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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithoc^e. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Em "^jmB eSs m^ sms^ ao^is smm sr^p^is' mMM mi?m siMfa SES^ smB. m liE RlS ROMAN CATHOLIC CURIOSITIES se ai SI R][5^ ,^ 11 m .\N POPERY. Two Lfiir4>\-('o„ io(, \(lcl;ii,ic Si. West. ^ m m Ij^l I / ROMAN CATHOLIC CURIOSITIES -AND POPERY. Two Lecliiros by " B. in. »♦ .. THE HOLY ROMAN CUKIOSMT SHOP. 2. C;OI)\S VICKOKKENCV ON F-AKTH. Printed by C. M. Rr.r.is i^ Co., 109 Adelaide St. West. 1893. PRICE TEW C^J^TH, THE Holy Roman Curiosity Shop. eu, seenib to be especially strong n a place where if «h«..M be least expected. An institution which professes to make ,tt^ business to prepare men for a life in another wo Id^'thout a niaterial body and its material needs, the Church the ounde? owh,ch has even extolled poverty/has always been and is Whoever has had dealings with the Nun^ u*.ii i,«^ u close-fisted they are, and h'ow, on the one hand hey "Ju bar" gam for a cent when buying, and how, on the o her hand thev w. 1 exact the utn^pst when selling or making a lea'e A verv mterestmg letter, m a late number of the cLada Revue JI We'nkn V^""^ '^^'^ ^''''''^ '^' '^' °f money making" "^^ Jl. '^'-^^^ ^^"o^' that, on account of the widening of ]leurv h rft u ^" "''^''- ^ 'i"P °f I^'-^P^^y belonging to the fesu^S nt lar'eXn'"^ ''^/r' ^^^^^^ '^^'^ a sum^ three imies larger than ,) awarded by the Citv Asspcc^rc ^^a *u matter hac! to be b.cgh, into the^Courto/RevrewTh" ,'''?' allele n,ay !«: read in the Cuada Revie ol toth uJcembeT ■ 892, the journal which is now under the ban of theChuTh 1 he best paying business carried on by the Church was anH IS to sonie extent even now the sale of Relics and rnl7gences and to keep up this trade the people were en^n^HTn'S .uu.. aoommaDie superstition, and then swindled in" t"hemiit e THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. ^ nful manner To write a complete history of this traffic carried on by the Holy Roman Cathohc Church ^^ould be a gifHantic work, and far exceed the limits I must necessarily put wii mII ^^''' ^ ^»" 0"'y 8've a hasty sketch, which, however, will be sufficient to show the enormous extent and the astonish- mg absurdities of this system of deception. The priests thoroughly understood human weaknesses and tendencies, and to this they owed their success. They soon found that people are more or less fond of Relics, and the knowledge of this became to them a "gold mine," which even to the present day has not been exhausted Everybody values a relic of some kind, be it a lock of hair ot a beIov;ed one, an embroidered letter-case, a dried flower or a piece of ribbon ; likewise it is of great interest to see thinus Which have been used by celebrated persons. The old CJreeks and Romans .had their relics, and some of them were almost Roman Catholic in their nature, as for instance, •« The Egg of Leda," and " The Holy Shield Fallen from Heaven." The Hindoos carried on great wars about an enormous tooth supposed to belong to Buddha, and the Mahommedans preserve flags, arms, clothing, the beard, and two teeth of their prophet ; and so we find relics among every In the hi itory of the Christian Church, no trace of relics can be discovered until the time of Constantine. It is related of him that during a battle he saw in the heavens a shining cross, with the Greek inscription, » By this sign thou shalt conquer. He immediately had a flag made adorned with a cross, and his soldiers, who were mostly Christians, followed it with enthusiasm. After that event the cross became fashionable, and very soon Helena, the Emperor's mother, is said to have discovered the true cross upon which, more than three hundred years before, Christ was crucified ; also the grave in which Christ's body had reposed before its resurrection. The contemporary writers say nothing al>out this discovery ; even Eusebius, who describes the journey of the Empress, says nothing about these wonderful discoveries. Nevertheless the story has been accepted, and the Church celebrates a particular feast of "The Discovery of tne Cross." Helena is said to have found also the crosses of the two thieves, but as she did not find fh*^ w*-li- THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP, 7 aS t^[hf f' '"*"'P^'°" ^»^'^h Pilate had ordered to be m;r,^» 1 V °^"^"- 1 nests, however, have nventive mmds, an. 1 they managed this litue difficulty verinS Hiey placed a sick person upon one of the croLes and he hTgodlerrhi^f Vhi:, th '°\'^ ""^^ '^^^ been the'aoss of iiic gouiess iniet. 1 hen the sick man was placed uoon nnp nf ui me penitent thief. When finally he was put uoon the fhirH When we consider how difficult it sometimes is even in deXed "p^s'o'; ^'h""'" ''.rK""^>' ^'^^ ---- o' "me rnnolf.K^ r' ' ^^" '" ^" ^^^ civilized States (except Canada) the Government insists upon registration of all Ss marriages and deaths, it is really marvelou7?o L that^^ of aint7U;'h/d"h' "°* °"'^ ')' '^"^^ '^"^ also the cloth s 01 saints who had been executerl as criminals, and had been alUste^^^^^^^ ^"^^'^^^••^ moreVrnder^uUh'n that if nm L /k °"'*' .'"""''' '° many parts were found been LT T'^^'' '^''^'''^ ^^'"P'^^e skelftons could have been made. Jor instance, there are two complete skeletons of St^ Dionysius~one in St. Denis. France, another in St poTsesToie'ofv'r"^' "^J'^' Prague and Bamberg each possess one of his heads, and Munich a spare hand so th^ this Saint had two complete bodies, five hand^s^ and four helds Ihe first saints were mostly unknown people, and of no ortb? h1' V-''"'' ^T '"^ '^ *^ strange^tha'J the adoration !u V Virgin -who out of the millions of drls unnn earth was chosen by C.od as a " vessel of grace "-shoukl have thought of adoring the Virgin Mary -in fact manv thin^J were said derogatory to her character. F^ Ltarce Chrysostomus considers her capable of suicide, and relaS that the angel notified her of the conception of Tesus Sfore she discovered her state, otherwise the Vov?rv^?I.Kt'! -a her to ,od her life out of shame. The adoration^ Mar)' 8 THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. commenced in the fifth century, but very soon she had out- stripped not only all saints, but even Christ and God himself. 1 he name " Mother of God," now so common, created much bitterness in the fifth century. Nestorius thought " Mother of Christ '' more sensible and decent, but the Ephesian Council decided for "Mother of God." It was quite natural that afterwards people commenced to adore also the " Grandmother of God ;" and if it had not been for Pope Clement XI., who in- terfered, the Catholics probably would today pray to aunts and uncles of God. Albertus Magnus, Bishop of Regensberg, who died at Cologne, 1280, studied the subject of the Virgin Mary most exhaustively, and has written many large folios about it 1 here are twenty-one of his books in existence. He is said to have written eight hundred. He tried to find out whether she was blonde or brunette, dark-eyed or blue-eyed, large or small. It IS, however, doubtful whether he has settled the question. To judge by the existing relics, her hair must have been variegated m color— brown, blonde, black and red The hair w'lth which, on St, Mary's Day, she personally mended the shirt of Archbishop St. Thomas was rather red. But all accounts agree that sha must have been very handsome. St. Damiani, who died in 1059, relates that God himself fell violently in love with her. He called together a special heavenly convention, in which he told the wondering angels about his love and the plan of salvation, and gave to the Archangel Gabriel a letter addressed to the Virgin, containing all particulars. Gabriel called on Mary, and as soon as he had spoken to her she felt that she would become the mother of the Savior. Angels took the whole house of Mary and carried it from Jethlehem to Italy. They left it near a place called Tersatto, but afterwards removed it to Loretto. The inscription over the house reads, " The House of the Birth-giver of God, where- in the Word became Flesh. ' Over this house, which, both as to form and material, does not differ at all from the other peasants' huts of Loretto, is built a magnificent church, and thousands of pilgrims flock there in order to dip their rosaries into the little gruel-pan belonging to Jesus, and (what is most important) to sacrifice a more or less considerable sum of money. Thus a large treasure has been collected bv a gross, biuiineiess and ridiculous deception. ' "^ • \ • • THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. 