. To deny the Infallibility of the Church, while you admit her Divine commission, is to impeach the veracity and the Wisoom of God. Christ commanded His Church to teach all nations to the end of time: to pretend that His Church is fallible, is to assert implicitly that, in case she errs,He commanded her to teach false- hood, and made it obligatory on men to believe error. If Christ has not secured the InfalU- 15 (. izm 154 IIIE PRINCIPLE billty of the Church by the assistance of Hia Spirit, error must inevitably be taught aa Divine truth, for the Church teaches in His naino, and fnnr»rces her doctrines a« derived fronn Him, and therefore as Divine truth. I arepeat it, therefore, the character of the Church as a Divinely commissioned Teacher, is the proof of her Infallibility. Secondly, her claim to Infallibility is con firmed by the clearest and most explicit pro- mises of Christ. He affirmed that He would build His Church upon a rock, and that the gates of hell should not prevail against her, He addressed His Apostles in the following explicit language : " As the Father has sent me, I send you. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all days, even to thd consummation of the world." " He who hear* you, hears me." " And when the Paraclete, th* Holy Ghost shall come, whom the Father .sha!i send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind whatsoever 1 shall have said to you." " I shall ask the Father that He may abide with you forever." According to these promises, the Holy GhosI IB to perform two great functions in the Churo iM OF PROTESTANTISM. 155 of Christ— first, '« to teach her all things," secondly, to '^ bring all things to hep mind" which Christ has taught her; and to do all this forever. What the II' .y Ghost 'teaches" the Church, must be the riith; that of which He reminds her, is tne doctrine oi Christ. The Church, therefore, has an infal lible guide, who, because ile is infallible, must render her -nfallible, and who, on all proper occasionH, pur-i her in mind of "all thlngg whatsoever" which Christ has taught he*r. Hence, in listening to the teaching of the Church, we listen to the voice of God. Whoever refuses to listen to her, is to be regarded "as a heathen and a publican." I aslf you, can you reflect on these distinct promises of Christ, without concluding that He endowed the Church with the attribute of Infallibility ? Will you, while believing that Christ is God, take it amiss that we believe in His promises, or that we abhor the thought that His promises have failed, as they musi have done if His Church has erred or can err? If the Church is fallible, she was not built upon a rock, bfit upon a quicksand, and the gates ol hell may prevail against her : indeed, if we arw to believe Protestantism, the gates of hell hav* '»ng since prevailed agamst the Church o/ i r r56 THE PRlNCIiLB jtm 4^hriflt. Bui if the Church has erred, Chrii4 cannoC be God — He would be an impostor* the Holy Spirit is not, has not been with th* Church of Christ ; those who hear the Cluirch, would often hear, not God, but the spirit of error; while thigp who refuse tc recognize her Divine authority, would not be heathens and publicans, hut wiser than believers. All this evidently Involves, in the judgment of all who reallj- brlieve in Christ as the Son of God, contradio- tion and blasphemy. Thirdly, the claim of Infallibility is furthet fonfirmed by the manner in which the priml ?ve Church fulfilled her Divine mission. Oi. ihe day of Pentecost, immediately after the reception of the Holy Ghost, the Apostles began the ministry of teaching, committed to them by the Son of God. Later, we find them assembled again in Jerusalem in solemn council, prefacing their decisions with the following remarkable declaration : " It ha? Beemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us,' Ihus claiming the infallible assistance of th« Spirit of God. It must be remarked likewise, thatjwhils thi Apostles spread the Gospel amongst tlm nation.^, they selected and ordained proper persons to be their cQ»4jutors and successors. im OF PROTESTANTlfiM. idf Jast as they elected an Apostle to take Iha place of Judas lacariot. They would not pe^ mit any one not ordained and sent by them a teach in the name of Christ. The faith taught by the Church must be Apostolic ; that is, )t must be the same now as it was in the time J the Apostles. This follows from the very nature of the Church of Christ, for, as I have shown, the Church cannot change ; it followa from the promises of Christ, and it is strongly inculcated by His Apostles. A curse is pro- nounced against any one who should attempt to preach a new doctrine. " Though I, or an angel from heaven," says St. Paul, " preach any other gospel unto you, than that you have received, let him be accursed."* The Church, therefore, must be infallible now, as she was when Christ established her,for if she is fallible we cannot be certain that she teaches the Bame doctrine as the Apostles. The Church is unchangeable ; she is the same now as in the days of Christ. Are you pre- pared to say that the Church was fallible in the time of Christ and the Apostles ? If she was mfalliblo then, she is infallible now, The attribute of infallibility was not a prerogative • ChJ»t, i. " r 158 THE PRINCIPLE exclusively attached to the persons of the Apostles, but inseparably connected with their oifice, in the same manner as the Church was Hot instituted for them alone, but for the salva- tion of men to the end of time. The Son of God was sent into the world by the Eternal Father, to create and organize the Church, and He sent forth the Apostles with the eame supernatural power and perpetual author- ity that He Himself had received from the Father. "As my Father sent me, so I send you." The Apostles and their legitimate successors constitute one and the eame Church ** Behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." The super- natural power which Christ communicated to His Church, was given for the preservation of the faith w^hich He had revealed, and cannot be limited by time, any more than the faith itself. Like Christ Himself the Church is "to-day, and yesterday, and the same forever;" ehe is Infallible in all ages. I'he argument which I have thus briefly stated is .developed with great cogency and eloquence, in an essay by Dr. Brownson on the "Constitution and Organic Character of tlie Church ;" frcm which I make th« following extract : OF PROTESTANTISM. 15U The Catholic Church, as a body or corpor- MJon, the only sense in which it is alleged to have any teaching faculty at all, is not an aggregation of individuals who at any time compose it— a body born and dying with them but the contemporary of our Lord and Hia Apostles, in immediate communion with them, and thus annihilating all distance of time and place between them and us. She is, in the senae supposed, a corporation, and, like every corporation, a collective individual possessing the attribute of immortality. She knows no interruption, no succession of moments, no lapse of years. Like the eternal God, who is ever with her, and whose organ she is, she has duration, but no succession. She can never feiow old, never fall into the past. The indivi- duals who compose her body may change, but she changes not; one by one they may pass off and one by one be renewed, while she con- tinues ever the same. • . . . . The Church to-day is identically that very body which saw our Lord when he tabernacled in the flesh. She who is our dear Mother, and on whose words we hang with so much delight, beheld with her own eyes the stupendous miracles which wera performed in Judea eighteen hundred years tgo ; she assisted at the preaching of the 4 160 THE PRINCIPLE I 4' ,Mi Apostles on the day of Pentecost, when m Holy Ghost descended upon them in clo/en tongues of fire; she heard St. Peter, the prince f the Apostles, relate hoVv the Spirit descended upon Cornelius and his household, and declare how God had chosen that by his mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of God and believe; she listened with charmed ear and ravished heart to the last admonition of the disciple whom Jesus loved : — * My dear child- ren, love one another ;' she saw the old temple razed to the grouu'l, the legal rights of the old covenant abolished and the once chosen people. •\riven out from the Uoly Lard, and scattered i*ver the earth ; she beheld pagan Rome, in the pride and pomp of po>"er, bled under her per- secuting emperors, and f Dally planted the cross in triumph on her ruinsf She has been the contemporary of eightC9»^ hundred years, which she has arrested in th« ir flight and made present to us, and will makA ^resent to all generations as they rise. Wit'^ one hand she receives the dcpositum of faith, frriJ the Lord and his commissioned Apostles ; witV the other she imparts it to us. "... What needs she, to dr \t with infallible certainty ? Simply protection apmnst Corgetting, misunderstanding, and mis^jtat'T^tj ; If* OF PROTESTANTL^M. 161 and this she has, because she has our Lord always abiding with her, and the Paraclete, who lea^ds her into all truth, and ' brings to her remembrance' all the words spoken to her by our Lord himself personally, or by his inopired Apostles,— keeping her memory always fresh, rendering her infallible assistance ri,,hUy to understand and a^ ately to express what she remembers to have been taught." Consequently the Infallibility of the Church does not, as many Protestants imagine we teach xtend to every object of science or politics, but is exclusively confined to the teaching and preservation of that Divine faith which Jesua Christ revealed for the salvation of mankind In this respect, she demands our unconditional Bubmigsion to her decisions, but only when she promulgates her doctrine by a solemn definition. In doing so she, as we have shown, only exer- cises her legitimate right. Her Infallible teaching is the only Rule of Faith. 1 may remark in conclusion, that the practice of those who *deny the Infallibility of the Church, is in contradiction with their theory While asserting that there is no infallible authority in matters of faith, they have recourse invariably to some supreme and final authority irhich they practically hold to be infallible. 162 THE PRINCIPLE Whatever i.So.> assume as their Rule of Faith, whether reason, Scripture, common sense private interpretation or private inspiration, they practically regard it as an authority from which there is no appeal, as an authority infallible in matters of faith. It is strange indeed, that non-Catholics hardly ever perceive this striking inconsistency between their theory as regards the Church and their practice in deciding upon their own belief. Jn the follow- ing pages, you will find a further illustration of the inconsistency of ProteBtantism. ¥fl OF PROTESTANTISM. les SECTION II. THE UNTENABILITY OF THE PROTEST^ ANT PRINCIPLE. I have now developed the conclusive argu- ment that the Catholic Church is the true Church becau£- b^ j is the fir-t Church, and alone possesses the marks of the true Church of Christ, and tha^ her infallible teaching is the Rule of Faith. What decisive reasons have you to convince yourselves, that what you believe is the true Religion of Christ ? You appeal to the Bible. That the Bible is the only Rule of Faith, Is the fundamental doctrine of Protestantism, "1- asserted by Martin Luther, x" What do ' care," said Luther, "for six hundred <*ugustinea and Jeromes? With the Bible in 164 I 5 %»»■' THE PEIHCIPU! our (land, vra can judge the Fathers, the At», ties, and even the Church. 1 ''ilf '?"'!! ''"'^"'"'-'"•y of i'l-otestantisra. No doubt, the B,ble is a Divinely inspired boolc, bu' he manner m vvhioh ™a„y amongyou appe;i u, the B.ble, reminds me of the tumult raised at fcphesus by the preaching of St. Paul. The only answer which the Ephesians would give h.r„ was to cry for two hours, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians.^' Many Protestants do no better. Instead of listening to our arguments, R h^'".! •" ^"^"'«'- ">em, they cry out. The B.b e he B,ble,_as if, indeed. Catholics denied the Bible. " When the toUlerk o Ephesus had appeased the people, he said. Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that kr ^w- eth not that the city of Ephesus is a worshipper of the great Diana?" I would ask, likewrse. Who IS there among us that rejects the Bible ? The Catholic Church has always taught, and OatJiolics have always believed, that the Bible IS the word of God ; they believed it fourteen centuries before the birth of Protestantism. I will show you, that as long as the Bible is the Bible that is, the word of God, you can never justify Protestantism from the Bible. But, before entering on the discussion, ( ask jou, From whom did you receive the Bible f OF PROTESTANTWM. Igfi Was it written by Lather under D vine in^oir- S"e Ca?h„ • n^ ^r '^"'"'"^ ">« Bible from .. .he B^e tr' ^ ^°" '"'"'^ •''^' «>« Bible 18 the Kible, the inspired word of God onlv because you have received it as such from tN mfalhble authority of the Catholic ChurT Prom the Bible itself you cannot prove its .nsp.rat,on You cannot discover in^t a 1 of the mspirod boots. Vou cite i„ vain such Ep.stle to Timothy : "AH Scripture is divinely .nspired." Neither this nor any other passage elk you whether this or that particular book IS of Divme inspiration: the precise boolcs that are to be received as the inspired word of God you can only Icarn from the Catholic Church' bt. Augustine was right in saying, " I would not beheve ,n the Gospel, if the authority oi the Church did not oblige me to do so " You maintain that the Church from whom you have received the Bible, is essentially cor- rupt : how then do you know that she has not unscriipulously falsified or interpolated it as Luther did in the famous passage cf the Epistle to the Romans, " We account a man to be lustified by faith," to which Luther added the w'ord "alone." If the Church was in error fo, 'I 'I 166 THE rnmciPLE a thousand years, as you maintain, who can assure you that during so long a period of wil^ Tul corruption, she did not change, remodel, mutilate, or at least interpolate the Scripture? You do not accuse the Church of having falsi- fied the Bible; your silence is an implicit admission, that she has seen nothing in it that contradicts her claims; and such is the real utate of the case. Once more I affirm that without the Catholic Church you cannot know that the Bible is an inspired book. If Luther and the early Re- formers had claimed that they had received the Bible from the hands of an angel, as Mahomet claimed for the Koran, Protestantism would have some show pf consistency : as it is. Pro- testantism contradicts itself, and must either acknowledge the infallibility of the Catholic Church, or give up the inspiration of the Bible But admitting for the sake of argument, that you could know from other sources that the Bible is the inspired word of God, still you cannot assume it as a Rule of Faith. A Rule of Faith ought to be clear, complete from the beginning of its ex'stence, universal, accessible to every one, and capable of settling all dis- putes relating to faith. . A Rule of Fatth must be clear to every OF PROTESTANTISM- 1G7 body, for as the faith is intended for ail men the Rule of Faith must be adapted to the con- prehension of all, easily and perfectly intelli- gible to the meL lest capacity, because faith i« incompatible with religious doubt. Is the Bible easily intelligible, clear to every one ? Evidently not. To pretend that it ia enough to read it to be fully instructed in every thing necessary for, salvation, is aa extravagant as to maintain that to be a man 01 earnmg it is enough to buy a scientific work and read it, without preparatory training or guidance. * St Peter says, speaking of the Epistles of ht I'aul that in them there are, "some thino-s hard to be understood, and which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as also the other Scrip- tnres, to their own perdition."* Universal experience testifies to the obscurity of m-iuy passages of the Bible. The Jews misunder- stood the Old Testament. With the Bible in then- hands, they did not recognize in Christ the Messiah foretold by the prophets; they rejected and crucified Him. During the Christian era, tie Bible has been misunderstood in all ages b^ those who have rejected the • 3 ret., iii. H. m 11 r 168 TUE PRINCIPLE authority of the Catholic Church. St. Jeroni* remarked fifteen hundred y^mra ago, «' By texts of Scripture every heietic has always found means to bolster up his errors." St. Augus- tine, at a somewhat later period, made a simi lar remark: " How do so many heresies arise," he asks, "but because the Scripture, though good in itself, is not rightly undei tood?" You know the history of the eunuch of Can- dace, related in the Acts. When Philip asked him whether he understood the prophet Isaiah whom he was reading, the eunuch asked him with antonishment, " How can I, unless some one show me?"* If a man of education, who spoke a kindred language, could not under- stand Isaiah at that time, how can men at the present day pretend to understand the whole Scripture without guide or comment? St. Jerome was so shocked at the presumptuous assurance of the heretics of his time, that he xclaimed indignantly, "Carpenters stick to their own trade, cooks to their kitchen, but thfl Scriptures every one thinks himself competent to explain !" How would that learned Father of the Church have spo>en, had some one in his day presumed to set v^p the private infer* • Acts, Tiii. 31. OF PROTESTANTISM. 109 pretMun of the Bible as the only Rule ol Faith? Yet you maintain that all mankind, those who cannot read as well as those who can, must rely for iheir faith on their own pri- vate interpietation of the Bible. And what in ■till more astonishing is, that, by your own admission. Private interpretation is fallible. If fallih' it cannot be the Rule of Faith, for faith excludes doubt, and fallibility does not. 2. A Rul^ of Faith m^.t be complete, that is, It must contain every article of Faith. This is not the case with the Bible. St. John says at the close of his ( iospel, " There are al^o many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written every one,' the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the book-? that should be written." It is evident that Christ, in his three years of public life, must have taught much that is not recorded in the Gospels. So with the Apo. ties. They preached the faith all over the world, as St. Paul testifies in his epistle tc the Colossians,* yec but few oi hem wrote anything at all, and what (hey did vrite besides the Gospels. Acts, Apocalypse, was in the form of occasional Epistles ; not one of them has left us a complete systematic treatise on faith Jn their Epistles, they fre- • Oolos., i. 6, 6. 10 M- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ///// / . i^ J%6 1.0 I.I 1.25 >^ i^ 12.2 S: lis llllio 1.4 1.8 1.6 -^ Photographic Sciences Corporation m 4 e ^'l V :\ V \ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 "% V « 6^ ^ # . /^<. 4^ iV no THE PRINCIPLE quently refer to their oral teachings, and attach just as much importance to these as to tho.ir writings. St. Paul says, "Therefore, brethren, stand firm : and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle."* St. John says, " I had many thmgs to write unto thee, but I would not by ink and pen write to thee. But I hope speedily to see thee ; and we will speak face to face.''t Will you maintain that all that Christ and the Apostles ever taught or preached, beyond what has been written, was of no importance, and contained nothing pertaining to the faith ? Tell me why you baptize infants, though there is not a word about infant baptism in the whole Scripture ? and why you do not wash one another's feet, although Christ apparently commands the practice as necessary for salva- tion ? Christ said to Peter, " If I wash thee not, thou Shalt have no part with me," and to all the Apostles, « You also ought to wash one another's feet." You administer infant bap- tism, and omit the other practice, becau.^e the Tradition of the Catholic Church has taught you, that the baptism of infants is necessary • 2 Thess. i( 14. See also, 1 Cor. xi. 2, 2 Thoaa. iii 6L I Tim. i. 13; ii. 2; ;ii '4. 1 3 John 13, 14. OF protestantism; f I m for (heir salvation, but the washing of one another's feet was not cmnmanded as an in- «i.spensable rite. Relinquishing the letter ol the Bible on these points, and throwing your- that the B,ble .s the only Rule of Faith? Your practice, as well as your theory, is incon- sistent with itself. faith Itself. But the Bible, by its own testi- to preach, not to write: "He that heareth you heareth me.- Their mission was symbolized Jy, u ^'''^^T"' '""^'' ">« appearance ct which the Holy Ghost descended upon them. They did not leave us in the Bible any system of faith regularly and purposely draun up. Not a word of the New Testament was written for seven years after the first preaching of the Gospel ; the last book was not in existence till tlie sixty-fourth year after the Ascension, mere were false gospels circulated as well as true ones, and it was only in the fourth cen- tury, by the solemn definition of the first teneral Council, that it became authentically known what books were to be received as trulj • Imki, 1. 1(. 1 K Ij 1 K n 172 THE PRINCIPLE inspired. If the Bible is the Rule of Faith then there was no faith for seven years aftei the Apostles had begun their mission, no faith during nearly the whole of the first century, none during the first three hundred years of the Christian era, for the Bible was not com- plete before the close of the first century, and not authentically known as inspired until the fourth. What cannot have been the Rule of Faith from the beginning, cannot be the Rule of Faith now, for no new Revelation has been made since the time of Christ. It was only after the period of the persecutions, when peace was given to the Church, that the canon of the genuine books of Scripture was drawn up by the Church assembled in General Coun- cil, at Nice, A.D. 325. Would you say that the exemplary Christians of the Apostolic age, the first fruits of Christianity, possessed only a fragmentary, uncertain Rule of Faith, or none at ali? If so, they were only imperfectly Christian, or not Christians at all. In the second century, St. Irenaeus, a disciple of St. Polycarp who had himself been a disciple ol St. John the Apostle, informs us, that in his time there were whole nations who had never read a word of Holy Writ, and yet were excel lent Christians. OF PROTESTANTISM. l73 4. A Rule of Faith must be urdversnl, for Christ rt.vealed the faith for all men and for all time, and « without faith no one can be «aved.'» Ooes the Bible possess the character of univer- eality ? Evidently not, for by far the greater portion of mankind cannot even read. How could any one ever attribute to the infinite wisdom of God a Rule of Faith, which, though necessary for salvation, is yet such t'nat it ''is perfectly unavailable for the immense majority of men ? If the Scriptiive is the only Rule of Faith, and consequently necessary for salvation, it is not enough to read portions of the Bible: every o?:e is obliged to read the whole of it, for other- wise he would be in manifest danger of over- looking many things that are essential for salvation. Do you pretend to say that every Protestant reads the whole Bible, or considers himself obliged to do so ? All men can hear the faith preached, but there never was a time when all could read. As certain as it is that Christ has revealed the faith for all mankind, and has commanded all to hear it ; as certain as it is that all cannot read, and that among those who can- read there are hw who can read the' Bible in the oiiginal Imgnages in which it was written ; 00 1 :i I fi f N ' i i ^ '•1 i ! ' ) i li 174 THE PRINCIPLE : certain it is, that the Bible is not the Rule ol Faith. It is not the Rule of Faith for those ivho cannot read, simply because they are unable to read the Bible; nor for those whe cannot read it in the original Hebrew and Greek, because they can obtain no certainty that their translation is, in all respects, a faith- ful rendering of the original. You may allege that those who cannot read, may hear the Bible read by others. But every Ignorant man has not the opportunity of hear- ing the Bible read, and, if he had, it would be unsatisfactory, for he would have to rely im- pUcitly on the honesty of the reader ; he would i)e completely dependent for his faith, not on an infallible authority, but on one who may Imitate the example of Luther, and perhaps go go far as to interpolate the Bible to make 't agree with his own private opinions. But sup- pose the readers a* onest as you please, still the BibJe cannot be the Rule of Faith for the ignor- ant, it is not the Rule of Faith even for the Host enlightened. 6. A Rule of Faith must be accessible to every one, but the Bible was not generally accessible before the fifteenth century. Until the middle of the fifteen^ . centrry, when the art of printing was invented, the seventy-five OF rROTESTANTISM. 