"Thirty Years In Hell" Or, "From Darkness to Light"
by Bernard Fresenborg · English · Gutenberg #18040 · 339,321 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: "Thirty Years In Hell" Or, "From Darkness to Light"
Author: Bernard Fresenborg
Release date: March 23, 2006 [eBook #18040]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18040
Credits: Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Geetu Melwani and
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[Illustration: Yours in His name
Bernard Fresenborg.]
"Thirty Years in Hell"
... OR ...
"From Darkness to Light."
BY
Ex-Priest, Bernard Fresenborg,
Who for thirty long years tread the slippery and deceitful path
of abhorrent Catholicism, but who to-day stands at the
Vatican's door, with the torch of Protestant wisdom,
and denounces Popery with a tongue
livid with the power of
a living God.
Like a Meteor From God's Throne,
This great book has stirred America from center to circumference.
About 400 Large Pages,
And each Page a stinging rebuke to Roman Catholicism.
Published by
North-American Book House,
St. Louis, Mo.
Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1904, by
NORTH-AMERICAN BOOK HOUSE,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Transcriber's Note: A number of typographical errors found in the
original text have been corrected in this version. A list of these
errors is provided at the end of the book.
Author's Announcement.
A structure of enlightenment is to be built in this land, which to
finish, every man of intellectual power must contribute.
The structure which I refer to, is the structure of "SPIRITUAL
LIBERTY," as the spiritual part of man must have room to expand and
grow the same as any other God-given privilege that man is blessed
with.
Unless we grow in faith we become dwarfs in the worship of God.
Those who go forth into the world and profess to be the teachers of
men should be giants of intellect and fully prepared to contribute to
this monument of "SPIRITUAL LIBERTY."
These giants are the "KNIGHTS OF THE SPIRIT," who stand upon the
summit of righteousness and proclaim an intelligent God to a sinful
world.
Many say they do not feel that they possess the ability to contribute
to this structure of "SPIRITUAL LIBERTY," but I say, none who possess
the power to reason are exempt, for if they cannot place in the arch
of this structure the golden "key-stone" that shall securely bind
this structure together, they can carry mortar or stones, which is as
imperative in this structure, as the polished "Cap stone" which shall
complete this great pyramid of emancipation.
I do not crave to have my name engraven in bold letters upon the "Cap
stone" of this structure, but I do desire to contribute my mite
towards the completion of this grand structure of free thought,
which, when completed, will stand out upon the horizon of time as a
towering monument to Christ and his cause.
Roman Catholicism, as taught by our modern priests and inspired by
the papal power at Rome is naught but the distant rumblings of an
antiquated chariot of darkness, as the teachings of this MONARCHICAL
creed has naught in view but the enslavement of reason for the
financial gain and benefit of the "Robed" few who claim the right to
think for the masses.
For thirty long years I was bound to this bewitching spirit of
darkness by the chords of superstition and never dared to look above
my blind superiors for wisdom, until a "something" which I will call
"fate" broke the windows of my mental dungeon and permitted the light
of "SPIRITUAL LIBERTY" to filter through my being which awoke "reason
and common sense" from her long sleep of lethargy.
Now, what I once thought "Holy" I detest as abominable; What I once
worshipped, I now hate.
It is not the glitter of gold nor the applaudits of the protestant
world that I crave, but it is the Master's approval that I desire.
Therefore I deem it my duty to both God and mankind to proclaim to
the world what I know of the awfulness of Roman Catholicism, and I
know enough to make my poor soul often wonder if I shall ever be
permitted to sing with the blest around that GREAT WHITE THRONE in
the New Jerusalem.
As you peruse these pages, I pray that you may whisper a prayer to
God in my behalf, as I am now fifty-six years old and only a child in
wisdom.
With pity for the blind hosts of Catholicism and a prayer upon my
lips for their deliverance from the trenches of paganism, I dedicate
this book to the world as coming from a heart which poured out its
youth's vitality upon the barren fields of superstition, and wasted
its vigor in serving only the god of myths. With a feeling of
brotherly love for the entire world, I am,
Yours in His name,
BERNARD FRESENBORG.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page.
Who I Am, What I Am, and Why I Am What
I Am. 15
CHAPTER II.
Some of the Abominations of Catholicism
Carried On in the Name of Our Blessed
Savior. 33
CHAPTER III.
All Children of Protestant Parents,
Declared Bastards by Catholicism. 51
CHAPTER IV.
Tear from the Citadel of Reason, the Power
to Reason and You make Slaves of Humanity. 65
CHAPTER V.
Innocent Girlhood at the Confessional Box. 81
CHAPTER VI.
The Nations completely dominated by the Power
of the Pope, are Nations of Illegitimacy. 97
CHAPTER VII.
The Power of the Pope in Cuba, Porto Rica
and the Philippine Islands. 109
CHAPTER VIII.
Monasteries are often Criminals' Abode, and
Nunneries the Slaughter Pens of Virtue. 127
CHAPTER IX.
Unmarried Cussedness of the Roman
Priest-Craft. 149
CHAPTER X.
A Brazen Insult to God. 171
CHAPTER XI.
The Characters of the Followers of
Catholicism, Compared to the Followers
of Protestantism. 181
CHAPTER XII.
Why the Teachers in our Public Schools
should not be Selected from the Ranks
of Catholicism. 193
CHAPTER XIII.
The Influence of the Priesthood in America. 223
CHAPTER XIV.
The Chastity of the Home Invaded by
the Lustfulness of the Priest-Craft. 239
CHAPTER XV.
Nations which have been Disgraced by the
Toleration of Popish Rule. 255
CHAPTER XVI.
Nearing the Trenches of Physical Strength. 281
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
Author's Picture. 2
"What Shall I Do To Be Saved?" 14
The Two Inspirations--The Holy Bible
and Catholicism. 33
The Unmarried Life of the Priest-Craft,
compared to the Married Life of
Protestant Ministers. 50
The Two Ways--"As the Twig is Bent, the
Tree's Incline." 64
Immorality of the Priest-Hood--With Romish
Lust, the Blossom of Virtue is Destroyed. 80
America's Ruin. 96
Free in Name Only--Take Their Chains Off
Uncle Sam, or You will always have
Trouble with Them. 108
Save The Girls--Batter Down the Doors of
Convents, and the Civilized World will
Stand Amazed. 126
Take Your Choice--The Christ of Protestantism
Compared to the God of Catholicism. 148
Being Ex-Communicated for Reading the
Bible--"May She Be Damned in her Mouth,
in Her Breast, in Her Heart, Etc., Etc." 170
A Modern Judas--In His Wake, Misery always
Follows. 180
Foes to Knowledge--Like a Poisonous
Serpent, Etc., Etc. 192
Heathenish Practices--A Catholic "Dupe"
Kissing the Supposed Bone of St. Ann. 222
A Catholic Tool--Begging in the Name of
the Lord, but in Reality, to Support the
Priest-Craft, Etc. 238
Systematic Robbery--The Road to Glory along
the Catholic Highway, Etc. 254
Uncle Sam--"Here is Your Next Fight Boys." 280
[Illustration: "WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED"
"The dawn of Protestantism upon Ex-Priest Fresenborg
after thirty years in the Roman Catholic Church."]
Chapter I.
Who I Am, What I Am, and Why I Am What I Am.
My parents were Catholics, and for this reason I suppose, is why I
became a Catholic Priest.
I was born in Germany, in 1847, thus you see I am now almost what the
world would call an old man--56 years old.
A few years ago, I was of the opinion that my life had been well
spent, but to-day I firmly believe that the major part of my life has
been spent in erroneous doctrines and nonsensical teachings, as the
broad light of wisdom and independent thought has penetrated the dark
resources of my bewildered conception of right, and has caused me to
look upon things in general in an intelligent manner. Therefore, I
feel that my youth and the vigorous years of my manhood have been
spent in what one might term idolatry.
From this time forward I am going to endeavor to undo, as near as
possible, what I have helped to accomplish in the past.
In the first place, I desire to give the reader an idea of who I am,
as the reader is entitled to this knowledge, and in the second place
I want the reader to understand what I am, and in the third place to
understand why I am what I am, as there must be a reason for all
things.
My ancestors came from Sweden, but becoming tired of religions
warfare under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, they settled in a
Catholic colony in Germany, in the southern part of the Dukedom of
Oldenburg, near the River Haase.
The reader, if he be a Protestant, is familiar with Protestant
affiliations, and I am led to believe belongs to one of the many
Protestant denominations, known under the head of Methodist, Baptist,
Christian, United Brethren, Presbyterian, Free Baptist, or some one
of the many other Protestant Churches. Therefore you can easily see
why it was that I became a Catholic, as I was taught it from my
infancy.
My father, like his ancestors, lived in Essen, Oldenburg. Essen is a
town of considerable trade in grain, in fine Oldenburg horses and
Holstein cows, in fact, it is a town noted for its fine stock.
The beautiful town of Essen has a considerable population. Two fine
rivers, which unite their rapid waters in its very midst, make it an
ideal spot to live.
My relatives were among the first and best families of the Dukedom.
These families were by name Dickmann, Meyer, Junker and Mohlenkamp,
who are at the head of the intellectual and material movements of
that place. They are all related by marriage and intermarriage to the
Fresenborgs. My parents had ten children. This, however, may not
interest the reader, so I will confine myself to my own biography.
The school to which I was sent was one of the leading schools and had
a world-wide reputation, especially of sending many scholars and
students to the gymnasium and afterwards to universities for
different branches of sciences.
It seems as though all of those who attended this school became
successful in their individual careers, as lawyers, doctors or some
other of the chosen avocations of life.
I was raised, I might say, under the walls of the free City of
Bremen, and was inspired with the idea of freedom, and this, perhaps,
may be the reason why, when I have come to be an old man, that I have
shaken off this eternal bondage of Catholicism and launched my boat
so late in life upon the broad waters of Protestant freedom.
As the son of a wealthy family, I was sent to the Gymnasium of Vechta
for higher studies, where I received the best education which Germany
could give to her sons, and from there I was dismissed with the
diploma of "Maturity" in 1870, which was a passport to any man
holding such a diploma in any scholarly community, for a diploma from
this institution meant all that it implied.
After I had gone through a perfect study of Gymnasium, and after
having obtained my diploma, I could then decide for any career that
I might choose.
About this time came the disturbance of all of Germany caused by "The
German-French War." Like every patriot, I volunteered as a soldier,
but the officers in the German army were practical men and they had
little use for unseasoned "student soldiers" in the field of action,
and I was left in garrisons where universities were situated, where I
had military practice for a few hours each day, and then could follow
my studies at the same time.
Peace followed quickly after the Waterloo of Napoleon III at Sedan,
and this peace was restored quickly in the "fatherland," as not one
victorious Frenchman had crossed the "Rhine."
I followed my favorite study, forestry and agriculture, for some
time, but as my parents and my forefathers, both on my father's and
mother's side, had been devout Catholics, I had an earnest longing to
become a Catholic Priest, as I desired to go forth in the world and
proclaim the cause of Christ, believing that Catholicism was the
only church which had a right to establish her doctrines, and, of
course, cast my lot with this church, and to-day finds me an old man
with every vestige of childhood's faith shaken from center to
circumference, as I have lived in America so long and seen so much of
the intelligence of Protestantism, and so much of the deception of
Catholicism, I could not remain in the Catholic Church and be true to
my conception of what was right and wrong, therefore I laid aside,
with a degree of regret, the relics of Catholic barbarism.
I discarded the Scapular and everything that has no more intelligent
meaning to it than the cungering devices of the heathen has towards
the uplifting of humanity and the civilization of the world.
Many, many years ago my faith was shaken by what I had seen with my
own eyes and heard with my own ears, but I nursed my religious belief
from my mother's bosom; my religion was born and bred in my bones;
every drop of blood in my person was electrified in childhood by the
cungerings of Catholic legerdemain, and I was taught at my mother's
knee to believe that there was no other church that had a ghost of a
chance of eternal salvation but the Catholic Church, and I was taught
that all Protestants were heretics and abominable in the sight of God
and sure of eternal damnation, unless they turned from their sins and
joined the Catholic Church.
Ofttimes I would have my faith shaken by the actions of some lustful
priest, but I clung tenaciously to the religion of my mother and
refused to look beyond the horizon of Catholic superstition.
About the time that I had fully made up my mind to become a priest, I
had my faith shaken in the priesthood to a great extent by a
scandalous happening near the College of Vechta, which concerned and
strictly involved one of the great dignitaries of Catholicism in my
college town, but I fought this feeling of dislike down and forced
myself to believe that what a priest or bishop did was all right in
the sight of God, but at the same time I had a feeling of distrust,
as I could not reconcile myself to believe that God would look with
compassion upon the acts of a dignitary more readily than he would
upon the transgressions of his blind and duped followers, but
nevertheless I went ahead and prepared myself for the priesthood,
which I followed for thirty years.
Right directly opposite the college which I was attending resided the
Very Rev. Harold. This reverend gentleman was a high dignitary in the
Catholic Church.
We young priests had often heard it whispered about that Priest
Harold had in his house at different times a number of concubines,
which are nothing more nor less than lude women. We often saw ladies
around the mansion, dressed in the very height of fashion, and their
actions led us to believe that they were there at the solicitation of
Rev. Harold, as they were seen there at all times of the day and
night, and this certainly made a very strange impression upon us
young students, as there were so many different faces; one day we
would see two or three young girls, and the next day the same number
would be about the mansion, but different faces. All of we young
students endeavored not to believe the rumor, as we were Catholics
in every sense of the word, and we did not want to believe that
anything so degrading would be tolerated in the very mansion of one
of the officials who were teaching us.
The acts of this dignitary became so flagrant that even the students
who were trying not to believe the scandal were forced to believe
there was something wrong about the mansion of this Catholic
dignitary.
About this time there was a young priest by the name of Wulf, from
Rome, who was sent to Vechta and made secretary of this dignitary's
mansion, who, during the day, worked in the office of the mansion,
where court was held in cases of the Catholic Church and schools.
He was soon familiar in and about the mansion and the surrounding
grounds and was given many privileges, and the dignitary seemed to
like him because he did not meddle with his vile conduct, and the
ladies who frequented this place also seemed to admire him. There was
a large lawn surrounding the mansion and at night-time a number of
vicious dogs were unchained to guard it.
The priest that was sent from Rome was soon on familiar terms with
the dogs and they would mind him and became as obedient as children,
and he was soon on such good terms with these dogs that he could
approach the house at any time, day or night, and one word from him
would cause them to sneak off to their kennels and not molest any who
desired to approach the mansion.
The young priests of this college were determined to learn, if
possible, if this Catholic dignitary was guilty of the immoral
conduct that he was accused of, so they went to Wulf and explained to
him that they desired to make a personal investigation, and got this
young priest to promise that he would let them into the grounds one
night and also see that the dogs did not molest them.
We selected a dark night and a few of us young priests slipped into
the lawn surrounding the mansion and placed a ladder up to the second
story window, as there was a bright light inside, and we determined
to learn, if possible, what was going on in this room.
Dr. Wulf, the secretary, was the first to ascend, and there in this
room was the dignitary of the Catholic Church in a half drunken
condition, with two licentious and lude women, playing cards and
drinking wine, and the trio were in a half nude condition, and
frequently this dignitary of the Catholic Church would kiss these
harlots.
After Dr. Wulf came down the ladder and told what he had seen, of
course the rest of us wished to become eye witnesses to the perfidy
of this vagabond of the Catholic Church.
We would take time about going up the ladder to look at this sight,
and sometimes one would remain so long at the top of the ladder the
others would become restless and urge him to come down and give the
rest of us a chance.
It seemed as though this Catholic dignitary and the women up stairs
within had implicit confidence in the dogs, and had no fear of
detection in their drunken orgy of immorality. This dignitary seemed
very drunk, and the ladies began to undress him preparatory to
putting him to bed. When they had him undressed, one of them pulled
off her clothes and went to bed with him.
The next morning the report in the form of affidavits was presented
to the parents of the girls, which caused a very great sensation, and
this bundle of infamy and abomination was forced to leave the city by
the parents of these daughters whom he had desecrated by his filthy
touch.