9 However the good Catholics were so well trained by their priests, that they mistrusted their own eyes rather than a priest. In 1500 a monk named Eiselin travelled through Wurtemberg, showing a feather out of Aiohangel Gabriel's wing. To kiss this feather was a preventative of the Black Pest -of course the kiss had to be paid for. One night this precious feather was stolen, but that did not trouble the good monk a bit. In the presence of his landlady be filled a little box with hay, and pretended that it came from the manger in which Jesus had lain, aud the hay was kissed instead of the feather. Even the landlady kissed it, so that Eiselin said to her in surprise, "And yc 00, my darling!" The traffic in relics soo.i became enormous. Old rags and bones could be found everywhere, so that no capital was re- quired for this business, and the profits were large. When the Bishops of Rome became Popes, they stopped this traffic somewhat, but only for their own selfish purposes The relics had to be examined in Rome, and in order to be considered genuine by the authorities, proof had to be brought forth m the shape of gold coin. This was a protective mea- sure for the purpose of fostering Roman home industry in relics. ^ Ludovicus, the Holy King of France, made two unsuc- cessful crusades, but he was consoled by the fact that he had succeeded in purchasing for a large sum a few splinters of the cross, a few nails, the sponge, the purple gown of Jesus, and the crown of thorns. When these treasures arrived, he and his whole court went to meet them, barefooted, as far as Vincennes. Henry the Lion— another King of France— brought a lot of relics to Brunswick, the most valuable of which was a thumb of St. Marcus, for -which the city of Venice in vain offered 100,000 gold ducats. One almost ceases to sympathize with the people of that day. They were so stupid that the priests would have had to be angels not to take advanta-^e of their stupidity. The whole wardrobe of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and other saints, turned up. The holy lance was found with which Longmus wounded Jesus in the side, and the hankerchief w.in „Ri^„ ^r. Tcranii^u wipcu inc perspiration iroiii Jesus' face on his way to Golgotha, and into which he pressed his likeness 10 THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. in memory of the event. Of this hankerchief existed so many SUn^^^^^^^^^^ '""^^ '-^ ^-" '^^y >-^« >-«-' ^c^^ The wine jugs used at the wedding of Cana were found c ^a'seT' I 1.n""^' ' ""'^^^•'■"' y^'' ^^'^^ »-er d- creased. At first there were only six, but they were soon augmented, and they were shown af Cologne and MagdebuTg Of splmters of the cross there were enough to build a large man-of-war ; nails, hundreds of pounds ; and thorns grew on Good Friday. The cup was discovered, also, out of which Ir? ?/'"'' '' '^l ^''' ^"PP^*- ' ^'^« «o"^e of the bread wh ch which tne sodiers played for the coat of Christ. This coat was seamless and it was shown simultaneously in five different places. As late as 1845 the whole civilized world was disgusted to see an exhibition of the only genuine coat a i.nTn'i. ^T'"y- -^^ '^^'^ coats were guaranteed by a so w. finH K genuine ; and as one ouly could possibly be so we find here a Tf/Z/M/ deception on the part of the Po/>^ In the year 1893, however, the Bishop of Versailles, Mgr" Coux, decided that both of the rival coL at Treves iioi: '''•??^u'^"ti^''^^"*^"'' '" ^•■^"^■e ^'^ genuine and authentic w.th this diiference, that Christ was in the habit of wearing the I reves coat on the top of the other one. ^ Shirts of Mary were found large enough to serve as an PeTusTJZ^ stout man ; also a precious ring was shown at sSe?; .nH.i ' ^"'^ ' r^^'"^ "■"«• ^^' P^^«y small si ppers, and also a pair of very large red ones were exhi bited. Milk of the Holy Virgin was found TncoS^^^^^^^^^ quantities; and blood of Jesus^as found in smairdrops and sometimes in large bottles. Baby napkins of Jesus, cafp^n er ^ Vu'?^' °"' °^ '^^ thirty silver pieces, a hick rope with which the traitor Judas hanged himself, hs empty purse and lantern the roost upon whicL sat Peter's cock a^nd a few feathers of the biVd, the basin in which Tilate washed hi^ hands, the bones of the donkey on which Jesus rode on Palm Sunday also a few of the original palm leaves used on th.^ F?;.rnn tT '"*='' ^""""'^ ^^""^ -'•"^ ^hown for money. l^ven Old Testament relics came to the surface, such as Moses' stick, manna, Noah's b'^ard *he h-a-n -^r- -^ ^vioses ! ^ «, -1 -till a u^*jrij, »ne Dce' unless the cunsiderable time in uus f.^ntina of int macy with pHests (who must have been »" => /""^^j,,"^ hto forwarded l,e required to release a poor^oul. ^_^_^^_j ^^ ^j_^ There were few who »tre not 4" '"=„,, yj jgttied ability of the Pope to condone sms^^^^^^^ ^.Tellle human that pomt m his Bull of ^^42 as toiio ^^ race could have been ^f^.^V °^^7' f," ^IZ shed that this Jesus; but so much ° /'^. ^,^^°f be'n in vain, constitutes copiousness, which could "'^^^. J?^^^^^^°^^"^^^ to the n^^ormous an mc>^^^^^^^^ church, and to this trea-.ure u K^ f condoning sms." can draw from it eternally for the P"[P^f ^^^^^^^j^g of grace, Whoever made a pilgrimage to this or ^^at ^^^^^^^^^ j^ and sacrificed the "----y^'^J^^JJ^/ir In ' s"es a^ absolution for past or even for uture ^'^^•^^ ^^ ..^.^e .as, in tl-l-t century, s.ch a f -,-;»- .^bed of all its ^"'l ":.n"d vXab^es The p iests soon found the thief, in the i7,:lV" " nM.>ederick t' e (Ireat's soldiers, arjd they com^ ^Sdtoth'eking. The soldier admitted tuat nc pu..«=cd THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. 13 the missing articles, but said that the Virgin Mary had given them to him. The king then asked the priests whether this could be possible. They answered that of course it was possible, though very impro^iable. In consequence, the soldier was not punished; but the great king issued an order to his sjldiers, on pain of death, never to receive any more presents from the Virgin Maty. ^ S,)m^ relies were exhibited but once every seven years This was done to attract people through the rarity of this privilege, and so that the interest should not flag, In 1496, i-|2,ooo devoted people flocked to Aix la Chapelle, to see the gigmtic coat of Mary, the baby napkin of Jesus made of yellowish felt, and the cloth upon which had lain the detached head of John the Baptist. The harvest was magnificent. In 18 18 there was a revival, and these old rags were trotted out again, but this time only forty thousand pilgrims came. The Reformation, the Revolution and much-hated Rationalism, had rent a large hole in the old superstition. Yet in 1845 as I mentioned before, the seamless coat of Christ was shown at Treves, and about a million of believers came there to kiss that old garment. The same show was held in Treves again in 1891. That the Popes she:ir their sheep pretty well is a well-known fact, but it may interest you to know that the Holy Father IS m reality a sheep-breeder, and the prices he gets for his wool would make an Australian stock-breeder green with envy. The Pope keeps a small number of lambs which have been sanctified over the graves of the Apostles, and out of this wool IS made the Episcopal "Pallium." The "Pallium" ongmally was a Roman mantle, made of purple stuff, gold embroidered and ornamented, and was given to Patriarchs and Bishops by the Emperors as a token of their esteem- much as nowadays kings and queens give Orders, Ribbons, Garters, etc. Gregory I. was the first Pope who took it upon himself to dispense this favor instead of the Emperor. Gradually, as was always the case with Popes in other things, they claimed it as their sole right, made a monopoly of it and forced the Bishops to buy the " Pallium " in Rome. The Popes were the sole manufacturers. The article complete- blessing and all— cost 30,000 florins ($10,000), terms cash, and this was such a nice source of income that John VIII. 14 ™e holy boman cruiosm- shop. considered too good ^^l ,e fo ' f hL 'u '^*'' "^^' ^''-"'"^"t «"« ^hey substituted forit Hb 0,1^0. ^'l'"'^ '"'" P^''^ for it. "nd «vtM the fret nnd backX k"'"^ ^'^^0 by nuns, of the 1 1 .K \^*''- '^'^'^'^' nbbons S -e.ghed about' six ounces w" f^^"! ^'^^ ^^-^^ Iambs, Ynd 'wrought about $.c o o kI '''"S'-"' ^^ I'«""d of tiiisW and succeed each'^itl.er r.^ t 'uu.Vlf. ""'^';>- '^'^^ 8^"^'-^ " ^Je.r successors had to bu^ a new^" ajl'in'"' ^^^^^ "'^"V died Mayence was obhged to sell Z].ft\ T' <^»*^ '^'^hop of esus to raise the funds^o n' Lf ^^F,?[,^ Sokki^ image of Bishops received two bil s fo a ' pl ^ ''"?'"•" 'Somethues I'ope^. How they got ove thi^ diffl ,""\ ^'" '^^ ^^^unter- I^ope Boniface VI 11 had . n i L^'^^ ' ^° "^^ know, a J"bilee year, hke that of the ol7f '" ''"''• "^ '-t't^ted ever came to Rome dur ng the Tubn "''"' '"^' J^^^'^- ^^ ho- h.s mite upon the altar recfiv.H k ^'''. >'^''^''' ''^"^ deposited committed. Who wotHd nm^ ll ^hd ^"'°" '°^ ^'^ ^'"^ --' A httle short murder, for instwe i . ^'' "^ ^^ ^^'^ ^ins ? any honest man's whole i e Tnd ' h '''' '''. [""^ ^"^ ^"^bitt.r receive the assurance tha nn .? ^}'' '''""'^ "ot be happy to unpleasantness would no? S' ^Jf^ ^^ "/ ^"^^'"^"t thi's*^ tt £ s-nners who could afford ^ camrto Tom ^ '^'^"^^">'' ^" ^^e the year 1300, anu the Popes harvi!^ " '°°'°°° ^''^"'^ '^ fifteen millions of florins in one ve'r ""'' '"^^^ense-about hose days This business ^nrnL''*" ^""'■"io"s sum for that Pope Clement vl had th. ?, °"' ^ ""'-^•^Pectedly good o order a repetition of thsfr.^''''"^^'^ S°«^»^«« of heart Urban VI. made it everv thf I fif ^""^'^ ^'^^y ^^ars. Pop" number of years wh£h fel ' 1 ^f T*"' ^'^ '"^"^o-y of the 't to twenty-five vear^ ll ^^ ' ''"^ ^'^^us IV. chanJed ■ very short, ^h: sSdTubS Tn rtr'' '""^'^^ ^'^^^ - even than the first, and Clemem V? J^Vf """"'^ Profitable the Angels of Paradise io TllowThV' ^•"^,^"«"gh to direct on th ; journey, before reaching R^^^^^^^ u '^'''' ^'ho died Paradise without any further ! • ' •^'^ ^ mtroduced into H;ere crushed to dea'th n'^^ Tror "?' i'^"^ ^^''-"- chance at once to find nut th^ . . ' ^^" thousand got a they died of the blSck pest but t'iaJ' "' ^^ absolutiorfo? pest , but that was hardly noticeable > v died iishop of mage of metiines coiinter- )w. •stituted Uho- I'osiied IS ever > sins ? i)bitt*T ppy to IS little all the inie ia about im for good heart Pope f the mged is so table lirect died into ivers ot a , for able THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. 15 ?i?.?'I^f •.'''■*''■-? '"'"'''" °^ P^^P'^ ^ho came there during, that Jubilee. 