175 books of Scripture had to oe copied with im- mense labor; complete copies of the Bible were »o scarce, and the price of them so high, that only ecclesiastics and rich people could pro- cure them. Has Christ come only for ecclesi- •sties and the rich ? If the Bible is the Rule of *aith, hardly a single poor man for almost fifteen centuries could have been a Christian, fc^yen at the present day, the Bible is not withm the reach of every body. Dr. Ives, formerly an Episcopalian Bishop, now a fer- vent convert to the Catholic faith, has made the following striking and just remark : « Christ assures us that * to the poor the Gospel is preached,' yet if the Bible is the Rule of Faith instituted by Christ, then the poor are in a worse condition than the rich." Your Bible Associations, intended to remedy the evil, sup- ply the proof of the assertion ; but for the press the Bible would still be a rare book. If your doctrine is true, Christ has not suffi ciently provided for men's salvation. Alphonso oi Arragon once had the audacity, in his philo- Bophical pride, to utter the blasphemy that H he had been present at the creation of the world, he would have given God many a good advice. He had scarcely ended when a fear- fal thunderstorm arose; vivid flashes of 111 176 THE PRINCIPLE lightning struck nearer and nearer around thf pal nee ; the king was terrified, and retracted hie^ blasphemy. To maintain that the Bible is the Rule flf Faith, is to hold, by implication, that &o<\ has failed to establish sufficient means of lalvation ; it implies that He should have had recourse to the advice of men. Your principle when carried to its legitimate consequences, obliges you to say, that God should have given the Bible to men from the beginning, placed it within the reach of every man in every age, and made it so clear as to be easily intelligible to the meanest capacity, and incapable of being misunderstood by any. He should have bestowed on men the faculty of reading as well as that of hearing, and given ihem the press together with the Bible. But this, I presume, in your view as well as m ours, is blasphemy ; you disclaim it, and yet if yout principle is true, it is an inference ivhich, it would appear, must be obvious to every reflecting mind. The principle itself, therefore, is untenable. God has no need of our advice. He has given us the Scripture as one of the channels of our faith, and as such it is a precious gift ; but not as a Rule of Faith, for it is evidently unfit for that purpose. Th« OF PROTESTANTISM. 177 dt^trine that the Bible is the Rule of B^th contradicts the wisdom of God, as will become clearer still from the sixth characteristic which a Kule of Faith must possess. 6. A Rule of Faith must be capable of set- Umg every dispute that may arise upon any article of faith. The Biblr cannot do this. It IS not a book which is its own interpreter. What would you think of the plan of abolishing all courts of law, and substituting tor them a law b5ok, with the declaration that every on*^ should read it to ascertain his rights, and that all disputes must be settled by the private interpretation of the text? With such a plan no quarrel would ever end. And what, if the book, though written for the use of all] yet demanded great learning to be properly understood? What, if instead of being written m plain English, it was written in Hebrew and Greek ? The idea is ridiculous. It would be just as unwise on the part of God to have made the Bible the Rule of Faith for all nations, . times, and tongues, as for a lawgiver to abolish all courts of justice, and substitute for them a code of laws written in a foreign language. You shrink with horror from the idea of attri- buting a want of wisdom to God, yet such is the logical inference from your doctrine thai It ' ' i . -H'-^'^^^'h 178 THE PRINCIPLE the Bible, without any living judge to interpret it, ia the Rule of Faith. What Goethe has said to ridicule quibbling trancendentalists, is applicable here. " Those •peculators," he says, " are like animals led ftbout by a wicked spirit in a sandy circle, while all around them there is a green meadow." Your Private Interpretation of the Bible leads you round in the arid wastes of fruitless speculation, while near you, full in view, God has placed the infallible authority o the Church that would lead you to the fields o» life-giving truth contained in His written and unwritten Word. The Bible has not a single one of the characteristics of a Rule of Faith : your funda- mental principle must be rejected. As a chanr el of Divine Revelation, the Bible is a most precious gift of God; as such it ha« always been recognized and used By th« Catholic Church; she has had no reason to reject or alter it. As such it bears witness to the validity of her claims : she has a riglit to address you in the words of Scripture, " Search the Scriptures : for you think in them to have life everlasting : and the same are they that render testimony of me." If you really believe •k»at the Bible is the Word of God, search Hie I- OF PROTtaTANTISM. J 79 Bed that the Catholic Church is the only true Cl.urch of Christ; that she U the infallible totcrpreter of the Word of GoJ, and that to her decision, you are bound in conscience to sub- rait. If he «ill not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican.- What Church does Christ mean? Evidently the Church which He built on Peter, " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock 1 will build mv Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail agamst .t."t That Church, as I have fully proved to you, is the Catholic Church alon^. Ihe Bible condemns your separation from her denies that it is the Rule of Faith, and makes It a matter not of choice, but of necessity, to hear the Church. Why then, do you remain out of the communion of the Catholic Church? What hinders you from perceiving the wrongs which- you have suflered at the hands of tht Reformers? What prevents you from retm^u •ng o the Church from which you were sepa •rated by the blind fury of passion and despotism ? Catholic Chm-ch. u a lack of earnest examina • Matt., xviii. 17. t Mfttt., xvi. 1&. '. ! 2ft I f t I 1*1 180 THE PRINCIPLE OF PROTESTANTISM. tion, especially in regard to the principle of faith : I have therefore given >ou the refuta- tion of the Protestant principle of faith, and the proofs of the Divine character of the Catholic Church and of her Infallibility in matters of faith. Have you earnestly exa- mined my proofs ? Another reason is preju- dice : I will proceed to show you, as briefly and dearly as possible, that all your ob^jections are unfounded, and that instead of truth you believe otidumnief. CHAPTER III. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. If all that you have ever heard and read against the Catholic Church, against her faith, her Popes, Bishops, and Priests, were true, you would have a good reason for your separation. But you believe calumnies ; and where is the fault to be sought for ? Not in the Catholic Church, but in your adopting without examina- tion almost any charge brought against us. From your earliest infancy you have heard fab ulous accounts of Catholic faith and practice ; you learned to lisp them on your mothers' lap; your hair has grown gray, you have reached the brink of the grave, in the firm belief oi 181 » ' lii i' ■ I .■ .■^•-4 182. PROTESTANT PREJODICES. imputations as groundless as they arc enor- mous. Millions of Protestants cai ry their anti- Catholic -^r^udices to the tonib. The power of preconceived opinions is so great, that it often prevents men of the highest intelligence and education from perceiving the most obvious truths. Did you e ver reflect on the astonishing effect of prejudices^? They may be trifling hi themselves, but their power to impede the per- ception of trutn is enormous. Numberless illustrations of this fact occur in familiar objects, A fyece of worthless cloth placed before the window darkens the room at midday ; a cloud obscures the light of the sun ; a beam thrown across the railtrack hurls the train down the embankment ; a little dust blinds the eye of the eagle. It is so with prejudice. If a man is under the influence of prejudice, you may reason with him as much as you please, yon labor in vain. For him the clearest light is darkness j logic only serves t j drive him more deeply into error. Of the effect of prejudice, where it exists, there can be no douht ; but with regard to the origin and continuance of the prejudices against the Catholic Church, I do not know wliich ia more surprising, the effrontery of those who PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 183 invented and spread the calumnies, or the narrowness of mind which has believed and transmitted them for centuries without inquiry. Did I not know it from personal experience, I fconld hardly have credited that such ideas aa •ctuaJly exist about Catholics and their Church could ever have been accepted or invented. I have met with a respectable, well-educated Protestant lady who confessed to me, that for many years she had entertained the idea that Catholics had goats' feet. The first time she «aw a Catholic, she instinctively looked at his feet, to see whether they were human or ijot. On the other hand, while it is undeniable that there are Protestant writers and speakers guilty of maliciously spreading the most absurd and atrocious calumnies against us; the candor, the perfect fairness and honesty with which Catholics univerpally treat Pro- testant doctrines, cannot fail to exert on your minds a powerful influence in favor of the Catholic faith. You cannot cite a single fjistance of a Catholic writer misrepresenting your opinions ; there never was an instance of it. Yet there is hardly a Catholic doctrine which has not been distorted, presented under an aspect which we abhor as much as you do, w replaced by some monstrous tenet never fn i84 PROTESTANT PREJUD1CE3S. dreamed of in the Catholic Church. In le view- ing the popular prejudices against the Catholic Church, I shall have occasion to give you many triking proofs of this fact ; but before pro- eeding further, I must quote an extract frorn en able article in a Catholic paper, T/w Toi'onto Freeman : " Whilst Protestants reject the unwritten word of God, as of no authority, — whilst they boast that they build their faith on the written Word alone, and condemn only what it con- demns—they yet are the victims of a hateful tradition, that is at variance with the first prin- ciples of Christianity. This great Protestant tradition consists in misrepresenting Catholic doctrines, and in imputing to the Church acts and teachings that she abhors. With the great mass of non-Catholics, this tradition is of equal authority with the Bible, and is far more effica- cious in chaining them to their errors and delusions. It is necessary for the very existence of Protestantism. 'Truth,' says Milton, *ia powerful next, to the Almighty,' and error is impotent in its presence. Truth has a charm for the mind of man,— it is its life, its food, and it attracts the soul towards it as the north the mariner's needle. Error, therefore, to subsist %\ all, must not cope with truth, as such-- ii rnoTESTANT PREJUDICES. IgS must, by .he very instinct of self-preserVation, be dim, and hide the b'right radiance of truth beneath the dark cloak of calumny-it must misrepresent— it must distort and disfigure it- it must cover its fair face with a hideous mask and thus frighten men from its contemplation' 1 rotestantism has been true to this instinct of Bell-preservation. Since the day it burst forth, hke an impure stream, from the corrupt hearts of the so'called Reformers, it has lived on calumny and misrepresentation. Truth couid not answer its purposes-because truth would bG Its condemnation ; it has, therefore, had recourse to slander, in all its contests with the Church. ' The Pope/ it cri^s, < is anti-Christ. Fapists adore images, and give divine honor to Samts and Angels. They are benighted and priest-ridden. The Priests give license to commit sin ; nay, they even give permission to murder the enemies of the Church. The Church of Rome is the enemy of the Word of God-she chains the intellect and enslaves the soul.' These are but the beginning of the long htany of lying accusations made by Protestant- ism against the Church. They constitute the burden of many a long-winded oration, in pulpits and on platforms ; and many a time the white of an eye is turned heavenward at .- ' Si ''ill 186 PROTESTANT PRFJaBICES. ff' the recital of the abominations of Popery. But this huge swindle on men's minds is beginning io be exploded. Men at length dare to dis- believe the great Protestant tradition. Noble minds are rising above the level of vulgar pre iudiee, and are daily won to the Church, afte. a strict investigation into her title-deeds. Two works have been written by recent converts- men of mind and of position in society— and men, besides, who could have no worldly inte- rest as ihe motive of their conversion. The author of 'The Path which led a Protestant lawyer to the Church,'— Peter H. Burnett— examined into the real doctrines of the Church, /ind was startled at finding himself to have' been so long the victim of wicked misrepre- 8 3ntation. Hear what the learned author says on the matter: 'This system,' he says, page " 00, ' of misrepresentation of Catholic doctrines, practices, and intentions, so general amonj Protestant writers, gave rise, in my mind, to very serious questions. Why did success ori- ginally require such a line of argument ? Why did truth require such a support? Why was such a course preferred, in support of an alleged true system? And why is it still necessary ? Are bad arguments more effective than good ? Is misrepresentation better, in a PROTESTANT PBEJUDICE8. 187 gooa cause, than candor and truth ? If th<» doctrines really held by Catholics were so alae, erroneous, and absurd, did they need exaggeration, to cause their rejection ? Does the grossest error, or error of any kind, require to be darkened beyond its real demerits, to make it hated and despised ? And is it neces- sary to prepare the human mind for the recep- tion of truth, that it should first be filled with falsehood ? Do you sow weeds before you sow good grain ? Is it necessary in order to incul- cate charity, that you should first give a prooi of its absence in the party who inculcates it ? And if you wish to put down falsehood, is it necessary, by your own act, to show its utility ■ and necessity ? True, it is a practical rule with too many, to use falsehood against alleged falsehood, according to the common maxim, that you must oppose the devil with fire. But is this Christianity ? is it true philosophy ? On the contrary, is it not the doctrine of revenge? the practice of savages ? the chief maxim of ' morality among wolves and tigers ? And if you wish to vanquish the evil spirit and his bad cause, had you not better fight him with some- Uiing the opposite of that which he uses him- self? Had you i^^ better oppose evil with good ? But does noV the NECEssrrY arise from i ! 188 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. Other causes ? Is it because there is a unity— a force— a beauty in the Catholic system, that renders it logically impregnable ? Is it because it is conformable to the truth of Christianity, JUST A3 IT 18, and not as the passions, interestB, and pride of men would make it, that the Catholic theory is so much misrepresented and despised ? Why is it that every proud innova- tor upon a permanent system — every wild fanatic— rcvery demagogue in religion— every sect, and the broken fragments of every sect, from Simon Magus to the present time, have one and all been down upon the Church ?' " In the preface to his elaborate and well- reasoned essay, ' On the Harmonious Relations between Divine Faith and Natural Religion,' Judge Baine — a distinguished convert of Stock- ton, California — thus discourses of the injustice of that system of misrepresentation of which we have been speaking : — **It is a principle ot jiniversal jurispradence, that no man, not even the most lowly culprit, shall be condemned unheard, no matter how fierce his accusers may be, and no matter how terrible the crimes they may lay to his charge. The judge who would condemn a man upon mere clamor, without any investigation into the actual conduct of the person accused, would be considered both rruel PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 189 and unjust. And the Church feels most pro- foundly and earnestly insists that whoever denounces her teaching, without learning from lier own standard of faith exactly what she doci teach aa Divine faith, is at once unjust to her and to hia own intellect and soul.' Alluding to that oil repeated calumny, that the Church cramps the intellect and enslaves the body, he Bays :— < It has been the accusation of ages against the Church, that she usurps the pro- vinces of reason, common sense, and OAperi- ence, in teaching Divine faith to her children and millions upon millions of me/i have accepted the accusation as true, without ever having seen one of her catechisms, or any standard of her faith, written by one of hei recognized teachers. Indeed, her accusers doom her to their hate even without consulting her theologians and historians— so that they are ignorant of both her faith and her theology. And I respectfully appeal to any one who now condemns her, whether they do so because they have read and understood the teaching of her authorized doctors ; or whether they do it upon the historical assertions of her enemies, and their denunciations of her faith.' " I shall now rapidly glance at the most com- mon American prejudices against the Catholic I'll 190 PROTESTANT PRE-JUDICES. Church. They may be div ided into religious and political prejudices, or prejudices of Ameri- cans as Protestants, and their prqjadices as Citieens. In refuting your prejudices, I shall occasionally refer to remarks which I made in the first chapter, when I considered the conso- lations of Catholic doctrines as compared with the distressing nature of Protestant tenets ; I shall be obliged to reiterate some of those observations, in order to correct the erroneous views which many of you entertain respecting Catholic belief a^d practice. P40TB8TANT PREJUDICES. 191 SECTION I. RELIGIOUS PREJUDICES. THE POPE. Jou have been taught that Catholics are obhged by their faith to believe as infallible truth whatever the Pope says, and to execute whatever he commands. This idea is false ; it IS an utterly unfounded prejudice. The genuine Catholic doctrine is, that the Church, with the lope, IS mfallible in matters of faith only, and only when she solemnly defines an article of laith. When the Pope writes or speaks as a private doctor, he is liable to error; but when in hi8 official capacity, as Head of the whole thurch, he defines an article of faith, we hold 1 ' ! 102 PROTESTANT PRFJDDICBtf. I ;| 3!*: tSI^I^ ,.4\'m '■ ]i ■r : 'i 1 : 1 j i! i' 1 ^1 1 i 1 n ; 1 IIHSUII'' MS'l' HaHI^H^ B ' MB^^^nfl pn!' f Mfflli'^ K^ III n- ^ 1 1 him*to be infallible This doctrine is based on the solemn promise of Christ to Peter, " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and thou being once converted confirm thy brethren,"* and other similar promises o( Christ, made to Peter as Head of the Church, and through him to his successors : the texts have been repeatedly cited in the preceding pages. As we have seen, the very idea of the Church founded by Chiist to be the religious guide and instructor of man to the end of time, involves the necessity of an infallible authority in the Head of the Church to settle contro- verted points of doctrine. To illustrate our doctrine. I may repeat a remark of Count de Ivlcti^t^e, in his work entitled Du Pape : — "Civil society," he says, " is forced to set up a tribunal infallible de facto, for the preservation of social order." In A.merica you have the Supreme Court of the United States, established as a final tribunal, from whose decision there lies no appeal. Its Jecisions, therefore, are adopted as infallible de facto. Such an institution is absolutely necessary, for otherwise there never would be an end to litigation. Its infallibility is only a legal and political fiction, indispensable to the * Luke, xzii. 32. PROTEST iUNT PREJUDICES. 193 preservation of the public peace or the union of States. In the Church, the infallibility of iie supreme tribunal, in matters of faith, is not A fiction, but from the very nature of the case must be an infallible truth, for the true Churcii of Christ, as I have shown, cannot change, and error in the faith would be an essential change. The Church of Christ is the Kiiigdom of Truth. When Pilate asked Jesus, " Art thou a King, then ? Jesus answered : Thou sayest f,hat I am a King. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world ; that I should give testimony to the truth : every one that la of the truth heareth my voice."* 1 do not understand how you can make any objection to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, while, in the political and civil order, you are forced, and all nations are forced, to adopt an infallibility de facto in the Supreme Court. The infallibility of the Church has reference to objects of infinitely higher moment : it gives us security in our eternal interests. Though the ofiicial infallibility of the Pope, s clearly deducible from the Scripture, and follows from the decisions of General Councils, and is moreover irresistibly proved by logica* • Joliti, xviii. 87. 18 IH PR0TE8VAN1 PRWUDICES. inference, yet it must be observed that it hai i.rver been defined as an article of Catholic Faith, and consequently no one becomes a lieietic, in this- respect, unless he denies th« n fallibility of the whole Church in union wr»th the Tope. THE OlEROT. You have been taught that Catholic Prictsts perform their sacred functions for money, make a traffic of Confession and Absolution, and sell the permission to commit sin. Ail this is a calumny. It is true that on occasion of mar- riages, baptisms, funerals, and when a Mass is asked to be offered for a particular intention, it is usual for Catholics to give a gratuity to their Pastors ; the sum is comm-^nly very small, and it is neither offered nor accepted as an exchange for spirituals, but as a contribu- tion for the support of the Pastor. It was enjoined in the Olu Law, and St. Paul repeats the injunction, " that i. jy who work in the holy place, eat the things that are of the holy place: and they who serve at th« altar, partake of the altar. So also the Lord PROTT^STANT rREJUDICES. 195 ordained that they who preach the gospel, should live of the go.spel."* It is [ ut just that the people should contribute for the support of the Priest, who, if he Jiad not chosen the minis- Uy, would, in moat cases, have been better able to provide for himself in some other pro- fession. The Jews were obliged to give the tenth part of their income to the Temple : il Catholics, of their own accord, paid tithes in this sense, they would only do what the Old Law enjoined on the Jews ; but there is not a single Catholic congregation which contributes to that extent, or from which so much is demanded or expected. Priests, especially in this country, are scantily and often miserably provided for; their privations here are so great, in most cases, that this may be assigned as one of the reasons why there are comparatively fevy native Americans among the Catholic Priest- hood. When you accuse Catholic Priests of a money-making spirit, might not the reproach be turned against Protestant ministers ? I am unwilling to recriminate, but 1 must ask you W^iich are better provided for Catholic priests '''Protestant ministers? I need not give th« • 1 Cor., ij. 18, 14. '"iii 4..',...: :. • *-J -i: "... 196 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. answer. If you look back to your mothei country, England, you will see a still more striking contrast. The immense wealth of the High Church is universailly known. Tha* wealth, while it was in the hands of the Catho- lic clergy, served to provide for the wants oi *he needy : is it so at the present day ? Read Cobbett's " History of the Reformation," and you will never again reproach the Catholic clergy with a money-seeking spirit. The Church obliges no one to pay for the administration of the Sacraments. As is done among you, Catholics on occasion of Baptism contribute for the support of the Pastor, but they are not obliged to do so on that occasion ; they may do it at any other time at their con- venience. But no money is ever received for Confessions: all you hear on that subject against us is a calumny. Unfortunately the calumny is very common. In 1859, 1 was traveling through the State of Mississippi in the cars. The railroad to New Orleans was not yet completed : so one even- ing we were forced to wait, in the mifldle ol the woods, for stage-coaches to convey us to the next terminus. I hired a man to accom- pany me to the nearest hotel. While passing over a log thrown across a deep trench, the PROTESTANT IBEJUDICES. 197 man looked back at me and asked, " Who are you, sir?" "I am a Catholic Priest." "A Catholic Priest !" he exclaimed in a tone of voice that denoted intense hatred, and with an fair of contempt and abhorrence, " I hate Catho- lic Priests." My situation in that lonely place, in the presence of a stout man and bitter enemy, was by no means pleasant. I replied calmly, "If all that you have heard about Catholic Priests were true, I should hate them more than you do. But believe me, it is all prejudice and calumny." "Why," said he, in a rag^e, "don't you Priests forgive sins for noney?" "Friend, look at me, and see whether I am sincere. I was a Priest before you were born, and have heard many a Siiindred thousand Confessions; and I now declare before God, that I have never in mv w^hole life received a cent for all the Confes- sions I have heard in Europe or America." My answer satisfied him ; he became calm and polite, and asked me many questions about the Catholic religion. On arriving at the hotel, I paM him liberally for his services. After Bnpper I had a remarkable proof of his extra- 01 dij.a.ry change of sentiments towards Catholio Pfiesta. Entering the parlor, where a large ttiiTibei of gentlemen were assembled he aslwd 198 PROTESTANT PHEJUDICES. them in a solemn tone of voice, " Gentlemen do you believe there is a true Christian on earth ?» The company burst out into a laugh , some asked him, " Do you think yourself that one true Christian?" Pointing me out, he eaid, «I think, if there is a ti-ue Christian on earth, it is that Priest." So quickly had his hatred been changed into an exaggerated affection. If Americans in general would take the trouble! of conversing with Catholic Priests, or reading our books, their anti-Catholic prejudices would at once vanish, and their aversion change into affection. I ;, CONFESSION-. You have been taught that Confession is an invention of the Priesthood, and that the primitive Christians never heard of such a>i institution. This ^s an error. Confession and the duty of confessing are as old as the words of Christ, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whose Bins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them , and whose you shall retain, they are retained."