It was afterwards learned that this state of affairs had existed in
this Catholic mansion for years past, and all that had transpired in
this mansion would blush the inhabitants of Sodom if it could be
told, but it is so filthy that it could not be repeated by any one
who had much respect for himself.
After this dignitary had left the mansion there were a number of
children's skeletons unearthed in the park belonging to the mansion,
and one child's skeleton was found in the waters surrounding the
palace.
No one was ever arrested for this awful, awful crime, as this
Catholic dignitary fled to some monastery and there was concealed
from the law's clutch, as there is no law whereby these monasteries
can be forced open and their criminals brought to justice.
A monastery is a Catholic institution that may be used for divers
purposes, but for one great purpose, and a very heinous purpose, is
to hide and conceal Catholic officials who break the laws of their
country, as they can flee to these monasteries and there hide
themselves from the wrath of the civil government.
It makes no difference how vile the culprits may be, these Catholic
institutions are always a refuge for them, and especially if the
culprit who has money or friends supply them with same, as the
Catholic Church is and always has been a great money machine, as
money, in the eyes of the Catholic dignitaries, covers up a multitude
of sins.
You may not know it, but it is a fact, nevertheless, that the
monasteries never allow the officers of the civil laws to enter, and
suppose the officers did enter, the culprit would never be found, as
Catholic institutions are built with the purpose of sheltering her
abominable faithless in case these criminals' desire to hide
themselves therein, as the convents, monasteries and cloisters have a
labyrinth which would mystify any one who was not used to these
underground passages.
No one ever learned where the dignitary of this Catholic institution
at Vechta went, but we were thoroughly convinced that he was hiding
somewhere in a monastery.
At this point in my religious training I perceived the nonsense of
celibacy, and the Apostle's injunction: "Nevertheless, to avoid
fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman
have her own husband." (I Cor. 7:2.) But the teachings of my
childhood caused me to believe that it would be sacrilegious upon my
part to even allow myself to believe that the Pope of Rome could
possibly make a mistake, therefore I did as all true Catholics are
expected to do, and forced myself to believe that all of the
abominations practiced by this church were godly.
At this time I would conceal myself in privacy, and endeavor to
reason why a minister of the gospel should be expected to do things
which were unnatural and against the direct teachings of God, as we
find in _Gen. 21:18_ that our Creator said: "It is not good that man
should be alone, I will make a helpmate for him," but whenever I
would undertake to study and try to convince myself of the
erroneousness of the Catholic doctrines, her teachings would loom up
and blind my intelligent conception of things, as I had been taught
that I should not question a single mandate that the Pope of Rome
should see fit to promulgate, therefore I made up my mind that it was
a sin for me to use the intelligence that God had given me, and I
resolved to follow the Catholic doctrine, regardless of what it might
lead me to, consequently I closed my eyes to reason and common sense
and became a blind and superstitious follower of Rome.
When I came to America I beheld her great civilization and at once my
conception of intelligent action presented itself again, but I fought
hard to drive these feelings from my bosom, but the more I fought the
stronger I became convinced that I was wrong and that my early
training was wrong, and that the entire machinery and mechanism of
the Catholic Church was founded upon abominations and superstitions,
but the teachings of my mother would prevail and I would slink back
into the trenches of Catholicism, and there I remained until less
than a year ago, when I resolved to burst the bands of iniquity and
walk out upon the plains of Protestantism, regardless of the deep
feelings of respect that I had for my early training.
If God is an intelligent God, then we are expected to worship Him in
an intelligent manner, and if he is not an intelligent God, it is
impossible for Him to be a God, and if the Lord of Hosts is an
intelligent Creator and expects us, as His children, to worship Him
in an intelligent manner, the Catholic Church and all of her
followers are sinning against God every day, as her mode of worship
is steeped in the drugs of heathenish superstitions.
In this volume I propose to set forth nothing but absolute truths,
and I call upon an intelligent God for my witness, and I am qualified
to make oath before any official that is qualified to bind me under
oath that every word that appears in this volume shall be the truth
and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
I will give $5,000.00 to any charitable institution named by any
state of the United States if any Catholic priest, bishop or cardinal
will prove by any of their church doctrines that I have misstated or
misrepresented the teachings of Catholicism in any letter, word or
sentence.
I want to thoroughly impress the reader with the truthfulness of this
volume, so when he or she has perused these pages they may know that
it has been written by one who has served in the capacity of a
Catholic priest for the past thirty years, but who, to-day, stands
out upon the broad plains of spiritual emancipation, and from this
time forward will always be found upon the side of spiritual liberty
and following the doctrines of an intelligent God, and when my
earthly race is run I hope and pray to be ushered into the presence
of an intelligent God.
[Illustration: "THE TWO INSPIRATIONS."
PROTESTANTISM looks to the Holy Bible _for_
Wisdom--CATHOLICISM to the Pope!]
Chapter II.
Some of the Abominations of Catholicism Carried On in the Name of
Blessed Saviour.
What I will now relate is not hear-say nor something that I have read
about, but it is something that _I know about_, and which I
witnessed.
It is a well-known fact that Catholicism endeavors to impress her
subjects with the miraculousness of latter day miracles, as she will
hold up the bones of some supposed Catholic Saint, and declare to her
benighted followers that if they worship these relics, they will work
wonders and cure the ailment of any affliction they may be possessed
of.
For instance, they will take the bone of some Catholic Saint (?) and
admonish the followers of Catholicism to touch this bone, or to kiss
it, and declare to them that by so doing they will become entirely
cured of any malady that may rack their person with misery.
In fact, Catholicism will resort to all kinds of nonsensical
practices in order to completely keep their subjects in darkest
ignorance, which will enable the officials to "hoodwink" their
followers and make them believe anything the officials see fit to
teach them.
I will now relate what I saw in Munster, Germany. The news spread all
through Germany that the "Mother Superior" of the house of Saint
Clement was living upon "Holy Communion" only.
Now that the reader may understand what "Holy Communion" is, I will
here state that it is a thin wafer, used for sacramental purposes,
which would not weigh more than the one-hundredth part of an ounce,
and this is what they claimed the Mother Superior of the house of
Saint Clement was existing upon, she only taking one of these wafers
every twenty-four hours.
Of course, this was given out by the dignitaries of the Catholic
Church in order to blind their followers, and I desire to state
right here that I also believed that this was the fact until it was
demonstrated thoroughly that it was an infamous lie and that the
instigators were infamous impostors. However, pilgrimages started
from all directions to see this "Mother Superior," and when they
could not see her, they fought for the opportunity of praying in her
chapel. Some stayed for weeks and weeks to see her. Applications for
intercessions of all kinds of misery were sent to her, as these
simple "dupes" of Catholicism actually believed that this impostor
had the power to heal any ailment that might afflict them.
There were thousands of fanatics who visited Munster and hung their
crutches on the chapel walls and declared they were cured of their
ailment. The blind claimed to see by her intercessions. It was
claimed that all, possessed of every kind and description of
ailments, could be cured if the one who was afflicted only had faith
in this Mother Superior's wonderful power?
"The finger of God is in the land!" was the cry, and tens of
thousands of Catholics from all over the country gathered in Munster.
There was a certain man by the name of Friedhoff who doubted the
proclaimed powers of this Mother Superior and boldly declared his
doubt, and the Catholic world was indignant over the audacity of such
a doubt. It was learned that the Mother Superior would allow but one
sister of the institution to come to her room, and also her Father
Confessor. By the way, it might be pertinent to say that the Mother
Superior was an extremely handsome young lady; in fact, very young
for the position she occupied.
The guard that was placed over the Mother Superior was given
instructions by the Mayor of Munster to watch her closely and see
that she lived entirely upon "Holy Communion." The Protestant world
took an active part in this matter and gave close attention to the
guard that was over this "Mother Superior," as they were determined
to learn from whence originated this bold deception, as they were
thoroughly convinced that it was nothing more nor less than a
deception.
The confessor of the "Mother Superior" was changed and the sister who
waited upon her was changed, and in a very short time the "Mother
Superior" asked for food; thus it began to dawn upon the public at
large that they had been grossly deceived, and they began to learn
that all of these miraculous cures (?) were brought about and
promulgated by the leaders of Catholicism. Numerous physicians were
taken into confidence and an examination was made of the "Mother
Superior," and it was learned that she was pregnant, and it was
proven that the child belonged to the priest in charge of the
convent, who, by the way, was the one this "Mother Superior"
confessed her sins to.
This "Mother Superior" sat in her room and gave her orders to at
least two hundred sisters who were inmates of this institution.
The Catholic world advertised this "fake" so thoroughly that every
house in and about Munster was filled to overflowing with pilgrims
who came there on the strength of this well-advertised "fake."
Munster was the Mecca. Every train arriving brought in hundreds and
added great multitudes to the already great crowd. Some claimed that
the sight of the chapel, or even the sight of the hospital, healed
them.
Even the newspapers began to report the wonderful miracles (?) that
were performed by this "Mother Superior."
By this time the Protestants in Munster were getting very active and
denounced this worship in round terms, and set about to have an
investigation made, which was bitterly opposed by the Catholics. The
hotel keepers and shop keepers of Munster were bitterly opposed to
the Protestants' denunciation, as they were anxious for this "fake"
to be advertised as thoroughly as possible, as it was bringing them
in large revenues, as the thousands who were visiting Munster were
compelled to have raiment, food and lodging; but the denunciation of
this "fake" by the Protestants became so great that the bishop was
compelled, greatly against the wishes of the citizens of Munster, to
investigate, and this investigation brought forth enough to startle
the civilized world. However, it is only one of the many, many
colossal "fakes" that are promulgated by Catholicism. However, the
clamor of the Protestant world brought things to a crisis, as the
"Mother Superior" was ordered to stay in strict confinement and a
watch was placed over her.
This brought matters to a climax and the "Mother Superior" confessed
that one of the inmates of the convent had secretly carried her food
during all of this time that she was claiming to exist on "Holy
Communion." Of course, this is only one of the tens of thousands of
such schemes that are practiced by Catholicism all over the world,
and the Protestants were not surprised and stated boldly and above
board that they knew there was some "scull-duggery" attached to all
of this "fake" miracle business.
This "Mother Superior" fled from Munster, and it was learned that she
went to the City Rheine, on the river Ems, and gave birth to a child,
and the father of this child was the Catholic priest in charge of
this convent, who helped and was the prime instigator in giving out
to the world that the "Mother Superior" was performing miracles,
which was a malicious lie made of whole cloth and promulgated in
order to securely bind the followers of Catholicism to their
idolatrous belief.
This is not the end of the "Mother Superior," as she afterwards
practiced in the open what she had practiced in this Catholic convent
at Munster, as she entered a house of ill fame in the City of Rheine
in Germany, and there led a life of shame as a harlot of the world;
however, she was only living the same life she had been living when
she was sailing under the name of "Mother Superior" in this convent
at Munster.
Now, reader, if Catholicism would practice such abominations upon the
ignorant dupes of her followers in Munster, Germany, is it not
reasonable to suppose that she would practice them to-day wherever
she can fasten her hellish belief upon the minds of the people?
Hardly a day passes over our heads but what we see in some newspaper
where Catholicism is brazenly declaring to the intelligent public
that miraculous cures are being performed by some "hoodoo saint" of
their idolatrous creed.
One would believe that in enlightened America the Roman Church could
not wield such an idolatrous influence over her followers, but when
you stop to think that the children of Catholic parents are brought
up from infancy to believe all of this "hoodooism," it is not strange
that they fall into these idolatrous practices.
When America learns that the majority of the convents and monasteries
of this country are used for the purpose of shielding and protecting
Catholic criminals, and for the purpose of Catholic dignitaries to
glut their lust upon the female inmates of these institutions, and
will exact and demand laws that will force a rigid examination every
thirty or sixty days of these institutions, then the world at large
will know and thoroughly understand that these institutions are
practically the homes of depravity and licentiousness.
To give the reader more information in regard to what Catholicism
resorts to to impress their "dupes" with their idolatry, we want to
take up their great magician, "St. Anthony." The Catholic priesthood
teaches their followers that St. Anthony's spirit possesses the power
to answer all prayers, in fact, to perform any favor the supplicant
may ask.
Now, to illustrate what I mean, is this: Suppose you had lost your
pocketbook containing $50.00; the Catholic Church teaches that all
you have to do is to pay a few dimes into the priest's pocket and
then get down and pray to St. Anthony and you will at once learn
where your pocketbook is.
Now, bear in mind that this praying to St. Anthony don't cut any ice
unless you pay something, as every prayer must be backed up by money,
and the more money paid the quicker action you can get on St.
Anthony.
The Catholic Church calls it "St. Anthony's Bread Box," and right by
the side of this box they have a large number of small candles, and
you are supposed to drop the money into this box to pay for the
candles that St. Anthony uses when looking for what is lost, or to
light his path on his road to answer your prayer.
These candles cost the priest from one-half cent to one cent each,
and the "dupe" will drop in from ten cents to ten dollars to have his
prayer answered, so you can see that the Catholic Church is a good
thing for the candle makers.
We will now give you a few idiotic prayers that are offered to St.
Anthony by the followers of blind Catholicism.
"O, Glorious St. Anthony, noble Sunflower of divine
conformity, I salute thee in the name of the Queen of Angels
and of all the angelic choirs; and I thank Almighty God for
the grace bestowed on thee, that like to this Great Queen and
the angelic choirs thou wert ever conformed to His holy will.
I beseech thee that with this glorious Lady and all the
angelic choirs, thou wouldst approach the throne of God,
lovingly offer Him this my petition and strengthen it by
thine intercession.
"OUR FATHER. HAIL, MARY. GLORY."
"I salute thee, Blessed Anthony, noble Narcissus-flower of
knowledge, in the name of all the patriarchs and prophets;
and I thank the good God for bestowing on thee, like to the
patriarchs and prophets, the gift of divine knowledge and of
foreseeing future events. I beseech thee that with the
patriarchs and prophets thou wouldst approach the throne of
God and by your united prayers and merits obtain for me this
my petition.
"OUR FATHER. HAIL, MARY. GLORY."
"I salute thee, Blessed Anthony, noble Carnation-flower of
fervent love, in the name of all the holy apostles and
disciples of Christ; and I thank the most merciful Lord for
the great grace bestowed on thee, like unto that of the
apostles and disciples, when He chose thee to proclaim the
holy Gospel and to spread the Christian faith. I beseech thee
that with the apostles and disciples thou wouldst approach
the throne of God and by your united prayers and merits
obtain for me this my petition.
"Our Father. Hail, Mary. Glory."
We will give you an instance of this "St. Anthony's" witchcraft
business that came under my personal observation. A lady was standing
upon a bridge that spans one of the many streams that rushes down
from the Adirondack Mountains, gazing at this crystal stream and
watching the fishes below, and while standing there she was toying
with a beautiful diamond ring that had been given her by her lover.
In a careless manner she allowed this ring to slip from her finger,
and it fell into the waters below.
With a sudden cry those who were near her were attracted to the spot
and she explained to them her misfortune, and it was not long until
there was quite a crowd about her, offering their sympathy and also
their assistance.
Some volunteered to wade into this stream and search for the ring,
which was done, and a number of buckets of mud were carried up out of
the stream from the point the lady had stated she had dropped her
ring, but the ring could not be found.
At this point one of our Catholic "dupes" appeared and explained to
the lady that if she would put her trust in St. Anthony and would pay
$500, that St. Anthony would restore to her her ring.
This lady being a Catholic also, of course, was easily persuaded to
do this, so they knelt down and prayed to St. Anthony and beseeched
him to restore the lost treasure, and it was not long until all of
those in the crowd that belonged to the Catholic Church were in
sympathy with this distressed lady, and they were also kneeling and
supplicating St. Anthony to restore the lost treasure. They prayed
for an hour, but still the lost treasure would not appear; then the
ringleader of this barbarous belief informed this lady that the ring
had been swallowed by a fish. He pretended to be inspired and claimed
that he could catch this identical fish with the bait of St.