1 wo priests stood at the altar, day and niaht w.th collection plates, and were quite unable to cope with the work of receivmg the money. ^ ^^ Now. i\.pe Boniface IX. calculated that many Christians could no come to Rome, on account of the expen e " perhaps because they could not leave their business so he was kind enough to send them absolution, C.0.1 TnJo ?hdr houses. 1 hey had to pay one-third of their' travel ng expenses to Rome, and receive full absolution. In sp.fe of t^' modern improvement, the people still came to Rome Ind o:ice the crowd was so great that the bridge over ?b^T. bar collapsed and two hundred people lost their lives Vhe Pope became more and more greedy, and occasionally instuS an extra Jubilee, and travellers dealing in absolution were sent out everywhere. Some of them wtre as obst nate and a mtrusive as modern book or sewing machine Jents and theTvi?g; '^^^^^"^' '''' ^'^^ P-P'« kickedlTm oufo' f.,vi ^T ^l ',?^5 ''" attempt was made to celebrate 1 Jubilee, but the light of reason was already too stronffor the l^a luccTss"' ""' "^''"^^^ "°"^^"^^' -^ the J°ub1lee ^as VotTLTlu\l\V^''' '" ^r'"^"^°'*^'^ ^he jubilee of cSfrat^a"sL?^d[:^t:n^eTm t eVS a^'o^rf t' called the Church of St. Joachim. h:sllT?artolZle:sM 1 he statement which has been issued of the contribSsVe' ceived towards the building of the church shows so^e'rv t: tit^S!%u^sr ''"°^^' ^'^ ''-' '^'^-^ ^^^^ CATHOLIC POPULATION. TOTAL AMOUNT. f''^"^^ 35500,000..,. i^^iy 26,800,000... Canada 2,000.000 . . . Austria- Hungary . . . 24,000,000 • • • ^P^'" ^16,500,000... Germany i ^,000.000 United States 10.000,000 . . . AMOUNT PBR THOUSAND CATHOLICS. $32,124 $0 90 8,000 , 5.700. 3,884. 2,468 . 1,292. 1,200. 30 2 85 16 8 la 16 THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. La StwawcReHgieuse, of Quebec, says :-«' If the f- Sd/th'e"; ?T''' i-^ l^iven 'as L-ch a t ose o'f Canada, the contributions in France would have renrh.. Ihe whole Christian world was divided into sect o„ ,n-f w,r .h. ,■■ """ ""T °f ^''P^' Commissioners. ^They ca ?ied the ,ex, ..l':£ "' »''-'"«<'". of «hich the following wS torture and punishment, shall he .T„fert ,nd1^o* - p ' • ■ c!i. ana luOu analt nc led THE HOLY ROMAN CURIOSI I'Y SHOP. 17 into the straight road to Paradise. Shouldst thou not die immediately, this promise of grace shall remain incontestable." This kind of insurance policy had to be well paid for, of course. In the Papal counting-house a tariff was made for the absolu- tion of all the most hideous crimes. This tariff, incredible as it may seem, still exists, and quotes prices for the forgiveness of parenticide, fratricide, incest, child-murder, abortion, adul- tery, the most unnatural voluptuousness, perjury ; in short, everything in the shape of sin and crime. The most revolting part a( the document, however, is the end, which reads : "Poor people cannot receive absolution, for they have no money ; therefore they must be deprived of this privilege." For a fee of twelve florins even the priests were permitted to commit adultery, incest and worse things. Bishops had even special privileges, which I dare not mention to po'ite ears. 1-eo X. found it profitable to sublet " the Absolution" in some districts to large speculators for stipulated amounts. As a rule these speculators were bishops, occasionally a prince. These general .igenis employed sub-agents, generally priests, who travelled all over the country preaching and forgiving sins, and ^hey had particular instructions how to behave and how much to charge :—(Jreat princes, $25 or »/ors valuable documents. In Switzerland, Tetzel gave absloution to a rich peasant who had committed murder, and permitted him, for a further considera- 18 THE HOLY KOMAN CURIOSITY SHOP. however, he was once bacHrduptd ' '" ^'' '"^'^'"'^^' K.n"^ ^^\' ^°" 5*?^'"''' ^ nobleman of Magdeburg came to h.m and offered him a handsome sum for thf fSne« of n great sm which he intended to commit Of rnnr?/TV '^ He kept the money and went away ''Windler. Tht"'^1cSon t'."^''' '^''"'"''°" ^°'- ^^^■^'^^' '^""dred years. I 111. calculation was verv rnriniK 'vu^. .. • ^•, ■^ tion the convents were to be aboh'shed tnd Thiirch nrone v ordtTa'voS^ont'V^^^^^ ''' ^^^^--' CWiltioT n beHeve1heTh„r"h """' ^-^^V ""'"^"^ ''^' '^^^^^'^ ^^^^^ I DeiLve the Church property in the Province of Quebec to div calculated more ^J ^y^^ l)^ , l^^^ ^J ^ -e t given > To"' TTm • '^ and .inhappy. And to whor.S: entitle of rhrk? h '? '"'''°»' ''*^^ ^^^^''''^ ^^i^^^elf Repre- •' Lordof Se E ^h ^Z'T uT °/ ^'°I^^^>'' ^''^'"^'-^d »« ^^e reuresent H f n^r • ''""^ ^^ ''^'''^ '^"^ ^"P^s claimed to Who fhl ^''''*'.' ^"^"y'^ ^° J«y his ^ea y head upon A\ ho these representatives of Christ or God were -ind whnt they did, may be read in the following l.cture ' God's Vicegerency on Earth. # To write a history of the Hopes would necessarily exceed the limits which I wish to observe, and I write only with a view of destroying that dangerous and immoral super- stition which is founded upon the authority of the Roman Popes. 'I'o destroy this superstition, I shall first seek to destroy that autlio ity, by proving from history, how doubtful were the •sources from which sprang the dogmas of the Catholic Church, and by showing that the actions of the Popes were such that these so called Vicegerents of Christ or God were in every way unworthy of credence and confidence. 'I'his openly- avowed intention to destroy, if possible, the ugly monster of Roman Catholic superstition makes it necessary for me to be very careful, to relate only such facts as have been so clearly proven historically that contradiction would be impo sible. As soon as the Christian Church commenced to be of some importance, the Elders began to exercise a spiritual govern- ment over the laymen. In time, different grades of clergy were instituted, and the great aim was, to emulate the example of the Jewish high priests, and to be as powerful, particularly, as the judge-priest and maker of kings, " Samuel," who may justly be called a Jewish Pope. A spurious work, called " Apostolic C^onstitutions," was written for the purpose of raising the power and prestige of the bishops, who in this work were calkd 'Gods on Karth," " Fathers of the Faithful," " Judges in Christ's stead," and " Intermediaries between God and man." When the Roman Emperors became Christians, although they still retained the dignity of the Highest Priest (Pontifex Maximus), they endeavored to increase the dignity of the bishops before the common people. Some Emperors were so unwise and infatuated, that they confided the education of their children into the hands of the bishops ; the natural consequence of which was, that these children were educated nominally in the fear of God, but really in subordination to the priesthood ; so that when they themselves became emperors they kneeled before the priests and kissed their hands. Of course, this 20 h Ill (•. . .1 .1 31' !l ii '-«^'> '-eased , he ..o ^^-^^'^^nu ' 'i-uss.a once aliirh " ''"^^ "'>^'ere- ,,,, '•''^> — aon t lilm ^k;, T'lort manner , r ^ '1-' yreat aim of thf , ^.^ '^"^^ ^^ thing." ""'' ^^ -'P^'ech, iheodosius. '^ '''''' '''''^^h^^con.:^,Zi:^^r ''' ^ome or the weaker ^ J^'nperor ^h^«^ attacks of the H ''^^'"^ ^'-^'■t* silent an.I ^veakness of their 1 5^'"'^ ^'^^ common n. ^["cu.nbed to '^^PPosuion that h.?'^:;^ ^^'"P^rors? nat" 1?^'^' ^^^''"^^ 'he ^"dinsome places ,, ''''°P-^ »^"«t be sm,e, ^ ""?" ^" ^^e "Hosanna:"^'*''^^ ^'^^>' ^^'ere received w rTe"^" ^''"^'' ^ hus the arrogance ..i • , ^vangehcaJ SacS: Si^ ^" ^^' S^::/^/^^^ -reased .o. O'-ders of^he der " '''"'" ^^-'^"P- Akor\'^' '^^ ^"^P^^ror other's eves b,./ f ^'■'^^•'^^'^- ''hev not ' -' *^^"^' ^'«"'d "^ ^'->- -"id "i :or^°T^ -'■'each^o^^is r'w' °"^ -^' '^'vial theoIog,ca con ""^ "^'"'^"'ions arose ^nr''' ^'^^"^^^^ I ••^Ihloodshld" ' ^^"'— -s ,h, vvorld >;r^i,rj;|fe -o«t , '^ -nd ihurrh ""^d with strife '^'^ ' naied th'"" r'"'"" '-»' Ephesus. in the v " "1 nand, forced the *iwre nni. ^'Hl Mc need not '■or Constantine ' '' '';e Kmpress t^'ic'dicfion. ujd have much Vl'^'am I/i. ,,j- :^^'^i'^g and f„ •■eception com 'ncuious voice Jhek.ng, how- 1 aside uncere- lerof f;j,cecli, '^' tiirection of "d'f possible, ch- TheJj,-' '"gurate this ^''t-' J'^mperor "cum bed to ^ seeing the ^■anie to the iral beings, evangehtal eased from ^'Vntiochia e Emperor fhe Jovver p, and the '"^ rossess- ■ - saying, -ould not out each W'henever the most 'th strife f 449, because OODS VlOKf.'KRKXCV oX KARTFf g, acceptance of such creeds and dogmas as they considered and!^°'l^:E\^r^;-"- bishop Cyrnius, of Mex- Jcws, who had bS^ e d n fli^^rnlvf "'"^ 'T''' ^''^ years. He incited the monks and H, ', "''""'''' ''^" 7°° burnt their synago« .Is \nd km I I . ^'? ' '''*'""'^' ''^^■'"' nndrias most\,se?u citizen^ Th r"^' '^^".^'^''^"^ '^^ ^'^■^- who attempted to stoo hk \. """''" ^ '"'''^^^'-^ ^^''^^'t's, life, being seveelv^^nnH'H^ ahnost lost his own Th; Ron\."\Totr rnf was'^siLt Td T''J '^ ' '^-^• the offenders so L^reif hZ\ T 7 ? '^""^ ^''''''^ "^'^ 1 -^ish The n,o., omrageTus cru hv lC''°"^' '^^'^ '"^^'^'"' - , ^hese Christian moSupri^VeTdwlTI ^T""'"' ''>' the daughter of the nnthem. Vi -. u "^ ^''"'"''''•' ^^ ^^'"'^^^^•S so[.her Hypatia/ Monks Tore Th ^Z'' ^^^^ ^^'"'^^'''^ ph %: .arriage s^r'ipped h^^^tdTnd d V^^ LrTn'tTl^/ch' 'T where she was butchered with the nS^t endi" b u aht "" ' of that Christ^ noveCld' '^'"^ '^""""^"^ ^^'^^y «I>^rk isted in the earlS Quis^.^r?'" '^"''''^y ^^'^'^ ^'^ '- attempted to r^^e above nT" .^""^"^""'fe-s. One bishop originited the z^^i^s^ ^^ c;::;;"^^',^^ ^'^- the larger places soon attliined t lit T^^' ■ -^ ^"^°^' '" in the smaller towns and AlieH .h ^^'^P^^o/'^v over those otherandl^S J^ht^s;:eV"^aJt^ °^ ^^^'^ tune the capital of the worM /^"^^however, was at that decrees which g. erned the worM ""' h°u' '"^^"^^^^ ^^e Roman community who sat hni ^-^l"^ '^^ P"'^^'"^ ^^ ^^e could be carried on fmm uL \ """'^ 'r^^^'" government the Church in, smihrT,.' ^^^^""^ ^^^'^°"« to govern ruled the po ica wo ^ '"Zl 'h ^'^'^ *" "J^'^^ ^^^^ ^-^P^^or thisatf^mnt ^pTu7. ^^- . '.