* • John, XX. 22, 2t PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 199 How could the Apostles have discharged the duty of forgiving or retaining sins, if the early Christians were not obliged to confess their •ins? The Apostles were not omniscient, and their authority of forgiving or retaining sins could, not be exercised, unless the faithful declared their hidden oftences. If Christ had merely said, " Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven," the case would have been different : the Apostles and priests of the Church could then have forgiven sin without confession ; but Christ added, " Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." The power conferred is a discretionary power neither Priest nor Apostle could ever have exercised it prudently or justly, except upon an accurate knowledge of the conscience of the penitent : absolution or denial of absolution must necessarily, from the nature of the case, depend upon the avowal of tlie penitent, for he alone can make the state of his conscience accurately known. To apply these words o< our Lord to the preaching of the Gospel in order to move men to Contrition, is utterly ridicul- ous, for, what would then be the meaning oi the words, " whose sins you shall retain, they •re retained ?" If you insist that Confession is an invention 200 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. cf the Priests, you must be able to assign tM date when it was first introduced, and the name of the inventor. This you can never do. The most ancient among the Fathers of the Church speak of Confession as an institution that had existed from the beginning of Christi- anity. Tertullian, who lived in the second century of our era, speaks of Confession as clearly as we do at the present day. In his work " De Pcenitenlia " he says, " I think there are soihe who shun this [Confession], as an exposure of themselves, or put it off from day to day, thinking more of the shame than oK their cure ; like those who, affected with some disease, conceal it from the physician, and perish through shame."* St. Irenaeus, St. Cyprian, Origen, and many more of the most ancient Fathers, speak of Confession in the same explicit manner. St. Clement of Rome a cotemporary of St. John the Apostle, urges the faithful to confess their sins to the Priests, in order to be reconciled to God through their means. If Confession were an invention of the Priests, they would not have imposed the obligation of Confession upon themselves, but only on the laity ; the law, however, is general, binding aa • Do Paenit., ix. i. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 201 well on Priests, Bishops, and the Pope, as on laymen. All are equally obliged to confess their sins. If Confession has not come down from the Apostles, the innovation, like all heresies, must nave left a distinct mark in history ; a universal outcry must have been raised against the bold innovator who first attempted to oblige the whole of Christendom, including the Pope him- eelf, to confess their most secret ofienoes to a man like themselves. In 1S56, on board a steamboat on Lake Michigan, a Methodist preacher asked me, " Are you a Catholic Priest ?" " Yes, sir, I am?"* "May I ask you a question?" "Cer- tainly." " Does the Pope go to Confession ?" •^Of course he does, for if he were not obliged to d^i it, no one would be. The Pope as a man \s liable to fall. Christ did not institute a Church for him different from the one of which he is the head." " To whom does he confess? Does he confess to th« Lord Jesus Christ ?" continued the astonished pieacher. "No, sir, he confesses to a Priest, and he might confes^s to me." " I never heard that before," exclaimed the preacher, with increasing wonder. " I wish, sir, you would iisk me some more questions about the Catho- tl Ji I I 202 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 11 lie* Church, for there are many other things, 1 am sure, which you have never heard." This first discovery, however, was too much for him ' he had not the courage to proceed. There are but too many Protestants who act in the same way ; the want of earnest investi- gation is the great evil. Many ask, Uke Pilate, " What is the truth ?" but turn their back without waiting for an answer, and live and die in their erroneous religious opinions and prejudices. Some, I doubt not, who will take up this short work of mine, will throw it aside after having read a few pages : if such men remain in error it is their own fault ; they are evidently unwilling to know the truth. You have always thought that Confession is an intolerable burden. I have shown you in another portion of this book, that Confession is, in reality, a source of consolation, peace, light. and strength ; I need not repeat the remarks [ have already made, and, indeed, if you wish tc» be convinced of the truth of my assertion, yfvu need only ask any devout Catholic, and you will find that I have but stated the universal experience of all who have ever made a good confession. WlOTESTANT PREJUDICES. 20« INDULGENCES. o ^oa have been taught, and many among you believe, that an Indulgence means a license to commit sin, and is granted for money by the Priests to any Catholic who applies for it. This is a malicious calumny. As every Catho- lic child and every Catholic Catechism could inform you, and as I remarked in speaking of this subject before, an Indulgence has nothing at all to do with the remission of sins ; an Indulgence is nothing more than a remission of temporal punishments remaining due to sin after absolution. It presupposes contrition, penance, the pardon of sin, and a heart free from all deliberate attachment to sin. Indeed, an Indulgence with permission to-<;ommit sin is' a most glaring contradiction, although you take the two expressions to be synonymous, and imagine the Catholic Church teaches your opinion. I might retort with truth that the original ftotestant doctrine of saving faith, the doctrine that we are saved by faith alone, in spite of em, and without repentance, is, indeed, a per- mission to commit sin, of which Luther'a I' I m 204 PROTESTANT PRtjUDICES. icandalous advice is only a legitimate dedii' tion, — " Sin, but believe all the more firmly," THE BIBLE. Yoli have been taught that the Catholic Church is hostile to the Bible. It is a calumny. I have already reminded you of the great policitude of the Catholic Church for praserving the Bible, before the invention of the art of printing. But for the Catholic monks, whose labors transmitted manuscript copies of it from age to age, what would have become of the New Testament ? I have also shown you, that but for the infallible testimony of the Catholic Church you would not know that the Bible is the Bible ; that she can have no reason to be unfavorable to the Bible, since her own autho- rity is proved by it, even without considering it as inspired, and only regarding it as authentic history. The Church, you insist, does not allow the free use of the Bible ; but this, also, as urged by Protestants, is a calumny. Here is the true statement of the case. The Catholic Church places some restrairt on the indiscriminate f, PROTESTANT PREJUDICES 205 reading of the Bible in the modern tongues, and does not generally allow it, unless the trans lation is accompanied by authorized notei explanatory of obscure or difficult jiaaaagea. In so doing she acts with wisdom, for it is cleai from all past experience that misinterpretation of the Bible may lead to the most terrific con- sequences, subverting faith, morality, and public order. But to say that the Catholio Church puts any obstacle to the reading of the Bible with authorized explanatory notes, and by those who can derive profit from it, is a most injurious calumny. You have an obvious refutation of it in the well-known fact, that long before Luther was born, the Bible was ' translated into German, French, Italian, Span ish, Bohemian, and other languages. The German translation of Augsburg had gone through eight editions, and the Italian by Malermi, through twenty-three. These trans- lations were made for the people, and bought and read by the people. The Catholic Church has never prevented he reading, but only the unprofitable and anguarded reading of the Bible, and in doing so, she is true to her high mission as the true Church of Christ, the guardian of faith and morality, the religious guide of men appointed ii'f ' i I fill 2J06 PROrESTANT PREJUDICES. by Divine Wisdom. Her precautionary mea- ■urea are a proof of her reverence for the Word of Goil, w hile Protestantism, urging the readingf of the Bible, without note or comment, without regard to capacity or prudence, shows rather a want of respect for the sacred volume. The conduct of the Church is not new. Fourteen or fifteen centuries ago, in the age when the canon of Scripture was first framed, St. Jerome inveighed in very energetic language against the pretfension that every one is a fit interpreter of the Bible.* " Mind your sauce," said St. Basil to the imperial cook, " the Bible is above the dresser." , SAINTS. You have been taught from your earliest childhood, that Catholics adore Saints and images. It is a calumny, destitute of all foundation in truth. Ask the first Catholic child you meet, and you will learn that Catho- lics adore God alone. Here is a brief outline of the Catholic doctrine. We honor the Saints just as we honor living men of distinguished virtue ; we revere them for their virtues. The honor we render them • See a j assftge cited abore. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 207 Is no doubt greater than any ve give to living men, but it is of the same kind, and only greater in degree, liecause the Saints have persevered in virtue, and are in the enjoyment of heir reward. St. Augustine, ia the early ages of the Church, explained tho doctrine just as we do now; among other passages, the following occurs in the twentieth book of his work against Faustus the Mani- chean: « We honor the martyrs with that honor of charity and fellowship, with which even in this life we honor the holy servants ot God whose hearts we find ready to undergo the same sufferings for evangelic truth. But we honor them with greater devotion, because they are safer, having conquered in the strife. . . . But with that worship, which is callea adoration, we neither honor, nor teach any man to honor any one but God alone."* Is thia doctrine, in any respect, exceptionable ? We ask the Saints to intercede for us with Cod ; but do you not ask one another's prayera on earth ? Did not the Apostles ask the faith- ful to pray for them ? W^hy, then, should we not have recourse to the Saints in Heaven, who ftre so much nearer to God ? Your olyectiona • St. Aug. contra Faust Manieh. 1. xx. n. zxl. }'\ ■m %■' PROTESTANl PUEJUDICE3. were answered many centuries ago, by Si Jerome, in his short treatise against Vigihm- tins . " If the Apostles and Martyrs could pray or others, while they were still living in the flesh, while they were still obliged to be solicit- ous for themselves ; how much more can they do so, after having gained the crown, the victory, the triumph ! . . . Have they lesa power, aa soon as they begin to be with Christ?" You have been taught that the intercession of the Saints would be an injury offered to Christ. It is the very reverse. We honor the Saints for the sake of Christ, through v/hose grace they became holy, we ask their ^^rayers in view of the merits of Christ, through whom they intercede for us, and whope meritt alone can make their intercession efRcarious. " Wo honor the servants," says St. Aug-usUi-e, in a letter to Riparius, " in order that the honor may return to the Lord." This holy bond of mutual love, by which Christ has united the members of His Church is a powerful means of sanctification for men lor the veneration and intercession of Saints constantly serve to recall to their niiads examples of heroic holiness and urge there on to the pr'ictice of virtue. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 20i t Look ot a well-educated family ; do you not consider it a beautiful evidence of mutual aifection in children, when each is ready to aek a favor for the other ^ Do you not prefer •uch a family to those in which one chilj roughly says to the other, Go, and ask for yoursell? Parents, you who can feel the warmth and tenderness, the beautiful love ol children, I leave it to you to make the appli- cation. The Church teaches nothing more in regard to the intercession of Saints, than you daily witness in your families. We are the family of God ; Christ is our Head, the first- born of God, our eldest brother, through whom alone each and all of us, saints and sinners, can gain access to the mercy of God. Every one, if he chooses, may address his prayera directly to Christ, and through Christ to the Father: the Church only teaches that the intercession of Saints, if rightly understood and practiced properly, is lawful, praiseworthy, and beneficial. We honor the images of Saints. You have been taught that we adore them. It is a malignant slander. We honor the images of Saints, as you honor the statues and pictures of your parents or of the great benefactors of the nation or of mankind. The nature of put r g 210 PROTESTANT PKEJUDICES. ■ veneration for the images of Saints wea Bolemnly declared by the whole Church in the seventh General Council, held at Mce in the year 787. « The respect which we show to images," says that Council, "passes to tht object of which they are representations." We do not adore Saints, neither do we adore their images. You have been told that our practice is con- trary to the first commandment, " Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything. . . . Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them." I am astonished that this text should ever have been quoted against us ; it is a clear proof of insincerity, and hatred of the truth, at least in those who first brought it forward in proof against the veneration of images. The text limits its own meaning: "Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them." Do Catholics adore, do they Berve images? They do not. To honor images as we do, to keep them in our houses and churches, is not to adore them. You cannot condemn us, unless you are willing to condemn God, for God ordered two cherubs to be placed in the Temple upon the ark. If the text is to be understood without limitation, then it con- demns as idolatrous the making of all pjcturef PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 211 and statues; then painters and sculptors ar« idolaters then all are idolaters who have a statue or a painting of a parent, friend, or i.Iustrioiih man in their houses. Nothing more is neelod to show that many Protestants are not sincere in their accusations, than the charge of idolatry which they bring against us : this puts the malignity of their calumnies in a glaring light. Tiie accusation is not new ; it was made in early times by Vigilantius, who condemned the veneration of images as you do. St. Jerome met the calumny with indig- nation* What would St. Jerome and the early Fathers say, were they to return amongst us now, when, in spite of all the works pub • lished in explanation of the Catholic doctrine, the old accusation is constantly renewed, as if it had never been refuted ? The school-house, the pulpit, and the press conspire to perpetuate the atrocious slander. I ask you, honest and candid Americans, is it Christian or manly to inculcate such false- hoods into the minds of unsuspecting youth, to repeat them continually before ignorant multi tudes, to utter them in the presence of God in your religious assemblies, and that, too, with 4he full consciousness of calumny? If you • 8eo St. Jerome's Letter ind Treatise against Vigilftatini, 212 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. think we are in error, meet us fairly; refute what we really teach ; do not object against us what w# condemn and abhor as much as you do. MART. Protestant misrepresentation is particularly directed against our veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God. You have been taught that we adore her. It is an unfounded calumny, like the rest. Our doc- trine to-day is what it was in the beginning of Christianity, and has been in all ages since ; we teach to-day what St. Epiphanius taught in opposition to the heretics of the fourth century, ". We honor Mary ; but the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost alone, we adore."* ^ You will urge, perhaps, that we have greateE confidence in Mary than in Jesus Christ. This also, is a calumny. We hold that whatever |^ower the intercession of Mary possesses with God, is derived solely from the merits of Jesus Christ : her prayers, like those of r/ther Saints, have all their efficacy from Him and through Bim. • Bpiph. Hserea. 79. PKOTESTANT PREJUDICES. 213 You have been told that by the doctrine of the Immaonlate Conception we mean that Mary, like Jesus, was conceived of the Holy Ghost, This is simply absurd; and manifests an evident lack of good faith or information. Although Pius IX. proclaimed the Catholic doctrine solemnly and in open day, in the presence of two hundred Catholic Bishopa assembled from every quarter of the globe ; though the very words of the Pope were pub- lished in every Catholic journal in the country, yet the doctrine was instantly misrepresented. The Pope defined that it was a reve;Ued truth that Mary had been conceived without incur- ring original sin, that is to say, that <.he was not at any moment defiled by the si*, of our first parents. But the Protestant prr-N and Protestant ministers throughout the whole world, represented the Pope as having dt vicicyus children. When no evil of thia kixid ex'sts, sickness or death in his family may at any time divert his care and attention from the wonto of his congregation. An unmarried clergy is free from all theaa causes of scnndal, vexation, and interference with pastoral duties, and hever reduced to the necessity of (hoosing between the interests of a family, an(f the religious oare of a congro- gation. Military dif^tjipline furnishes an apt illustra- tion. It is noi usual, in time of war, to allow soldiers to mirry, and a married officer or private is cm^^dercd only half a soldier. The Priesthood i^ a militia, the army of the Church for the defcn'-^j and protection of faith and morals ; and because spiritual interests are of all interests »ihe most important, there are far more urgent reasons for an unmarried Priest- hood than fcr an unmarried soldiery. Even Protestant denominations have occasionally expressed a wish to introduce celibacy amcrg their clergy.* ■ Oonfeae. Heltet 2. c. 29, 6 Edward, c. 21. 220 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. HOLY MA8f3. You object to the Mass considered as a Sacii- fice, and pi\°!tend that it is an injury to the great Sacrifice of the Cross, Your objection results from a misapprehension of our doctrine. Re- member what was said when I spolce of the conso- lation derived from the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We do not teach that the Mass is a Sacrifice difl^erent from that of Calvary, but that it is the same Sacrifice, which Christ offers up forever for the salvation of men, the only difference being that since the Crucifixion it has been offered in an unbloody manner. We offer it because Christ has commanded us to do so — " Do this in remembrance of me " — as you may convince yourselves by reading the Gospel of St. Luke or St. Paul's first Epistle to the Cor- inthians.* The Mass is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachias, " From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof, my name is great among the Gentiles : and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation."f * Luka, xsii. 19 ; I Cor., iz. 24 seq. t Malacli , \. 11. PROTESTANT PRR'UDICES. COMMUNION. 221 You object to the Catholic practice of giving Communion under the species of bread alone , Vou pretend that while giving the Body we deprive the faithful of the Blood of Chriat. This is another mis^apprehenyion of our doc- trine and of the truth. The Catholic Church teaches that the Body of Christ is not separated from the Blood, nor the Blood from the Body, under either species, but that Christ is living and as such present, after Consecration, under the species of both bread and wine, and is received, in communion, living and entire as He is in Heaven, under one species as well as under both. To think differently is a gross error ; it supposes that Christ is still mortal, and can be present under the species, not living, but as a corpse. Christ Himself has said, " If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.f" In the early ages of the Church, as history proves incontestably, communion was often given under one species only. Many gravo t John, vi. 62. The same in substance is repeated in Ter>8 69. 222 PROTESTANT PBEJUDICES. ^^^^^^^H''' 1 ^^^^^Bi ^ n 1 ^^^^^^1^^ 9i9ra n m H reasons, at a later period, induced the Ghuich to make it a universal practice for the laity, OnQ of these reasons is, that in giving Com- munion under the species of wine to a large number of people, it is hardly possible to avoid irreverences ; another is the scarcity of wine in many countries ; but the chief motive was, that some men had arisen who taught the error that, in all cases. Communion under both species must necessarily be given to the laity. USE OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. I You take exception to the use of Latin in the Divine service, as it is a language which the people do not understand. The use of the Latin language is not regarded by the Church as absolutely necessary and unchangeable In many portions of the East, she permits the use of the vernacular tongues. It was also allowed to the Sclavonians. But it does not follow from this that there are no highly im- portant reasons for the use of the Latin. A dead language always remaina the same : It is not liable to innovations, which unsettle the old meaning of terms in living la^^iages, or PROTESTANT PUKJUDICES. 223 debase words that were once dignified; it Becures ah unchany;oable precision and an unalterable dignity to our liturgy and cere- monial. Rituals and missals printed fifty or two hundred years ago, answer our purpose an well as those that come fresh from the press. If the vernacular were used, there would be a constant need of changes ; in many languages, as in German for instance, it would be impos- sible to make use of missals and rituals printed a hundred years ago, without altering many expressions which would have become obsolete, low, or ridiculous. The Catholic Church neither grows old nor changes; the unchangeableness of the Latin language is^a type of her immutability. It is also a type of her universality and unity ; it secures in her service, all the world over, the same uniformity that exists in her faith. In Asia» Africa, Australia, A.mcrica, wherever a Catholic priest may travel, he finds the same missal and ritual. The Church has stamped her own character on her ceremonies: like her they belong to all places and suit all times. The Latin language is the better adapted to the dignity and sanctity of Divine ofiices, as: it IB placed beyond the criticism of the crowd, while the vernacular could not escape the ■A T 224 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. cavils of those who pay greater attention to forma than to substance. If the native tongue were used; it would be of little benefit to the people . In many cases it would be impracticable for the Priest to read loud enough to be understood by the whole assembly ; when many Masses are said at the same time in a church, loud reading would be ridiculous and distressing ; in any case it would be inconvenient for such as have already heard Mass, iand wish to employ their time in other devotions. For such as desire to follow the Priest, there are translations of the whole liturgy in all the European languages. The Latin liturgy, like all the rites and usages of the Church, has its consolations for the faithful. I once met with an American lawyer, a Protestant, who, with unusual freedom from prejudice, remarked to me that there were three things in the Catholic Church, which above all others, he liked and admired ; they were the very points which for many among you, who neither examine nor reflect, are eiumbling-blocks, and occasions of ridicule and accusations against us, — confession, the celi- bacy of our clergy, and the use of Latin in our liturgy. The reasons he gave for his prefer- ence showed a correctness of judgment which PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 225 aatonished me. "It must be a source of peciiliar consolation for you," he said, " to bo able to open your hearts to a representative o God, to receive the advice and sympathy of a frirnd and father, and hear the beautiful words of absolution, Thy sins are forgiven thee." lie felt that celibacy is the very means best calculated to enable a Priest to fulfil his whole duty, and attend exclusively to his congrega tion. With regard to the use of Latin, he made the just and striking remark, that it must have a beneficial effect on the heart, and tend to enliven faith. " It must be very consoling lo a Catholic," he remarked, « to hear, wherever he goeg-^ the same language used in the Divine service as in his native country. Wherever he is, he must feel at home. In Europe I heard from some persona who had been in the suite of the Austrian Princess in her voyage to Brazil, after her marriage with Don Pedro the Emperor of Brazil, that, when they were home- sick in that distant country, they found it refreshing, on entering a church, to hear the eame language at the altar that had been familiar to them at home. They felt that, liwvever remote from the land of their birth they were still at home, as children of the same Church. 