Anthony's bread. Everything was soon prepared and the line was let
down into the water, and sure enough a good sized fish was caught
upon this St. Anthony's bait, and the crowd went into rapturous
delight, as they were quite sure they had the identical fish that had
swallowed the ring.
As soon as the fish was caught a collection was raised by a priest
who was in the crowd for the benefit of "St. Anthony's Bread Box."
All of the Catholics in the crowd contributed, of course, as they
were afraid not to, for Catholics believe that if they do not do what
a priest tells them to they are sure to have something awful befall
them, and, of course, all of these Catholics believed in the
witchcraft of St. Anthony and believed that he was the actual
restorer of all lost things.
The Protestants in the congregation were determined to see what was
inside of the fish, so they followed the one that carried it to a
butcher shop and the fish was cut open, but naught was found in it
but what is usually found in any old fish that never saw or heard
tell of a diamond ring.
Now, this is one of the thousands--yea, tens of thousands of such
instances that are forced down the throats of the ignorant,
superstitions followers of Catholicism.
Now, what I relate above is true in every conceivable manner, and not
one sentence or statement is misrepresented.
This belief in the power of St. Anthony is simply abominable and
belongs to the dark ages of heathendom.
I have often wondered when I was acting as priest in the Catholic
Church why it was that Protestants, when they attended my church,
would look on in wonderment and surprise, and I attributed this
wonderment to a desire upon the part of Protestantism to make fun and
villify the teachings of the Catholic Church, but I now realize that
this bewilderment came from minds which had been elevated far above
the cungerings of the Catholic Church, and I am now surprised that
the Protestants who visit Catholic churches are not more bewildered
and mystified, as the teachings of Protestantism are based upon the
inspirations derived from the Word of God and the teachings of
Catholicism are naught but the rumblings of the dark ages.
[Illustration: "A LICENTIOUS PRIEST."
"A PROTESTANT PREACHER'S HOME"
"The unmarried life of the Priestcraft compared
to the married life of a Protestant minister."]
Chapter III.
All Children of Protestant Parents Are
Declared Bastards by Catholicism.
The Catholic Church declares that all of those who contract marriage
otherwise than in the presence of a Catholic Priest, that such
marriages are null and void.
Catholicism further declares that your darling child, which is the
fruit of your marriage, is nothing more nor less than a common
bastard.
How do you Protestants like to hear this? How do you feel when you
know that this is the belief and opinion of all Catholic dignitaries,
and this belief is taught to all the Catholic world by those who
presume to dictate?
Your darling baby boy or girl is branded as an illegitimate offspring
by Catholicism, simply because their parents were not united in
wedlock by a Catholic Priest, who perhaps is as immoral as hell
itself.
The reason why Catholicism so sternly demands that all should be
married by the priestcraft is from a monetary standpoint, as the
Catholic priest gets his fee, as he will not under any circumstances
unite any one in wedlock without a fee, and I have known in many
instances where the contracting parties were unable to pay a money
fee, and the grasping priestcraft would refuse to unite them in
marriage until they had given him some article of intrinsic value,
and I have often seen jewelry, silver-mounted pipes, watches and many
other things confiscated by the priestcraft before they would perform
the ceremony.
It is strange to me, indeed, that America, which is and should be by
every law of justice and right, a Protestant nation, is so
unconcerned and so listless over the insults that Catholicism daily
offers Protestantism, for if it is not a most damnable insult to
stigmatize your offspring as bastards, then we are unable to discern
and distinguish between a brazen insult and a flattering compliment.
Whenever America learns the actual and true meaning of Catholicism
and her teachings, there will be an awakening among the Protestant
world that will make the four corners of the government of the United
States tremble with a righteous indignation.
Now, if the offspring of that dear old mother is a bastard, then she
is nothing more nor less than a common whore, and you cannot arrive
at any other rational conclusion. This is only reasoning from
intelligent deductions; therefore, whenever Catholicism calls the
children of Protestant parents bastards simply because these parents
were not united in wedlock by a Catholic priest, they villify the
sacred name of father and mother, and trail in the slime of disgrace
the sweet memories of that sturdy old father and that angelic old
Protestant mother.
I am at a loss to know and to understand how Protestantism can sit so
unconcernedly by with folded hands and allow this vulturous foe of
human rights and human privileges to brazenly rear its institutions
in Protestant America, and teach such damnable doctrines about those
who have made America all she ever was, and is, or ever will be.
A creed or doctrine that exists upon the dwarfed ambitions of its
followers is undoubtedly an institution which exists upon the carrion
of human miseries, and is a menace to a nation, which possesses the
godly ambitions that permeate the minds of Protestantism.
We have in this country scores--yea, hundreds of Protestant fathers
and mothers who allow their children to attend Catholic schools, when
those who are teaching them in these Catholic institutions brazenly,
flagrantly and openly declare that those children are the offspring
of immorality, as they do not hesitate to say that all children are
bastards whose parents were not married by the priestcraft; but still
these Protestant parents allow their children to be taught by those
who villify and defame their parents' names.
This is one of the strangest things that has ever come under my
observation in the United States, as the Protestant world in general
knows that Catholicism teaches these things, and the Protestant
world also knows that under no circumstances nor conditions would
Catholicism allow their children to attend a Protestant college, but
Protestant parents go right ahead and allow their children to be
taught by a class of men and women who will boldly declare to these
children that their own parents are immoral, and that the teachings
of their youth were erroneous and would lead to everlasting
damnation.
Is it not about time that the Protestant world was arousing
themselves from this lethargetic sleep of unconcern, or do you
propose to allow Catholicism to convince you, by her doctrines of
degeneracy, that she is right, and that you acknowledge her as right
by you sending your children to her institutions of learning?
Catholicism has always made her boast that if she can control the
children until they are 7 to 10 years old, that they will control the
government in the future, and it seems as though Protestant America
is perfectly willing to risk the consequences, but let me sound a
warning in your ears in this chapter, which may not arouse you from
your national stupidity, but which, in after years, will rumble down
the avenues of the future the truthfulness of this assertion that
will make the Protestant world shudder. It is this: "_Unless you
guard the goddess of your American liberty with the patriotism of you
Protestant manhood, it will not be long until you will find this
government face to face with a problem more perplexing than the
government of France is wrestling with to-day, on account of this
Romish beast, whose jaws are dripping with the blood of doomed
ambition._"
Catholicism is like a thief in the night, as she goes about her
devastation of human rights with the tread of a thief and with the
cunning of a bold deceiver, which she is, and this country must
station trustworthy men upon the ramparts of this government to watch
her progress and batter down her foundation of superstition and
ignorance, or within the next fifty years America will find herself
bound hand and foot by this Romish creed of abominations, which has
caused every nation on the face of the earth that she has ever
controlled to wither and decay under her touch, like the tender plant
under the broiling rays of a tropical sun.
I have a right to sound this warning, as I know whereof I speak, as I
have traveled this Romish road of despair for thirty years, and I
know her cunning and dastardly deception so well that her history and
her teachings are to me like the primer is to the school boy or girl.
The warnings that I now sound in the ears of Protestant America are
not sounded by an alarmist, nor one who does not know whereof he
speaks, but these warnings come from one whose back has been lashed
for thirty long years with the whip of a Catholic tyrant, and I know
the history of Catholicism from beginning to end, for if one cannot
learn the history of an institution in thirty years' devout study,
then pray tell me of what use it is for man to apply himself to the
study of anything?
I was once as devout a Catholic as I am to-day a Protestant, and I am
only a Protestant to-day because I was forced to become such, after
having the scales of Catholicism brushed from my eyes, which had
been blinded by the superstition and fearful doctrines of this
abominable creed.
Arouse, ye men and women of America, or else the time will come when
you will not be permitted to make a protest; when your wives and
mothers are declared whores by Catholicism, and your fathers and
brothers are declared whore-mongers and your children bastards!
I have been a careful observer of events through my entire life, and
I never was more thoroughly convinced than to-day that we stand near
the threshold of Popish power in America, and I ask of the reader,
and of the Protestant world at large, Are we about to realize the
prediction made by the father of our country? Are we nearing the time
when liberty shall be bound to the stake by Catholicism? Are we
nearing the great Romish chasm that has swallowed up the hopes of
many nations? Are we nearing the crater of a Roman volcano that pours
out its desolation and devastation upon free men? Are we nearing the
inky night of servitude, where no light is possible, but the dim and
treacherous lamp of idolatrous Catholicism? Are we nearing the
stretch of waste lands that contains no friendly oasis for him who
seeks liberty? Are we building our own sepulchers to bury all the
hopes of liberty cherished by our forefathers? Are we willingly
carrying fuel for our own funeral pyres, there to be consumed by the
greedy and relentless ghouls of Catholicism?
These are questions that demand an answer and demand an answer at
once, as we are far along the road to the end of human rights in
Protestant America, unless we call a halt and kindle anew the fires
of patriotism that have so long been unnoticed by those who have been
left in charge to guard our interests.
Catholicism is a vile deceiver and a rank hypocrite, therefore we
must diligently watch her serpentine movements, for she will appear
where you least expect her, as she wraps about her the American flag
and other symbols of patriotism and goes about as a lamb in wolf's
clothing.
I have no reason for writing this book only a desire to help undo
what I have already done in my fifty-six years of the past, and by
writing this book I have cut every tie that binds me to those whom I
have associated with since my childhood, therefore the reader must
know that what I am doing is being done in the name of right, justice
and the love I bear my fellowman and my adopted country, which is the
"Garden of Eden" of all the universe.
"The fool doubts what a wise man tells him because the information is
new." You may doubt what I am telling you, but your doubt will cost
you your liberty.
I have your cause at heart and I have no ambition to gratify, as I am
an old man and have no other desire than to help those who need help,
and I have come as a friend to talk to you around your firesides,
with no mission but that of truth.
Many of us have never been told to our face that we were fools, but
because no man has been frank enough to tell us the truth is no
reason why we should not investigate what is told us, and which you
have no right nor reason to doubt.
The mission of this book is to get you to _think_ and to examine and
pry into the past history of Catholicism, and when you have examined
the pages of Catholic history and then scrutinize her present, you
must know that her future promises no more than her past and present
would indicate her future to hold.
This book is written from a Protestant standpoint, but by a man who
was a Catholic fifty-six years before he ever became a Protestant,
and we feel absolutely certain that the Catholic world will endeavor
to throttle its circulation, but we have laid aside every vestige of
fear from that standpoint and have made up our mind that we are no
better than Martin Luther, and thousands of Protestants who were
burned at the stake by Catholicism for proclaiming to the world the
awful deeds of that _awful creed_.
We want you to consider this book as a friend, who has called at your
fireside to tell you _truths_ that you should know, and which, if you
do not learn, will lower you and your posterity to the level of the
commonest slave and place over the most brutal despots the world has
ever known, and these despots are nothing more nor less than the
Catholic Church.
This book comes from a man who does not court the friendship of any
sect of class of men; therefore, it comes to you with intentions as
pure as it is possible for a book to come from the hands of a poor
mortal, who fears _nothing_ but the wrath of a living God.
Catholicism is taught her cunning from her childhood, as she is
taught to watch the ranks of Protestantism and whenever she finds a
weak spot, she turns her forces upon this weakened line, and is
further instructed never to weaken in her continual march of
devastation.
Could the tears that have been shed on account of heartless
Catholicism be gathered in one body, the mighty oceans of the earth
would appear as silvery mountain brooks. Could the innocent blood of
Protestants shed by the heartless hand of Catholicism be congealed,
it would build a purple mountain that would cast a shadow the length
and breadth of this land.
The nations of the earth have had wars from the creation of the
world, but the myriads of those who have fallen in all the battles of
the world would only be a small portion compared to the millions who
have laid down their lives that greedy, abhorrent Catholicism might
be appeased.
It is time for us as _American freemen_ to become free men in every
sense the word implies, and exercise both our franchise and our
brains in relegating this "Scarlet-Robed Hag of Rome" to her original
haunts.
Will you perform your American duty and band together and become a
Protestant army and march out under the blood-stained banner of King
Emanuel and help to make America the greatest Protestant nation the
sun has ever shone upon?
Be men, and by your manhood you can, if you make the start now, lull
into _eternal sleep_ this Romish power which villifies your ambitions
and brands your offspring with the stigma of disgrace.
[Illustration:
"LOOK TO JESUS." "THE POPE AND ME."
"As the Twig is bent the Tree's inclined."
THE TWO WAYS.]
Chapter IV.
Tear from the Citadel of Reason, the Power to Reason,
and You Make Slaves of Humanity.
The men and women of the world, who have caused nations to advance
and prosper, have never been, nor never will be Catholics, unless she
discards her present mode of procedure, and this she will never do.
Whenever you tear the cloak of superstition and idolatry from the
form of Catholicism, you have naught left but the skeleton of
abominations.
The men of science and of reason, all over the world, boldly accuse
the Roman Catholic Church of being the enemy of science, detesting it
and desiring to spread the mantle of ignorance over all those whom
she controls.
The Church seems not to understand that everything finds its source
at the fountain of reason, as all things must originate from God,
and most assuredly the Supreme Being is an intelligent, reasonable
and rational God. The Catholic Church must resist, as a matter of
life or death, the progress of modern civilization, or else go down
in disgrace, for civilization and reason is a nightmare and an
everlasting enemy to Catholicism, as "scientific thought" makes her
doctrines and dogmas stand out as abominations.
If the world is to depend upon the Romish Church for her
intellectuality, and for her philosophy, and for her scientific
resources, she will always be groping her way in darkness, as the
Popish church has never advanced one-hundredth part of an inch from
the trenches of ancient ignorance and superstitions, nor has she in
any material way been instrumental in advancing a single interest of
the masses which elevates, as her every cry and her combined efforts
have been to paralyze progress and scientific research, as she well
knows that to have the searchlight of reason turned upon her
mystified labyrinths of hoodooism, the world will behold the marks
of ignorance, superstition and barbarism upon her degraded form.
Whenever an institution comes to believe that it is infallible and an
impossibility to err, then she settles back into the ruts of tyranny,
and whenever you find an individual or a body of individuals who
believe whatever they do is right, no matter what it may be, you will
find those who believe themselves ordained rulers of men, and
whenever this happens, the individual who believes this becomes a
tyrant, and tyranny belongs to the dark ages of heathendom, whence
Roman Catholicism originated.
To demonstrate to the reader and give him or her some idea of the
tyrannical rule of Romanism, we will take the history of Galileo,
which every child, perhaps, is acquainted with.
Galileo declared that the sun did not move, and this declaration
greatly insulted Pope Urban, who grew very angry, as this pope had
taught that the sun did move and that the earth stood still.
The teachings of Galileo so angered the pope that he called together
an inquisitorial board and had Galileo tried by this Romish
tribunal, and Galileo was sentenced to imprisonment for what
Catholicism termed a heretical doctrine.
Who was right--Catholicism or Galileo? Not a school boy or girl six
years old in this land but what knows that Catholicism was wrong, as
she usually is, but she would not have acknowledged her wrong had not
the world-at-large been thoroughly convinced of her error, which
would have brought her to the very feet of ridicule had she persisted
in teaching the doctrine promulgated by Pope Urban that "the sun did
move, and that the earth stood still."
The Catholic Church is always desirous of evading questions which are
susceptible to debate, and which, by mature thought and deliberation,
can be analyzed, as she does not desire to come into contact with the
brains of any nation, but is satisfied to prey upon the ignorant and
superstitiously inclined, as those are her dupes and the ones from
whom she derives her revenue, and "revenue" is one of the main
perquisites of the Catholic Church, as this Romish institution is run
for the sole purpose of making serfs of men and controlling the
destiny of nations, so that the inhabitants may be forced to disgorge
their sustenance in her lap of greed, and it matters not how low she
brings her followers, nor what may be the hardships they have to
endure, just so she accomplishes her diabolical end.
The reader may think it strange that a man who was born and raised a
Catholic, and who for thirty years officiated in the capacity of a
Catholic priest, could turn his back upon the creed of his
forefathers and so vehemently endeavor to destroy every vestige of
his childhood's doctrines, but this is no more unreasonable than it
was for Paul, in the twinkle of an eye, to turn from his wickedness
and become one of the chosen Apostles of Christ.