^^ l^'^'^'^Ps outside of Rome found neve^th^.^ ih^^X'^;;,;;^^--^-^ very arrogant ; 22 «OD'S VlCKGEREXcy ON K^rxH. Ji, however, |»etpr ho,4 k year, been .he pa:,or oft „tbV"of^"'= a,,d had during ,5 t an does ,, folio«.,ha, thesXeauem r?'^ Persecuted ChrK disaples of Christ. ^'^''^ '""^ unassuming as these two i'ortunately for thp P^,.^ • • and they the'reforf nveTS'^'^. '"^ '."?^^" ^'h-e Peter died wuhout any historical foSil "'."' ''"^ touching storv bu the fevT Peter was scourgS li 1^' ' "'"^^^ f^^headed : Wards a mode of execution tSch 1 h"''!]"'^^^ ^'^ad down- iSs° Th°' '"°'^-^^^' -^ 'n dtt.nc':r?rl^T^^"^ ^'^ ^h- cat Rom; il^ '"^"^ °f ha^'"g founded th^o •^''^ ^''ucifixion at Rome belongs undoubtedly to Panirf"""*'^" community However, the Popes beZ thl i ^"^."°^ *« ^'^ter. come a number nf Jt^.1 "*^6in their hne with Peter at. . • - -'-^'O ui cne Roman rH. us made Peter to him. Peter ^y>^; we are liis ■s of Christen- d acted in so reference over » that liis suc- i^iit this as- ius never pre- '» and conse- here are pas- ver preferred ^■ase, Jesus 5atan (Matt. ' martyrdom tten several unities, and 'e said were word abour during 25 i>ted Chris- >me during J"'ngs and ohjection >ul, if they these two 'eter died, ling story Accord- eheaded ; ad down- ng to the ucifixion iimunity fter him irted for K.oman OOD'S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 23 bishops IS more obscur'e than even the history of the Roman kmgs. It would be useless to mention more than sufficient for my purpose, and I will point out only the most important. No hne of princes or despots in Europe or Asia, not even the chamber of horrors at Madame Tussaud's in London presents such terrible monsters as the line of popes calling themselves Vicegerents of God, but no matter how far they went m their cruelty and terrorism, the eyes of the ignorant masses would not be opened. Princes and people allowed themselves to be terrorized by these wicked prodigies, and ^ were willmg in return to kiss their feet. The popes up to the present day are exercising a right which was never given to them by anybody. It is only through an unheard-of impudence, and through the cleverest abuse of the Ignorance of the people, that they have put themselves into the possession of this right. The first Roman bishop of whom we know that he wanted to be more than his colleagues was Victor I. (192 to 201) -He demanded that all Christians should eat the Easter Lamb on the day of the resurrection of Jesus, as it was done in Rome and not on the Jewish passover, at which time Christ ate it. 1 his was about the only thing of importance done by this pope and this was not consented to by the other bishops outside of Rome. On one occasion the Christians were congregated at Rome to elect a new bishop, when accidentally a dove alighted upon the head of a man called Fabianus. With genuine heathenish, old Roman superstition the Christians pronounced him bishop- and since then it has been assumed that the Holy Ghost has been present at every election of bishops. This was a very convenient assumption, for if at any time a bad choice was made, the blame could be laid upon the Holy Ghost. After the Roman Emperors had become Christianized, the position of Bishop of Rome became very desirable and enviable ; so much so, that the heathen Governor at Rome, Praetextatus, said: ''Make me Bishop of Rome and I will immediately become a Christian." The aspirants to this position fought bloody battles, in which hundreds of partisans lost their lives. Piety and holiness had by this time long ceased to exist amongst the Roman bishoDS. and we nee unnn thpao^cfnii^ ^k»;- _ 1 ^ line of murderers and adulterers, which leads to Gregory I. (590 24 «01>S VKEOER.XCV ON KAnm overall men and nvJ' '^^^ received from ul ' ^°" sorely tried hut fh' IT"- '^" "'-"^e «« fXvs ' u^J"^'*^''^^'^ ^"'i put you unon ,^ ''"'^'^^>' ^'^^ has se Leted ^''' ^-'"'^ misery r.o '^ ""^ 'mperial throne in 1!^ ^°"'" '"''J^sty making PhokT^^M? i- °"^^ ^'^^ done for n/ ^ t'le BishoD nf /- "^ '"' ^qu'-'lly villaino.K r '■' P^'^POse of factio/^of r? ^""^^'-^nt'nople, who had 1^" ^'''^'' ^im to This Cireg'ory I. ?tand'st th %'^ --essfu,"' '"^'"^' ^^^^ great estimation, for he s "h '^u'"''*" <^'''"r^h in partirnh . ^'"ess and .» ^ ^'^'^)' honesty chi-^H'.., '''. Profound ' ""^ '" ^'^"'■•''g*'^ to die for the hoK ^ ' '"'^'^'''y' ^^'^^n- tne holy cause. ' Whoever ITH. t^tl by the later ' as humble and ! letters to the " H^hat am I, a worm ? Vo^, Heaven power ^"^•' He was nan a vicious owever, one of -» was deposed called a good rsty monster," h'Jdren to be ^'> father, u,d iory had only t he maligned * e have been your majesty ^ end all our the people hange." ■ purpose of "■efer him to the dissatis- Hishop, and particularly 7 senseless He is the ne to the ^er played omoter of 'though it age to the of a new rules the « actions, profound ty, clean- •' ••'-'evcr GODS VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 25 fulfils these obligations will receive the reward of eternal \if. tj, u J <-reatea a great sensation at a t me when fhe ru.;I hr!nki''h ?•'' ''"-'"^"P' V^^ P^f'^' •"''^^e enormous progress The century. ^ ''"'^ ''^^ ^''■^^^>' ^aken root in the 6th (Gregory II sat in Rome from 71c to ?« Under iv commenced the yrenf dJer«.f«c „k I \\. , 'P^' ^"^er hmi helped »„.ide:.,r;o'raLr.t"ra%':f4re^r'E:si^'' churches the fiXl^""^^''' ^^^ ^^""^'^ '"''oni the Italian 3^i? .SfL^;s>ra=e h,S'srit.t salvation. The Sernr !1 j*".'- '"'"' ""«•" ^"^hieve with .„uch .nodeS!Tut^„"u„Th:':, ttTi':?"'-^'"^-" -..re property i„ sicity. with an income of 'ij-;:';:!^: 2G OODS. VrCEGEREKcr OX EARTH. 1 . ""**•«-■.**■ W 'Gregory isZ^, ^aim in H\a^ven''!.'nH u^ ^^«"«»«nt,nople. Still continued the liracticlafl^^' ^"^^^^^^ -'tmgthe peopre to open retor/'''^'^'" ^>' <^ontinSy i'.' successor Zacharias Tas fhl « ^^""'* ^^^^ Emperor H?. business of king-makinr a ^7^ ^° ^^^^^ a hand in fh himself by the K^nkisHobles 'Vh'elh ^'^^ ^"-^^'on ask^d "f should be permitted to or. , v .k 1^^' °'" "^^ a weak kim Po^ed the election of a chief nnm 1.3 ?°'"^" bishop pro- hrone. This .as car ied olt ^d „f^'" '° "^" ^'•^"S r^JTl '^^^^"^ and suppoir n ^^"/'^ ^'^pin became remark which was done bvV.rh •^"'^ ^^^^' ^^ing worthy of f'on oU Bishop named v.- ^ilh?.^^K^ the excommunica- ^vas round and Uiat men lived I'.k'"'''' P'^''^^^ that "rhe earth their footsoles towards ours ' "" '''^ "''^^^ ^'^^^^ "^ ^^ who tuS «is successor. Sfienhpn rr / enemies the Longobards wint^^.^'"^^^^. ^^"" P'^^^ed by his sent his son Charlemagne thfru- n^,T''"''i^ '° ^^P'"- i^epin - f^tom ,.^- Hec^d^otnl^' tllli-^- one mile h^ fZ V ^' **"'■ this service Penir. """V"*^« "'m king of fee of two Italian provinces whirhS'^ ^""'t ^'"^ the handsome toZT^^°' the Roman Empire" Th'^^'S"^ ^"'^•"^' ^etg to Rome he found the T r^n^iL- ^'^^n Stephen returnpH was not very ready to 3 ^ V" '""'' P°««^'«'on Pepin fter practised the Cst shameless '"r '° ^'^?'^^". and tC Pepin by sending him aletfeTi >'*'t -successful fraud uJon by the late Apostle \te^ TJ^ ^tiPPosed to have been wS nation, and th'reaten S^^^^^^^^^^ ^>'n and the Fra k h be sent at once to rout thL . Perdition if assistance should noV many. ]hey sent to that countrv S, L '^l^ "''^^ "PO" Ger- had learned Romish .r,cl^the Prankish i^epin became hing worthy of excommunica- hat "the earth lit who turned pressed by his 'epin. Pepin >ne mile him- descend from accompanied him king of le handsome ohim, being >en returned ion Pepin en, and the fraud upon >een written le Prankish • should not ^e it was a and Pepin full posses- ented him 1 personal jpqn Ger- rman who i'itted out GODS VICEGEREXCY ON EARTH. 27 with old bones and rags, relics of the saints and martyrs, he set out to subjugate the German bishops to Rome, and unfortun- ately he succeeded only too well. What little Christianity there was in Germany, he tore out by the roots, and in its place established the modern heathenish Romanism, which passed as Christian religion at Rome. In .the year 744 all (Jerman bishops vowed obedience to Rome. A similar state of affairs existed in Gaul. Charlemagne, although crowned by the Pope m Rome, was not very submissive to him. He simply looked upon the Pope as the first bishop of the empire, and upon him- self as the successor to all the privileges and rights of the Roman Emperors. This otherwise great and sensible man committed the great blunder of granting to the Church the right to exact " tithes." Of course, the attempt had been made by the priests themselves to enforce this old Jewish ordinance, made by Jehovah, but Charlemagne was the first to make it a state law, and the priests soon extended this law upon all pos- sible things— fruits of the field, products of the firm, cattle, poultry, wages of the laborer— even conjugal embraces when- ever they could convince a woman of the legitimacy of their priestly rights and privileges. The unworthy successors of Charlemagne all committed the folly of allowing themselves to be crowned by the Pope. This circumstance created the belief amongst the people that the Pope had the imperial crown in his gift. On the other hand, the confirmation of the choice of an occupant of the papal chair by the Emperor was always gotten quietlv and without much formality, so that the people should not notice it. Nicholas I. (858-868) had the temerity to decree, that the people owed no obedience to any king who refused to obey God or the Pope, and in all documents his name preceded that of the King. He even excommunicated King Tx)i;har, who subsequently begged for absolution. Yet there were many who would not acknowledge or believe in the validity of the rights and privileges thus assumed by the Popes, who, consequently, found it necessary to invent proofs to convince the people of ihe justice of their impudent claims, and that the first Roman bishops had enjoyed all those rights which they now possessed. - " '■'[-'■'^>' <.xj>3, 3umc papai lurgcr in tne oeginning ot the 9th century concocted the so-called '* Isidorian Decrees." 