21 226 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. The ancient language of Rome also remindii us of the Chair of Peter, of the great center of the Church, of the imperishable rock on which the Church is founded. There can- not, indeed, be any language better adapted, in every respect, to the dignity of our service ; any better calculated . to console ; any that reflects better the Unity, Catholicity, and Immortality of the Church of God. CEREMONIES. Som.e among yon stigmatize our ceremonies as mummeries, though every intelligent man among you, and even uneducated Protestants, when they enter our churches, are involuntarily struck by the grandeur of our. rites. Many Americans and large numbers of Englishmen travel to Rome, for the purpose of being pre- sent at the sublimely impressive ceremonies ol Holy Week, or at the varied and magnificent religious festivals throughout the year. If any of our ceremonies really appear ridiculous and absurd, it is only to those who do not under- stand their signification. Before judging and condemning, it would be better to seek inform- PROTESTANT PRE,TUDICE8. 227 ation on the subject : it is unworthy of an intelligent man to reject or ridicule vvnat h« does not understand. I cannot take leave of this topic •vilhout Baying a few words on. a practice whKa I have found to be very offensive to some Prv^eestants, and particularly so to Methodists. I refer to the Rosary or Beads. We are asked why we constantly repeat the same prayers, and are taunted as simpletons or superstitious enthu- siasts for doing so. Do you understand that which you take the liberty to blame? What is the Rosary ? It con sists of the most venerable prayers in existence, the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Angelic Salutation. To the Angelic Salutation we join the salutation addressed by St. Eliza- beth to the Blessed Virgin, and a brief prayer added by the Church. While reciting the Rosary, we meditate on some scene or passage in the life, sufferings, death, resurrection o{ our Saviour, or His glorified life in heavou Can you imagine a more beautiful form o< prayer? But still you ask. Why alway* repeat the same prayers ? And I ask you, Why not, provided the repetition contributes to devotion, and always raises our heartA» to 228 PllOTESTANT PREJUDICES. God ? Is a rose-bush less beautiful, because many roses cluster on its branches ? Would it be finer with only one rose blushing in a wilderness of leaves ? The Rosary takes its mime from the rose: its. manifold repetitions, its beautiful remembrances of the sweet mys- teries of our Redemption, are like a wreath ot roses grateful to God and refreshing to the BouL What if the wreath is large, and beauti- ful, and made up of many flowers ? Must that scandalize you ? Or, to use another illustra- tion, is a mother displeased, because her favorite on her lap caressingly repeats to her Mother, I love you, I love you dearly. Mother? Do not the hosts of the blessed, as Isaiah and St. John testify, sing night and day, Holy.holy, holy, the Lord God of Hosts? Is God injured, or the love of sevaphs weakened, by the repeti- tion? You will not pretend it. Once for all, I would commend to your reflections -the advice of our Saviour* " Judge not according to the appearance, but judge a just judgment."* Learn what Catholics really hold, teach, and practice before you pas* sentence upon us. • Jchn, viii. 24. ROTESTANT PREJUIUCES. 229 iBSTINENCE. You object to the Catholic practice of fast- ing, and especially to our practice of abstain- ing from meat on Fridays and certain othei days of the year. You even attempt to sup- port your objections by quotations from Scrip- ture I you say, " Not that which goeth into the mouth, defileth a man ; but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." If your objection had any force, it would hold against the command which God gave to Adam, not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. Abstinence is prescribed by the Church as a wholesome practice of penance, as an appro- priate mode of honoring the Passion of Christ, and in imitation of His Divine example, Christ underwent voluntary sufiering ; it caa« not be wrong to follow such a model. Some of you, perhaps, imagine that the Church regards the use of meat as sinful in itself; this is an error. The Church knowa that Christ Himself ate the paschal lamb with Ilia disciples; she allows tiie use of meat .at all times except on the appointed days ot 1 M ,V'^' 230 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. abstinence But as the Church wished to establish a universal observance in honor of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and one which might at the eame time be a practice of penance, what way better adapted to her purpose could she have chosen, than the prohibition on stated days of a certain kind of food? Moreover, by this precept, she affords all her children an opportunity of exercising the most necessary virtues of obedi- ence an^ humility, giving a common command to all, and requiring all, the rich as well as the poor, to obey it. EXCLUSIVE SALVATION. You are exceedingly aiigry with us fot asserting that out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation ; you conclude that we condemn you all to everlasting ruin, before God has judged you. I reply that we teach the doctrine, and it is the truth, but your con- clusion is unfounded. The Catholic Church teaches, and has always taught that she is the only true Church of Christ, and, therefore, that out of her pale PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 231 mei« is no salvation : one proposition follows from the other. As soon as the Church begin* to teac)>, which she never will, that men can he saved out of her communion, she ceases to DC the true Church of Christ. If you were at all confident that Protestant ism is the true Church of Christ, you would Bay as much as we do, and every Religion that does not, gives up all claim to be Divinely instituted for the salvation of mankind, This I shall prove from the very idea of Religion, and, in particular, from the idea of the Christian Kehgion. What is Religion? As the word implies, it IS a bond which unites men to God. Thv3 idea ofReligion includes faith and practice, a belief of truth and a performance of duties, by which we are to attain to the eternal possession of God, the ultimate and only end of our exist- ence. Now, as surely as there is but one God, and but one human race, so surely can there be but one faith and one moral law, established by the Almighty to lead men to heaven. If Religion 'vere only a system of outward observances and external forms of worship, a mere ceremonial, then there might be as many Religions, as men might choose to fram» 232 PROTESTANl PREJUDICES. rituals ; but the question is in regard to Reli gion in the strict meaning of the word, and especiall}^ regarding religious faith and duties. What is truth for one is truth for all ; and what fl strict duty for man as such, is strict duty foi fjvery man. To deny it is to deny that God ia Truth. Take Confession for instance ; has it Deen instituted by Christ as a means of salva- tion, or has it not? There is no medium. If Confession has not been instituted as a means of salvation, then there is no obligation to have recourse to it ; but if it has been established aa a necessary means of salvation for all who have sinned after Baptism, then no one who has thus sinned can be saved without it. Are you prepared to say that God has obliged Catholics, under pain of eternal loss, to confess their sins to the Priest as His representative, but that He has not obliged Protestants to do so ? The same reasoning holds good in regard to every other religious duty. In other words, if there is any Divine Religion, there can be but one, and out of it, there can be no salvation. The reasoning so frequently resorted to, that all men have one common Father, and there- fore can be saved m all Religions, is simply ridiculous. It is precisely because there is bui one God that there can be but one true PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 233 Religion. Because there is but one God, the Rame religious duties are binding on all men, and whoever does not fulfil them must be lo^t forever. You say, We all believe in the samo Christ. But because you all believe in the iame Christ, you are all bound to accept the faith and obey the laws which He has estab- lished in His Church. His Church, as 1 have proved, is the Catholic Church alone, and there- fore out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation. Christ has said, " if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."* «' He that be- lieveth not, shall be condemned."! If men could be saved in all Religions, there would be no necessity for the Christian Reli- gion; Christ would have ordered His Apostlea to no purpose to go and preach to all nations , His command that all men should believe, in order to be saved, would have had no meaning. If Christ has founded a Church, all that she teaches as the Church of Christ must be believed, for all her doctrines rest on the same infallible authority of Christ. To reject a single article of faith wilfully, is sufficient to incur eternai loss, for it is to deny the whole Divine charactei • Matt., xviii. 17. t Mark, xyi. 16. 234 PROTESTANl PREJUDICES. of fuitii and of the Church of Christ ; it iu to impeach the authority and truthfulness of God. He who can neither deceive nor be deceived has revealed every article of faith taught by His Church. " Whosoever shall keep the whol law," saya the Holy Ghost, "but offend in one point, is become guilty of all."* Either the whole faith is true, or the whole of it is false ; we must either believe or reject the whole, for if it errs in one point, it cannot have come from God. On the subject of exclusive salvation the doctrine of the early Fathers of the Church is unanimous. They all teach that out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation. St. Cyprian, in the middle of the third century, says in his book on the Unity of the Church, " He cannot have God for his Father, who has iiot the Church for his Mother.'' St. Augustine, who wrote at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century, says, " Whoso- ever is separated from this Catholic Church, «hall not have life, but the anger of God remains upon him."t St. Gregory the Great, who was Pope at the end of the sixth century, thus briefly states the Catholic doctrine: " Th« • James, ii. 10. t Ad. PaH. Fftct. Dan. 1. 141. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 236 (loly Catholic Church teaches, that out of her communiou no on& can be saved."* A» Christiana you believe, as well as ive, that M man who dies in the state of mortal sin is lost, that " neither fornicators, nor idolater», nor adultcers, nor the effeminate, nor sc dom-* itea, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the Kingdom of God."t Is not the deiiial of an article of faith a mortal sin, as well as theft, drunkenness, or uncleanness? The wilful denial of an article of faith is a iirect insult offered to the veiacity and authority of God, and is a more grievous sin than any injury that can be inflicted upon men. There is hardly an insult which you resent more deeply than to be branded as a liar. A man may be accused of having defrauded the State, and take but little notice of the accusa- tion, who, if he is called a liar, is ready to answer with his revolver. He who deliber ately denies an article of faith calls in question the veracity of God. The man who has tho boldness to say in the face of Heaven, I know^ that this is a revealed truth taught as such by • Lib. Mor. 14. 1 1 Cw. , vi , », la. 236 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. the infallible authority of the Church of Chriai, but I will not believe it; or who, when a doctrine is authoritatively proposed to him aa an article of faith, does not care to inquire whether it is a revealed truth or not, that man ' evidently despises God as the eternal Truth, and if he dies with such an offense upon his con- science, we need not vvonder that he is lost forever. Are we, Catholics, the cause of his ruin ? Do we 'condemn him to the pains of hell? Evidently not. He is lost by his own act ; he condemns himself. When you tell us that, in spite of our being Catholics, if we die in mortal sin, we shall be lost, you are not the cause of our condemnation, you simply foretell what will happen. A bad Catholic is lost l-y his own fault ; so when we say, that no matter how moral your lives may be, il you die in wilful heresy, you will be inevitably lost, we do not pronounce your eternal sen"^ tence, but simply warn you in time. God > alone is your judge and ours ; He alone can pronounce the sentence of eternal condemna- tion : if he condemns you for wilful unbelief, you will have incurred the sentence by youi own fault, not by ours. PROTESTANT rREJUDICES. 237 You may ask me, If a man is in invincible Ignorance of the true faith, and yet ohaervei the moral law, will ho be lost ? I answ er that iuch a man will die in the Catholic Church Either in his life, or at the moment of his death, the Providence of God will give him the means, extraordinary means if jiecessary, to know th« faith, as far at least as is indispensably neces sary for salvation. We must here distinguish between two classes of persons, the bap- tized and the unbaptized. As this is a subject but little understood, and seldom well explained, I beg your particular attention to the following remarks. With regard to persons born in Protestant countries and validly baptized, who, from want of instruction and opportunity, have never come to the knowledge that the Catholic Church is the only true Church of Christ, if they have never committed a mortal sin, or have atoned for their sins by perfect contrition, united to a sincere desire of doing all that God may require of them, they will be saved in the ordinary way, as members of the Catholic Church. Such persons are in reality Catho- lics ; they have entered the Church by valid baptism, and are only outwardly separated from her communion by inculpable error. pi I B « 238 PRCHESTANT PREJUDICES. Accoiding to Catholic doctrine there i 'AlC one baptism; it is always valid, whether adminis' vcred by a Christian, Jew, infidel, or heathen provided it is conferred with the rites estab- lished by Christ and with the intention ot conferring what Christ has instituted; every man who is thus baptized becomes, at the moment of his baptism, a member of the Catholic Church. It is true that Protestants are generally baptized on being received into the Catholic Church ; this is done because, outside of the Catholic Church, baptism is often in validly administered. In any case it is not our intention to confer a second bapJ.sm; we confer it conditionally, in order to give the convert the assurance that he is truly baptized. Baptism is never renewed, when no doubt exists of the validity of the first baptism. In some countries, there are large numbers ol Protestants validly baptized who are invincibly ignorant of the true Church ; they are mem- bers of the Catholic Church, and without know- ing it die in the Catholic communion. All who are validly baptized remain Catholics, until f;hcy apostatize by a culpable adherence to an error against faith, or culpably neglect to inquire, when a well-founded suspicion of error arises in their mind. I hope that great num- PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 239 l>erf of Protestants are thus saved, not indeej as Protestants, but as members of the Catholio Church, the only true Church of Christ. The case of heathens differs considerably from that of bapti/ed Protestants. Heathens who are in error inculpably, and serve God to the best of their ability, according to the light which they possess, and are ready to do all that Heaven may desire froni them, will cer- tainly be save^, They may never receive the baptism of water, but for them what is called in the Catholic Church the baptism of desire, is sufficient. Their efforts to please God in- clude the desire to know the true faith, and willingness to embrace it ; and as to sanctify- ing grace, which is also necessary for salvation, God, who is unwilling that men should perish when they do their utmost to please Him, infuses into their souls, in the course of their lives, or at the moment of their death, the same sanctifying grace that is conferred by the baptism of water. If they fall into mortal sin, they may receive the grace to elicit an act of perfect contrition, and thereby obtain forgive- ness. Their salvation is not according to the ordinary course of Providence, but the result of an extraordinary grace, conferred in view of he merits of Christ. By the baptism of desire 240 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. they become members of the true Churdli o( Christ, the Catholic Church, and are sa\ed only as me'mbers of her communion. In other words, there is only one way to heaven, but there are several ways that lead to the Catholic Church, for, besides the baptism of water, there is the baptism of blood, or martyrdom suflered by an unbaptized person for the faith of Christ, and the baptism ol desire, of which I have just spoken. How many 'are saved by the baptism of desire, whether they are few or numerous, is known to God alone ; we may cheerfully kave it in the hands of God, whose boundless mercy extends to every human soul, and never a? lows one to perish except through its own grievous fault. The Catholic Church says, with St. Thomas Aquinas, that if a man sincerely desires to know the truth, and observes the moral law to the best of his power, God, if necessary, will send an angel to enlighten him, and lead him into the Catholic Church, rather than allow him to perish. Thus we read in the Acts, that an Angel was sent to the Centurion ; and it ia worthy of observation that the Centurion received the Holy Ghost, and therefore became a member of the Church, before h« received the baptism of water. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 241 But you must remember that all this holda true only in regard to those who are in invin- cible ignorance of the true Church. I« does not by any means apply to that class of persons, which I fear is very numerous who have an opportunity of knowing Iho truth, and wilfully neglect it ; who close theii eyes against the light, stifle the warnings of conscience, and, come what may, resolutely determine to die out of the Catholic Church. They do not wish to make the sacrifices which their conversion to the Catholic Church would require. They act like the Areopagites, or Felix the Roman Governor, who told St. Paul that they would hear him another time ; or like the Jews who stopped their ears, and stoned St. Stephen. They cannot claim that their ignor- ance is invincible ; they sin against the Holy Ghost, and if they die in that condition, must be lost forever. No one who has read these pages can plead invincible ignorance. You have had an Dpportunity of examining, and convmcmg yourselves of the truth of the Catholic Church. Even if my work should not carry conviction with it, still it must have raised doubts in your minds, and it thus obliges you to pursue your researrJies, until you have discovered the trun 22 242 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. Church of Christ ; if you refuse to do so yon incur grievous guilt, which must cause your everlasting ruin. If you investigate with candor and perseverance, a time will come, Bocner or later, when you can no longer doubt that you must embrace the Catholic faith aa your only hope of salvation. It is unjust to accuse us of a want of charity in asserting that out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation. We publish our doctrine freely,' because we love you sincerely and desire your salvation. In your researches every zealous Catholic is ready to assist you. We condemn error only, and leave the judg- ment of consciences to God, to whom alone Buch judgment belongs. We luve all men as children of the same Heavenly Father, and as redeemed by the same Saviour ; we are ready to sacrifice for their salvation our property, our honor, our lives. The doctrine that out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation, so far from weakening our charity towards you, serves to quicken it, and to inspire us with a ze<'»l that shrinks from no labor, no sacrifice fo* vour lalvatioii •MTESTANT PREJUDICBft. 24^ SECTION II. POLITICAL PBEJUDICES. Ill T 11^^ Having now briefly reviewed and refuted your hereditary prejudices as Protestants, I proceed to the consideration of your political prejudices, or yonr prejudices as American citizens. ALLEGIANCE. You have been taught that we owe political allegiance to the Pope, and cannot be loyal citizens. This is a calumny without a shadow of foundation in theory or practice. The Pope to Tor Catholics the ultimate interpref:«r of the 244 FROTESTAOT PREJUDICES. 1^ moral law , when a doubt arises whether an action is morally lawful or not, the linal deci- sion rests with the Pope. From this, as ia evident to every man of candor, no danger can arise to the State. The State may be im* perilled, and history and experience testify tliat States have been brought to the verge of ruin, by the Private Interpretation of the Bible; there is imminent danger to political institu- tions, when men appeal to their Private Inter- pretation of the Bible to settle such a question, for instance, as that of Slavery. THE INQUISITION. ! The Inquisition, a word of terror, is an occasion of much prejudice against the Catho lie Church. You hope that to object against us the practices of the Inquisition will act like a torch in a powder magazine, and blow up the claims, the proofs, the truth, the Divinity of the Catholic Church. We smile at the eimplicity of your hopes. Every man ac- quainted with history, whether he is a Pro- testant or a Catholic, knows that the Inquisition can furnish no objection against the Church You may frighten your children with the name PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 245 Your objections are drawn from the Spanish Inquisition. Every man who knows anything of Spanish history knows perfectly well th the Spanish Inquisition, so far as it is objectioi- able, is of purely political origin, and hai nothing at all to do with the claims of the Catholic Church. Like the Sicilian Vespers, and the massacre of St. Bartholomew's, it was a purely political persecution against heretics and unbelievers. While it lasted, the Topes exerted their utmost efforts to control its action and prevent abuse. ; But the Spanish Inquisition is not alone to blame : Protestants have had their share in the work of persecution. Whoever has studied history to any purpose, and is willing to speak impartially, must confess that the English Inquisition under Elizabeth was not behind the Spanish Inquisition in rigor : the only differ- ence between the two is, that there are more numerous and more unquestionable proofs of the injustice and cruelty of the former, than oi the horrors of the latter. Abuses exist in aU human institutions ; the Catholic Church can- not be responsible for the conduct of Statea and individuals which she condemns, nor for disorders which she has never commanded or approved. ■Mk 246 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. If you- wish to throw odium on the Church why do you not attack the Roman Inquisition, iii preference to the Spanish ? The truth ig that the Roman Inquisition furnishes no fail field for calumny. It is true you often men tion Galileo, but you cannot prove that he was treated cruelly. He was forbidden to teach hia theory as an absolute certainty at a time when no absolute certainty existed on the subject, Galileo's proofs, as is now admitted, did nol demonstrate hia theory. The authority o.t Scripture was apparently called in question j in order to avoid scandal, Galileo was allowed to teach his theory only as an hypothesis, until it should be fully proved. His imprison- ment, .of which so much has been said, waa nothing more than a nominal and brief confine- ment to the apartments of the Fiscal of the Inquisition, or to the Palac j of Trinita del Monte, situated in the healthiest part-of Rome, He himself wrote in 1633, that he had alway* been treated with respect. The story of hia abjuration i is not been proved, and were it proved would be a stain on his chara ;ter, for the story is. that on rising after the abj iration he exclaimed, *' E pur si move — It doti move,, though." Can you reconcile such & coqUb- diction with his stern character ? i'Bi!!; PRGTESfANT PREJUDICES, 247 If silence was at last imposed on Galileo, U was owing to hia intemperate zeal and impru* dence. At that very time his system was pub- Ircly taught at Rome as an hypothesis, withoul any interference from the ecclesiastical autho- rities. The system had warm advocates in tho highest ranks of the Roman clergy. Since you place so high a value on the authority oi Scripture, you must adniit, that, all things considered, there was nothing in the proceed- ings of the Inquisition not justified by the circumstances of the time, to save the authority of the Scriptures from apparent contradiction with cosrnological demonstrations. The Church has never pronounced a dogmatic definition on the subject. The whole question of the Inquisition has nothing to do with the Clurch as such; it is a question of temporary and variable discipline, not a question of faith. The Church existed for ages without any such tribunal, and, with or without it, shall exist to the end of time. She is not responsible for abuses which must exist in all human irstitutions. Gahleo's system was censured wiih * the utmost severity in Protestant countries. Suco men as Tycho Brahe, the great Protestant astronomer, Bacon, Alexander Ross, were 248 PROIESTANT PREJUDICEl oppotttd to it. Much, indeed, might be said about the persecution of science by Protestantd. For two hundred years England refused to dJopt the Gregorian Calendar, and chose *' to quarrel wi'a the stars" rather than agree with the Pope in counting time. Descartes was, in consecjuence of his philosophical views, most ehamefully persecuted by the churchmen of Protestant Holland. Galileo was neither ex- iled, nor stripped of his honors and emoluments, while Christian Wolf, the most amiable of men, was wrongly accused, and condemned as an atheist by Protestants. Let Protestants, who are forever talking about the days of Galileo, remember their own Inquisitions at that very epoch. " The synod of Dort, that Protestant Council convened by Pope James, ratified its decrees in the blood of the patriot Barneveldt, and Moloch-like demanded for its victims whole hecatombs of its own children. . , , , What Inquisition more complete than the hateful Star-Chamber ? or the High- Ecclesiastical Commission-court for the sup- pression of heresy?" With many Protestanf* the story of Galileo is as fresh as though it were of yesterday, wnile they forget " those modes of Inquisition," as Burke said, " that ahould never be mentioned to ears organized PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 249 to the chaste sounds of equity and justice."