Many years before I cut loose entirely from the Catholic Church my
faith in her abominations was at times almost threadbare, and I have
declared time and time again that never would I enter another
Catholic Church in the capacity of a priest, but as often as I
declared and made these resolves, just so often I broke them, as my
early training and my superstitious fears would get the better of my
convictions, and I would be whipped back into the trenches of
superstition.
I have often tried within the past ten years to "nag" those officials
who were above me into a paroxysm of fury and have them excommunicate
me, as I tried to make myself believe that it would be better to have
them throw me out of the church than to leave it on my own free will,
but it appeared as though they discerned by intentions and they would
not do as I desired, and at last I made up my mind that I would swing
out upon my own account from the dark shadows of this superstitious
belief, and every word of this book has been written without a single
charge preferred against me by the Catholic Church, therefore the
Catholic Church cannot declare that I was not in good standing as a
priest at the time this book was compiled.
What I mean by "good standing" is that the robed monarchs who boldly
claim the power to damn the soul by excommunication, have not as yet
seen fit to eternally obliterate my prospects of ever entering the "New
Jerusalem," but as soon as this book is given to the reading public,
then those who wield the axe will let it fall with all the diabolical
vengeance of Roman hatred upon my head and declare the "pearly gates"
have been forever closed upon my depraved soul; but what I most desire
is to have the public understand that NOW, while I am writing this book,
I am considered AND AM BY ALL THE RIGHTS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A PRIEST
AND ENJOY ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF CATHOLICITY AS SUCH.
Why I so earnestly desire to impress this upon the minds of the
reader is that I know so well the trickery of those whom I write
about and I know full well that the Catholic officials will at once
endeavor to make the world believe that I am an outcast and in bad
standing with the Catholic Church.
This book is being written in the year 1903, and I will make oath
before any court of record on earth to the truthfulness of the
statements herein set forth, and I will give ten thousand dollars to
any charitable institution in America if any priest, bishop or
archbishop on the face of the whole earth will make oath and prove
before any lawful tribunal of America if one word of the foregoing is
not true.
Furthermore, I will give up all of my earthly possessions, which
amounts to several thousand dollars, if any priest, bishop or
archbishop living upon the face of the earth can prove before any
court of justice in America that I have not always endeavored to live
an exemplary life and rigidly taught the doctrines of the Catholic
faith, although at times my whole life rebelled at being compelled to
do so, but my whole training and long association would invariably
get the master of my reason and better judgment, and I would be
forced by my superstitious training back into the mystified
labyrinths of my childhood's education.
I stood it until I became tortured day and night by the prod of
reason, then I quietly left the church and bade farewell to the
heathen Scapular and the ten thousand other trinkets of blind
paganism, and resolved to break the chain of this "_slave of the
soul_" and "_tyrant of reason_."
In this chapter we want to give the reader some idea of the
nonsensical and unreasonableness of the claims of Catholicism, so
that you may more fully understand how disgusting it is for a man who
endeavors to use his God-given abilities to submit to such
abominations.
The Catholic Church depends more upon the saving power of the
Scapular than it does upon the saving power of Jesus Christ. Now,
this is a broad expression, but I know whereof I speak and I am
prepared to back up the assertion with facts.
The Scapular is a veil or cape, which covers the shoulders. It was
worn as such by Monks and Nuns, over their dress, but which is best
known among Catholics as two little pieces of cloth worn out of
devotion, under ordinary garments, and connected by a string which
goes around the neck and hangs down, allowing this "trinket" to rest
upon the breast.
Catholic children, from their infancy, are taught that this trinket
is a preventative against accident and disease, and they actually
believe it, and should they lose this "nothing" they at once become
miserable and will undergo any hardship to possess another.
It was through the Carmelites (Monks) that this devotion began and I
believe that the history that I will relate in regard to it is the
first history ever repeated in this or any other country by an
ex-priest that ever lived or died.
A man by the name of Simon Stock was elected to the generalship of
the Carmelite Order, and this same Simon Stock was considered a
Saint, and it is taught by Catholicism that the Virgin Mary appeared
to Simon Stock in a vision and exhibited this Scapular and gave Stock
to understand that it was to be worn by the Catholic world in the
future as a preventative against accident, disease and sudden death.
There is another story which is told in regard to this Scapular, as
follows: It is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to Simon Stock in a
vision in behalf of the Carmelite Order, which at that time was in
great trouble, and gave to Stock a Scapular, which she bore in her
hand, in order that it could be worn, and which she guaranteed was
an order direct from God Almighty that the Carmelite Order should
wear this "trinket," which would be a preventative from any evil
overtaking any of those who did wear it, and further stating that all
of those who wore this Scapular "_shall never suffer eternal
burning_."
It is further stated that Pope John XXII, in his famous Sabbatine
Bull, declared that the Virgin Mary had appeared to him and informed
him that all the members of the Carmelite Order who wore this
Scapular should be gotten out of purgatory by her on the Saturday
after their death, and this Pope winds up his declaration with the
following sentence: "I accept, corroborate and confirm, in the name
of Jesus Christ, for our Glorious Virgin Mary, who has granted this
great privilege to those who wear the Scapular."
This abomination is nothing more nor less than a "tale of fiction,"
and promulgated by men who know that it is a positive lie, but they
do it in order to mystify the ignorant and to compel them to remain
in darkest ignorance.
Now, to convince the reader that Catholicism is as densely ignorant
to-day as it ever was, we will bring her history up to date.
Pope Leo, in the good year of 1903, on his death bed, ordered this
Carmelite veil brought from Mount Carmel, that he might have
assistance from it in his dying hour, and declared that by the
assistance of this mythical Scapular that when he died he would go
straight to Heaven.
You can take the history of the Roman Catholic Church from the
earliest days of its cussedness up to the present time, and you will
find that the same heathenish superstition that surrounded it
centuries ago still follows it to-day.
Is there any proof that the Virgin Mary appeared to Simon Stock and
made to him the promise above related? No proof whatever, only the
cungered up proof of the officials of Catholicism, and the Sabbatine
Bull of Pope John has no more sense nor righteous meaning in it than
the ghost dance of the American Indian.
The Scapular that we above refer to is not the only emblem of
heathendom that Catholicism resorts to, but we have a number of
others which the Protestant world knows but little about, and
especially the Protestants in America, as the Catholic officials do
not want "this Scapular business" talked about too much in this
country, for fear that the Protestant world will give it the
deserving ridicule that it should have. However, we have started out
to show up the teachings of Catholicism as they actually exist, and
the more light we turn upon this subject the more prominent her
abominations will become, consequently we want to mention these other
Scapulars.
The first that we will mention is, "The Trinity of White Linen with
Red Cross;" the second is, "The Survite Scapular of Seven Dolors,"
which is of black woolen stuff; the third is, "The Immaculate
Conception," which is of blue woolen cloth, and the fourth and last
Scapular is one that was originated in 1846 by a Sister of Charity in
Paris, France, who is said to have received a revelation from God
Almighty, and this one is called "The Red Scapular of the Passion."
While American Catholics are a class far superior in intellect to the
Catholics of other nations, they still tenaciously cling to the
inert Scapular and believe in its efficacy and power; however, the
Catholic Church is getting to have quite a number of these Scapulars,
which is causing the intelligent Catholics to become a little
doubtful as to which has the greatest "pulling power," and many of
them, in order to make no mistake, wear all five of them in a bunch;
thus they are assured that if one fails to get in its work another
will come to the rescue, and should they fall off of a train moving
60 miles an hour, this little bunch of woolen goods will save them
from a bruise, or should they drink a quart of the essence of
strychnine they would be saved from instant death by one of these
five Scapulars.
You ask a Catholic to explain the merits of the Scapular and all they
can tell you is that if they die during the week that the Virgin Mary
will then take them to heaven on the Saturday following, but if they
happen to die on a Saturday, bear in mind that the Virgin Mary gives
them a cold shoulder until the next Saturday. Now, this is the only
explanation that you can get a Catholic to give you in regard to a
Scapular.
Is it any wonder that the power to reason is shattered by these
cungering devices of Catholicism, and do you wonder that the dense
ignorance of Catholic nations are completely under the power of this
angel of darkness?
Let us repeat, in conclusion of this chapter, that Romanism is the
everlasting enemy of science and individual intellect, as she knows
full well that when the broad, effulgent light of Protestantism dawns
on the benighted minds of her followers that she at once loses her
grasp upon her "hood-winked" dupes, as it is impossible for the
teachings of Catholicism to exist side by side with the teachings of
Protestantism, provided that those who believe in these Romish
abominations care to look above the horizon of Romanism.
[Illustration: IMMORALITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD--
With Romish lust, the blossom of virtue is destroyed.]
Chapter V.
Innocent Girlhood at the Confessional Box.
Blight girlhood and you destroy the usefulness of womankind. Tarnish
the sacredness of girlhood and you scar the purity of womanhood.
Deface the beautiful countenance of chastity, which is found in the
bosom of girlhood, and you not only mar the happiness of girlhood,
but you deface and obliterate the families of the future, for without
that priceless treasure, virtue, the eternal principles of conjugal
love becomes a barren waste without a single oasis.
Oh, if I could but call about me in one vast throng the girls of this
land, and all other lands, who have had the first thought of
carnality planted in their bosom by the scheming Priestcraft, I would
have a throng of tear-faced mortals that would rend the heart of
stone and stigmatize the cunning of Catholicism with a stigma blacker
than the lowering clouds of despair.
When you force childhood to believe in the infallibility of the
priestcraft you educate the mind of that child to implicitly believe
in the officials of the Catholic Church, and when you gain the
implicit confidence you have established a belief that cannot be
easily eradicated, as this belief has become a part of that child,
and as it grows older, this erroneous belief grows in proportion to
the body, and by the time this child has arrived at the age of
maturity, she is as densely ignorant of the cunning of this doctrine
as she was when she first learned to repeat the Catechism with a
childish lisp.
We desire to preface this chapter with common-sense arguments, so
that the reader may thoroughly understand how completely the female
element of the Catholic Church is under the control of the priesthood
of this institution.
Priests are, as a rule, men of more than average intellect, and, as
they have no other calling nor no other avocation in life than to
make good impressions upon their members, they of course become
cunning in their art, especially with the female members of their
congregations, and more especially with their young and handsome
members.
Imagine the power that a Catholic priest has over a young girl in her
teens--yea, over any female member of their congregation, when you
take into consideration the fact that from infancy these girls and
women have been taught that it is almost an absolute impossibility
for a priest to commit a sin.
When you dwell upon the doctrines taught these girls and women it
will not be a matter of surprise that the priestcraft wields such a
powerful influence over them, as any one with this doctrine funneled
into them from childhood is open and ready to believe what the
priestcraft may tell them, and the individual is not to blame for
believing this, as they have been taught it by their parents from
infancy, and the officials of the Catholic Church have taught it;
then why should we be surprised at the dense ignorance upon the part
of these girls and women?
Priests always try to impress their members with the idea that they
are infallible and that it is impossible for them to sin. They do
this for many reasons. First, in order that they may have their
congregations in humble submission to any of the demands of the
church, and, secondly, it enables them to accomplish any devilish
deed they may wish to accomplish under the guise of priestly
sanctity.
It is no pleasant task to dwell upon this most distasteful and most
repulsive of all of the fallacies of Rome and the abominable
rottenness of the priesthood, but without giving a vivid description
of the cunning of the priestcraft in regard to the "Confessional"
would be treating the subject in a manner that would not do justice
to the abominations of her hideous doctrines; and to fail to touch
upon this subject would leave the greatest and most deadly weapon in
the hands of this band of devils.
The Confessional Box is an emblem of paganism, as innumerable
trustworthy authorities prove that Roman Catholicism has pre-empted
this custom as well as many other of her practices from the dark ages
of paganism.
Oricular confession was practiced centuries ago by the ancient
Babylonians, Egyptians, Mexicans, Peruvians and the Japanese--in
fact, it is not only an ancient custom, but one which belongs to the
darkest of the ancient ages, which should have been relegated to the
haunts of hell centuries ago.
A priest once said: "Nobody should be surprised when we priests,
bishops and popes sink into the bottomless abyss of immorality, for
the celibacy of the priestcraft is only a cudgel in the hands of
Catholic officials to drive us to the haunts of immorality."
A priest once said "that the Confessional is one of the most damnable
institutions that was ever permitted to exist, as these Confessionals
are only traps to lead the piously and morally-inclined priest to the
plains of immorality, for a priest is naught but man, and when he is
forced to compel women penitents to pour into his ears their every
thought, feeling, desire, emotion and act, it kindles the fires of
unholy thought upon the altars of his better ambitions and before he
knows it he has committed adultery and not only ruined his own soul,
but has been the implement in the hands of the devil to destroy the
virtue of innocent womanhood."
He further states "that not only do the thoughts, feelings, emotions,
etc., have to be related, in all of their details, to the priest, and
perhaps a bad priest, but all circumstances leading to and the
results growing out of these thoughts, must be given in detail."
The immorally inclined and licentious priest is not satisfied with
the female penitent enumerating only her mortal sins, but he insists
and forces the penitent to give circumstances, minutely describing
her thoughts and feelings of every-day life, which leads both the
penitent and the confessor to the lowlands of immorality.
The priestcraft is instructed by the Romish Church not to allow the
penitent to conceal anything from them, and the priestcraft is given
instructions to probe the penitent to the heart's core.
In this chapter we propose to give you a little insight to the
character of one or two priests that I have personally known, and if
I dared and if it was possible to print the nasty history of a number
of priests that I have been acquainted with, I could fill this volume
with their depravity; but should I do so this book would not be
permitted to circulate through the mails of the United States. But I
will endeavor to clothe my recital of a few instances of priestly
immorality in language of chastity, but will make my recital plain
enough that any one who can read may understand.
Rev. Chas. Kuhlman, who was pastor of a Catholic Church in
Edwardsville, Ill., was suspicioned of having become too intimate
with a sister of his own school, and this sister soon left the
sisterhood, and it was rumored that she went to St. Louis to evade
the birth of a child.
This very same priest was caught in the act of adultery with a
married woman in his office in East St. Louis. He was at that time,
besides being pastor, the editor and publisher of a very important
Catholic paper called "_The Catholic Progress_." This immorality of
Priest Kuhlman became public property and formed such a nasty mess
that the Catholic bishop had to take some notice of it and the case
was tried before the Bishop of Alton, Ill., and Kuhlman was
excommunicated for life.
This married woman gave testimony that was very damaging to the Rev.
Kuhlman and gave her evidence before a notary public, which cannot be
disputed, and it matters not how hard the Catholic Church may try to
villify these statements, they cannot overcome the truthfulness of
the same, as there are too many living witnesses at this time who
know that what I am relating is absolutely true.
Rev. Kuhlman was not satisfied with the verdict of the bishop of
Alton, Ill., and appealed his case to Rome, and the bishop was indeed
glad to get rid of this dirty case and did not appear in Rome to
prosecute the case, and the Rev. Kuhlman won the case in Rome by
default, and this same Rev. Kuhlman became a Catholic priest in good
standing again and was permitted to officiate as a minister of the
gospel, with all of this abominable slime of immorality clinging to
his priestly garments.
Now, bear in mind that Rev. Kuhlman, after having all of this
immorality laid at his door, was permitted by the Pope of Rome to go
right ahead with his priestly duties, but a short time after he won
his case at Rome there was an affidavit sworn out against Kuhlman by
a man in East St. Louis, averring that he had been again caught in
the act of adultery with another woman. This time the case was
reported to Bishop Janssen, of Belleville, Ill., and also to Cardinal
Martinelli, of Washington, D.C., but there was no attention paid to
it, and this Rev. Kuhlman was permitted to go right ahead in his
pastoral duties and is at the present time the pastor of a church in
East St. Louis and is also the spiritual director of a convent, which
contains many sisters and many pupils.