28 *! U-^ «"«S V,CEOKRI,^„v O.. K4RTH. Is'dor of Sevi]?e"u-r'^ ^^e most honorable nnr? centuries, 'n ' ' . J "" ^'^ '^^^ '^^en n h.^ ^'^""^'-"^ ^•■^'i"l> '^-ve been wf^en u"T' ^°"^-^'"ed sfxt ,17'' ^^'^ «''out tu . "Pon their indeoeni '^'^''^^^^^^ over 7u oU T'^ '""^''^^'"f^ ^^'^« aJso a decree K?"?- ""^ '''" ^^^'^^ i^nv . ' ^■'^'^^f^'^' '''ncl ^o the Apostle P.. ■ 'l^'''^ ^^e Kmpero r ^"'"''*^- ''he^e ,«'«s .so plain, that' it ' ^'"•'^"dulent nature of ,) '\ '"^^'"^'"K Relieved ir evln L /' surprising hon- fh. ''''^ documents " '"'terate men i^ ^ ^'^"^ '^'•'^'^"Ps These K"' "''"'^ '''''^e been , The tirgiir ^r'"^" "'^^^ '- OO' oTth:-'' ^""" '"^'-" Phoka.<= the mVV r ^"■e,?"0' I. by thp Ki L . "" """ church ^J^e opp^rtunfsf p"/ -'^^ •^'°'^" Provinces ^;'.?,'^^'*"'-^^>- '""'"de er holy trhiity UD^n 1'V"^ ^^e forc.erv'us?'^^ .'^ '^^f^P^en by '^^"'•der, RobCv'^^'^ '' bounded the 'n''""?^^' ^^^ the edifice erecteriT' ^^--gery- a most hnjf T' °^ ^''^ -^"P""^ cemented b't^^^^^^^^ ^^■«. ^^"'^dation ex'st °"h^'''^'"°'^ "' ''i breaches midl fnTtT/'''"' '^^^^ance-^fthrn^'' '"^ ''^ ^^'^^ "ere glued u nVr^. °"' ^'"^e to time bv ,h '"'*'•'''' •''"d any ,, [f' '-1 'of1SrS„t .^^ "^ ^^^"^ °' ''-'-" *e overshadow", of *'''^T* I'"™ »oSha,rT'''«--''^<' '"g C UOtation finn '^"^ b>' Catholics ,S nrn ?' u "^'''"- ^hat °< ;.,, "*""" nom a sermnn ri^v ^ proyed by th,^ - --o'lt J^^ \"'f ' '•™ C'Od Of seryicp /^ k^ P°"er of the Drie^f k '"^"dyet this ."P to the Hon'^ea;T" *'^^" ^^^nTjor^^^ "^^^ ^^en immediately rises S' -^^f"'' ^^^ sits to 1^^ V. /"^'^ «teps ^^^ Pnest and ! °"' ^'' throne reid f. ^^^ °^ ^''^ ^«ther -. - .a. oft Ser /J:~^^^^^^^^^^^^ RTH. •■esperted B,sh. .,, »^^^ for about iwo ers supposed ^o ^omc, insistinp 'er b.shops, and Justice. The^e antinc' donated ^^ esf, indudln.r lese documents uW have been •ri". »X're mostly '.r own church '"■sty murderer ^o Stephen bv oned, are the 3^ the Popes Jation .' '\\^^^ '>'' for it was '•'^ses, and any ^^ of Reason ^°'-th. John •sjres to be ■ us." ^en satisfied >romuIgated ^e Jesus, by ■y are a sort »an. That the follow- i ago :— "akes him ^'^ yet this nake even "^st steps his father, idding of • his own handled le King, GOD'S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 29 With the loth century, the history of the Popes commencHc to become a putrid mass of obscenity and wickedness uniW gmable to the pure mind, and, I shodd say. shocking eveTto clTJ\ n"''^"""^ ""^ debauched sinner of oumZ Ev< n admlft ^.'T u'' "^"''"^ '■" ^ •'^P''-" f"endly to the Pope tired'ofXltt.T ^"'^^^.'^y /"'^tresses, who. when they got In the year 956 a grandchild of the famous Marozia Tohn people danced and laughed in the church and^sang lewd soLs I he papal palace became a harem ^ ^ Kmperor Otto I. would not stand this state of thines He answered by excommunication. The Emperor, however was ' strong enough to depose him, and nominated Popeleo VlTl Meanwhile^ John quietly took away St. Peter's treasure hm rZ'"",^."" ""^''^'^ "P''" ^^'"^ to in tal Leo but the Roman ladies insisted upon cettine hark th*>Jr #, * t i who was brought back in triumnh T . ^"T"^^' J"*'"' but some of hi friends we ecZht and h""^"?!' ^ '° ^f^P"' H^::^Jf&.!:^^:J^.^^lJ^^^ -joy his nV't^e?m' the husband-a-beautirSh fra SyTtg'i ^ 30 OOD'S VICEGEBENCY ON EARTH. ^l<^rl'k^ ^:^S ^eXrn^ in she. order,' driven out of Rome beciuse hi anc. ^965-972). He was Benedict VI., who w^fs n"u ^n ^7 ^'""^ ''^ violent; and John XrV., a son onVfaro/h nn^ P^ ''*;' ^^ ^^^^^^^'nated by was poisoned by Sonifre vil wh^' •^°^" ^- -^^f'" '^'^ natural death His rnmc! 7 ''''• '""^"g^ «o say, died n into a dungeon, where he w., nil P'^^'^^'^try, he was thrown ^ Here I '-.st'n^t o" l^l^en^^h^^^ ^°. ^^^^'^• have always related wifhm?, S •. ''^^ ^"*'''"'es of popery writers con'sider T a fie ton t if "^"?'\"' "'^^«"gh Ste'r called Joan sat on Peter's ?rA. ^ '''."' ^^""^ ''» ^^m^'e pope She is supposed to have bZL" K '^•^' "''^"^^ ^^ J^^n VIIL adventuress, who in male .f^r ^^"^'"''^ ^'^ ^'^'•'man student- and after studying verHard W? ""• "'.'^ ^^"^ ^'^h her lover knowledge tha^t win she cle'?/^'""^ \° "^"^^ wisdom and Pope. This pope Tas on mor. Tn^^'T '^^ ^"' ^^^""^^^ »<> l^e berlain than with the HoI^Ghos^ '^^ -'"'T ''''^ ^^e Cham- toS:rwhVtuX7s:ji^^^ r"^^' -^ ^'^^ «- • mterdiction (or '' boycott 'W.^k^' ^^"- '^'^is ban, or r of these eccLiasttrdespVland'th?' formidable weapon "^ universal power. Now-aSnh^n. °°* "^ ^''^''- «'«"ost a very serious matter bmin thl ^^^^,^«"^'n"n'cation is not blighted thecountrraidtheneoorTf 'n.^'^''. it completely tolwork, as he believed that tKi ^J^^ ^'*^'- ^^ ^he soil ceased weeds ; the merchant did nc^^'attemot t? '^."'l""'^ P^«^"^- he was afraid the storms would - -? f '^'P' *« ^^^' «« soldier became a coward because h.^^ "^"''T ^^^"^ ' ^^e against him. There were no m. ^"^"^ ^^^^ <^od was no marriage, no bu^Zno^c^hr;:^.?:^?^ 'r' T Kvcror any kina. ihe H. II short order, 2). He was i violent; and sassinated by John X\V. say, died a the gutters by an until some sole rigiit of lop was able c>6-998), wlio 'C, and made n a donkey was thrown death. es of popery hough later "emale pope John VIII. Jan student- th her lover visdom and ected to be the Cham- >e this holy 'as the first is ban, or f )Ie weapon eir almost tion is not :ompIetely soil ceased ly produce to sea, as ^em ; the God was baptisms, tid. The GODS VICEGKRENCY ON E.^RTH. churches were closed, no bells were tolled, no more holy sacraments carried to the sick, the dead were thrown into un- consecrated ground like animals. Everything was intended to proclaim to the stupid and benighted people that they had in- curred the displeasure of the Holy Father. Excommunication agamst individuals, however, occurs much earlier in the Roman Church. Anybody afflicted with this curse, even if he did . not believe its spiritual efficacy, had a tertible time of it. The people considered him as possessed by the devil and shunned him as they would a leper. The remnants from his table, even if they came from the Emperor's palace, were des- pised by the very beggars and had to be burnt. He was de- clared as civically dead ; he could not go to law, could rtot be a witness, conld not lease or rent, and could not be buried decently. What wonder that even kings trembled before this ban? Sylvester IF., the successor of Gregory V., i§ the only pope of whom the Papal historians relate that he was taken by the devil. He was exceptionally clever, was very fond of mathe- matics, favored the sciences and similar deviltries. To him the world at least owes something, namely, the Arabic cyphers w'hich we use to-day. The story goes that the devil promised this pope his office for his soul, and agreed not to call for him until he should have read mass in Jerusalem. Sylvester thought that, as there was little likelihood of his ever going to Jeni- salem, which at that time was occupied by the Saracens he would be able to cheat the devil; but his Satanic majesty' was too cunning for him. One day Sylvester read mass in a Ro- man chapel which bore the name " Jerusalem " without thinking of that fact, and after the service the devil had his due. Before I commence the history of the greatest and most powerful of all popes. Gregory VII. (1073-1085), I must men- tion something about the cardinals, 'i'he word cardinal is derived from the Latin word ' cardo," the door-hinge. They were supposed to be the door-hinges of the church. At first there were only seven such door-hinges, and they were selected from amongst the most prominent Roman clergy. Gradually, however, the influence of the cardinals grew so much, that the priests greatly coveted this position, and the popes found it necessary to increase the number to seventy. I he college of cardinals soon became powerful enough to I !ii| 32 ■^ {II' I* i ; 'm 'iili !; I :■) «0D-8 V,CEOKRE.VCY ON EARTH. servants or va el's of 'tl? "p"' ""'K""''!)- and pronerlv ,h . i , -.•rHirde& ">■ !?S HeTr; T^""".