* Protestants would do better never to mention Galileo, in order that we may not, in our turn, be forced to inquire into their own excesaei of religious hatred. DESPOTISM. Your historica objections, to which the pre sent one belongs, always turn out to be either gross misrepresentations, pure fabri- cations of unscrupulous writers, or irrele- vant to the question whether the Cutholic Church is or is not the only true Church of Christ. The question is not about individual errors and crimes— Christ did not come to make men impeccable— the question is, which is the true Church established by Christ. Before lelieving what historians , advance against us, you should careful]; weigh their testimony. Much of what passes for history ia mere fable; much of it is distorted and colo ed by the writers' prejudices: facts are * See an Article on Galileo from the Dublin Jteview r«publi3he.l in Cincinnati by J. P. Wabh, 1859. See a'so Biograihie Univorselle, t. IV. p. 72, and Iligtor. Pak aUtter, Munich. 23 260 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. judged, not according to their ciroumsttincei but according to pioconceived nt/tiona. Thin is not history, but imagination If you love historical truth, do not believe more than hiiitoriana can prove; do not confine your reading to Protestant authors alone ; read the «tatement9 made by Catholic writers, and form your own judgments. )f you follow this plaji, your ideas regarding Catholic history will undergo considerable modifications ; and though you may often find reason to condemn the acts of individual Catholics, you will never condemn the Catholic Church as such. The objection of despotism is more directly ans- wered in a subsequent article on UepublicanidiUr • CIVILIZATION. Y"ou make it an objection ag'ainst the Catho- lic Church, that Protestant nations, in your opinion, are superior to Catholic nations in industry, commerce, and general civilization, 1 hesitate answering an objection which is so little to the purpose ; but as it is seriously orged by many among you, I shall bestow a few remarks upon it. Suppose, for the sakeoi argument, that things are a?} vou represent I-ROTESTANr PBEJOWCBS. 261 Aem, what conclusion follo«-B against th« ;ue Chnreh „f Christ and the only saving Chureh ? I am astonished that such objection. hould ever have been thought of. " There i. DO relation,' as Mr. Baine justly remarks, "o cause and effect bet>veen a magnificent iron foundry and a Divine revelation, and wha" consequences exist in, what facts may flow n-om, what moral or Divine truths there may be connected with a spi„„i„g.je„„y is not perceived by the Catholic mind.". ^' Did Christ come to teach men the arts of commerce, to render them skilful money- makers to train them in the construction of -Iroads, steamboats, and cotton factories? " Hd " -n' ;:^y ^'"S''»™ - "ot of this wnat will It profit a man, if he gam the whole world, and lose his own eoul '» Those who are forever making earthly success, wealth, and power a test of religious truth, are like the carnal Jews, who awaitcl an earthly Messiah^ The blessing of Esau, " the ST( he earth," has always appeared to Christian, •he least desirable of all blessings; they fej • Bftin*, seot xL 252 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. receiving their reward on earth, and ha zing none in Heaven. If wealth and material power are signs of Divine truth, the Roman empire ought never to have forsaken its lilolatry for Cliristianity. The whole objection is groundless. God, because He i-3 God, as St. Augustine remarks, can give terpporal blessings to the good as well as to the wicked. France and Belgium are Catholic countries, and not behind their Protestant neighbors in civilization. Your own civilization, it must not be forgotten, is of Catholic origin. Many of your institutions are derived from Great Britain, and all that is really good, grand, and noble in the British Constitution, has come down from Catholic times. Modern civilization did not spring from Protestantism like Minerva from the head of Jove. In skill, science, art, inven- tions, and discoveries. Catholic nations do not yield to Protestant countries ; it is an historical fact that the most important discoveries, in every branch of art, science, and industry were in a great measure made by Catholics. Every library in the world contains immortal monuments of Catholic 'genius; J'lurope is covered with masterpieces of Catholic archi- tects, sculptors, and painters. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 253 ^ What would Europe be without the civilizing influence of the Catholic Church? Little better than a wilderness, overrun by the rude descendants of Northern barbanans. The Catholic Church civilized the Huns, Goths. Lombards, Franks, Saxons, the ancestors «( all the modern European nations : by the sida of this immense result of Catholic influence, you cannot name a single nation reclaimed trom barbarism or the savage state by Pro- testantism. In North America, Protestantism has not civilized a single Indian tribe ; the ancient possessors of the soil of the United States have been exterminated or driven to the Western prairies. In the whole of the South, Central, and North American States every civilized Indian tribe has received its' civilization from Catholic missionaries, and their work would have been far more successful but for the frequent intrigues of Protestants. Look at Mexico, a country \7hich you so often revile, but which would excite your admira- tion, did you consider the advance which it has made in civilization from the condition in which it was three hundred y^mrs ago, when inhabited by savages. Whoever wishes to see this subject discussed Rif.! 254 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. more fully, would do well to read the essayi upon it in Dr. Brownson's " Quarterly Review/' MORALITY. Many among you object, that Protestant nations are niore moral than Catholic natioR-^. This objection has been completely refuted by Dr. Brownson and otli«r writers, and the blindest fanaticism alone could have given birth to it. So odious is it that I hesitate to give it even a cursory notice ; but it has been 80 often brought forward, that I cannot wholly pass it over in silence. Who has made you judges of the living and the dead ? Who has revealed to you the secrets of all hearts ? Or do you judge from outward appearances ? Admitting that Catho- lic countries exhibit more outward marks of immorality, because less hypocritical, I may Btill ask. What follows from it as to their real moral condition, as compared with Protestant countries ? Did not the Pharisees appear infinitely more holy than the Publicans ? And (ttill our Sav.'our calls the Pharisees " whitened •ep'Aichres." The Publican went home justi' i!;fa!!E. PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. ' 255 ficd, and the prayerful, fasting, self-righteoua ihan.ee is described as an arrant hypocrite, V\ o to you, {Scribes and Pharisees," said our Saviour, " because you devour the houses o, uidovvs, making long prayers."* What do he crimes of individual Cathoh'cs prove? k he Church to be condemned on their account? so, you must condemn Christ; for one of is own Apostles betra^- - Him, Peter denied liim, all tied from Him at the first sign of danger. Does the sin of the Apostles destroy then- authority as Apostles and founders of tlie true Church of Christ, and render His Church the syn.P;ogue of Satan from the beguming?. Did not the Jews crucify the Messian? and still were they not the true Church of old ? But your objection is without foundation, it IS proved by statistics that the crimes com- ;;Htied in England, Prussia, and the United i^tates., exceed by far the crimes committed in Cathol.c countries. For proof of this tact I refer you to the report made by Dr. Forbes to the britrsh Governme-it, in the year ISfy^ in which It Ls shown that there is incomparably more • Matt., xrii 14. ff: '',? -1 256 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. crime in London alone than in the whole of Ireland. It is sometimes made a reproach against the 2la1holic Church, that thei-e is more liveliness, nore merriment, more geniality of intercourse in Catholic than in Protestant countries, and that the latter are distinguished from the former by a soberness of temper inclining to melancholy and sadness. This is a strange objection. All excess is blamable; but is cheerfulness a sin? Is it not rather a sign of moral health ? Catholic nations are not made up of melancholy devotees, it is true, but that speaks in their favor. Protestants have rea- sons enough to be sad ; vi^e have as many reasons to be cheerful. " Rejoice in the Lord always," says the Apostle, " agam I say rejoice."* I willingly admit the charge. THE SABBATH. You object, also, that Catholics do not keep the Sabbath or Sunday, but spend a great part of it in worldly amusements. This reproaca, in Bome respects, and as against a certaiu PROTESTANT PftUaDlCEa. 257 number of Catholics, is not unrbtmded. It i^ true that aome Catholics break the Sabbaiu out that is k,ot the fault of the Catholic Church , 8he condemns their conduct as sinful. To bo convinced of this, it is sufficient to open om Catechisms, or to listen to Catholic sermona. - he Catholic Church, however, does not teach the rigid doctrines of Puritans and other denominations in England and America, whose views about the observance of the Sabbath arf Jewish rather than Christian. The Church in virtue of the power which she has received from Christ, abolished the Jewish Sabbath an i substituted Sunday in its stead, in commemora- ^on of the most glorious mysteries of our Redemption. Srnday being instituted to com-^ memorate mysteries of .ioy, the Church hag mitigated the rigor of .he je.dsh Sabbath, and does not forbid as sinful, decent recreations indulged in on that day. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE POPE AND niS CIVIL GOVERNMENT. ITou .^f. :ke to see the Head of the Church t,overr.=nr a small territory in Italy, as an {ndepcihiv^iit and sovereign prince. Thii 258 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. !' f appeors to you incompatible with his reli- gious authority, with his duties as Head of the Church, which is a spiritual kingdom, aud hence )ou condemn his political sovereignty. \ answer, This objection, like all other brought against the Church, arises from the lack of a thorough examination of the subject. For if you consider the Pope's situation as Head of the Catholic or universal Church, you will be forced to admit that his temporal independ- ence as a sovereign Prince, is not only not in contradiction with his spiritual office, but on the contrary is, if not of absolute necessity, a t least most expedient for the free exercise (f his spiritual power. And the obvious leason is, that to enjoy the full confidence of Christians throughout the earth, he must b,. beyond even the suspicion of being influenced in his spiritual government by any temporal power. Were the Pope only the superinten- dent of a provincial Church, like the dignitaries of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopa- lian denominations, the case would be different. But the Pope is the Head of the whole Church in both hemispheres : the sun never sets on his Spiritual Kingdom, whi'^h unites as brethren members of all the nations on the earth. Therefore, in the ceremonies for the install xtion PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 259 of a new Pope, he is addressed in these words . 'Noveris te urbis et orbis constitututn esse ectorern. — Remember that thou art placed on ilie throne of Peter as the ruler of Rome and the world." Such being his mission on eartii !he fieer his authority the better. Hitftory gives us a striking proof, in the temporary residence of the Popes at Avignon, taat even a suspicion of a preponderating political influence is exceedingly dangerous to the interests of religion. Every one knows hovr great at that epoch were the evils that reli- gion had to endure, simply because the freedom of the Sovereign Pontitf seemed to be checked by the inlluence of France. Why has the District of Columbia been ^ rendered independent, if not because the seat of Government being placed there, the nation was unwilling that any particular State of the Union, by possessing the Capitol, should, have even a shadow of prepondt>rai>ce in tb*^ adminis- tration of affairs. A similar reason, but with incomparably more strength, proves the pro- priety of the political independence of the Pope. Americans profess admiration for free governments ; they should therefore rejoice that the Pope is free in the administration o/ his Spiritual power. 260 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. But, besides, the dignity of the Vicar o{ Christ ia too exalted to be borne by a sub- ject of an earthly prince. Such seems to hav6 been the pervading sentiment of Chrisliao princes since the days of Constantino the Great. This great Emperor, who first placed the cross on his crown, transferred his residence to Constantinople, and, what is still more remarkable in this connection, even after the division of the Roman Empire, none of the Western Emperors resided in Rome, but in Milan, Turin, or other places. As to the pretended abuses of the Papal government, I have only to say that the source whence you derive your information, is suffi- cient to cause its rejection. You rely almost exclusively on the accounts of them given by Englishmen, who, influenced by the fanatical tendencies of their country, endeavor by mis representation and exaggeration to inflame public opinion against the Pontifical adminis- tration. A similar spirit of fanaticism tod often pervades newspapers, books of travel and other publications in this country. Candid inquiry proves that there arc fewei defects in the administration of the Papai States than in that of any other State, Empire, or Republic. The very last statistics demon- PROTESTANT 'PREJUDICES. 261 atrate, beyond a doubt, that with respect to schools, benevolent institutions, and the proper administration of the laws, the States of the Ohurch are rather in advance of every olher country. This has ! 3en shown conclusively by several works lately published, amongst others by Mr. Maguire's work on '« Rome, its Churches, its Charities, and its Institutions," 10 which I refer you for fuller information on this matter. e source REPUBLICANISM. The last objection I shall notice is that, ca some among you contend, the Catholic Church is not in harmony with the institutions of this country, nor with the character of its people, and that she is generally opposed to libwaJ political institutions. The truth is the very reverse of the objection. Though the government of the Catholic Church is not properly republican, yet all the blessings which render your form of government dear to 3'ou, are claimed by the Catholic Church ag peculiarly belonging to her own form of govern- ment ; and your national character, if the ^t>2 PROTESTANT .rREJUPTCES. country should become Catholic, would make you its good and zealuus Catholics, undei />ivine grace, as exist on earth. I will brie% prove these assertions. The Soul of jour political institutions !i liberty. Liberty is all the Catholic Church demands for herself; she needs not, am! doea not ask, any special protection ; give her the full freedom guaraiueed her by the Constit i- tion, and enjoyed by every sect of Christians, and she is satisfied. The sun does not a^k ight from the earth ; her own beams disperse the morning fog, and pierce the clcud. All ♦he Church demands for her prosperity and growth, all she needs to remove your pre- judices, is fieedom of action. Gregory XVI. used to say, " Out of the Roman States, there is no country where I am Pope, except the United States." Li Calholio countries, as the numerous Concordats prove, the Church in many respects has her rights restricted; here she is legally free, the only Concordat she asks is your Constitution. Indeed, all she asks in any country is her freedom, not Concordats ; she has no need of Concordats when she is free. Under your Constitution tht ablest men, «'^llhout respect to birth or ancestry, are chosen PROTESTANT TRiaUDICES. 263 for public offices. The samr practice prevails In the Chip ' Run over any \U\ of Popes, Cardinals, or Bishops, and you will find thai most of them sprang from the common people; tl > desofndod from the nobilify almost form the exception. Never has a single king or prince sat on the Papal chair. According to the laws of the Church, talent, virtue, merit, are the quaUtie^^ by which the appoinfnent or election to ecclesiastical offices must be guided, and these qualities exerci.se a n .re uniform and decided influence in the Church, than they do even in the American republic. You have a striking proof of this ' u the person of Gregory Vll, in whom, according to Protestant estima- tion, all the power of the Popes was concen- trated as in a focus: he was the son of a carpenter. The avenue to the Papacy is open to every Catholic ; even a layman may become a Pope, and I was informed by Cardinal Spinola that the practice at this lay, when a new Pope is to be elected, is to place a lay senator on the list of candidates. Prejudiced and partial historians, who shape facts to suit their preconceived opinions and preferences, are in the habit of calumniating the Catholic hierarchy, and especially the olitical conduct of the Popes. They may ■ v^^.. -.-^«^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. 1.0 I.I 2.2 :!f i4£ 2.0 1.8 • 1.25 1 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► ^a p% ^-: 264 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. impose on the ignorant multitude, but cannot deceive the impartial researches of the learned. The Popes who have been most reviled have found defenders in the ranks of Protestants ; Gregory VII. has been vindicated in the beau tiful history of his reign by the Protestant Voit and Innocent Hi. in the great work of Hurter, •A'ritten while he was still a Protestant. The /Stereotype slanders against them have been refuted, and they have taken their place before the world among the brightest ornaments of history. " There is no line of men," says the learned Protestant historian Herder, "so dis- tinguished for talent and for virtue, as the mag- nificent succession of the Popes.*' Among the Roman Pontiffs, hardly five or six, in eighteen centuries, can be named in whom the implac- able hostility of the enemies of the Catholic Church, has been able to find a stain ; and nearly all these few are limited to the eleventh century, an unruly period, when the freedom of Papal elections was disturbed by external interference. And what, after all. are these few Popes reproached with? Herder will nnswer, " Their faults were such as would not have been noticed, hiad they not been the moral failings of the Popes ; they are such aa would pass unnoticed in other princes." PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 2G5 It is an undeniable fact, if anything in history is undeniable, that none have labored more successfully for the freedom of nations than the Popes, as is proved by their undying Btruggle against oriental and occidental des- pots. This glorious fact is acknowledged by Protestant historians, and even by such men aa Montesquieu and the unprincipled Voltaire, not one of whom can be suspected of any partiality towards the Roman See, Leo. Wolfgang Menzel, and other great modern Protestant historians, admire with us t) e strenu- ous effprts of the Papacy in behalf of freedom. At this hour, almost alone in Europe, in the face of high-handed oppression, and hypocri- tical professions of love for freedom, it holds up before the nations its time-honored banner ot geiuine freedom. Yon know the elTorUj of Pius IX, and why he failed. FREEDOM OF DISCUSSION. You love liberty of speech ; th« Catholic Church loves it no less. " In ncccssariis unitas, in duhiis libertas — Unity in things necessary, freedom in doubtful ones," is one of her oldest and most celebrated maxims. The Pope 24 I H II 206 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. ■i ' decides no point of importance without first Bubrnitting it to the discussion of the Cardinals and men of learning. In Councils and Synods the greatest freedom of speech prevails. At nil times every Catholic is free to appeal from the decision of subordinate authorities to the lloly See. Freedom of discussion is not, as you imagine, condemned by the Catholic Church. Mr. Baihe very effectually refutes the charge that the Catholic Church is opposed to tree institutions in general, and especially to the Constitution of this country. Appealing to the evidence* of historical facts, he says, " We affirm, whenever the rights and liberties of any people, for fifteen hundred years, have been in jeopardy, by tyranny from any quarter where the Church has had any influence, that she and her children have exerted that influence on behalf of the oppressed and down-trodden, and in favor of liberty and against tyranny. We aflirm more, and furtiier, that the noblest charter of human rights th;it the world has ever seen wrested from tyranny and feudal' institutions, within eighteen hundred years, was forced from a despot by the genius, courage, and learning of Catholics, under the auspices and encouragement of their spiritual PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 267 Mother, the Church. And what is more still every principle of liberty in the Ameiicati Constitution, which isdeclaratory of, and which conserves the liberties] of the American people, is a literal transcript in substance, and almost in terms, from that Catholic charter of human rights of which we now speak. Every Ameri- can school-boy is familiar with the old renown of ' Magna Charta,' wrung from King John by barons of England. But if American Protest- ant school-boys were informed that these sturdy barons, who evinced so much pertva- cious courage, and political genius,, and pro- found insight into the principles on which civil liberty depends, and upon which it now lives in the United States, were every one of them Catholics, these same boys would stare a. you in blank amazement. They have been taught to reverence Magna Charta, and to denouuco the Church as inimical to civil liberty, in the same breath. The same school-boy exercise , that applauds the one to the skies, denouncea •the other to the pit. A gfeat wrong has teen done, is doing, to the understanding and hearts of these youths, who are the men of to* morrow."* i llr 111 'fir if ill I' • B»ine, p. J47. 268 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. The history of the Catholic Church in all ages proves to evidence that she is with th« people ; she lives, has always lived, in the very midst of the people. She is, and has always been, at home in all nations ; she sanctions all legitimate forms of government. Sihce the day of Pentecost, there has been no language which has not been the vernacular tongue of her children ; no form of civil institutions under which her children have not lived. If the accusation that the Catholic Church la hostile to civil freedom is founded on historical facts, nothing can be easier than to specify in what age, in what nation, under what circum- stances, the Catholic Chu.