Now, if what I have related is false, Rev. Chas. Kuhlman has redress
at law; and if I have libeled him he can make me suffer for the
crime, and he will not have to spend any money to locate my
whereabouts, as he is aware of my location at the present time and
can find me at any time that he desires to bring suit against me for
blackmail or any other crime that he sees fit to instigate against
me.
It is no pleasant task to relate these very nauseating things, but it
is my aim and intention to so plainly and powerfully set forth the
deceit, cunning and dastardly deeds of Catholicism that I may be able
to open the eyes of not only the Protestant world but of Catholicism
at large, for there are thousands of the followers of the Pope who
are very weak in their faith, and if I can by the righteousness of my
cause, convince them that they are following the blind leaders of
paganism, I am absolutely certain that the Protestant ranks will have
an in-gathering of the hosts of Catholicism that will cause the
angels in heaven to shout hallelujahs of thanksgiving.
Do not understand me to say, or to intimate, that there are no
sincere priests, as there are; but their sincerity is founded upon
superstitious beliefs and erroneous doctrines, consequently their
sincerity and devoutness only helps to fasten the abominations of
Catholicism more completely upon humanity, as those who are candidly
sincere are held up to the Protestant world as models of Catholicism,
when, in fact, they are but exceptions to the general herd of
Catholic officials.
To more plainly illustrate to the reader how fascinating and powerful
the teachings of Catholicism is upon the minds of man, I would
illustrate this by the power that parents have over a child. You
teach a child some doctrine, it matters not whether it is right or
wrong, and you will impress it with the truthfulness of this doctrine
in its childhood, and let it understand as it grows into manhood and
womanhood that this doctrine is absolutely true, and hedge it about
with superstitions confirming this doctrine, and the hosts of hell
can hardly convince it that its early teachings were wrong; so you
can easily see what a powerful influence Catholicism has over the
minds of its followers, as you must bear in mind that Catholicism
takes up the child when it is only a few days old and continually
hedges it about with emblems of ignorance and superstition and never
allows it to gaze above the horizon of this mass of erroneous
doctrine; therefore the child is not to blame for its implicit
confidence, but the cunning of those who practice this deception upon
this child is to blame, and the doctrine of Catholicism is what I am
assailing in this volume, for if I can be instrumental in opening the
eyes of those who have arrived at the years of accountability, I feel
sure that I can be instrumental in having those so reached declare to
their offspring that their first lessons have been altogether
erroneous, and if the Catholic parents will begin to teach their
children before they leave the parental roof that their first lessons
were erroneous it will not be so hard for the Protestant world to
finish the job and turn these hosts of darkness into the highways of
intellectuality.
The reason that we have so many disgraceful happenings and immoral
incidents in the lives of the priestcraft is because of the absolute
confidence that their followers have in them, as it is a well-known
fact that the female world has a greater confidence in humanity than
the male population, so it is an easy matter for any sane man or
woman to understand why an immoral priest, and one who has no regard
for honor, has such an easy task in accomplishing the ruin of those
whom he seeks to destroy.
The paradise of the priestcraft is inky darkness, as they prefer
darkness to light, and by their actions, their every-day lives take
on the hue of midnight. If we can read God Almighty's hand-writing in
a legible manner, we believe that any intelligent man or woman can
discern in the countenance of a majority of the priestcraft a look
which is almost equal to a condemnation of their actions, as a large
majority are lacking of that manly frankness of countenance which is
found in the countenances of godly men.
In conclusion of this chapter, I beg to state that the Confessional
Box of the Romish Church is one of the darkest pages of the dark
history of Catholicism, and if this hideous chapter was removed from
Romanism, three-fourths of her diabolical deeds would be eradicated;
but when you remove the "Confessional" you remove the charm for that
part of the priestcraft which exists upon the carrion of the human
family, and whenever you remove the "Confessional," the celibacy of
the church will be abandoned and the priestcraft will be allowed to
marry, as Protestant ministers are permitted to do, and when this is
done, instead of having a Roman Catholic Church, we will have a
Protestant denomination in its stead, and my prayer is that a just
God will hasten the day when this "_virtue trap_" will be relegated
to the dark recesses of paganism, from whence it came.
[Illustration: "AMERICA'S RUIN."
UNCLE SAM--"I am afraid these people will be the ruination
of this country unless I stop them from coming over."]
Chapter VI.
The Nations Completely Dominated by
the Power of the Pope Are Nations of Illegitimacy.
In this chapter, we have before us the vision of two countries; one
is Protestant America and the other Catholic Ecuador.
Protestant America stands upon a plane of morality and chastity,
which is pleasing to contemplate, and for which she can thank only
the principles of Protestantism, for Protestantism teaches, by both
precept and example, as she looks to the only true standard of
morality that ever existed, which is the Holy Bible. But Catholicism
looks only to a standard which the Pope of Rome sees fit to
establish, and a standard of morals which is set by mortal man, can
only be, at its best, a very inferior standard, as the licentiousness
and lust of unholy man can never compare with that great and
infinitely good _being_, the Lord of Hosts.
Broad education of the mind means a subduing of the passions, and
_broad_ education is something that the Catholic Church fights
against, as she knows full well that to educate her masses would be
equivalent to losing her grasp upon their actions, for no man or
woman of a broad education and an individual intellectuality will
permit these hosts of darkness to dictate to them.
Ignorance is the greatest breeder of crime known to the intelligence
of man, and it is an established fact that crime breeds immorality,
and immorality of course is the equivalent of illegitimacy, and
historical facts will bear me out in the assertion that the countries
which are absolutely under the power of the Pope are countries which
are densely ignorant, and again, as above stated, ignorance leads to
crime, and crime to immorality, and now we are back to the first
proposition and have proven without going further that "The nations
completely dominated by the power of the Pope are nations of
illegitimacy," but we propose to use historical records to convince
without the shadow of a doubt that our statements are true. However,
I do not need these historical facts, as I have traveled extensively
through Europe and many other countries, and I know whereof I speak,
by personal observation and by coming into personal contact with both
Catholic and Protestant nations. However, we are not going to be
satisfied with this alone, as we do not want the reader to rely
implicitly upon our individual statements, but we propose to bring
facts to bear upon your mind which cannot be over-thrown, as
statistics are stubborn and unyielding facts, which none but fools
dispute.
We propose to take statistics from the _Peabody Reporter_, which you
can corroborate with the official report of the United States
Commissioner of Education. The statistics that we above refer to
follow:
"To every ten thousand inhabitants under the Roman Catholic school
system, there are 1,400 illiterates, 410 paupers and 160 criminals,
while in the public school system we only find to every ten thousand
inhabitants 350 illiterates, making a difference of 1,050 to every
ten thousand." Thus you see that what we have said in previous
chapters of this book in regard to Romanism being founded upon the
mountains of ignorance is true.
Education in its literal meaning, means an infusion of intelligence
that lifts up the minds of man, and it is generally so accepted by
the world at large, but education, as far as Catholicism goes, means
only a rehearsal of abominations, which have been practiced upon the
followers of this creed for centuries in the past, and does not in the
least bear upon the principles of true education.
The public school system is established on the principle that the
intelligence and virtue of the people constitutes the foundation of
free government.
Our public schools therefore form one of the chief cornerstones of
our American republic; they are the sheet anchor of our hopes. The
growth and prosperity which have characterized the first century of
our schools fulfills their mission.
Education is the watchword of the hour among Protestants, but never
among Catholics. We must educate if we would elevate, and unless we
elevate the minds of men we will have humanity running riot with vice
and immorality, and this is why the Catholic nations of the earth are
found with their morals trailing in the slime of degeneracy.
Our public schools are to-day the great assimilating power in this
country. We find in them children of all nationalities, and whether
they be English, Irish, Scotch, Danish, Norwegians, French, Italians,
or some other nationality, when they enter these institutions they
pass out of the school houses, scattered all over this land,
_Americans_, one and all, as it is absolutely impossible to make
anything but a _true American_ out of a pupil who has been turned out
of the public schools of this country, and one who has been permitted
to assimilate the doctrines of broad education taught in these
schools.
The influence of the public schools works rapidly upon childhood and
is felt through all of their after lives. A child who has been
educated in the public schools of this country is always an
unrelenting foe of caste, but the child who is educated in the
parochial schools is taught to look up to innumerable superiors, and
such an education dwarfs the minds of childhood and teaches them to
continually look to others for their individual happiness, but the
teachings of the public schools broaden the individual mind and gives
courage, which enables the child to swing out from the influence of
others and become a mighty power in the mechanism of the universe.
We touch upon the public schools in this chapter, only in connection
with the dominating influence of the Pope over nations which he
completely rules, in order that the reader may thoroughly understand
that ignorance begets crime and crime begets illegitimacy, as we
expect to dwell more fully upon the education of nations in the
future, but we want the reader to begin at the "Alpha" of reason, so
that when he or she is through with this chapter that there will be
no doubt in their minds as to why the power of the Pope breeds
illegitimacy among his followers.
We have contrasted the difference in morals of the inhabitants,
which are completely dominated by Roman Catholicism, to that of the
inhabitants of Protestant America, but we have made this comparison
in a general way; but we now want to select a country which for its
absolutism of Catholic monarchy has no comparison, and that country
is Ecuador.
In Ecuador the Catholic Church has such a complete hold upon the
inhabitants that they will not allow Protestantism taught, and the
consequence of her tyranny is that out of every 100 children born in
that country, seventy-five are bastards or illegitimate and have no
idea of their father, and the immorality of the priestcraft is so
vile that their actions are absolutely passed over without notice, as
there is scarcely a single priest to be found in that country but who
is the father of from ten to twenty-five and thirty children; but
still the Roman Church continues to forbid her priests to wed, when
they know full well that celibacy in the Catholic Church is the cause
of all of this degeneracy.
This state of affairs is not confined to Ecuador alone, but the same
state of affairs exists throughout the length and breadth of all
Catholic nations which are completely under the power of the Pope.
Italy, for instance, which is the home of the Pope and which has been
the home of the Catholic Church since the existence of her
abominations, is one of the most immoral countries that ever
besmirched the face of the earth.
The first lesson that a Catholic child is taught is "_hate_," and
that lesson is directed at Protestantism; therefore, is it any wonder
that the education of Catholicism only reaches out far enough to
hoodwink the student and does not elevate him or her above the
festering mess which surrounds it?
We want, to repeat the statement that the Roman Catholic Church does
not want to educate anybody, nor will it do so, where it is not under
the pressure of Protestant influence. However, the American people
demand figures and facts before they will be convinced; so as further
evidence of the truthfulness of what we are telling you, we propose
to quote from a report of the minister of education in Italy, made
some few years ago. This report is true in every particular, and
bear in mind that this minister of education was a Catholic himself.
The report follows:
"Of every 1,000 males in the province of Lombardy, 539 only were able
to read, and 461 did not even know their letters. Of every 1,000
females, only 426 could read and 574 could not read, neither did they
know their letters.
"In Naples and Sicily, out of every 1,000 males, only 165 were able
to read and 835 could not, and out of every 1,000 females, only 62
could read and 938 could not read and did not know their alphabet.
Taking this report, you will find that out of every 100, only about
10 were able to read.
"In 1864, out of 21,000,000 people, only 3,500,000 could read and
write, and the rest did not know their alphabet, and to-day Spain,
another country which is completely dominated by the power of Rome,
has a population of ignorant dupes, as 80 per cent of the population
of Spain cannot read and write.
"In Ireland, where the Romish Church is dominant, this same record is
repeated, as in other Catholic nations. In European countries where
Protestantism is taught there is but one out of every ten that cannot
read and write, but in the same countries, where Catholicism has
absolute sway, there is but one out of every 125 that can read and
write.
"In six leading Protestant countries of Europe there are 315
inhabitants to every newspaper or magazine, while in six Roman
Catholic countries in Europe there is but one newspaper to every
2,715 people.
"It is estimated that at least seven-eighths of the twenty million
inhabitants in Spanish-America, which consists of the countries of
Mexico, Cuba, Central America and the north and west parts of South
America, are unable to read, and in Mexico alone 90 per cent of the
inhabitants cannot read nor write, neither do they know their
alphabet;" thus you can see what Roman Catholicism does for the
countries which she controls.
We are writing this book, believing that an intelligent class of
people will read it, and if such is true, we believe that it is
useless for us to try to demonstrate further why the countries which
are completely controlled by Catholicism are countries of
illegitimacy, for an intelligent reader knows full well that
ignorance is the greatest brooder of immorality known to man, and, of
course, immorality means illegitimacy, and we believe that we have
thoroughly demonstrated to the mind of the reader that Catholicism
spreads a cloak of ignorance and superstition wherever she is allowed
to rule supreme, and if this is the case, then the natural
consequences of such a state of affairs is illegitimacy.
[Illustration: "FREE IN NAME ONLY."
"Take their chains off, UNCLE SAM, or you will
always have trouble with them."]
Chapter VII.
The Power of the Pope in Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippine Islands.
It makes my heart sick when I realize that the Government of the
United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars upon the
Islands of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, and, after
all, these Islands are still in the grasp and the filthy embrace of
the Vatican at Rome.
Not only fabulous amounts of money have been spent by the United
States upon these Islands, but hundreds of our noble boys in blue
have given up their lives in battle and by the scourge of disease,
and still Catholicism has absolute sway in these far-away countries.
These islands have been under the immediate control of Popery for
hundreds of years, but when the Government of the United States took
charge of them, their inhabitants had advanced no further in
intellectuality and the freedom of free men than they were centuries
ago.
It may sound strange to the average reader when I declare that all of
the lives lost and all of the money expended by the United States
upon Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands was brought about by
the tyrannical rule of Rome, for it was by her abominations that Cuba
rebelled, which was the prime cause of the interference by the
government of the United States; therefore you can readily see why it
is that I claim that Catholicism is to blame for the part that the
government of the United States took in the affairs of these
countries, and what puzzles me so much is why the government of the
United States still permits Catholicism to control the destinies of
these countries, when the officials of this government know full well
that had it not been for abhorrent Catholicism that Cuba would never
have rebelled and that Porto Rico would have been satisfied, and that
the Philippine Islands would not to-day belong to the United States;
but, instead of this government trying to remedy the great wrong
done to the inhabitants of these countries, it went right ahead and
allowed the bone of contention to remain, and to-day finds this
government not only permitting Catholicism to continue to practice
her abominations in these countries, but this government is
instrumental in sending Catholic teachers over to these countries,
when, if this country would do its whole duty, it would not permit
Catholicism to take any part in the affairs of these countries.
Archbishop Chapelle was shipped to the Philippine Islands with all
the pomp of a ruler, and so was Archbishop J.J. Harty, whom I am
personally acquainted with, and whom I have been on intimate terms
with for a number of years, and this man Harty is to-day in the
Philippine Islands ruling with the same tyrannical hand that has
characterized Romanism for centuries past, and whose rule is only
symbolic to ruin, as the interests of the inhabitants of these
countries are never considered, as it is Rome's ambition and only
desire to keep them under the heel of perpetual tyranny.
We would like to know why Archbishop Chapelle should be given the
best stateroom in a transport ship sailing for Manila, while our
pure-blooded, honest, sincere Protestant boys who wear the blue were
huddled together like so many cattle.
Ah, this is the reason: Archbishop Chapelle is an emissary of the
Pope of Rome and stands ready at all times to serve the wishes and
obey the orders of that Italian pontiff, and our officials were aware
of this fact and they did not want to stir up the Catholic officials
for fear of losing a few votes, as both of our old parties have sunk
so low into the quagmire of filth that they would allow their country
to sink to the level of Romish abominations if they thought by so
doing they could control the Catholic vote for either party.
Was one of your boys on this transport ship? Was your kith and kin
aboard this vessel that showed this ungodly discrimination between
the soldier boy who wrung a poor mother's heart by leaving the
parental fireside? If such was the case, you can vividly see the
injustice done to these brave lads in favor of this Archbishop
Chapelle, as these boys were on their way to this terrible land of
disease and death to help plant the emblem of liberty upon the
ramparts of these far-away Islands, and this same Archbishop Chapelle
was on his way to destroy the influence of these boys' mission.