^™'"" "is opt RTH. 4 'ope, and as any ■ ''«pe, it was in t!ie dignity and perly the hody- ■mselvcs a rank princes, counts, f no lower rank 't required 72' tre allowed to y had to have «ulcj not have real name was lad a greater no ever sat in >amiani, calls -rs call him a )ostohc chair, i^-^elf elected "ng bishops, s son of the he last eight 1 founder of the doctrine o the Pope, octrine, and princes who jects being ifu'Jy ignor- it the Pope I't for him, laws. isidered it e people; uential of •ests, and sily intro- ■ right to OODS VICEGERENCY ON EARTH S3 Another change which he introduced was, that the bishops and other high dignitaries of the chur< h, who formerly were vassals of the princes and states to whith they belonged, could ne more be installed into their offices by the secular powers, but had to receive their offices at the hands of the ecclesiasti- cal authorities at Rome. This innovation was at first received with disdain on the part of the princes, but Gregory insisted upon carrying out his policy. He cared little about the wrath of the smaller princes, and showed them his power by trying It upon the most important of them all,— upon his own lord and master, the German Emperor, Henry IV., whom he simply summoned to Rome to answer for his disobedience. At first Henry showed fight, and in a Synod which be called together expressly for the purpose, he deposed the Pope, who simply answered by excommunication and the ban! Henry, who found little support amongst his people and who was sorely oppressed by the dark spirit of those times, at last resolved to go to Rome to make peace with the Pope. In the severest cold, drcsied as a miserable penitent, he crossed the Alps. The Italian people met him and offered to form an army to i^roceed against the rebellious high priest, but Henry's spirit was broken and unequal to the task. When the Pope, who was just then on a journey, heard of the arrival of the Emperor, he became frightened and fled in haste to the fortified castle of Canossa, which belonged to his mistress, the rich Countess Mathilda of Toscana. Here appeared the German Emperor. In a woollen shirt barefooted and with bare head, did he stand three days and three nights before the inner wall of the castle freezing and starving. I have seen the picture of the miserable, shivering tramp-emperor, and of Gregory at the side of his mistress looking out of a window in the castle upon his down-trodden enemy, whom he would have liked to see die where ha stood from hunger and cold. The Pope's inhuman behaviour was too much for his mistress, who begged for mercy. Henry was led to the altar. Here the Pope broke a wafer and asked the Emperor : " Am I guilty of the crimes you have imputed to me at your Synod of Bishops? If so, may God punish and instantly kill me now, when I ^at of his body." Gregory evidently was not superstitious, for he ate half of the wafer and *f f I 34 «Oiy, ViCEGEBENCY ON e^rth. '1*1 ■ ^^ImH^^SiuZ ""•*" '"'•-■" '■'•""' H-ry under „„ the deceitful I'one rccomizpH L l "^ ''"'"'•" Kmneror wh«! were despatched rrou'^'m^^ih'orrt""'', '"''•'"'""=''■ M"*^". i c rr.': ?T'"' ^"--- -^ -^-v' "-^ '-*" jesus rode and upon the peoole a! »k , *'*'^ "P-^" which tiead now hnt «k« • ,*^"P'c as the asss mh 'ru spile of the fact that, tT. S™"' ^"''■"ents of The PbL ' i'eers Pence to the court of Rome "^ ^''^ ^"''"te of ^ I" the nth century the Crel l ' ' '"'"^"^ ^^^"^ - .he ttaditious J?l:Sek" r„ni!:!:..'i^'>'''/-ip^t ■ '"^"^""y Were hetero- Henry under the Jiiiiliation was not r Kniperor, whom ^"ed. Murderers niove Henry, who . bought and vaii- f.;;»;^- (Wegory *i of pope which opolized by him, to use the word also introduced Bishop Thierry >iis monster as ness condemns s 's the verdict ;r. great length as -ns out of every Gregory's idea selves to Jesus, ss upon which '*• The ass is is, who allows hat to-day the the Pope in 'sold Ireland f. of England 3 his election Pon him the e tribute of roubles ; yet d them. Jy separated oes nor the y scriptures *'cre hetero- rJOD'S VICECJERENCY ON EAUTH. iio dox and infidel, and the supremo government of the Uoman Pontiff was designated as an anti-C^hrislian institution. One of the most courageous and clever I'ojkjs was Alexander III. (1159-1181), who successfully preserved all the advantages and privileges gained by his predecessors and maltreated the crowned heads generally. Even King Henry 1 1, of England had to submit to his decrees. Henry had a favorite called Thomas-a-Becket, whom he covered with honors and made Archbishop of Canterbury. When Becket had reached that jx)sition, be made common cause with the Pope against his own king, whom he annoyed and worried in many ways. 'I'he king one day exclaimed : " Is there nobody that can rid me of that pes't ?" and four knights who heard this exclamation went out, and, finding Becket before the altar, they split his head open and thus made him a saint. U[)on hearing of this murder Alexander threatened to put England under the ban, but Henry, rather than subject his people to this torture, sub- mitted to the penalty imposed by the Pope, although he did not mean to kill Berket. He had to go to Becket's grave barefoot, prostrate himself, and allow himself to be chastised by 80 priests, each of whom gavfe him 3 strokes ; total, 240. Coelestinus III. (1191-1198) was another ruler of kings, whom he treated like dogs. After he had anointed and crowned Henry VI. Emperor of (Germany, and after the latter had kissed his slipper, the Pope kicked off the crown with his foot, as a gentle reminder that he could not only give, but could also take away crowns. Innocent III introduced oral confession, and also thai most dreadful of all tribunals that ever disgraced this earth, the Inquisition. The »nost dangerous enemy which the Papacy ever had was the great Emperor Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen, who, it is quite refreshinjg to note, was far ahead of those dark times and a real and courageous Freethinker. Although he was educated, as princes often were in those times, by the priests, even by the Pope himself, he became a sceptic, and soon liberated his mind from priestly influence. Had he received sufficient support from his people, he could have fought a gallant battle against darkness and superstition at that early day, but the time was not yet ripe. Pone Gregory IX. (i22'7-i24i) excomHiunicated Frederick time and again. The Emperor was reported to have 33 GODS VICEGEREXCY ON EARTH. mide the followin? for f^.^ .• ^ 'Ihat the world had been ice'lv' S^^""'^^' ^^^^^^ing remarks • whom had died in honor but the .k • '? '^''^ ^^indlfr , two of Mohammed and Chrisf th \ '^"■'^ «" the gailows-luL. t e Almighty God of tea en and"'^ 1''^"'-' '« be -eve Th^J of f virgin ; tl)at it was agaTnl r.f '*"'' ^°"'^ ^ave been born itah hi? ^'^^ J^^ unS aW:"Ve"a/'^^ -thing should" "ovan had seen Nanlp« k«. . . "^ also said thaf if t - i«o^ • «y this he meanf tK^ . u ■' 'e • "ere grow '»ade into wafers, and tran mM?L /^^'^ ^'"0""^ into £ «Td counters around wfth him h ' *''?" « know Si W:r :!"■"= '^^> '"«-d':fth"'rellr"^^«^'^'''"E:' J-mperor almo'^t broke hi«! t^^nl S f^egulation wafer Th« Tre noT TT" °"' °f gJ^'s Cs '^^l' ," "' "• "^-" . fha. Germany wo;:ata,^'' ^k'elhe r'"'"'"^'' °"^-' >ow,sh large p,ke. «' '"k^. 'he German, fishes, and T, „ I'ope Innocent V «,,» fl.. ■: ^mall rations, which generanvhi!.! 5^'^^' ^'^^^ ^^re put on his cardinal Caietan ^"' ' "'"P'^ *"-a'n'ess hermit O tl-ough a tub^fdl.';"Hr\:^r ^S'^'--^^ Coelestm, who imagined thLT cJ^ "^"^^ '^^ holy office X"n^t:tf;\4^/£:;^ca;- s-i-i^£ W and Apalia, held his srt run '?'h "" "^'"8^ 'hose o^un anH!i- V^I'^Sh deserved, were s..H? /k ?^. ^''^ '"^u'ts he re- and died, it was said nf\Jt!'Vf that he became .>:.' entered the papacy like 'f hocking remarks : swindlers, two of ' gallows— Moses, ^s to believe that i have been born It nothing should said that, if je- >t have selected passing a wheat- S • " Here grow ■ound into flour Jy of the Lord. ' :ome by ganibl- - know, carried ■^ gave the Em- 1 wafer. The 'y the devil, I ■marks as these between Pope ■d and fought >me. f heart to wish ihes, and he a as elected in a large room, a choice. If were put on on hand and "t. One or day unseen holy ofl5ce. to him, im- er the name oseofHun- Jlestewards. tile contact suits he re- me insane Mpacy like GOD'S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 37 a fox, he ruled like a lion, and died like a dog ; and ib may be added that he lived like a pig. He declared openly that adult- ery, incest and a number of unnatural imiaoralities *vere not sinful ; that God had instituted them, or they would not exist. He lived together with a married woman and her daughter. As to his creed, he is said to have remarked : " May God let me have a good time in this world ; as to the other, I don't care a bean. Animals have souls, the same as men. It is absurd to believe in one god and in three gods at the same time. Mary was a virgin same as my own mother. Sacraments are a farce," etc., etc. Such remarks sound very strange when coming from the mouth of the Holy Father at Rome, and more so when it is remembered that thousands of unfortunates during the Iffqui- sition had to pay with their lives for remarks far more moderate than these. Boniface VIH. also invented the Jubilee Vear, which I mentioned in the " Curiosity Shop." The next Pope was Clemens V., and with him commenced the so-called " Babylonian Captivity " of the Popes. King Philip IV. of France, called the Beautiful, found it advantage- (Ais for his purposes to have the popes near at hand, and he actually succeeded in getting them to move their ousiness to Avignon, where they remained (1305-1374) seventy years. They were safer here than at Rome, and they spent their time in getting all the money they could out of the people and in making them immoral. Clemens V. commenced his reign by removing Emperor Henry VI. of Germany, who at the Holy Sacrament received a poisoned wafer from the priest. The Emperor was too religious to follow the advice of his physician to take an emetic, and thus died through having eaten of the body of the Lord. Gregory IX. moved the concern back to Rome, after it had steeped Avignon and France generally in the vilest and most disgusting immorality. Urbanus the V. (1378-1389) was another fine specimen. He was cruel as a tiger. Five cardinals who had voted against him and some priests he tortured, then had them put into sacks and thrown into the sea. Some were burnt alive. Before these poor creatures were taken to torture, h'e said to the executioner : " Torture so that I may hear their cries." Two of the bodies this brute ordered to be dried and powdered ; 38 GOD'S VICEGKRENCY OX EARTH. I I travelled,. as a mild rem nder ' o^h^ """'f '• "''^^"^^^^ '^e Some, however, did not Ta?e For nl'. ''"^^^'f^^^t l^eople. M.Ian, who refused to be interfered Sk"' '^^ ^^^'^"^ of own country, was excommunicated and h^^^ '^' ^>^ '" ^is the ban. When the papal deleaite. 