-ch has destroyed human liberty or democratic forms of govern- ment. History disproves the charge. There is a little Republic in Italy, San Marino, the oldest Republic now existing, and the most unflinching and uncompromising advocate of democratic principles : that republic, which h i enjoyed its independence for thirteen hundred years, is and has atways been Catholic, and- • has been for centuries under the protection oi the Pope. The Catholic Church is not hostile to youj free and glorioud institutions. You have nothing to fear from her. Nothing but raWo PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 269 ^./esepitation of her doctrine and dis<;ipline, could ever have engendered the belief that she wishes to undermine the republic. One beneficial result of the late Know- Nothing movement, which originated partly in a desire to injure the Catholic Religion, hoi been to draw the attention of many earnest American Protestants tp our doctrines ; and 4,he consequence has invariably been a favor- able opinion of the Catholic Church, and, in some cases, conversion to the Catholic faith. I may mention, as an instance, the conversion of the son of a "Protestant minister at Toledo. Being present at a meeting-house on an occa- sion when the minister indulged in a violent invective against the Catholic Church, and represented her as the mother of abominations and a sink of reprobation, the young man felt convinced that the preacher was slandering her, and he resolved to discover the truth. He read, examined, compared, and the result was that he became a Catholic. His father I learned, became a Catholip before him. It is a remarkable fact that Americans, when converted to the Catholic Cliurch, are gene- rally among the most decided and practical Catholics. I heard this on my first arrival in America from a friend who had been long in A I 270 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. tlie country ^nd knew it well, and my expert cnce has convinced me of the correctness of his observations. Americans do not becom« nominal Catholics ; if they have become con. terts at all, they are men of action and resolute will, setting a bright example of active and energetic faith to their fellovz-CathoJics, In view of this undeniable fact, a Roman journal, some time ago, expressed the opinion, that one of the most glorious enterprises for the Catho- lic Church to engage in at this day, is the con- version of the United States to the Catholic faith. If these pages contribute ever so little towards the accomplishment of the glorious undertaking, I shall be amply rewarded for my humble share in the labor. There are many among you who regard a change of religion as dishonorable and morally wrong. This is the most dangerous of all pre- judices, and the most unfounded. It cannot be dishonorable to renounce error for truth, to pass from a false Religion to the true one ; it cannot be wrong to fulfil the most important duty of man, that of rendering public testimony to the truth, and to serve God as He desires to be served. To renounce a false Religion and profess the trup one, is the most honorable acf you can perform. By leaving the sect in whi PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 271 you were born to become a member of the true Church, when you have becotne convinced of the validity of her claims, you give to God 4he honor which He has a strict right to require of >ou, for you simply confess that God ia Truth and can have revealed only one Reli- gion ; you honor Christ, for you solemnly acknowledge before the world that the only true Church is the Church founded by Him, and preached by His Apostles ; you honor the Church of Christ, because, in the face of public prejudice, and perhaps of persecution, you recognize her as His Church ; you honor your own understanding and heart, for you asseii your independence, and trample under foot the ignominious principle that; every one shoula remain in the Religion in which he happens to have been born, whether that Religion is true or false. It is astonishing that the principle, tha/ every one ought to remain in his own Religion should ever have been accepted or advanced On all other subjects a widely different prin ciple is .the general rule of human conduct men universally aim at the best. Is Religion 80 worthless that we need not care whether i1 i^ true or false ? No greater recklessness can be imagined than indifference to the question S72 PROTESTANT PREJUDICEIS. \h of the truth or faltsehood of Religion. Th« qnesiion is inseparably connected -with salva- lian ; Ueligion, in its very nature, is the only ivay of salvation, and, as I have shown, there can he but one true Religion, but one which can lead a man to heaven. What would you say of a traveler who goes South when his destination is North, and refuses to retrace his steps after he has dis- covered his error ; and who in spite of guide- posts and positive information from persons thoroughly acquainted with the country, keeps on in the wrong direction, consoling himself with the idea that one road is as good as another ? Is his conduct reasonable, especially if the future happiness of his whole life depend upon his journey ? if a man born blind and lame could be cured, we should think him mad were he to say to the physician, I should like well enough to bo cured, but then I was born as I am, and my father was blind and lame as well as I ; 1 will not take the trouble requisite for my cure. It would be madness in a sick person to be satisfied with any medicine, simply because it Is a medicine. A physician died, leaving a large number of recipes. The heir, who had never studied medicine, hung out his sign* PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. 273 boaij M a physician. When applied to, he Used to lake out at random and copy one of the recipes in his possession, and give it with Uie rernarit that it must be a very good pre Bcription, for it had been left him by an eminent physician. The man who believes every religious quack that sets up a new Reli gion, is as reckless and mad as any of the madmen I have described. If the principle that every one should remain in his own Religion is sound, why did Christ establish His Church and send- His ApoBtles to convert the nations ? If your reasoning holds good, the Jews and the Gen- tiles had a right to reject the new Religion, ^nd say that they wished to retain their old one ; Christianity could never have been pro- pagated, and we should be heathens at the present day. The principle is wrong. Whoever discovers that he is in a false Religion, is bound to abandon it for the true. By doing so, he only fulHls an essential duty, the first and most imi,ortant of all the duties which the creature owes to his Creator, the duty of submitting to the will of God witlvput regard to inconveni ence, afBiction, or persecution. Some among you who have received Oon 25 274 PROTiaTANT PRKJUDICFB. flrmation in Protestant secta, are greatly tUt^ turbed at the thought of a change of Ikligion, looking upon it aa a culpable breach of tlia oath they have taken to remain IVoteatanla Their fears are groundieaa ; unlawful oatlia are not binding. No one will aay that Herod vvua obliged by hia oath to give the head of John the Baptiat to the daughter of llerodias. God cannot accept an oath which ia contrary to truth 01 juatice. Were you to take an oalh to deliveryour aoul up to Satan, do you think the • oath would be bidding ? Can yon oblige youraelf by oath to resist the inspirations o» the Holy Ghost and reject the truth? Thf^ oath taken at a Pjotestant Confirmation, if it has any force, obliges you to become Catholica. If it has any lawful meaning, it means that you bind yourself to remain a Protestant only because you believe Protestantism to be true Chiiatianity; therefore if you discover that the Catholic Church is the only true Church, an/jl that you cannot be a true Christian except by becoming a Catholic, your oath, if binding obliges you to become a member of the Catho- lie Church. Suppose you had taken an oath to regard a bank bill as genuine and to pass it as such, would you be 'obliged to keep youf oath, if, on attempting to pass the note, you PROTESTANT PRUUD1CE8. ^75 discover that It is counterfeit? Wou.d von act be glad to excimnge it for a good one, if he ofler? You ought to be exceedingly thankful to God for having discovered the fiibehood of Protestantism, and being able to leave it for the true Church. To become a Catholic is simply to return to the tiuth from which Luther departed. A con- vert from Protestantism, if asked why he changed his Religion and became a Catholic may answer that he did so because Luther' himself was a Catholic; he may .ay, Ask Luther why he changed, I have only returned to the truth. This was Count Stolberg's answer to the King of Prussia, who had remarked to him, that he did not like people who changed their Religion. " Neither do I like them, Sire/' was the reply; "If Luther had no! changed, I should have had no occasion to do what I have done; I have only returned to the first Church." Mt is a shame," .ays St. Augustine, " to change one's opinion i[ it is nght and true, but to change a false and dan- gerous opinion is praiseworthy and useful. Aa fortitude does not allow a man to become depraved, so obstinacy does not allow him to 276 PROTESTANT PREJUDICES. amend : as the former is praiseworthy, so the latter should be corrected."* One jBfreat obstacle to conversion is public ©pinion. To become a Catholic is simply to perform a duty on which happiness in time and eternity depends; yet hundreds who are convinced that the Catholic Church is tije only true Church of Ciirist, are prevented by fear of censure from following their convictions. They fear displeasing their relations ; they dread the opinion of the world, and choose to please men, rather than obey God. They choose to incur the dreadful denunciations of Christ: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, 1 will also confess hint before my Father, who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father, who is in lieaven He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son op daughter more than me, is not worthy of me^"f They determi.ie to expose themselves to the eternal anger of God, sooner than incur the displeasure or censure of men. The fear of blarne is the rock on which the noblest hearu have suffered eternal shipwreck. * St. Aug. Epiftt. ed Caler. t Matt., X. 32. geq. PROTESTANT aEJUDICES. 277 Why Bhould you fear taking a ettp for ^vhich you can assign the best of reasons? Why should you fear the opinion of men, parti- cularly m this country ? You boast of freedom of conscience and Rehgion; but what sort of treedom is that ivhich prevents you f; om follow- Ing your convictions, and holds you enchained in the fetters of education, habit, and public opinion? Liberty, if it io worth anything, ought to make you bold enough to acknowledge no judge of conscience except God. So far I have addressed Protestants ; but a great number of Americans profess no Religion whatever, and are simply infidels. I have to address them also, not only because I am per- suaded that many of them are not hostile to the truth if It is once clearly presented to them, but also because the order of my argument leadt me to the discussion of InfJelity, as it ia the litimate conseBNIABLB NBCESSITT OF BBVILATIOV With the question of Religion, arises the question whether man needs a Revelation Can man discover the truths and duties oi Religion by the unaided light of reason? or does he stand in need of a Divine Revelation for the purpose ? That there is a Religion la self-evident ; that we owe certain duties to God, and that those duties have a connection with our future destiny, clearly follows from the first principles of reason. But is it enough for us to know and practise only what we can discover by the light of reason without any supcrnaturallXe\e]at[on? Is man, without the aid of Revelation, able to answer satisfactorily the fundamental questions. What is God? Whence do we come ? What will be r ir destiny hereafter ? What becomes of the sou'' after death? What is the origin of morai t-vii, and of our inclination to evil ? When man has ■inned, does there remain for him any hope oi •a\7*ticn, and on what conditions? What does CONSEQUENCP OF PR- FESTANTISM. 289 God demand of ua, as a necesaary conditiDn of our eternal happiness ? I ank, Is it possible for reason, unenlightened by Revelation, to give to these ({uostions, a distinct, precise, complete •liJ uunerring an«wer? Every man's con •oiouoaess and the experience of all ages shovw that it is impossible. With regard \o the nature of God, there is no doubt, that m all times and places, men could by the light of reason alone, come to the knowledge of God. As a matter of fact, however, they did not generally rise to that knowledge. Every one knows how erroneous were the ideas men had of the Deity during the long ages which preceded the coming of Christ, and what wrong ideas are still enter- tained on this point among the tribes and nations that have not as yet received the light of the Gospel. But even supposing that all men did recognize God as God, still, what eould they or did they know, by human rea- son alone, of their relation to Him, of their uturo destiny, or of the other questions to lihich I have referred? On those questiona leason either is silent, or gives a doubtful, unsatisfactory answer. Yet to all those funda- mental questions man has a right to ask a clear and satisfactory answer; that right 10 26 IL... 290 infidelity: oe, the last II m I given him by the wisdom and justice of God lie lias no right to prescribe the manner ii which God should manifest His will ; he ha* Sio rii^ht to demand a supernatural destiny Imt he has an inalienable Tight to know hu destiny whatever it may be, and to have tho means of attaining it placed within his reach There are now a thousand millions of men in the world, God's creatures, every one of whom has a right to ask, and insist on being answered, why he is^on this earth ; what God requires of him ; what destiny awaits him in another world ; what he must do to expiate his sins ; what he must do, in order to secure his eternal felicity. There is not a man on earth, capable of reflection, who can find any real repose of mind or heart, until these questions are dis- tinctly and fully answered : not to desire an answer, is to place one's self in opposition to the most urgent requirements of reason. On those questions reason alone can give no clear answer. To be convinced of this, pro pose the questions to an Infidel, who takes reason alone for his guide. He cannot solve them, nor give a single satisfactory answer His own desire to penetrate the mystery that enshrouds the future world, is so irresistible, ♦'lat it leads him to evoke the dead, and give CONSEQUENCE OP PROTLSTANTISM. 291 credit to the revelations of Table-Turning and Spirit-Rapping. Tlas alone is enough to show that the longing to be acquainted with the mysteries of another life, exercises so compicte an empire over the soul, that rather than not know anything about them, man is ready to believe in false or diabolical revelations. FIFTH CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT. THE UNDENIABLY DIVINE MISSION OF CHRIST. Man has a right to inquire whether God has actually made a Revelation. Whether Reve- lation is necessary or not, it is certain that man has a right to ask whether there exists a Divine Revelation ; whether God has spoken to men, or sent a messenger from heaven t^ -eveal His will, to explain the mysteries of our destiny, to instruct us in our duties, and acquaint us with the conditions on which our eternal happiness depends. To the question, whether God has made a Revelation, history answers that He has done Bo; that for many ages, at diflerent periods, ti 3re arose men who claimed to have received ill r % 292 INFIDELIXy; OR, THE LAST a Divine Revelation, and to teach a L ivinely revealed Religion. The Egyptian Priests, the PeTsian Zoroaster, Numa Pompilius, Confuciuai Mahomet, and others, pretended that their Religion was revealed. Moses proclaimed that God himself had given him the Law; the Jewish prophets foretold the future in the name of God : their mission was preparatory to that of Christ. Christ proclaimed Himself the Son of God, and that the Father had sent Him to leach mankind the Divine Will. I suppose you are sufficiently acquainted with history to know, that the ancient Egyptian, Roman, Persian, and Chinese founders of Reli- gions, never proved the validity of their mis- sion. It is not so with Christ. The whole argument for the Divinity of the Mission of Christ, turns on this single question Was Christ in reality what He proclaimed himself to be ? In our times Infidels such as Strauss, Feuer- bach, and their disciples, have labored hard and long to show that Christ was not even an historical personage, but a mere myth. They have labored in vain. God has placed the evidences of the existence of Christ, of HisMis- •ion and His miracles, beyond the reach of iuccessful attack. The historical existence ol ) CONSEQU«NCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 293 .Christ is testified to in all ages by His heredi* tary enemies, the Jews. Divine Providence has allowed the ancient Persians, Egyptians, Romans to disappear from the face of tho earth ; but the Jews, the weakest of all the ancient nations, have survived the wreck of all the empires of antiquity, and will survive to the end of time. In vain, while they exist, does the sophist argue against the existence of Christ : by their presence in all ages, by their dispersion over all countries, the Jews are witnesses easily appealed to, and whose testi- mony is conclusive against him. They hold in their hands the prophecies describing Hia coming, His life. His sufferings, ages before His appearance on earth. The existence of the Jews is a living monument of His existence, their hatred an invincible proof of the his- torical truth of Christianity. While the Jews exist, and the Old Testament is in their hands, the Infidel has no hope of success ; they meet him everywhere, and destroy the labori- ous fabric of his fallacies by the disinterested testimony of their hatred. Their anxiety for the genuineness of the Old Testament, renders Interpolation or corruption of the text impos- sible J they have counted its letters, they can '!i i 294 infidelity; or, the LAdT tall hew often each letter occurs, and vvhicli if ihe first, middle one, and last, i In the prophetic books of the Jews we have, %8 JBossuet remarks, the history of Christ as learly related as in the Gospels. The prcphecy of Daniel, for instance, describes the precise time of His coming, foretells His rejection by the Jews, the destruction of the Temple and the city; it is so decisive that the Rabbis have prpnounced a curse on the Jew who should attempt to explain it. The Jews are not only unimpeachable witnesses of the genuineness of the prophecies; their jealousy i» an evident proof of the prophecies that relate to Christ. The Jews place the historical existence of Christ beyond the possibility of doubt. An Infidel once told me, that having had the curiosity to visit a Synagogue, his atten- tion was arrested by the tablets of the law dis- played on the wall. " I shuddered at the Bight," he said, " and I asked myself, What 11 all that is taught by the Catholic Church were true ?" The whole series of ancient propheciea must have flashed across his mind, together with their obvious accomplishment in Christ, If the prophecies inspire you with fear, it is your own fault : believe, and the promises of CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 295 faith, instead of terrifying you, will be your greatest consolation. The Divine Mission of Christ is evident not •nly from the prophecies, but from His own ftr tfcssions, confirmed by His life, His doctrine, His miracles, and particularly by the miracle of His Resurrection: from all these the Divinity of His Mission is as clear as the sun at mid-day. The Divinity of His Mission is evident from His own professions. "This is life everlast- ing," He said, " that they may know Thee, tUe only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."* The Samaritan woman said to Jesus, " I know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ) ; therefore when He is come He will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her 1 am He, who am speaking with thee."f Christ affirms that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the One sent for our Redemption ; He affirms it in the presence of His Apostles ; ■' Jefius saith to them : But whom do you say that I am? Simon Pe jr answering sail' Thou art Christ the Son of the living God.* • John, xvii. 3. 1 John, iv. 25, 26. t Matt,; xvi. 16, le. ill-' nii: 296 iNFiEELrry; or, the last Christ did not deny it, but confirmed " him in His belief: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona : because flesh and blood have not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."* Christ made the same profes- sions in public. He asked the man who had been born blind, "Dost thou believe in the Son of Go4 ? He answered and said : Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him ? And Jesus said to him : Thou hast both seen Ilim, and it is He who talketh with thee. And he said : I believe. Lord. And falling down he adored Uim."t Christ permitted the adoration. He made the same professions in presence of His deadly enemies : " Amen, amen, I say to you before Abraham was made, I am."J " I and the Father are one."§ "He that seeth me,- eeeth Him that sent me."|| When Jesus had •aid, " I and the Father are one," " the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered • Ibid. 17, 18. t John, ix. 35. seq. X John, viii. 68. 2 John, z. 30. I John, xU. 41. CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANT ISM. 297 them : Many good works I have shown to you from the Father : for which of those works da you stone me? The Jews answered Hira: For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy : and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God. Jesus answered c!^^ • • • If I do not the works of my father, delieve me not. But if I do, though you Will not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is- in me, and I in the Father."* Taking these professions in connection with the whole history of Christ, we find them proved by His life, His doctrine, His miracles. His death. His Resurrection. 1. The Life of Christ.— Christ could say before His enemies, « Which of you shall con^ vmce me of sin ?"t and no one came forward to prove a single accusation against Him. Among the most violent enemies of Christian- ity that have ever existed, hardly a single one has been bold enough to bring a charge against the character of Christ. If any have Recused Him, they were of +hat class of reck- less blasphemers who directed their iusultf t John, Tiii. 46 27 :l-:im I : ■! rnim* 298 infidelity; or, the last against God Himself. Even Voltaire and Rousseau admired the wonderful greatness oi the virtues of Christ; Rousseau confessed that If the death of Socrates was that of a wise man, the death of Christ was that of a God. It is the fashion of modern Infidels to place Ohrist amongst the greatest and wisest of man kind, and to call Him a hero of virtue. But In doing so they contradict themselves. Jesus is either what He claimed to be, true God and true Man, or else He was the greatest impostor the world has ever seen, and you have no right to call Him a great, wise, or virtuous man. If Christ was not the true Son of God, sent by the Father for the redemption of the world; then, as Lessing has justly remarked, Mahomet himself has not deceived the world half as much as He, and is a far better man. Mahomet only claimed to be a prophet, a man invested with extraordinary powers ; Christ proclaimed Himself to be God, and allowed Himself to be adored. A mere man who pre- tends to be God, and permits himself to be adored, and leads miliions of men into idolatry age after age, has no claim to be called wise or virtuous. To imagine one s self a God, ia madness ; to demand universal adoration, with- CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 299 out any title to it, stamps the man who attempts it, if he is not insane, as the vilest impostor and the grer^test malefactor that can be con- ceived. Christ is either truly God, or you have to say that He is the worst of men. 2. The Doctrine of Christ is in harmony with the Divine Mission which He claimed tc have received. " Never," said the Jews, " did man speak like this man."* Centuries have gone by since then, and it is still true that nc man has ever spoken as He spoke. Read the Gospels. I do not here urge them as in- spired, but only as historical records of the actions and doctrine of Christ, and as worthy of credit as the most faithful of ancient or modern annals. Is not the doctrine which is iifculcated in the Gospel, though constituting -^i'tion of the teachings of Christ, such as w >i expect from a messenger of Heaven ? Me ulu never have invented it. You can- not name a book, unless its contents be derived from the Gospels, which instructs' in so authoritative a manner, and imparts instruction BO pure and holy; none that, however fre- quently it may be read, retains bo well it* * • John, Tii. 44. 