The time is not far distant until the Protestant world will wake up
to the realization that they have been humbled before this Italian
pontiff for the simple reason that our officials are willing to cater
to Catholicism in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands for the
sake of votes.
We do not care whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, this
chapter should fire your blood to the fullest extent, for I am
telling you truths, and if you have got the common decency of the
most ignorant liberty-loving American you will right now make a
resolve that Protestant America must redeem her pledge to Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippine Islands to liberate them not only from the
hardships placed upon them by a foreign nation, but liberate them
from the bonds of Catholicism, which not only binds the body, but
chains the soul with the fetters of ignorance and superstition.
When it became known that the government of the United States was to
interfere in the affairs of Cuba, the Catholic Church put all of her
machinery to work immediately in order to fool Uncle Sam and cajole
him into dealing only with the government of Spain, which would
permit Catholicism to exist in these Islands, and the pages of
history only tell us too well how successfully she laid her plans, as
to-day we have the awful spectacle of beholding the government of the
United States playing the part of "protector," while she is quietly
aiding the identical institution which caused the misery in these
far-away countries.
What I tell you in this chapter is true, as I was a Catholic priest
and was on the inside of the workings of Catholicism at that time,
and what I relate is not guess work nor imagination, but it is plain,
unvarnished and unadulterated truths, and the American people will
sooner or later wake up to the realization of these awful truths, for
just so long as the United States permits Catholicism to control the
destinies of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, just that
long turmoil and misery will remain in these tropical regions, for
Catholicism has sworn by all of her imaginary saints that
Protestantism shall never rule these countries, and so far she has
carried out her threat truly and well, as Protestantism to-day has no
more control over the inhabitants of these islands than she did
before the damnable creed of the Pope was molested by the appearance
of Dewey's guns at Manila.
Can you expect these countries to grow in greatness, and can you
expect the inhabitants of these countries to become giants in
intellect when they practice the cungerings of Catholicism?
We want to give the reader an insight in this chapter to what
Catholicism practices in this country and in other countries that are
not near so densely ignorant as Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine
Islands, and then you can have an idea of what the inhabitants of
these countries may expect in the way of advancement from
Catholicism, and what I will repeat is the abominations that I have
helped to practice myself for thirty years; therefore I know whereof
I speak and no man dare dispute.
We will take a Catholic cemetery, for instance, and in order that the
ground may be sanctified and fit to receive the dead bodies of those
who believe in the Catholic faith a bishop must sanctify this earth
and consecrate it before it is fit to conceal the body of one of the
Pope's followers.
Our Savior has declared that "From earth we came, and to earth we
shall return," and there was no proviso made that before we should
return to earth that it would have to be consecrated by a human
being, as any man or woman of intelligence knows full well that what
the Lord our God has made cannot be improved upon by the idiotic
chant and superstitious rant of a Catholic bishop.
It matters not how godly nor how piously a Protestant may have lived,
Catholicism teaches that it is an abomination to bury a Protestant in
a Catholic cemetery, and one of her laws is that to bury a heretic
(which means Protestant) in a Catholic cemetery is unlawful, and the
Catholic Popes instruct that the remains of any Protestant buried in
a Catholic cemetery shall, if they can be distinguished, be removed,
and if they can not be distinguished, that the cemetery shall be
cleansed by sprinkling holy water over the ground, and bear in mind
that this holy water is to receive its cleansing power from some
priest or bishop, who perhaps is as immoral as hell.
In Canada, some time since, the laws of that country forcibly
effected the burial of a Protestant in a Catholic cemetery, and the
bishop of that diocese, by the name of Bourget, declared that portion
of the cemetery as "_desecrated and filthy_" and forbade any priest
to step his foot upon the ground.
Now, do you expect an institution which teaches such doctrines to
elevate a nation above their own doctrine? If you do, you are
expecting something unreasonable, and if the inhabitants of Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands are not to be elevated above
such abominations can the future hold anything for them but misery?
There is but one thing that beats a bishop's consecration of a
graveyard, and that is money, and money only; but a few dollars will
turn the trick and will open up the ground in a Catholic cemetery for
a heretic, and enough money will turn the entire cemetery into a
Protestant graveyard.
In the City of St. Louis there is a Catholic cemetery called
"Calvary," and lots twelve feet square are sold at from $50 to $1,000
each. A lot was bought by a Protestant whose son died and who was
baptized in his last hour by a Catholic nurse. While his people were
Protestants, they consented, since he had been baptized into the
Catholic Church, that they would give him a Catholic burial, and a
priest by the name of Ward performed the ceremony. Now, bear in mind
that the father of this young man had bought a lot large enough for
his whole family to be buried there, when they should die, as he, of
course, wanted his entire family to be buried together, but the
Catholic Church would not consent to consecrate any part of that lot
but the grave in which the young man was buried that was baptized on
his death bed, simply because the remainder of the family were
Protestants; but for money they consecrated a portion of this lot,
four feet wide and six and one-half feet long, but the remainder of
this lot was not consecrated, therefore you will see that money in
the Catholic Church has as much power to consecrate the earth as doth
the bishopric and priestcraft.
Ah, what abominations! but still this Government expects Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippine Islands to be elevated to the standard of
manhood and womanhood by this class of ghouls.
Now, if we could halt with the recital of only a few abominations, my
task, perhaps, would not be so disgusting, but had I the endurance to
live on, until I were a thousand years old, and could write what I
know and have experienced in the ranks of Catholicism, I would be
unable to portray to the reader all of her abominations.
The Catholic Church is a church of show and glamor, and of
nonsensical doctrines, and not a church of God and of holy worship.
Many believe that Catholicism has taught all of her cungerings for
centuries past, and this is the case, but bear in mind, that
Catholicism often has to have new "fakes," in order to make the money
slide out of the pockets of their "dupes" more easily, so they get up
new intrigues and modern shows for this purpose, and the fake that
works the best is the one that they work the hardest, as I solemnly
declare that the Catholic Church as a whole is a money proposition
upon the part of those who teach her abominations, and I further
declare that it is a "graft" conceived by minds that are more cunning
and deceptive than any class of men upon the face of the whole earth.
The Catholic Church changes its form of worship like cheap chop
houses change their bills of fare, as they are after "suckers," and
if one bait will not get them, they throw out another, and the pomp
and show of the church is to catch the eye and not to save the soul.
Not long since, the Catholic Church, with singular devotion, turned
its attention to the five wounds of Christ, and immediately after
giving these five wounds their solicitous attention, they bade their
followers to have recourse to the sacred heart of Jesus, and in
hundreds of Catholic Churches you will find to-day a statue made in
the likeness of Christ, with a heart attached over the breast, and
this heart is illuminated by electricity or candle, and the followers
of Catholicism absolutely worship this mechanism of man, and it has
proven a great drawing card, and you can rest assured that
Catholicism is pushing the scheme along good and hard, and "The St.
Anthony Bread Box" hoax is another scheme that is not very old, but
which the Catholic Church has found to be another great paying
investment, and they are working "St. Anthony" for all that he is
worth.
Now, can any man or woman of intelligence believe that the
inhabitants of these islands can ever expect to become men and women
of affairs--men and women of individuality--and men and women of
intellectuality? If you can give a rational reason why these
countries should ever expect to be elevated to the standard of
greatness under such influences and under the tutelage of such an
institution, then the road to greatness must be a very easy one to
travel.
The Catholic Church is conducted on about the same principle as Dun's
and Bradstreet's mercantile agencies, as they go into the minutest
detail to keep record of the affairs of the country, so that they may
know the weakest as well as the strongest points of their creed, so
that they may at all times be prepared to exercise the greatest
influence at the proper time, and what makes this creed so dangerous,
is that they impress upon their dupes that the church is "eternal
law," and they hold out the crown of glory on high as a reward for
following their doctrine, and this is the most dangerous and damnable
scheme ever perpetrated by mortal, for when you force a man or woman
to believe that you hold in your hands their future destiny, you have
them to the point where you can force them to do your bidding, and
this is exactly what Catholicism does to her followers, and this is
the reason why Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands can never
expect to go higher in the scale of morality and intellectuality
than they are at the present time, if the Government of the United
States permits this troop of ghouls to continue to be their masters.
We believe that we have in this chapter made, it plain to the reader
why the influence of Catholicism should be remotely removed from
these islands, and if I am right, the Government of the United States
is everlastingly wrong in permitting Catholicism to retain her hold
upon the throats of the inhabitants of these islands, and I
undoubtedly am right, as I know whereof I speak, as I have trod the
deceptive road of Catholicism for the past thirty years, and I dare
not tell in this book all that I know of her cunning in regard to
these far-away countries, as I would have to use language so plain
that I could not expect this volume to pass through the mails, as the
priestcraft in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands are an
immoral set, as a whole, and treat the female population of these
islands in a manner that breeds immorality from generation to
generation, and the awful part of this immorality is that those who
commit it with the priestcraft do not consider that it is a wrong, as
they have been taught that it is no sin to do as the priestcraft
demands, therefore it is ten thousand times worse than if the sin was
committed with the knowledge of the fact that it was a sin, as the
mother or father who is aware of the fact that they are sinners will
not teach their offspring to commit the sins that they are guilty of,
but when they are not aware of the fact that they are committing a
sin, of course, they allow their children to believe that their
actions are in harmony with the teachings of God, therefore this
damnable practice goes on and on, from generation to generation, and
this is why the morals, intelligence and progress of Cuba, Porto Rico
and the Philippine Islands, are to-day on the same plane of depravity
as they were centuries ago, and no one is to blame for this carnality
and debauchery of the inhabitants of these islands but the Roman
Catholic Church, and until the Government of the United States shall
declare and back up her declaration by Protestant manhood, the
inhabitants of these islands will never know of the beauties of
chastity and morality and the wonderful blessings that are held in
store for them by embracing Protestantism.
May the Lord of Hosts hasten the day when the eyes of those who rule
in Protestant America may be opened to the awful sins they are
committing, by allowing Romanism to hover over these islands with her
vulturous and carnivorous appetite of depravity, and may the time
soon come when the Government of the United States shall proclaim to
the Vatican at Rome that this veil of abomination shall be lifted
from the inhabitants of these islands; and when this is done, the
goddess of liberty that has made Protestant America what she is
to-day, will hover over these far-away islands of the sea, and new
life will pulsate in the veins of these Romish-ridden countries.
[Illustration: "SAVE THE GIRLS"!
"Batter down the Convent doors of Catholicism and
the civilized world will stand amazed."]
Chapter VIII.
Monasteries Are Often the Abode of Criminals, and
Nunneries the Slaughter Pens of Virtue.
When I was living beneath the folds of the black banner of
Catholicism, I sincerely and devoutly believed that to shield a
Catholic criminal was a righteous and Godly calling, as I believed
that to prevent the civil law from taking hold of the criminal career
of a Catholic official, for his short-comings, was but an act of
Godly justice.
I also believed that anything that was done between the walls of a
Nunnery was sanctified by the approval of those who were higher in
authority in the Catholic Church than myself; therefore, the things
which I now realize are both criminal and immoral, as well as utterly
detestable, I at one time considered righteous, simply because my
education had been confined to the narrow channels of bigotry, and
the effulgency of Biblical knowledge had never penetrated my
Romish-inspired perceptibilities.
I believe that I will make many assertions in this chapter that have
never been made before, but there will not be an assertion made but
what is true; however, there will be many that will arise from the
trenches of Catholicism to denounce the truthfulness of them, but I
know whereof I speak, and I defy any mortal man to successfully
dispute what I may state.
This chapter will relate to monasteries and nunneries, which in olden
times were called "asylums."
These asylums are used by Catholicism to scuffle criminals of their
following into, in defiance of law and justice, as these asylums are
notorious among those who are on the inside workings of this creed,
as to places where Catholic criminals can be concealed without fear
of having the civil law bring them to justice, as these places are a
retreat for Catholic criminals who are pursued by the ministers of
justice, and where, so long as they remain, they cannot be arrested;
but in order to elevate these "asylums" to the plane of religion,
they, are called by different names which are _misnomers_, and are
only raised to the level of religious institutions to cover up the
infamy of their actual missions, as Catholicism has learned that as
long as she can throw around and about herself a religious glamor,
that she is permitted to go ahead and violate the laws of man without
molestation.
The "asylums" of olden times were intended as retreats for those who
were persecuted for their religious belief, but the mission of these
institutions became useless, under the splendid and godly progress of
Protestantism, as Protestantism planted her banner of enlightenment
under the glorious leadership of Martin Luther, and such institutions
were done away with, but Catholicism turned these asylums, which were
once a protection to the persecuted followers of Christ, and
converted them into an abode for Catholic criminals.
There is scarcely a man or woman in America but what has heard of
Wm. Morgan, who lived at Batavia, in Western New York, who, it was
claimed, wrote an expose of Freemasonry, and who, the Catholic Church
claims, was killed by the Masonic fraternity for writing this expose.
The fact of the matter is that this book was prepared by the Catholic
Church for electioneering purposes, and it served their scheme well
and truly.
It is history that Morgan disappeared very suddenly, and the Catholic
Church gave it out that he had been killed by the Masonic fraternity,
which is untrue, as Wm. Morgan was spirited away, and the trick was
turned by Catholicism.
"Wm. Morgan" became the issue for the campaign, and it was narrated
around that Morgan was conveyed in a carriage from Batavia to Niagara
by Freemasons, and there drowned in Lake Ontario.
A body was produced near the mouth of the Niagara River, but a friend
of Wm. Morgan, who knew him well, by the name of Mrs. Wm. G. Barr,
denied that the body that was found at the mouth of the Niagara
River, was that of Morgan, and a devout Catholic remarked at the
post-mortem examination that "It was a good enough Morgan until after
the election."
A rigid investigation was made and no one was ever convicted of
murdering Morgan.
The result of the election was that Catholicism carried her point.
The Catholic Church had turned by this excitement the eyes of the
world towards Freemasonry, and claimed that Morgan's fate was caused
by the Masonic fraternity.
When I came to America, I was given instructions in regard to secret
societies, and the Morgan case was gone over with me in detail, and I
was given "The Bulls" of three popes, which excluded all members of
Freemasons from the Catholic Church, and all who belonged to the
Masonic fraternity were denied even a Christian burial by the
Catholic Church.
I was told by a priest, who was in good standing, that the Masons had
in their meetings a literal devil concealed in a box, and that when
they would meet, they would stick pins in a picture of some supposed
"traitor" and shriek out in their madness: "Die like Morgan!"
Mrs. Wm. G. Barr was called to identify the supposed body of Wm.
Morgan, which was found at the mouth of the Niagara River.
Her husband, Wm. G. Barr, was an old dry goods man and once ran for
governor of the State of Kansas, but was defeated because his wife
had declared "that Wm. Morgan's body had never been discovered at the
mouth of the Niagara River, and further declared that it was a
'fake,' pure and simple, and gotten up by Catholicism in order to
villify the Masonic fraternity."
I had always been of an investigating turn of mind, and the stories
that were told to me in regard to Wm. Morgan did not sound right, so
I took the train for Topeka, Kans., where Mrs. Wm. G. Barr lived, and
this is the story that she related to me in great emotion:
Mrs. Barr told me that she was a friend of Wm. Morgan, and that she
was called to identify his body, but instead of finding the corpse of
Wm. Morgan, on the seashore, she found the body of some one else and
not that of Morgan, and she further told me that Wm. Morgan, before
his disappearance, had written her that he was persuaded by a number
of Catholic priests to leave the Masons, and that he, to his sorrow,
had followed their advice, and that these priests had written a book,
and insisted that he should publish it, but he never did give his
consent, and stated that he never would; however, the book appeared,
and the fact of the matter is that it was a clumsy forgery by the
priestcraft of Catholicism.
This book appeared in print, and Wm. Morgan became frightened, as he
realized that should the country at large believe that he was the
author of this book, he would be considered as a traitor, and he
became frightened and did not know what to do, and about this time
two Catholic priests approached him, and persuaded him to leave the
country, and they took him to "a Trappist monastery," near Montreal,
Canada.