1 •''°"".^''>' ^^"^ ""^e'' arrived m Milan, they we^^^^ ,ed Sno' TlV^ '^' ^'^'^ '>"» Regentasked them very serirslv-'.;Vr'^^''l"^ here the drmk?" The delegates looked a? earh I^k" T'^ '° ^^' ^' to and m a small voi?e thev said tL?1^ ' ^''''" ""^ ^^^ ''ver, the gentlemen of the egatt,n^vere 7hr'?"'^^ ^« '''' ^^-^ parchment. *^g'U.ion were obliged to swallow the At about the end of tht^ rr,u two, sometimes three counter-poMes'' wh"'^; ^^'^^^"^'•^"y ^nd tH^r pSS^t^tt^:::;^^"^^^^^^ deeds of an '-«t of the crimes wh^Te?; ~ e/? '^"^ '-l? '"^O'^P'ete period. '^^'^^ "ommitted by the Popes of that ~i;:^Se:U^^^ ^h- -- existed the example of the pHests, we Lve toTJ "''''"'' ''^'^ ^«"«^'^d jssonje moralists clplai 7of 1^11^^.?? conception, much li-verybody who still had J/mmI, '^''y ^^o"'* own days that this kind of th ng shou d hi ' ^l"^''^ °^ ^^'^^"cy fe U that purpose a grand c'o^ncifwas'cTllelt I^^"'"'^^^^' ^^ ^or I here were present at the counH) I p ^ ^'^"'^2,"^'^^ '" MM- prmces and counts, 700 marmr.J /?P^' ' Emperor, 300 29 cardinals, aoo bishops 43 "rrhh-'i'^ ^'''^^''' ^ P^tn^A,, n^onks, priests and law^vlrs and ^h ' "P''/ 'arge number o Papal court-about 1 000 shameless '^^"'"^ '"^""'^^^ «^ ^he lasted four years, and brought mu^h''"' '^^^ ^^""^11 morality to the city of cZfLTf J^T^^ ''^"'^ """eh im- was expected from'it did nourkr^Iac"' ' a'u \^^«^"^«^'on that did, was to condemn to be bnrnrl ,^u ^'^^' ^^e council and Hieronymus of P ague therebv ' m"^ •^°'^" ""«« Now follnn-s n *r- -f p ' ^"^i?oy causmg bloodv ivnrc; " " ^r,. .f Popes, Eugene Vl.; Calixtus III. and of the cardinals les, whenever he ilcitrant people. the Regent of the Pope in his untry put under the papal hull , and here the 'ish to eat or to len at the river, red to ear, and to swallow the generally ftnd leir respective [•epresentatives >g deeds of alj go through a articular crime in incomplete Popes of that t time existed who followed eption, n)uch ur own days. decency felt Jted, and for nee in 14 14. -niperor, 300 4 patriarchs, - number of jlites of the "his council much im- mation that the council John Huss r war's, ^s III. and GODS VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 39 Pms II., who but for their revolting crimes would not be worth mentionmg. The latter made prostitution a source of mcome to the church. Innocent VIII. is celebrated by his tariff of sins. Parenti- cide, fratricide, infanticide could be bought the same as apples, and almost as cheaply. He also paid particular atten- tion to witches, and may be considered as the originator of witch trials. Alexander ¥1.(1492 1502), from what I could learn, was without exception the most outrageouslv wicked of all the Popes He bribed twenty-two cardinals 'to make him Pope and then poisoned them to get rid of them. He was the father of several sons an.l of the famous Lucretia Borgia I cannot better allude to the history of the life of this Christian I ope than by sa) ing, that if I translated ano printed it in this Christian country, I would surely be punished for publishing obscene literature. I will only say this, that he had a grandson who was also his son, and who was the brother of his own mother. During the reign of this monster the art of printing was invented, and, afraid that the spread of knowledge by means of the press might expose his iniquitous life, he intro- duced the measure which still exists in many countries —the censorship of books and [apers. Julius II. (1502-1513), also became Pope through bribery and corruption. All that can be said of him is that he was a good soldier, and, unlike the Prince of Peace, he was supposed to represent, he was constantly plotting wars, and carried on enough strife to cause the death of over 100,000 people He also drank very hard, and was altogether a very tough subject so much so, that the Emperor Maximilian said : '• Great God' how badly would the world fare under such a drunken and vicious beast as this Pope is, and under such a poor Emperor as I am, who understands nothing but sporting, if Thou in 1 hy great mercy didst not watch specially over it." Here at least we find a monarch who did not over-estimate himself The next Pope. Leo X. (15131521). owed his elevation to the apostolic chair to the fact that he was possessed of an un- clean disease, which his doctors believed would shortly kill him. Leo came from the nIH nnH n^^i^ fo»,:i.. ^<-*u„ »-rJj.-.-^ and loved the sciences and art. He led an extravagant life and never cared about Christendom nor about his office except 40 «ODS VICEGEEENCY ON EARTH. "ous in Europe. His exnen/i? " "^""^ "'^« ^he nmst iC his hands upon. He died sudderi. .7^'">'^h'"g he could lax' of the sacrament, and T.nf^v i ^ ^' ""'^''""f having cnrtak >,, '•eason of that must have' b^rh' f ^'^^ ^^>' '^'^^ '^ f "lodity. During his rekm Z f ''! '^''^^ ^°'^ 'his holy com greatest volumefand i Ts tts thn? '"^"'«^"-es reached^s" niation by Luther. "'" '''''* "^"^^^^^ caused the Refor- barba^iatlanrthe^tSLV ^ cailed a German could understand no one"^ otl,? ^;^■"^^hat the Holy G^ they had elected him. He was ?rJl i''^''"' '•^'^Sretted tha w.ne and his expenses v"re Tes hTd."^''"' ^^^ '"«tend o "ot please the people. I'his IW .i!,^' °°.^ >'^''""' ^'hich did ^vasnotof a high orde.^ 4ommf.f '. "'""^'^ ^'' intelligence acknowledging that LuthW's d" l'l;'^%^*^«i>' ^^^ve crinirof reasonable one ; in fact hi \- ^^^^,J^^ reformation was i ver,- Papal Court. Th?s T s lo much ' Z^^'"'''''^ 'o reform th days " He was died." The^oV of /h^"''' V^'y ^^'^ in those andihey were so indiscreet as to H ^'^P'" ^"'^^ "o bounds and inscribe upon it : '' To he fT"'' '^^ ^^^^^""'^ house he Roman Senate and PeoDle ' n '''°'" ^^ '^^ fatherland ament the death of this man .^1;., , ^"" "^'''y ^^^ tempted to that for five years he was G rand Tn ^'^^^•''' '^^'^ ^ "^"st add burnt r,62o people alive and ,60^"^;^''^'' '".^P^'"' ^^'here he property of 21,845 more ^^ '" '^S>'' ^"^ confiscated the Clemens Vn. ri«:2^ Tc-^.v u . Rome was constant^ ^sacicej a!,H ' .'''J ^'^'^'^ ^'^^^ as Pope t.on had commenced' trdo fts wor/'^ll^^^' T^e RefoXi did was to quarrel with Henry VTiT nf T""'.' '^'"^ Clemens exconimun.cated, and who in LnL ^'^ ^"g'and, whom he rom Rome with his wSe Lr %r''.^^ '^^^ <^"t loose the English Peter's penS K ^'"' ^cpjived Rome of ''PauTniT ^'"^^^ K^d yets""' ^'^^^ Enghshman'Ld maAe prour^L'^ciL^^ .he Church cause he was so holy as tosell ^^^L "^Z, ^^^^ RTH. onstantly. During spc'nt 14,000,000 0,000. He gave as the most lijxu- his large income, "ng he could lay having partaken lay said that the d this ho/y com- nces reached its lused the Refor- aHed a (iernian the Holy (Jhost , regretted that ^eer instead of year, which did lis inteliigence :rave crime of ion was a ver)- to reform the said in those '•w no bounds, doctor's house >e Fatherland, e tempted to s, I must add ^^n, where he )nfiscated the me as Pope, 'he Reforma- "ng Clemens X whom he 't cut loose d Rome of I'shman had fhe Church r,OD\S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 41 >f — ue- Julia Far- nese, to Pope Alexander VI. Paul was a most rakish and dissipated man. Murder, incest and adultery were ordinary pastimes for him. He poisoned his mother and sister. But these are family affairs, and don't concern us very much The most important thing this Pope did,-the effect of which is felt to-day even here in Montreal— is that in 1540 he confirmed the order of the Jesuits. Again we would have to wade knee deep in blood and re- volting and disgusting crimes would we follow the history of each of the succeeding Popes closely. I shall only make se- lections. Pius v., who is said to have been the most cruel of all the Popes, was possessed only of one idea— the extirpation of infidels. He caused the massacre of Bartholomew's Night in Pans ; the cruel religious persecutions in the Netherlands, which cost the lives of 18,000 people : and religious conspi- racies in Scotland and England. When this monster died Rome celebrated the event by great feasts ; and the Turkish Sultan even gave a banquet to express his joy. Gi.'gory Xin., who was almost as bad as his predecessor, is particularly celebrated by his instructions to the Jesuits to allow Protestants, especially scientists, princes, high officials, and other influential persons, by special dispensation of the Pope, if they accepted the Roman Catholic faith, to publicly deny that they had done so, and to continue to participate in the Protestant Church service if they wished to do so. Now, again, comes a great Pope, Sixtus V. (i 585-1 590) I remember that, as a chile, I was taught to look up to him as an example of perseverance, because he was a swineherd when a boy and still became a pope. A Franciscan monk took him away from the swine, and brought him to a convent. Here he l)rogressed rapidly, but he was also a great hypocrite ; and as the Pope did not like him, he lived in great retirement, making believe that he was weak mentally and physically, and allowed himself to be called "the ass from the country." Meanwhile he was watching his chances. When the Pope died, the cardinals could not agree upon a successor, and were divided into SIX parties. As there seemed to be no way of settling the difficulty, they hit upon the same expedient now used durin" U. S presidential nominations, to select a " dark horse," and in order to spite each other, they called in the '• ass from the 42 OODS VIOEGERENCY ON EARIH. !.l ii ceiling of L cha^e a.?d wUh 1 steTt'o L"''' ^^^^^- "'^ ^° ^^e '' ^V>eum '^so that the wrndows^S T""^^ ^^e dumbfounded. When the Ym J^r .f ^ '''^ cardinals were l^eart to ask the pope elect Tcco'dil T"'°"''' ^' ^^'' ^^^k accepted the office JieSied' I "1 '°. ""'*'°"^' whether he such offices ;" and when oSe of the .n ^ '^'■?"