300 infidelity; or, the last original freshness, and its primitive impregs ot superhuman Hanctity. The doctrine of the Cot^pels bears the stamp of its origin, the sea, rf its Divine author ; it is always new, it is unalterable like God from whom it came Other works weary by repeated perusal ; the Gospels are always interesting, always in- vigorating to the soul, always brilliant and spotless like the sun. 3. Miracles of Christ. — The Divine Mission and the doctrine of Christ are confirmed by an infinite number of miracles. Jesus was able to say to the disciples of John the Baptist, '* Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again."* Christ appeals to His miracles in presence of His enemies, before whom He had wrought them, and who could not deny them, and did not attempt to deny them. The chief Priests and Pharisees said, " What do we, for- this man doeth many miracles ?"f They said eo on occasion of the raising of Lazarus from Uio dead. They did not pretend that Lazarug * John, xi. 4, 6 f Johu, zi. 47* CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 301 was only apparently dead ; they knew that, when he was raised to life, he had been buried for four days, and was in a state of decompc Bition. The power of Christ was so universallv known, that the Jewi.f. historian, Josephui, does not hesitate to call Him <' a man mighty in working miracles." 4. The PROPHECIES of Christ are as well authenticated as His miracles. He foretold among other things, the ruin of Jerusalem, the propagation of the Gospel, and the perpetuity of the Church which He founded. 5. Death of CimrsT—Christ laid down His life m testimony of His Divine Mis^^ion • He had proclaimed Himself the Son of Goa, and Bealed His words with His blood on Golgotha Caiphas the high-priest said to Him, *' I adjure Thee by the living God, that thou tell us ai Thou be Christ ^he Son of God. Jesus saith to him, I am. Nevertheless, I say to you. Here after you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and com ing m the clouds of heaven. Then the hi-h- priest rent his garments, saying: He hath blasphemed : what further need have we oi vitnesses ? Behold now you have heard the !.• 'M 3J2 infidelity; or, hie last blasphemy: what think you? But they an- swering, said : lie is guilty of death."* He ivas accused before Pilate of having called riirnself the Son of God : " We have a law, and according to the law He ought to die ; because He made Himself the Son of God."t It M-aa the Btrict and solemn duty of Christ, if He had been misunderstood, to explain His meaning. He was adjured to do so in the name of the living God ; He owed it to truth and Religion, for, if He was not God, He became the cause of idolatry to all His followers. Instead of giv- ing any explanation. He repeated what He had said, and enforced it by referring to the last judgment and announcing that He himself would appear in the heavens to judge the world. It was universally known that He claimed to be the Son of God ; while He was hanging on the Cross, the people said in deri- sion, " If thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross."J The centurion and his soldiers who were on guard near the Cross, when they saw the sun darkened, and felt the earth shaking under their feet, cried out in terror, "Indeed this was the Son of God."§ • Matt., xxvi. 63-66 ; Mark, x:v. 62. "t Luke, xix. 7. J Matt., xxvii. 64. I Mati., xxvii 54. CONSEQUENCE OF PRCTESTANTISM. 303 6. Tjie Resurrection.— The Divinity of the IMi.«.Hion of ChiiHt, was fully established by Ilia Uesurrectioti. That unheard of event was first announced at Jerusalem by the guard which had been placed around the sepulchre. When \i was preached for the first time by St. Peter on Pentecost, several thousands at once became Christians, among whom, us the Acts testify there were a large number of Jewish priests In the ranks of the Jewish priests were found the bitterest enemies of Christ, and they would never have become Ilis followers, had not the miracle of His Resurrection been proved be- yond all reasonable doubt. The Resurrection was the great argument that converted the heathen world. Nothing except its unques- tionable truth could have induced the Apostlea to announce it, or the priests of the Jews to Debeve it, or the proud heathens of Greece and Rome to renounce the lax morality of idolatry for the severe laws of the Gospel. No candid man who examines without prejudice the evid.>nces of Christ's Divine Mission, can doubt for a moment, that He really was what He claimed to be, the Son of God, and consequentlv that His doctrine! are Divine. il 304 infidelity; or, the last SIXTH CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENl HE UNDENIABLE DISSIMILARITY OF THE CHURCH OP CHRIST TO ANY PURELY HUMAN INSTITU* TION. Whoever believes in Christ, must believe what His Church teaches. Every proof that establishes the Divinity of Christ, demonstrates the Divine truth of His Church. That there is no similarity between the Church of Christ and any purely human insti- tution that has ever existed or can exist, ia evident from what I have said in this work on the marks of the Church. As it is unnecessary to repeat what has been sufficiently demon- Btrated, I shall direct your attention, in thia place, to one point only, the foundation of the Church and the miraculous propagation of the Gospel. Every man who knows what was the condi- tion of the world at the time when the Apostleg went forth on their mission, will admit that the propagation of the Gospel is of itself alone an evident proof of the divinity of the Church o( Christ. The world, as St. Augut?tine argues. CONSEQUENCE- OF PROTESTANTISM. 305 was converted to Christianity either by miracle or without miracle : if the world was converted by miracle, our faith is divine; if without miracle, then the conversion itself is the greatest miracle that was ever wrought. The reasoning of St. Augustine is unanswerable. St. Justin, in his argument for the Christian Religion, drew the attention of his countrymen to the gigantic obstacles which the faith had to encounter. He argued that a Roman citizen, before becoming a Christian, had to make so many sacrifices that it was impossible for him to be converted except upon irresistible evi- dence. *• Reflect," he says, " that we were not born Christians. We lived long enough among you ; we attended with you the philosophical lectures of your academies. Before becoming Christians we examined the matter earnestlv and thoroughly ; nothing but the weight o< undeniable, evident truth could have impelled us to do what we did in becoming Christians.' The same thing might be repeated to you at the present day by those who left your ranks to become Catholics. They might say. You knew us intimately, and you are our witnesses that without the most decisive evidence we should never have become Catholics. Let this be a warning to you not to pass lightly over the ill 306 INFIDELITY; OR, THE LAST claims of the Catholic Church : before rejecting them, examine them in earnest. The Divinity of the Church of Christ ia undeniable, as I have proved when speaking of the marks of the Church. The only quea tion that now remains to be settled is, Which is the Church of Jesus Christ. SEvilNTH CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT. THE UNDENIABLE AXIOM OF SAINT AMBROSE-- •'WHERE PETER !8, THERE IS THE CHURCH." I The irresistible force of this axiom has been • roved in the second chapter of this work. Aa surely as Christ said to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven ; feed my lambs, feed my heep:" as surely as Pius IX. is the lineal suc- cessor of St. Peter, so certain it is that no Church has any claim to the title of Catholic, except the Church which is in communion with the succeesora of Peter, the Roman Catholio I CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM, 307 Chiircb. I have proved above that any separ- ation from her, any change in her doctrine, and any possibility of such a change, are all equally nadinissible, absurd, insulting to the Divine authority and truth of Chri-st. You have to determine whether you will follow St. Peter and his successors, or such men as Simon Magus, Arius, Macedonius, Eutyches, Ne torius, Pelagius, and the rest ot the founders of schism and inventors of heresy down to Saint-Simon and Joe Smith. The seven points which I have thus briefly discussed, must necessarily lead every Infidel who is candid, and capable of reasoning logic- ally, to acknowledge that man wants a Divinely revealed Religion and consequently faith ; that tills Divinely revealed Religion is the only means by which he can reach his eternal destiny; that of all Religions and Churches which claim a supernatural or Divine origin, the only really Divine Religion, is the Roman Catholic Church. That Religion every man must admit, that Church every man must enter, if he wishes to save his bojiI. The proofs I ^f 3(s8 INFIDELITyj OR, THE LAST have ofTered are obvious and irrefutable. You must either admit them, or fall into absurdities Have you ever seen the suspension bridge near the Niagara FalL ? Which would you prefer, to cross the bridge and reach the oppo- site shore, or to throw yourselves headlong into the troubled waters of the foaming cataract ? You would deem the man insane who should seriously ask you such a question. Now each of my arguments places you in a similar situ- ation. Either you must follow the logical train of my reasoning, and pass on from argument to argument to the final conclusion, or you must cast yourselves into an abyss of self- contradiction and absurdity. I have only a few remarks to add, in antwer to some of the common objections of Inndela against Divine faith and against the aut'/orify of the Christian Revelation. l! II 0ON8EQUENGE OF PROTESTANTISM. 309 SECTION 11. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. The first objection of unbelievers, and one of the strongest obstacles to their admission of the claims of the Catholic Church, is the incomprehensibility of several articles of faith. The incomprehensibility of an article of faith^ is no valid objection against it ; on the contrary, precisely because we must expect a Divinely established Church to teach a faith Divinely revealed, we must be prepared for the an- nouncement of mysteries, or articles of belief surpassing the Irmits of human understanding. If the faith of the Church were in every respect evident, it would be a strong presumption against her claims as a Church Divinely insti- tuted ; indeed, in that case, a supernatural :'i| 3J0 IKFIDELITY , OR, THE LAST Rovelatioii would be altogether unnecessary Afystcries in a Divinely revealed Religion, are in perfect harmony wit' \'^ dislluctive char- acter and essential co:. ion Mysteries give additio.nal strength to me arguments which demonstrate the truth of the Catholic Church, for if those arguments were not absolutely convincing, men of intelligence could never have been induced to believe in revealed mys- teries. Before such men as Justin, Augustine, and others of like talent and genius, would believe the mysteries of the Incarnation and Transubstantiation, the infallible authority of the Catholic Church must have been demon- strated to them so as to leave no room for doubt. When once the Divine institution and the infallibility of the Church have been demon- strated, it is no longer reasonable to object to any article of faith on the grouii ' of its incom- prehensibility. Even in the natural order, when the proof is evident, the mere objection of incomprehensibility is not a sufficient ground for doubt. We meet with incomprehensible objects at every step in the sphere of purely natural truths and experimental facts. ] make bold to assert that somq of the mysteries of reason and experience a»'e far more incompre CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 311 hensible than the profoundest mysteries of Catholic faith. I will give one or two prooA^ o( it, both in the order of reason and in that o experience. Take the mysteries of the Trinity and Transubstantiation, and compare each of them with a mystery in the intellectual or experimental order. You say, Who can beheve that in one God there are three persons? Observing that by the three persons we do not understand three individuals, but three distinct relations sub- sisting in one nature, I ask you in my turn. Is this mystery more incomprehensible than the eternity of God? Reason can prove that there is a God, and that He exists without any beginning; but I ask you. Do you find it easier to conceive the mystery of existence without beginning, than the mystery of three persons in one God, as taught by the Catholic Church ? The former is as obscure as the latter; or rather, if you look into treatises of Catholic theology, I am confident you will find it easier to form some idea of the Trinity than of God's oternal existence and His relation to time. Reason, when placed between the alternative of incompreh* nsibility and self-contradiction, prefers the former to the latter, and rather chooses to believe what it cannot '.omprehend, ! II I If i l| 312 INFIDELITY J OR, THE LAST than to deny it when the denial inv oh ea af absurdity. This is applicable to the mysteiiea of our Religion. We accept the incompre- hensible, rather than deny the irresistible proofs of the infallibility of the Church, and by denying them contradict our reason. There are incomprehensibilities in our faith, but no contrar^ictions. When the infallibility of the Church is proved, nothing more is needed. God is the author both of reason and Revela- tion ; iaere are obscurities and mysteries in both. Th/4 i« further confirmed by the considera tion ssible that bread and wine can be ohf.f/rid into the Body and Blood of Christ ? I ^J'. you in my turn, Is the mystery of Tran- Bj'y tantiation, effected as it is by the immedi- T.t. .nfluence of God's infinite power, more in- explicable than the changes of substanse, the )yansmutations, that you meet with in nature At every step ? Can you explain the process of germination, growth, fructification ? Can you tell how the same juices of the earth are changed into a boundless variety of plants and CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 313 trees, and the juices of plant and tree into another endless variety of fruits. What secret pofver is it that causes one tree to produce ©ranges, another figs? How does the flower weave the same earthy substances into all the \arieties of exuberant or delicate textures ot vegetation ? You do not question the powera which God has imparted to inanimate nature, yet are not these changes of substance, where only a mediate influence of Divine power takes place, a thousand times more incomprehensible than that Transubstantiation which is eflected by a direct and immediate act of God's omni- potence? Is it not infinitely more incompre- hensible that God should have been able to bestow on senseless objects so great a diversity of powers, than that by His own immediate act He should be able to effect the mystery of Eucharistic Transubstantiation ? Animal life is as full of mystery as the vege- table kingdom, and leads to the same conclu- sion. You wonder how bread and wine can ie changed by the immediate act of Divine mnipotence, and you do not reflect that in your own body a more astonishing change of substance daily takes place. You eat bread and drink wine; the bread and wine are changed into the substance of your flesh and 28 314 infidelity; or, the i^\£t blood. Eucharistic Transubstantiation ia less afdoiiL'ihing than this change of substance eli'ccted by the powers of nature under the mediate influence only of Divine power. The process of vegetation and animal life may be regarded as a faint reflex in the natural order of an infinitely higher type of Transubstantiation in the Holy Eucharist ; only the natural changes of substance, being more complicated, are less intelligible than the simple change produced by direct Divine inter vention in the Eucharist There is a real con- nection between natural and supernatural truth, and between all truths, because God, in whom all truth has its origin, is essentially one. Revelation being the work of God as well as the visible world, is very intimately connected with nature. I have always observed this mutual relation with the greatest satisfaction. The intimate connection of reason aj\d revealed Religion, is evident, aL-o, when wo compare the principles of philosophy with those of theology, as every professor of theology has occasion to observe, especially when after having taught theology, ho returns, as I did, to the teaching of philosophy CONSEQUENCE CF PROTESTANTISM. 315 EVERLASTiNG PUNISHMENT. There ia an article of faith which Infidel generally reject with the utmost scorn, an w hich by itself alone appears to them to be 9 Buflicient reason to reject the whole of Chris- tianity. That article is the Eternity of the Pains of Hell. Let us briefly examine what right they have to deny it. The principal reason usually alleged against it, is the Infinite Mercy of God. Infidels pre- tend that Divine Mercy is in direct contradic- tion to Everlasting Punishment. But I ask, Why do not Infidels remember God's Infinite Justice, rather than His Infinite Mercy, when there is question of Divine punishment ? Why do they not infer from the nature of Infinite Justice, that the punishment of grievous sin must be eternal, since the offense involves a real contempt of Infinite Majest}' ? Certainly, God is infinitely good, but He is, likewise, in- finitely just. Because He is infinitely good, He rewards virtue with eternal beatitude. No one thinks of complaining of this, though an eternal reward, suoh as the beatific, everlasting » eion of God, infinitely surpasses all purely m 816 infidelity; OJl, THE LAST human merits. Sovereign Justice requires that the punishment should bear an adequate pro portion to the offense, and as man is incapable of undergoing torments which are infinite in intensity, it if* but just that he should be sub- jected to punishments tliat are infinite in dura- tion. The eternity of Hell is a fearful truth, no «loubt, and Infidels do their utmost to cast a doubt upon it, in order to stifle remorse, if possible, and to live on in sin with greater freedom. But their efforts are vain ; they can never disprove, nor even render doubtful, the existence of Eternal Punishments. To deny them, is to act in direct opposition to reason. I shall prove it. I grant that Eternal Punishments, are, in some respects, a mystery ; but, 1 need only remind you, mysteries meet us on every side, when we attempt to investigate the relations that exist between the Creator and His works. This fact will not be disputed. Every man knows too well that he cannot comprehend the relation of God's eternity to time, nor of His Immutability to His Creative Act. There are mysteries, there must be mysteries, in the mutual bearings which exist between the Divin ••h. CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 317 attributes and the physical and moral order of things. The finite cannot comprehend the Infinite , therefore it is wisdom to accept the clear teachings of Revelation on this as on all other subjects. You cannot reject, as a falsehood^ that upon wfiich you cannot pronounce a final judgment. To do BO, at the risk of eternal misery, this, assuredly, is a mode of acting which you your- selves, upon reflection, will pronounce in the highest degree unworthy of a reasonable being. The audacity of Infidels in denying the Eternity of Hell, appears in a still more striking light, if we direct our attention to the numbers and authority of those who are arrayed against them. As compared with Infidels, believers in Everlasting Punishment.s, possess an immense preponderance of learning, talents, genius, as well as an incalculable majority of numbers. Infidels have against them the united testimony of all Christian nations. Catholic and non-Ca- tholic, that have existed for eighteen hundred years. You know as well as we do. ivhat a vast weight of genius, science, virtue is found in this immense multitude. Indeed, Infidels put themselves in opposition to the whole of mankind, for the Eternity of Hell has been the 11.:^ 13 iH "•nil .(1 318 INFIDELITY ; OR, THE LAST uniform belief of men in all ages. The civil- ized, the barbarian, and the savage, Jews, Mahommedans, pagans, all tribes and tongues, of which there exists any record, have agreed in that belief, dreadful and mysterious as it is. Take, among ancient nations, the highly culti- vated Greeks and Romans : all who are ac- quainted with their literature, know that their philosophers, orators, and poets, speak of Ever-, lasting Punishments in another life as of a doctrine universally prevalent. Thus Virgil eingsi "Sedet, ceternumque sedebit Infelix Theseus."* " Chained, /ore«cr chained; there pines Unhappy Theseus." A large number of similar passages might be cited from Virgil, Ovid, Statius, and other ancient Latin poets. A great portion of the sixth book of the iEneid, and the eleventh oi Homer's Odyssey, is a description of the tor- ments of the wicked in Hadets or Tartarus. The idea of the Furies, the Titans, of the wheel of Ixion, the stone of Sisyphus, the pool of Tantalus, is but the poetic embodiment of a • Mn. I VI. V. 617, 6.8. CONSEQUENCE OP PROTESTANTISM. 319 universal conviction. Even Lucretius, a dls- eiple of Epicurus, joins his testimony to tbAtof all his cotemporaries : " Ignis ubi ardebit nullo delebilis aevo."* « Where fires shall glow, that Time shall ne^er quer,oh/» Plato, in his Gorgias, speaks of two ki.vTs of punishments, one of which is inflicte/I for offenses that can be expiated, and the other for crimes that admit of no expiation : those who are guilty of this latter class of crimes, will, he says, be punished by "frightful torments for- ever."! I might offer endless quotations from writers of all ages and nations, with whose literature we are acquainted, or from the works of travelers in all regions of the globe. This universal belief must have a common origin, and no other origin can be assigned for it than reason itself enlightened by the universal tra- dition of a primitive Revelation. Were the universal testimony of mankind in their favor, Infidels would be the first to appeal to it, but as it is against them, they are in the habit of passing it by in silence, and appealing exclusively to reason. • Lucret. De Nat. Rerum. t Plato, Dili. QorgiM. a20 INFILELITY J OR, THE IjAST But reason hears out the belief of mankind and shows it to have its foundation in the ver^ nature of sin and the Divine attributes, I'hough reason cannot fathom what is mys- terious in Eternal Punishments, yet it can demonstrate that they are perfectly in accord- ance with the intimate nature of sin and the perfections of God. In the first place, the malice of mortal sin is in its nature infinite, because, as I have observed, mortal sin involves a real contempt of Infinite Majesty. In the next place, man is created for God alone. If he serves Him on earth, his bliss in the next world will be perfect : it is but just, if he deliberately refuses to serve Him, and con- temns His law, that his misery in the next life should be complete. Man's happiness, to be perfect, must be eternal : his misery, to be complete, must be everlasting. St. Gregory the Great assigns a third rea- son. "It is right," he says, " that they should never be freed from punishment, whose soula n this life were never free from sin, and that the punishment of a reprobate should nevei have an end, because while living he placed no bounds to his malice."* The Eye of God reads the secrets of all hearts : He would cease to be t Greg. Magn. 1, 34. Mor. c. 19. CONSEQUENCE OP PROTESTANTISM. 