He remained there quite a time, and left Canada and went to Asia, and
he was seen and identified in Asia years after Catholicism had
declared that he had been murdered by the Masonic fraternity.
I do not remember of ever reading this history before, and I am under
the impression that I am the first man--in fact, I know that I am the
first man who was for thirty years a Catholic priest that ever gave
this information to the public.
Now, if a monastery in Canada would be turned into a lie and a
deception in order that the Catholic Church might carry out her
diabolical and cunning schemes, what can we expect of other
monasteries?
If this history attaches itself to a monastery like that in Canada,
what must be the condition of the monasteries and nunneries of
nations which have not the enlightenment that Canada has?
I desire to call to the attention of the reader a little history that
is not exceedingly old, and which every boy and girl is acquainted
with, as it has transpired in the past ten years--yea, later.
It was in the afternoon of a December day, in 1900. A boy, Edward
Cudahy, Jr., was walking to his father's mansion and was invited to
step into a buggy and was informed that he was under arrest. This
boy was then and there abducted, and this abduction became known by
the boy remaining away from his home that night.
The police and detectives of Omaha and the detectives from Chicago
and other cities were busy on the case day and night. Days and weeks
passed and nothing came to light except letters from the ones who had
kidnapped this boy, asking for a ransom of $25,000, and stating that
if this sum of money in gold was not forthcoming, that the boy's eyes
would be put out and he would forever lose his sight.
This last threat startled the poor, heart-broken mother, and as the
time approached for these devils to put into execution their threat,
this poor frantic mother insisted that her millionaire husband,
Edward Cudahy, Sr., give up the $25,000 and save her precious boy's
eyesight.
Her husband resisted as long as he could, but at last took the
$25,000 in gold and stepped into his buggy, with the signal lantern,
and drove to a certain spot, designated by Pat Crow, who is the one
who abducted Cudahy, and with this $25,000 bought his boy's liberty,
and this boy was brought from that cottage on Grover street, unhurt,
and Pat Crow made away with his $25,000 in gold.
Cudahy was called up a number of times by telephone and was
threatened that if he did not withdraw the reward that he was
offering for Pat Crow's arrest that there would be something awful
befall him; but he resisted and would not withdraw his offer of
reward, consequently this made it necessary for Pat Crow and Eddy
McGehee, alias Burns, to leave the country.
These men were known in Omaha, St. Joe, Kansas City, St. Louis and
Chicago, not only by a number of their ilk, but also to the police
forces, consequently the nets of the law were stretched all over the
United States for these abductors.
On December 28 it was reported from La Salle, Ills., that Pat Crow
was arrested. Kansas City police promised his arrest before sunset,
but he was not arrested.
There were 80,000,000 people looking for Pat Crow, but he took a
Pullman sleeper and traveled to New York, and from there sailed on a
first-class ticket for Europe and spent a good time in London, from
whence he went to South Africa and played a deceptive role in the
English-African war.
Now, I am going to relate something that will make one's blood boil
with indignation and the cold sweat stand out with the clamminess of
death, but what I tell you is true.
Priest Dempsey, pastor of St. Patrick's Church in St. Louis, was
president of the "Emmet" celebration in the year 1902.
After a speech by Judge Ryan of St. Louis, and a most eloquent
address by a priest, who had been a young Boer officer, he inspired
Irish patriotism by an elegant appeal against "Old England." He was
indeed an orator who, by his recitation, held the audience for an
hour. I was one who was nearest to him on the platform and
congratulated him on his powerful speech.
After the applause from his Irish friends, as he had called them, he
decided to leave with me for his hotel, and I was stopping at St.
Patrick's parsonage, so we both had to go in the same direction.
I had become interested in the fellow while he was delivering his
speech and I became much more interested in him in our car ride,
together, to the Lindell Hotel, and he invited me to stop off with
him awhile at the Lindell Hotel, and we were soon engaged in all
kinds of discussions, both religious and political. He was a
"Dutchman" and had asked his government of Holland for a leave of
absence to fight in the Boer war, which was granted him, and to prove
the truthfulness of this assertion he showed me a wound on his breast
which had not yet healed.
He remarked that he came "nearly" telling in his address at the
"Emmet" meeting about the miraculous escape of Pat Crow to South
Africa, and stated that if it had not been for the bad impression Pat
Crow had made in America, he would have told of the trick that had
been turned to gain him his freedom and rob some one in America of
the reward that had been put on his head by Millionaire Cudahy.
The following is his story he told me as near as I can remember it:
"One night I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, and stayed with Pat
Crow in the same room. I knew that it was Pat Crow and did not intend
to have much to do with him, but he noticed me and I became
interested in him, and he spoke to me about matters, and the
millionaire's boy being abducted, and the ransom that he received,
and his escape to Africa.
"He remarked that I would realize from his name that he was an Irish
Catholic, and stated that he had gone through the Catholic schools
and was a 'brother' in the cloisters, and stated that this was his
strong point in never being caught in his daring undertakings.
"He stated that when they received their $25,000 ransom from Cudahy
that it was divided at the cottage where the crime was committed. He
stated that it cost him quite a sum of money to stay with friends a
few days in Omaha, but that he soon disguised himself as an inmate of
the Jesuit College, a school for Catholic boys.
"He stated that he traveled on a 'permit' as Father O'Connor to
Kansas City, and stated that from there he went to St. Louis,
disguised as a Catholic priest, and that the conductors on the train
spoke to him as 'How do you do, Father?'
"When I arrived in St. Louis I went to St. Anthony's Church, where
you can obtain most anything from that saint. I rang the bell for
confession. I confessed all kinds of things. I confessed to murder,
robbery, kidnapping, and the Father Confessor was impressed with me
because I was a 'big fish' in my line, and because I had done no harm
to the millionaire's boy. I told the inmates of St. Anthony's Church
that I wanted to make confession and do penance the remainder of my
life.
"A brother came with the scissors and I received the 'tonsure' for
the third time, which left only a circle of hair around my head, and
no Pinkerton detective, or even Bertillion himself could have
identified me.
"In a short time I left this St. Anthony Church in a 'Catholic
Habit,' which disguised me as a Catholic official, and I went to
Omaha and passed myself off as 'Brother Clement from St. Louis.'
"When I reached Omaha I had no trouble in passing myself off as
'Brother Clement.'
"After I had remained there awhile I excused myself and in my
priestly robes I walked to the banks of the Missouri River and raised
my buried treasure, as I had left a part of the money that I received
from Cudahy buried near the river, and I took the train to St. Louis,
and from there to New York, and from New York I took a German steamer
to Southampton.
"I stayed in London two weeks and read in the papers all about Pat
Crow. London was not the place for a man like me, as I had been there
before, and they knew me; so I sailed for the diamond fields of South
Africa, where I am now free, by the system of 'asylums' (which are
Catholic monasteries) of the Catholic Church. Pat Crow wound up his
story by telling me that if I ever needed to try this plan that I
could do it, and stated that the Catholic Church was the refuge of
criminals."
Now, bear in mind, the reason that the Catholic Church is such a
refuge for criminals is because no police or detective is ever
allowed to cross over the door-sills into these places of Catholic
refuge, where the worst chapters of crime never will be told, and
where these criminals flee to avoid the punishment of their crimes.
This is the first time in the history of the world that this awful
history in regard to Pat Crow and Catholicism was ever given to the
reading public.
Catholicism teaches, and acts accordingly, that if a confessor
forgives the sins of these criminals that God has taken away all
guilt from their heinous crimes and that the civil laws have no right
to punish these criminals after a Catholic priest has forgiven their
sins, and on this damnable dogma, Catholicism bases her right for the
existence of these "asylums."
I want to give the reader a little history in regard to the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Wilkes Booth, a Roman Catholic, was
the assassin of President Lincoln. The Roman Catholic Church, under
the mask of Democracy, was always believed to be responsible for
this diabolical assassination. In fact, it is believed, and the
belief is well founded, that through the "inquisition" in the City of
Rome that a plot was laid to destroy the republican form of
government of the United States, and the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln was the first step, and the plotting on this side of the
water was done in Catholic houses, adorned with crucifixes, religious
saints, religious statues, religious relics, and rosaries, scapulars,
holy water pots, and medals of Catholicism innumerable.
It was in the house of Mrs. Surratt, located in the very heart of
Washington, D.C., that the officers of this government proceeded
after the assassination of President Lincoln, and bear in mind that
Mrs. Surratt was a Roman Catholic, and the occupants of this house
were arrested. The ones who were arrested were; Mrs. Surratt, a Roman
Catholic; her daughter, Anna, a Roman Catholic; Mrs. Fitzpatrick, a
Roman Catholic, and Miss Hollahan, a Roman Catholic. Before the
officers had left this house a light knock was heard at the door and
a young man appeared in disguise, as he was dressed as a common
laborer and carried a pick upon his shoulder; his hands were white
and soft and he was also arrested, and his name was Powell, another
Roman Catholic.
John Wilkes Booth, the assassin, was a Roman Catholic, consequently
the belief is undoubtedly well founded that not only the scheme to
assassinate Abraham Lincoln was laid in the City of Rome by Roman
Catholics, but was carried into execution by the same set in this
country.
Booth, after the assassination, fled to Surrattsville to the hotel of
Mrs. Surratt, and there a Roman Catholic woman had concealed a
carbine. Mr. Surratt, at Washington, had warned the folks at the
hotel that the weapon would be called for the night of Abraham
Lincoln's assassination, which is _prima facie_ evidence of the plot
to assassinate Lincoln. After the assassination Booth fled, but on
the eastern shores of the Potomac he was concealed in a Roman
Catholic Church for nearly a week. As we relate this history, which
is true, the evidence becomes more damaging against Roman
Catholicism.
The finale of this national tragedy was that Herald, Powell and Mrs.
Surratt were hung, and Dr. Mudd and O'Laughlin were committed to
life-long imprisonment, and all of these were Roman Catholics.
The question now arises, How did John H. Surratt escape from the same
fate of Herald, Powell and Mrs. Surratt? _I will tell you!_ John H.
Surratt escaped by the assistance of Catholic officials and went to
Canada, and was concealed in a "Trappist cloister" near Montreal, and
remained there until 1865, when, as a Priest, he went to Liverpool.
In the spring of 1866, Mr. Wm. H. Seward was informed by a Mr. King,
at Rome, Italy, that John H. Surratt had enlisted in the Papal
Guards, under the name of John Watson. He was arrested at Teroli, in
Italy, but escaped by plunging down a ravine twenty-three feet deep.
He was wounded by the fall and crawled off to a monastery and
remained there until he was healed and then resumed his flight.
After his wounds healed, he went to Egypt, as he was not satisfied
with Italy, and was there captured by our minister, Mr. Hale, and
sent to America.
I could go on and on, giving you history of lesser importance that
this, which occurs week in and week out, month in and month out, and
year in and year out, and which is strictly connected with the
Catholic Church, but what I have given you are truths, and
indisputable truths, which should be evidence enough of the awfulness
of monasteries of this and other countries, and a class of men who
will commit such dastardly deeds in the monasteries would not
hesitate to slaughter innocent virtue in the nunneries of this
country.
I could give you history in regard to the nunneries that would make
the cheek of virtue blush with shame, but to give you this history I
would have to use language that I do not desire to use, as I want to
keep the minds and morals of the girls of this country as pure as
possible; but from this chapter, Protestant fathers and mothers must
know what Roman Catholicism consists of, and Catholic fathers and
mothers who are not everlastingly blinded by the false light of this
damnable creed should rally from their lethargetic walks of
debauchery and snatch their children from the Romish mire of
degradation and place them upon the Protestant highways, which lead
to the beauties of individual and collective greatness.
[Illustration:
CHRIST POPE
The Christ of Protestantism compared to the God of Catholicism.
TAKE YOUR CHOICE.]
Chapter IX.
Un-Married Cussedness of the Roman Priest-Craft.
In the Book of Books, we find that the Lord of Hosts declares that,
"It is not good for man to dwell alone," and our Heavenly Father also
teaches us that "Every man should have one wife."
Now, the Good Lord was either right or wrong when He made this
declaration, and who is there that would declare that the Lord was
mistaken in His injunction? Not one! Therefore, we must acknowledge
that either the Lord our God made a declaration that was nonsensical
and unreasonable, or else the Roman Priestcraft is living a life
which is diagonally contrary to the commands and demands of God
Almighty, for when the Roman Church declares that her Priests shall
not wed, they at once set up a rule for their teachers which is in
violation, to not only the laws of God, but laws of man, as the
silent whisperings of man's nature demands a helpmate. The heathen
nations of the earth who are not acquainted with the sanctity of the
marriage vow, have a longing for the companionship of the opposite
sex, and this longing cannot be termed anything but "a godly love,"
as this feeling was placed in the bosom of humanity by a divine
being, and whenever this desire is thwarted, you have disturbed the
most blissful inspiration of the human family; but the Roman Catholic
Church would have us believe that a few of the human family have been
ordained by God to live recluses, or, as we may term it, "unmarried
hermits."
Catholicism, with all her damnable dogmas and creeds, cannot change
that God-given impulse that was planted in the bosom of man, when
Adam was created in the Garden of Eden, and the more Roman
Catholicism endeavors to eradicate that feeling, the greater her sins
become, for it is a most damnable sin to try to force man to
eradicate from his bosom this everlasting and godly craving for the
love of the opposite sex, and as long as "man is born of woman," just
so long that inspiration will live in the bosom of mankind, and just
so long as Roman Catholicism endeavors to force humanity to purge
itself of this blessed longing, just so long the mark of deception,
depravity and ungodliness will be left upon the brow of this Romish
demon.
This chapter is one that must be written in a delicate manner, which
prohibits me from becoming emphatic and explicit, for should I allow
myself to write exactly what I have seen, and the truths that exist
in regard to Romish hellishness, and the deeds of the unmarried
cussedness of Catholicism, I would have to resort to language that
would be unchaste, but I have in mind a story that was told some time
ago, by a young lady, who had spent a number of years in a convent,
which I will relate word for word as she gave it, and which will be
only the history over and over again of thousands--yea, tens of
thousands of girls who have had the same experience as this poor
mortal, only perhaps had new agonies added to their lives.
The history of this girl's life in a convent is more than pathetic,
from the fact that her father on his deathbed requested that she be
placed in a convent by her mother, which was done, and her
sufferings, the reader will see, were not a fault of hers, but the
fault of her parents, who had been raised to believe in the
diabolical teachings of Roman Catholicism, but who did not know that
these teachings were only echoes of the dark ages of paganism,
therefore you will see that this poor girl's history is laden with a
sadness for which she is not to blame, and the fault can only be laid
at the fountain head, as her parents were sincere in their belief,
and did not, of course, realize that they were helping to ruin their
darling girl's future.
I will now relate her history, as near as possible, the way she gave
it, which will be symbolic of the history of thousands of other
girls, and which is absolutely true. Her story follows:
"When one becomes an inmate of a convent, they become a prisoner, as
every act is scrutinized by the mother superior, and you have no
privilege any more than if you were a convict and placed behind the
bars for some heinous crime. With this exception, however, you are
allowed to receive letters from a priest without having the letter
opened and read before it reaches you, as there is always some mark
to distinguish a letter received from a priest, but all letters that
you write and all letters that you receive, unless they bear the mark
indicating that they have been sent by a priest, are carefully read,
and if the contents of either the letter you write, or the one that
has been written to you does not meet with the arbitrary opinion of
the "mother superior," they are destroyed, and you never have the
opportunity of sending the one that you have written, or to receive
the one that has been written to you, unless they can pass the
inspection of the "mother superior," who is nothing more nor less
than an agent of the Pope of Rome, as she receives her instructions
from the priestcraft, and they receive their instructions from the
Pope of Rome."
When an inmate of a convent receives a letter from a priest it is
handed her without being opened, as the "mother superior" is
instructed not to open such letters, and is told that all such
letters, of course, relate to the spiritual welfare of the nun.