« P"°"«'' ^^^ two to be his fnend, conma"uirted h m . ?^ ^'^^ ^'^^V^ "^ed toggery, which had becomtde^a^ to adjust h,s ~tioned, he said, '^^Z!^^^ ZS^^^^Z He succeeded in ridding thr^o.nL^r '^'"^ "^ government. less bandsof highway obbmuS^ f '''T^ ^^ '^"^ ""mber- his motto was^4ather fi ir.7.''''^L''""^y^h^^^^ It must be .said in hif ftayor tlL^ he^'L'"'" ^'^ P"^^"^"" persons or riches, and manv ^ r h t, ^u "° respecter of crimes with his head' sTx^uritnt'so'far^"'' ?"^«^ '^'^ documents in the criminal comt.J a. ^^ ^^ ^ook up old criminals ; and there is a case on J t^'^''' .°^^ ^'^ ^"g'^'ve and executed a man ilmed B?aschi 1 '"k^^'"^ ^' '^''^<^ niurder 36 years pre.iousrand hnS '. ^^"^ comn)itted a Roman wag illuSrated t£s L'tv h?^ '° ^^'°^^^^^^ ^ Bridge of Angels at Ron ^ are s le of ^.f "p ' . ^^" ^^^ I'eter, and the latter was cJclnl a ^^ ^^"^ ^n^i St. costume. "Why what ;f .h ^"^ appearmg in travelling Paul; "are yo7'go^;^g^;^a':eur;'" )rf y-^eter?" sS to. You know I ^hopM off Mafchus' Jr ^^^'^ ^ ^'" ^ave •S«xtus is sure to find ^t " ""^^ '^oo years ago, and beautified Rome, and reacted tLl^ ^% '^^'' ^^^''- "e the Piazza del Popolo. S otl^J T ?^^P'''" ^^^^^'^ ^" durmg the reign of Empe"L aII.L l'' ^^' brought over mscriptions. (% one K tSd'- ''''r '"'" ^'"^"'fi^^"' PontUex Maximus, subdued Eevnf TnJ Y J ^*'^'" Augustus, to the Sun." On the o her side^ ^l1 ^'"^{f'l^ '^^ obeli.sk >"us, dedicates this obehsk J.^f I. Jli'L".^ X' P«"t'fex Maxi- Sixius was too severe and~ashr2"""?"''" '" ^^^ Cross." ere, and as he seriously contemplated dis- GOD'S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 4.'J banding all the orders of monks, it is not to be wondered at that he suddenly commenced to ail and died. Paul V. succeeded Sixtus, and to him belongs the infiimy of having burnt Giordano Bruno in 1600. Of the popes du mg the 17th and i8th centuries litile more can be said than that they tried with all their might, and with the assistance of the Jesuits, by fair means and foul, to regain their lost power. The Jesuits, however, are dangerous agents, and they worked only in the interest of the Pope as long as they saw profit in it for themselves. In general, the Holy Fathers commenced to become more humane and decent ; that is to say, the brutal immoralities of which the Papal Court had been guilty so far, were carried on more secretly, so as to raise no scandal. The Reformation had effected that change, and had taught the lesson that even Vice- Gods ought not to live like swine, Benedict XIV. (i 740-1 758) is worth mentioning, because he committed no cruelty, no immorality. He was a scientist and was very humorous, Clemens XI V. is said to have been the best among two hun- dred Popes. He sat on St. Peter's chair 1768- 17 74, If there must be Popes, it is a pity that he could not have remained in the chair a century longer. One year before his death, he actually disbanded the order of the Jesuits, which action, as he himself expected, cost him his life. His philanthropy and charity knew no bounds, and for his own person he had but few wants. He hated the Inquisition, He discontinued the habit of publicly cursing all infidels in the church on the green Thursday, and he respected and honored all men of merit, whether Protestant or Catholic, Pius vi, (1775-1999) was again a friend of the Jesuits, and he is described as being ignorant, tricky, intolerant, proud, haughty, dissipated, stubborn, avaricious, greedy of pow^r, of a violent temper, thievish, vain and self-satisfied. He was also a great hypocrite, and a handsome old man. He lived to see the French Revolution, and in 1798 was actually driven from Rome, dying, sick and miserable, one year later, in Valence, on the Rhone. It seemed as though the power of the Popes had at length been broken for ever, and that France, which a thousand years before had created this ' power, was about to pension it. But 44 GODS VlCE(iERENCY ON EARTH. r^^^^ot;^:^VZ:!^^ ^-^^ "^r, and object he had to stultify the p ople .nd to th? ''T^P^^'^ ^''^ a Pope. Priest and de' .otisn ^together li^/ M ^" "'"'^"^ handle. The new Pone Pi„< vmt "-^^ hammer and the old times had pas tv ' P ns V. l"'. '""'"'^ ^''^^°^^«" '^"^ this comedy. Thi wtian nJnl ^" '°. ' ^''''^ '° P^^-form hi.mor and had « ttat fin Th^r 'J^'"'""'' '^''" ^''^h good hearer of the crc^s^ wl^" h preceded\t% "T "'"^'^^ ''' ^^e aj-;;^;^..ch^no^^-^s^:s^^^^^^ ^::^rh^SSon'^'^^^^^^ to Ron.e, and did what he coufd t^exdi he ^^ 'T""'^ against Napoleon I imllv l^.n^L u ^ Popular feeling Pope under restriinV^nH ^^^P^'^^" «ho wanted to keep the kidnapped'a^d ^b o g\"t' tTpVar^'LT^h""'^?^ ^^^ '^'" terms with the oroud nlH m. ^ ' , / ''^ ^«"'d make no ^;om his preSs' V ^'n irc-on't"^' '^f '^" '-h Pius returned to Rome and felting; ?f T' ^"^'''^^ ^"^ Elba, his first actions was^o re ".state ^hTf ^-"P" T'"" ^^^ « gious order.-, and even tor urandth^'r"'""^ '" °^^^'^ '•^••- 'n 1814 in the present , en urv On ^"^"'^'^'O"- This was garret, which had long been ^close?]" "'°'"' '^^ °'^ P^P'-^' fluttered old media.va?1>a^ and o^vls Z" T"'^' ""^ °"^ again, and all the old chnTran of - ^^-"^ ^'"^^ it was night aS ^^d'aTd sT yts"^^^'^'^ '^^^ ^^ ^^* --' '-'^ 'Jls ^e^ sportl^r.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the world, and a had assumed that dignity hkU^^ Imn.ed.ately after he lowed in the footstepsff h ; predecess'o^: 'f 'T ^' u""^ ^^ ^«'- a jubilee and invited the fafthfnrtnT/ " L^f ^ he instituted of the true faith dirmly from tl L ° ^^''^^^^ the milk church." as he .xpress7d T ^^T^J'L^/^"^ -^her r. 1 liberty, and :-"omplish his (1 he needed )ammer and ipoleon but s to perform 'With good lich sat the age came in ere ! Look ic donkey !" the portals for over an s own head low, merely ■i returned ular feeling to keep the |> had him d make no :e an inch to Elba, • One of other reii- This was old papal and out was night Igrimages, VI r. one te his leg, Id, and a ' after he d he fol- instituted the milk 2 mother re thirsty cination. GOD'S VIOEGERENCY ON EARTH. 46 He died in 1829 and was succeeded by Pius VIII., who died one year later, after having done his best to put back the clock of time. One of his decrees commanded all good Catholics to l^y information publicly against all infidels and suspected infidels; which caused much blackmail, hypocrisy, hatred and misery. Gregory XVI. was the next to represent God from 1831 to 1846. During this period the European people began to awaken from a lethargy which had lasted many hundreds of years, and the Popes policy of suppressing literature and science, supporting the Jesuits, building new convents, etc., was not in the spirit cf even those times. In consequence he got inth / '**» the dogma of the called Old Cathohcs minrin,ll '"■"'^"^"'^'i from by the so- ship of Dr. Doemng;^ "'^">' '" ^'"'""">' '"'^^ "-^ '"der- in li'Vom:, 'iz\;7z:^'^ry t^'s^ =" "-> f— Rome, king it the ll'^^Zr TnUed'S '^ -rhe'p '""""^ tested and retired into whi^ k^ ^ i j . • ^* * "^ ^-ope pro- where he died in ,8;? "'h^ rj^sor^irh™' "■'^""•'''"- I-eoXIII. "'^ ^"^cessor IS the present Pope, theless he wieldfan Smot s so.r ty "' ^°"^'"'°" ' "«^^'- of many countries, ZtTllTtol^^^^^ province particularly i^rifg Lo Mirfi'l, ^^ "V"u ^'^'^ celebrated lately, three cardSs we^e Snt^H ?°^ ' ^"^'■'""' dispose of irhe monev anH iflj •f'^P"'"^^" ^^ '"^ce've and quarters of the Zhe The ^^X ^'^'" P^"""^ '" ^^^"^ ^11 $1,500,000.00, of which Ar^eHro '^'f ?!' amounted to over • Poor I eland stH further tZ. ■ /^°?tnbuted the sixth part. $r76.ooo ; whH En^^^^^^^^ Je extendi of «hich amount the Duke of NorfSk J.n '' T^ ^575,ooo. of balance was made up of church rnl,^'?"^ ^^i^ $200,000. The services, and alms ^from r^^^"^*^^^^^^^ Pnnces and pilgrims '^' ^"** "<^h Emperors, Kings, toyut^[t';:^h^'L'^^^^^^^^^^ --Idly wisdom ing recognition toZ F ench ^^oZi^t ^'''t'' ^"? ^^ 8'- grateful to kings and prints thp!£"u ^^^ '*'°-" '^'^^^ ""- ar.d Papacy du'ring^L^S.^Ief "'' ^"^P"^^^" ^^^^"-'^ adapt: S/ to d^curt^nt ^mTvt",' [T"^^'''^ ^^^-ch .asonrandwe^may^i;;^^^— SrJ:^:^^ GOD'S VICEGERENCY ON EARTH. 47 fed by the opie once i to assist i reign he nception, «a of the >y the so- le leader- eir forces I entered ippe pro- Vatican, nt Pope, sion at ; never- faithful 5 in this Jubilee, ive and om all to over ' h part. Ltent of ooo, of >. The fubilee Kings, risdom l>y giv- elf un- ■hurch hurch a sign of the jht of me to the total eliminition of that which is already but the shadow of that grim old monster, the Papacy. To sum up, there are supposed to have existed from St. Peter to Leo XIII., 258 Popes and 41 counter-popes. Out of these 299 representatives of Clod, how many can be said to have gained the respectful admiration of the world ? You may count them on the fingers of one hand. I will close this history of vice and crime, of superstition and suppression, with a shout of relief and joy, and proclaim the glad tidings, that almost under the eyes of the present Pope, within view of the Vatican, to him who was by slow fire cruelly murdered by a Pope, in the year 1 600,- to Giordano Bruno, the philosopher and conscientious Freethinker, a momi- ment was erected by the Liberals of many countries, and stands to-day as a sign of the times in Rome, the Eternal Citv.