321 Grod, were He incapable of inflicting a punisb* ment proportioned to human depravity. A fourth reason intimately connected with the receding, iu the necessity of an adequate anction of the Divine law ; that is, the law of God must be so enforced that, under all cir- umstances, there shall exist a motive power- ful enough to deter men from transgressing it. This is due to the supreme and sacred charac- ter of the Divine law ; but this demands that the punishment should be everlasting. Even in spite of Eternal Torments, men commit sin : what would happen, were they sure that Hell is not Eternal, and that all at last will be happy ? The penalty would be clearly insuffi- cient to enforce the law, and, for an immortal being, it would become contemptible. Human laws themselves, when properly enforced, have an adequate punishment attached to their trans- •»ression. You ask. Why does not God anni- ilate the sinner ? Annihilation is an act ol Jivine omnipotence, rather than of justice. No one will call suicide an act of justice, yet it is an attempt at self-annihilation. Annihila- tion, so far from being an adequate sanction of vhe law of God, would serve to encourage vie©. S22 £Nfidelity; or, the last not to restrain it. If he is to be annihilated, the sinner might aay with a triumphant con- tempt of God's Sovereign Justice, I will sni ai nuch aa I like ; I care not for annihilation. Everlasting Punishments, however fearful are nothing more than an adequate sanction ol the law of God, or a vindication of the immut- able sanctity of the moral order. To vindicate eternal order, is clearly an object of infinitely higher moment, than the endless misery result- ing from wilful transgression. If, as you would fain believe, God cannot enforce His law by the infliction of Everlasting Punishment, im- mortal beings might insult him fearlessly : an immortal being might disregard any punish- ment that will at last terminate; and God would be no better than a feeble parent, who cannot or dares not curb and chastise the in- solence of his offspring. But under the inflic- tion of Eternal Torments even Satan trembles. A fifth reason is founded on the very idea of human liberty and the probationary state of man on earth. It is in the highest degree worthy of Div^ine Wisdom, to have appointed for His creatures a period of probation, during irhich they may fieely make their choice be- tw as ItJ the tn mo in sin per The per] darj Ii son owr and scof the cam Hen spoli that laug can I of a oove] CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 323 tweengood ndevil. That period of probation as Revelation teaches, is limited to this life. It 18 in the very nature of a probationary fitate, that the final choice made during it, should be ^revocable, He who enters eternity guilty of mortal sin, places himself, of his own accord to a condition in which the guilt of mortal Bin can no longer be expiated, because the period of probation and of grace is passed. Ihe final choice, therefore, is in its own nature perpetual. In eternity, good and evil, light and darkness, are separated for evermore. In this unalterable order of Providence, rea- son can discover no absurdity, but is forced to own Its entire consistency with perfect Wisdom and Justice. Indeed, the most depraved scoffers at Religion, are so deeply convinced of the htness of Eternal Punishments, that they cannot help secretly fearing their reality. Hence frequently their anger when Hell is spoken of in the pulpit. Were they convinced that an Everlasting Hell is a fable, they would laugh at our threats. The utmost an Infidel can say, is, that he doubts. If so, it is the part of a wise man to investigate ; and if he dis. covew that Everlasting Punishments are a I i 324 infidelity; cr, the last reality reason commands him so to live ai never to merit them. But to be in doubt, and yet to live as if the doubt were without founda- tion, or too unimportant to deserve attention, hia is evidently to set reason at defiance! He who thus with unbounded recklessness exposes himself to eternal perdition, would deserve, indeed, that, if there was no Hell, God should create one for him especially, to punish so enormous an abuse of reason, so daring a defiance of God's Infinite Justice. This reminds me of the well-known dialogue between a Christian and an Atheist. " What a fool you are," said the Atheist, " to be so anxious to avoid sin, if there is no hell." "And what a fool you are," replied the Christian, " for if there is a hell, you are sure to go there." On this, as on so many other points, there is a glaring contradiction between the theory and the practice of Infidels. They admit that it is necessary to condemn certain criminals to perpetual imprisonment or even to death: but what is imprisonment for life, in the sphere oi human justice, but a sort of Everlasting Pun- ishment? Human laws, in your opinion, tequire it. Far weightier reasons, as I have CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 325 lust shown, require the infliction of Eternal Punishments for the vindication of the Divine Law. Eternal exclusion from the happiness of heaven, cannot, by itself alone, be considered an adequate sanction of the Divine law. To a vast majority of men, the prospect of an eternal existence exempt from suffering, would appear a sufficient degree of bliss. In consideration of such an existence, a rebel spirit might despise the most enormous guilt. Nothing short of Everlasting Punishment, without a shadow of comfort, or hope of relief, can serve as an adequate menace to restrain men from the commission of crime. A man may have no love of God, nor desire for the happiness of heaven ; his passions may be fierce, his pride Satanic ; still, if he makes any right use of hia reason, Everlasting Punishments must appear to him a sufficient motive to deter him from violating the law of God. The threat of Eternal Misery is necessary especially, for beings whose destiny is super natural. The mere exclusion from a superna tural beatitude, such as the Beatific Vision of God, would not possess the least efficacy as a means of checking the vicious. " The sensuaj man perceiveth not the things that are of the 326 infidelity; or, the last Spirit of God : for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand."* Supernatural biisg avyakens no desire in the hearts of sensual men it inspires many of them with disgust. But the bare thought of Everlasting Miserj terrifies the most obdurate wretch. He cannot despise it. Rather than admit that vice will lead to Eternal Punishments, he questions their existence, and vainly labors to persuade himself that they are a fiction, and man's im- mortality itself a mere dream ; or he rushes headlong into the wild tumult of worldly pleasures, in order to forget the dreadful future. His language to-day is what the Book of Wisdom, thousands of years ago, represented as the vain reasonmgs of the wicked. " Our time is as the passing of a shadow. Come therefore, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments, and let not the flower of the time pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they be withered : let no meadow escape our riot. Let none of us go without his part in luxury ; let us everywhere leave tokens of joy, for this is our portion, and this our lot. These things they thought, and were deceived, for their malice blinded them, and they knew not the secrets of God."t * 1 Cor., ii. 14. t Wisdom, ii. CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 327 Lastly, the two-fold sanction of the Divine ^nvv, is founded on the very nature of the Divine attributes. I have remarked above, that pecause God is infinitely good, He rewards the just with everlasting beatitude, and because He is infinitely just, He punishes the wicked with Everlasting Misery. I might have said, that it is the same infinite retributive Justice that rewards the virtuous and pun'shes the depraved forever. All the attributes of God »re the same Divine nature— they are God Himself, and derive their various names only from their varied relations to creatures. The eternal Divine law itself, in the last analysis, Is God. Eternal rewards and Everlasting Punishments are founded on the same retri- butive Justice identified in God with the eternal aw: they are the two-fold mirror of the same Divine attribute. The preceding remarks give me the right, 1 think, to draw the following conclusions : first, BO far as Eternal Punishments are a mystery,' reason has no right to pronounce a final judgment upon them ; secondly, though we cannot fully comprehend the Eternity of Hell, nor pronounce a final judgment upon it, vet we can prove, by the mere light of reason, that it is in harmony with the Infinite Justice and 328 INFIDELITY; OR, THE LAST Wisdom of God ; thirdly, as there is question liere, besides, of a point of revealed doctrine. man must submit his judgment to the evident uthority of Divine Revelation. A time shall come when Christ Himself shall fiilfil that solemn and most definite prediction, by vi'hich He wished to impress upon the minda of men the absolute necessity of submitting to His teaonings. That day shall come when Christ shall say to the just, "Come, ye blessed of my Father," and to the wicked, " Depart, from me, ye cursed;" " and these shall go into everlasting punishment ; but the just into life everlasting."* I have proved the Divine mission of Christ ; I have a right to say with St. Augustine, " He that is not roused by these words of thunder, ia not merely asleep but dead." As I have on all occasions spoken plainly throughout these pages, you must pardon me if J tell you, in conclusion, that the true reason why Infidels object to the doctrine of Eternal Punishments, is not that such punishments are absurd and impossible, but that, if the Eternity of Hell is a reality, they have but too much reason to dread it. • Matt., XXV. Uj 41, 48. CONSEQUENCE OP PRTTESTAN'riSM. 329 mSTENDED CONTRADICTION OF REVELATION WITH GEOLOGY AND HISTOltY. After having thua answered the objectionf drawn from the mysteries, I will now brieflj' answer the objections drawn from geology and history. Infidels object that the Catholic Church, founding her ideas on the Bible, teaches that the world is only about six thousand years old. whereas it is proved by undeniable geologicaj observations that our globe has existed for many millions of years. Similar objections are made on historical grounds, and it is con- tended that human history can be traced back through a series of ages far exceeding the Christian computation. In regard to the geological objection, I answer, in the first place, that the Church has never defined the duration of the period of time which elapsed between the creation of the first elements of the world, and their co-ordin- ation on earth and in the heavens ; in other words, between the epoch indicated by the first v«rse of Genesis, " In the beginning God ! :'ii| 330 infidelity; or, the last created heaven and earth," and the othei epoch when God said, " Let there be light." Secondly, the Church has never defined that the days of the Mosaic cosmogony were daya of twenty-four hours. This observation is « complete answer to every geological objection that can be brought against Divine Revelation. Lastly, even taking the days of the Creation to be days of twenty-four hours, the geological objection has no force, for there is a most im- portant distinction to be made, which usually is entirely overlooked, between the period ol creation and the time subsequent to it. There is an immense difference between the activity of natural powers under the immediate influ- ence of the creative act of God, at the moment of their creation, and their subsequent activity when they are permitted to act in accordance with the permanent laws of nature which God has given them. Many of you know that the progress of science often enables us to do in a few moments, what used to be, under other circumstances, the work of considerable time. The powers of nature during the creative epoch may have been able to efl^ect in a short time what now requires thousands of years to be accomplished. God may have given to the world the appearance which it presents, io 10 CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 331 order to try our faith, our submission to revealed Religion. The objections drawn from history have no force wimtever. No doubt there have existed nations whose vanity has prompted them to claim an imaginary duration embracing count- less centuries ; but have they ever prove 1 their claims by any historical document? They give us fables, and a confused mass of asset tio'is ; they have not even forged a history ; fchey do not relate a single fact. No history oi any nation reaches back to the time of Noe. It is, indeed, hard to conceive how the fabuloua pretensions of national vanity, ever came to be brought forward as an objection against bibli- cal history. Such tales may be good enough for the nursery ; they are certainly unwoi-thy of serious discussion. The same must be said of the class of objec- tions founded on the Sanscrit books and lan- guage, and on certain Egyptian monumenta and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Some of those objections are in reality founded on nothing better than astrological conjectures; othera on various kinds ot inventions equally arbitrary ; all of them are alike destitute of force and per- tinence. They may agree with the prejudices of Infidels, but they are of no value in a seri- ous and candid discussion You cannot cite a 4J32 infidelity; or, the last Bingle one xvLich is worthy the seriDus notice of an intellis^ent man. I return to the proposition that a logical mind must either admit the conclusiveness o( the seven arguments which I have adduced, and their irresistible consequences, or remain convicted of self-contradiction and absurdity. Yea, it is absurd, while you contemplate the universe, to say, There is no God. It is absurd, while you look upon yourself aa ii reasonable being, to deny the immortality of the soul It is absurd, \diile you confess that there is a God, and that you are a reasonable and im- mortal being, to maintain that you have no essential relations to Him, that you have no truths to believe, no duties to fulfil, or,inothei words, that there is no Religion, It is absurd, while you grant that your reason is insufficient to guide you to salvation, to deny the necessity of Revelation. It is absurd, while you proclaim Christ to have been the wisest and most virtuous ol men, to maintain that He falsely pretended to be the Son of God. It is absurd to pretend that the Church founded by Him, and endowed with all the marks of a Divine origin, has erred, or can err CONSEQUENCE OP PROTESlANTISM. 333 It is absurd, while you acknowledge thjt this Church was committed to the guidance of St. Peter and his successors, to deny that the Catholic Church, which is the only Church governed by the successors of St. Peter, is the true Church of Christ, and that out of her pale there is no salvation. I know that if a man is determined to im- pugn the truth at all hazards, it is always in his power to urge sophistical objections, aad by unreasonable cavils to hide its light from his own mind. If in the face of heaven and earth, in spite of the myriads of contingent beings of which the universe is composed, there are men who have the audacity to deny the existence of the Creator, and pretend to consider the world as the work of chance, it is no wonder that men are to be met with who, in the face of all arguments, will continue to deny the claims of the Catholic Church, and the divinity of Christ. But as St. Paul declares atheists inexcusable, because the existence of God is evident from the existence of the universe; so whoever refuses to recognize the Catholic Church as the Church of God, is inexcusably guilty, because the evidences of her claims ar« i ' ' 334 infidelity; or, the last Bo obvious and overwhelming, that no on* ^3 examines thenn fairly can fail to be convinced. I tnay compare the seven conclusive argu menls which I have urged, to the seven thunders spoken of in the Apocalypse. Rolling on thr(>ugh the course of all centuries, the> announce to Infidels and unbelievers the ap proach of the last awful judgment, when it shall be made jlear before the world, that whoevei has erred and perished, has erred and perished freely; wnen, as is affirmed in Holy Writ, the wicked wiU exclaim, "repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit," " We fools. . . . There- fore we have erred from the way of truth; and the light of jtistice hath not shined unto us ; and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us. . . . What hath pride profited us ; or what advantages hath the boastingof riches brought us ? All those things are passed away like a shadow." Notice these lamentations. Is it not pride that makes Infidels and unbelievera despise Catholics for their submission to the Church in matters of faith, or, as is often also the case, especially in this country, for their poverty ? All this will be changed on the last day : « We fools esteemed their life madness and their end without honor. Behold now they CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANflSM. 335 wc numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints." The utter impossibility of finding an excuse for their conduct, will crown the despair of un- believers and infidels. Either they were con- vinced and rejected the truth deliberately ; or they wilfully refused to clear up their doubts, end discover the truth. Your error is wilful-- this, like a dash of lightning that shatters while It illuminates, accompanies each of the seven arguments wLich I have placed before you ." Destruction is thy own," is the terrific inscrip- tion written on the portals of the eternal abyss, and the wail of self-reproach that forevei re-echoes through all its fearful depths. Here, dear friends and fellow-citizens, J con- elude this appeal. You have no choice except iHE Catholic Church— or Despair. Every one who has read these pages with- out prejudice, must have understood clearly that Protestantism, in its tendency, leads to Distress and Despair; that in its principle it Dvolvefl absurdity, that in its prejudices it u a36 infidelity; or, ihe last founded on calumny ; that in its last coneie* quences it implies self-contradiction, and ♦hat in every point of view, it is a Religion at wai with the human heart and intellect, and with human society. The history of Protestantism confirms all 1 have advanced. Protestantism began by in troducing division and discord among brethren ; it has continued its work of division in its own bosom : religious animosity and hostile doc- trines divide its sects ; its work of division ia forever progressing. Luther, Calvin, and their adherents would have done well to amend their own lives ; the faults which they had observed in individuals could not justify them in the rash and violent introduction of discord and hatred among mil- lions of brethren. The condition of the whole world would be far better than it is, if all Christian nations were till united in the same faith. No one can calculate the amount of misery and bloodshed that would have been avoided, if England Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and Russia had remained Catholic. If all these powers, instead of being actuated by religioui jealousies, had united their efforts to conveit CONSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 337 idolatrous nations, particularly in Asia, there is but little doubt that, with the Divine assist- ance, they would have succeeded in that glori- ous undertaking. A time will come when all our separated brethren will return to Catholic unity. « They ihall be made one fold and one shepherd." >Iappy the time when the Christian world sTiall A'itness their return. The Te Deum which will then be intoned by the Sovereign Pontiff as Head of the Church, will be the most glorious and consoling ever intoned by the Vicar of Christ. There is no country where a -return to Catholic unity would bear richer fruits than in the United States ; none where, even in a political and social point of view, it would be mors desirable. E phribus unuin, ia your national motto : nothing would contribute more effectually to keep the States united, than mity of faith. Sectarianism fosters animo.sity. Mutual charity and universal happiness would be greatly promoted, if, inr «ad of the denomi- nations which now divide the numerous fami- lies of all nations that have fixed their abode in this noble land, the spiritual authority o{ the only true Church of Christ were to unite them all in one ccmmunvon of faith and hope. 338 infidelity; or, the LAr.. JMay God in His infinite goodness hasten ths time when this happy union of faith shall be &<'compli!slied in this glorious Republic. Let ©Hch one contribute his best efforts to bring bout that auspicious event. This little work has been written for that purpose. I kno>' that my arguments will not have the effect ol making all my readers members of the Catho lie Cuuj-ch and heirs of heaven ; but 1 entertain the firm hope, and cherish the sweet consola- tion, that all who are sincere and resolute will be moved, by the perusal of this work, to inquire earnestly into the truth of the Catholic Religion, and I am sure that all who do so will, with the grace of God, become Catholics. Nothing in the world could have induced me to leave ray native country, but the desire which has prompted me to write these pages. My most earnest wish is to contribute, as far as I am able, to bring you to the knowledge of the truth, and place you in the path of salva- tion. Now that I have addressed you all, I hall leave this life with the sweet hope that 1 oave fulfilled my duty towards you as iiy bif'thrcn in Jesus Christ, as my friends, and fellow-citizens. If now and then I have made use of any fei^Mh expressions, I hop**, you will forgive me, I Cv/NSEQUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM. 339 for the reason which I have alleged in tha Preface. When speaking or writing on a sub- ject of such vast importance as Religion, Charity commands us to utter tiie truth iiJIild^' and fairly in the plainest language. Once more I declare, in the presence of God, M'ho searches the inmost recesses of the heart' that I have not the least bitterness of feeling against any religious denomination, but cherish in the depths of my soul the deepest affection for all. i am firmly persuaded that in all denominations of Christians, whether they are called Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, or by whatever name they may be distinguished, there are noble-hearted men, who err not from malice, but because they have' been born and brought up in Protestantism, and have never earnestly examined the reli- gious questions discussed in these pages. Those sincere and candid men will read ''my arguments with the same pure intention, the same calm and earnestness, with which I have written them, and will, with the aid of Divine grace, derive from them the fruit of conversion which they are intended to produce. I say wifh tfie aid of Divine ^race, because faith, after all, is a gift of God. .Vo arguments » oufver powerful, no CNidence, however con-' 340 infidelity; or, the last vincing, can impart Divine faith, Ilumilitj and prayer are necessary. It is necessary td Bay with the centurion of the Gospel, " I do believe, Lord ; help Thou my unbelief." Give me strength to proceed in my inquiries, to accomplish vi^hat Thy grace has shown me to be necessary for my salvation, and to be a member of Thy Church. I know, said Du Perron, that I can convince any man of error, and prove to him the undeniable truth of the Catholic Church; but 1 cannot convert heretics : for that purpose 1 send them to the Bishop of Geneva. He referred to St. Francis de Sales, at that time Bishop of Geneva, who had the gift of soften- ing the hearts of men. It is not enough to convince the mind, the heart must be con- verted. St. Paul could convince Agrippa, and terrify Felix ; but even St. Paul could not convert men who refused to be converted. When the will obstinately resists the grace of conversion, the most that can be obt;''.ied is a confession like that of Agrippa, " Thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian ;" or like that of the Areopagites, " We will hear thee again con- cerning this matter." CONSEQUENCE OP PROTESTANTISM. 341 There are but too many who thus resist the grace of God. For such men all argument U 111 vam. Unless you humble yourselves before God, and have recourse to prayer, you will not De converted. You will say at best, You- arguments have almost made me a Catholic. I will again consider the subject at 3ome future time. Who has promised you that the time which you hope for, will be granted ? « To-day if you .hall hear Hi. voice, harden not your hearts." To-day, while you are reading these pages, you hear the voice of God ; pray to God that you may clearly understand the truth, and resolve to embrace it. Never will you find peace or hope, imless you obey your convictions. On the other hand, you will be sure to enjoy peace, if following the inspirations of grace and the dictates of your conscience, you ask with the Bincerity of St. Paul, « Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ?" and if, without delay, with a Timd fully made up, you follow the known will fGod. Many an Elymas will do his best to prevent you from becoming Catholics. Yon will have to f ncounter the reproaches of those whose intf rest it is to uphold Prote^tant^im ; you wiU 342 INFIDELITY ; OR, THE LAST have to in et 'id conquer the still mor^ formidable iiiliuence of popular opinion. But why should we seek to please men rather than God ? Why should a man be ashamed t^l avow hia convictions, e^rrr-ia'ly in this free country ? Why should he lack the courage to do that on which all the consolations of hia life and all his hopes for eternity depend? But one thing is necessary, and that is to render yourself pleasing to God by leading a life worthy of the Catholic faith. I have endeavored to contribute towards this object, by a work entitled " A Manual of the Catholic Religion for Self-Instruction." On all subjects, except the Catholic Church, your national character is eminently distin- guished by a spirit of inquiry. Look into our doctrines seriously, earnestly, impartially, as was recently done by one of your eminent men. Judge Burnett, formerly Governor of Oregon. Read his work, " The Path which led Protectant Lawyer to the Catholic Church." Conducting his investigation upon principles similar to those which govern legal proceed- ngs, he compared the Protestant with the CathoUc doctrine, consulted eminent writers on both sides, and became a Catholic. Adopt this or an) other method which you may pre- consequencl of protestantism. 343 fer but by all means, if you love the truth, and wish to be saved, exanune the Catholic reli. gion, and examine it with earnestness and Jnipartia]ity,and you shall return to th*. bosom of the Mother Church, from which viole.ice and calumny separated your ancestors, and from which the prejudices of birth and education have kept you alienated. If any one of you, after having become a Catholic, should be asked the reason why he has taken such a st p, let him answer with La Harpe, -Mes amis, j'ai examine, et je crois; examinez, et vous croirez.— My friends I have examined, and I believe; examine, and you will believe." Earnest examination united with fervent prayer will surely lead you to the Catholic Church, the Mother of knowledge, of holy hope and holy love, the ever-flowing source of con- solation in time, and the only guide to a bhssful eternity, through Jesus Christ ou" Lord her Founder. Amen. 9B1 EKO.