In these letters the priest will tell the nun what day he will call
to give her a _general confession_. As soon as such a letter is
received the nun informs the "mother superior" that on a certain day
Priest So-and-So will visit her, and, of course, this "mother
superior" gives the permission, and on the day that the priest is to
arrive, this nun is excused from all duties for that day, and when
the priest arrives he is shown into what is called the _Retreat
Parlor_; and no matter how long he remains there, no one will disturb
him. He is supposed to be _talking_ with his penitent on the welfare
of her soul. Ah, could any one look through the door, they would find
this priest with his arms about the form of this fair penitent, or
perhaps in a far more compromising position!
Right here the reader may ask if these nuns are willing to submit to
the embraces of these priests?
I will allow this girl to answer this question in her own language,
and her answer is this:
"I answer that in fifteen out of twenty cases--No! But she is there
helpless; the priest has seen her somewhere in the garb of a nun and
has taken a fancy to her, and whether she be willing or not, he
compels her to allow him to satisfy his hellish passion!"
This girl continues by exclaiming: "Oh God! Great God! When I think
of this system--this system born of the devil and nurtured by
hell--and realize that under the cloak of religion it is stealing
away our liberty, entering into our homes, ruining our womanhood and
girlhood, and painting childish purity with the brush of immorality,
and defiling everything with which it comes in contact, I then become
a mad woman, and I become as a venomous serpent, wanting revenge for
what has been done to me, and it seems as if I cannot remain quiet,
but, closing my eyes and ears to everything, as I have no redress, I
am compelled to warn thousands who may come after me, of their fate,
should they take up convent life, which is a hell upon earth and a
blotch as black as the shadows of hell to any land."
The same lady who related the above, and a great deal more which I
cannot tell in this chapter, gave an account of the sufferings of
another nun, who was in the same convent with her, and I now learn
that the same story that I will now relate has been told to others.
Reader, you must bear in mind that convents have many tortures
outside of the torturing conscience on account of having the virtue
of their inmates destroyed. The teachings of Catholicism lead people
to practice self-infliction upon their person in order to appease a
living God, as they seem to worship a living God the same as the
pagans would worship a God of stone, or a ferocious God in the form
of some carnivorous beast, and in order to atone for their sins,
these inmates of the nunneries are taught that they must bear
self-infliction; in fact, Catholicism teaches her followers that in
order that any of them shall receive absolute pardon, that they must
resort to heathenish practices.
As stated above, the same lady whom we speak of in the first part of
this chapter, relates her experience with a sister nun, who endured
self-torture, believing that it was an outward demonstration of
godliness. Her story follows:
"I call to mind a case of cruelty under the guise of devotion that
happened in our convent. A consecrated penitent, Sister Madeline, had
been for some time a victim of consumption. She was a beautiful girl,
and her exquisitely sweet voice could be heard in church every
Sunday, taking part in the high mass. Poor Sister Madeline! How many
humiliations she received! How often she was censured for leaving her
work unfinished when she was not able to do it, and how I have pitied
her as she tried to eat the bread and dripping we had for supper.
Failing in the attempt, I would notice the tears gather in her eyes.
Oh, how often I longed to be able to obtain some little delicacy for
her! but dared not ask for it. Her gentle, patient, suffering face
will never fade from my memory.
"One Sunday evening she and I were walking in the garden after
benediction. She felt more than usually weak, and, therefore, I could
offer her my arm to lean upon.
"'Dear Sister Magdalene Adelaide,' she said, 'I think our blessed
Lord is soon going to come for me.'
"I tried to cheer her by telling her that it might be His will to
restore her again to health and strength.
"'No, dear Sister,' she replied; 'and oh, I do not want to stay. I
long to see my Master's face. At night, when I lay awake in pain, I
long, oh, so much, that I might go!'
"'Sister Madeline,' I said, 'you have been happy here, have you not?
You love your present life?'
"We had seated ourselves by this time in a little grotto made up in
honor of 'Our Lady of Lourdes.' She buried her face in her hands, and
I saw the tears trickling between her fingers.
"My own eyes filled with tears; I know not why.
"At last, raising up her head, she said: 'I have tried my best to be
contented; but oh! Sister Adelaide, it has been a bitter struggle. It
is wrong in me to give way thus; but I cannot help it. May Our Lady
pity me! I want you to promise, dear Sister, that you will say a
rosary for me every day for a year after I am dead, and one communion
every month.'
"'I will gladly do this for you, Sister Madeline,' I answered. 'Tell
me,' I continued, 'is there any particular day you prefer?'
"'Yes,' she replied, 'I would like your Friday communion. Promise me
that on the anniversary of the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, my patron
saint, you will offer your communion for me.'
"I promised her this and she seemed more satisfied.
"'I know,' she said, 'that I shall have a long purgatory.' She
shuddered as she spoke. 'And oh! I do hope the dear sisters will
remember me in their prayers and communions.'
"'Dear Sister Madeline,' I said at last, 'purgatory is better than
hell and our Blessed Lady will intercede for you.'
"'Yes, dear Sister Magdalene Adelaide,' she said, 'you are right; but
oh!' she continued, 'I cannot help the shudder that passes through me
as I think of the suffering I shall be in for years, especially after
the mortifications I have practiced here, the discipline I have
applied to myself, the days I have abstained from food, the prayers I
have offered, the tears I have shed; and now, as death approaches,
there is no other prospect before me than a long term of purgatorial
punishment. Besides, the punishment will be all the greater since I
have given away to an unnatural thought.'
"'And what, may I ask, do you call an unnatural thought?'
"'Sister Magdalene Adelaide, come close to me.'
"I rose from my chair and knelt down beside her.
"'Dear sister, I have endeavored to bear my cross,' she commenced,
speaking with difficulty; 'But oh! sister, I dread the end; I have so
much to expiate; and oh!' she continued, her voice now choked with
sobs, 'if only I could have my mother near me; if only I could hear
her voice once more; it is so long since I have seen her. I have
asked for any letter that may have come, but they tell me none has
arrived, and oh! I don't think mother has quite forgotten me.'
"I durst not trust myself to speak; my heart was too full. At last I
said, 'Dear sister, do not grieve thus; our Blessed Lady will
intercede for you. Remember, in coming here your purpose, even as
mine, was to make reparation for sin. You and I have both suffered.
Be brave now, dear, and now that the end is near do not take away
from God's glory by fearing for the future.'
"'I know it is wrong to grieve so much, Sister Magdalene Adelaide,
but oh, I am so weak! Will you read a meditation for me?'
"I took up the book and did as she requested. Soon she fell into a
sleep which lasted about one hour, and again I commenced saying my
rosary beads. Presently I heard her murmur, and, listening, I heard
her whisper, 'My feet! oh, my feet!' I arose from my chair and
removed the sheet with the intention of rubbing her limbs; as I did
so her feet were disclosed. A thrill of horror passed through my
being as I looked at them, for they were all cut, festered and
bruised; a fearful suspicion took possession of me, and, stooping
down, I picked up her infirmary shoes. On examination I discovered in
them pieces of broken glass; a thrill akin to horror ran through my
whole frame. I held the shoes in my hands and looked at the pale,
suffering face of Adeline as she lay there on her bed, and this
evening the whole scene rises before me--the little infirmary with
its clean, white floor, a few cheap prints of the stations of the
cross hanging on the otherwise bare walls, the two or three small
iron bedsteads, then the white wooden altar upon which was spread a
white linen cloth embroidered with red; the two statues, one of 'Our
Lady of Dolours' and the second of St. Joseph, the patron of happy
deaths. In the center of the altar was a vase with a few cheap paper
flowers.
"Yes, it comes to me most vividly. There she lay, the sin of her
past life being that she, too, had been deceived at the altars of
Rome--a victim of priestly solicitation in the confessional. Even as
she lay there in the last stages of consumption, traces of what had
at one time been a beautiful face were clearly discernible. What had
she not suffered for years! Who could tell the many weary hours of
heart anguish she had passed through? And yet she was young--hardly
twenty-five years old. She had given up all that was near and dear,
and, for the years she had lived in the convent, she had tried to
appease God's justice for her early sin by mortifying and chastising
herself in a way that can only find a parallel in the doctrines of
Buddha. Oh, Madeline! poor, wounded, betrayed one! Who can wonder, as
you lay there with the fever of consumption running and coursing
through your veins, that, in spite of all the teachings and practices
of self-denial in the convent life in which you had lived so many
years, yet, when the hour of death drew nigh and your soul was
hovering on the borders of the unknown eternity, your thoughts once
more went back to the old home-scenes, and you longed, as only a
child can, for the sight of a mother's face, the sound of a mother's
voice, the cool, soothing touch of a mother's hand passing over your
brow? They tried to crush down the natural love that God placed in
your heart for your mother, but they could not. The use of the
discipline caused the blood to flow and gave you physical suffering;
fasting and long prayers made you weak, and thus incapable of
exercising will-power; and, when no other eye but God's was upon you,
when struggling with the desire to leave forever the hateful prison
walls of the convent, the bitter tears forced their way. Then,
kneeling before the statue of the 'Mother of Sorrows,' you pleaded
with her to help and intercede for you. What comfort did you get?
What hope? What consolation? _None!_ You might make good confessions
and communions, practice all the self-denials required of one in your
vocation, and the only thing that the church could give you, the only
gleam of _hope_ she could offer, was that, through your works of
supererogation, your purgatory would be lessened; and now, wasted
through suffering and consumption, dreading the punishment of
purgatory, endeavoring in your dying state to do something to lessen
its pangs, you have walked with glass in your shoes and your poor
feet give evidence of the agony you endured. And this is
Christianity!
"I applied cold cloths to her feet; I sat down in the dimly-lighted
infirmary by the side of her bed, and, holding the fevered and
trembling hand, I, in my ignorance, tried to give her some comfort. I
promised to remember her in my intentions, my communions, and at the
sacrifice of the Mass. I spoke to her of the mercy and compassion of
Mary, the 'Mother of Sorrows,' and tried to give her hope by pointing
to her as mediator between her soul and Christ, but I could see that
she received no satisfaction, no assurance. Then her eyes closed and
she dozed for a few minutes, only to wake with a moan of pain--'Oh,
my feet! oh, my feet!' And then again, 'If only I could see my
mother!' would issue from her parched and cracked lips.
"And so I sat through the night, soothing her as well as I knew how,
and repeating aspirations for her, until the dawn crept in and the
nuns' bell rang out at 4:30 o'clock, arousing the inmates. The
quietness and deep stillness still remained throughout the
institution, the sisters and penitents walking in the dimly-lighted
cloisters with soft tread and down-cast eyes, as if in the land of
the silent dead and not the living."
As I write I wonder how it was possible for me to endure the paganism
of Catholicism for thirty years, and the only rational reason I can
give for this endurance is that I, like thousands of these poor nuns
whom I have just written about, was raised to believe that the
teachings of Catholicism were right and the only road that lead to
eternal glory; therefore I look with pity and compassion upon those
black-garbed nuns when I behold them tramping the streets of our
large cities, as I realize that they actually believe they are
performing God's work, when the truth of the matter is that they are
only following the practices of heathen nations.
I could go on and write a thousand pages upon "The Unmarried
Cussedness of the Roman Priestcraft," and each page would be as black
as the shadows of hell, but I deem it unnecessary, as I have
confidence in those who may read this book that they will believe
every word of what I have written, therefore it is unnecessary for me
to dwell longer upon the hideousness of celibacy.
In conclusion, I desire to say that so long as Roman Catholicism
demands that her priestcraft shall not wed, just so long the
priestcraft will remain vultures of virtue and just so long convents
will be turned into carnivals of vice.
It is only natural that such should be the case, as both the
priestcraft and the inhabitants of our convents are brought up from
childhood to believe in the absurdities of Roman Catholicism, and to
believe that all of their many sins can be pardoned by the cungerings
of this Romish doctrine.
My prayer is that the government of the United States may learn in
the near future that the broad light of Protestant inspection must
penetrate these recesses of darkness before we can ever have them
cleansed of their immorality, and this inspection must be made
often, and I sincerely believe that the time is not far distant when
Protestant America will demand that Catholicism shall do away with
her monasteries and nunneries, unless she submits to a rigid
examination of her actions, and whenever she submits it will be
because she is forced to submit, and whenever she is forced to do so,
these monasteries and convents will be closed up, as Protestant
America will not allow nor permit these plague spots to exist to
pollute the fair name of America when she learns of their actual
mission.
[Illustration: "BEING EXCOMMUNICATED FOR READING THE BIBLE."
"May she be damned in her mouth, in her breast, in
her heart and down to her very stomach. Etc. Etc."]
Chapter X.
A Brazen Insult to God.
Catholicism teaches that the Pope of Rome is infallible and cannot
sin, neither can he make a mistake. This claim, if true, would place
the Pope of Rome, who is nothing more nor less than a human being,
upon the same footing as Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, "There are none pure; no, not one." Now, if the claim
of Catholicism that the Pope of Rome is infallible, is true, then the
Bible is a myth and a mockery.
If Catholicism's claim that the Pope of Rome is infallible, is true,
then God is not an impartial God, for if He is an impartial God He
would not bestow upon any of His mortals the gift of purity, without
being ready to bestow the same gift upon all of those who are
deserving, and who by their righteousness deserve this grand and
princely distinction.
We want to use a little common sense and a philosophy that can be
assimilated by any man or woman of ordinary intelligence.
The Bible does not relate in any verse or chapter that any one can
reach the point of infallibility during life. Now, is not this true?
And if it is, then the claim of Catholicism that the Pope of Rome is
infallible is a lie, woven in the devil's loom.
We want to prove to our readers that this claim is one founded upon
fallacious grounds, as the Pope of Rome is elected by the cardinals
of the Catholic Church, who are human and who are often as immoral as
the devil; therefore the infallibility of the Pope rests in human
hands, for it is by these cardinals that the Pope is created,
therefore you will see that by the ballot of these cardinals the Pope
derives his infallibility, and not from any power of God Almighty,
consequently this proclaimed infallibility of the Pope rests in the
hands of these cardinals.
Now, to illustrate this damnable doctrine and show it up in its rabid
ignorance, we will suppose that when Pope Pius X was elected Pope of
Rome that if some other priest had received a majority of one of the
votes of the cardinals, Pope Pius X would never have had this
blessing from God, but he would only have missed it one vote,
therefore you will see that this infallibility which was about to
rest on Pope Pius X, but did not, would have been snatched from him
by the failure of one cardinal to vote for him.
Now, any man or woman of ordinary "horse sense" can see that God
Almighty has nothing whatever to do with filling the office of the
Pope, and this infallibility rests altogether with the pulling power
that the candidate for Pope exercises over the cardinals, as it is an
indisputable fact that there is as much political chicanery in the
election of a Pope as there is in the election of a justice of the
peace at a township election.
We want to learn just how far this infallibility of the Pope goes.
If a man is infallible he can not make a mistake, and I can prove by
every man of broadmindedness and intelligence that the Popes of Rome,
for centuries past, have made nothing but mistakes, and their
mistakes have been not only ruinous to those whom they profess to
teach, but their mistakes have had a tendency to paralyze the
righteous ambitions of every nation to which their influence has
extended. If the claim of Catholicism is true that her Popes are
infallible, then we must acknowledge that this great gift was
received from God Almighty, and we cannot believe such nonsense when
we are aware of the fact that these Popes are elected by the
cardinals, and the election of a Pope depends upon the tactics and
schemes of these cardinals; then, pray, tell us how any man who has
been raised up under the arch-light of Protestantism, or who has had
the searchlight of Protestant intelligence penetrate his soul, can
for a moment believe in the infallibility of the Pope?
I sincerely believe, in fact, I know that there are millions who
believe this damnable doctrine, as I can honestly say that I at one
time believed it myself. But those who do believe it are those who
have been raised beneath the dark shadows of superstition, and my
mission in writing this book is to brush the cobwebs of ignorance
from these dwarfed minds and help to point them to "_the Lamb of God
who taketh away the sins of the world_," and if I can be instrumental
in this mission I will not only open the eyes of the followers of
Catholicism, but I will put stiffening into the backbone of
Protestantism and help them to brand this idolatrous doctrine of
Catholicism wherever she may dare to rear her abominable head.
The great danger in teaching that the Pope is infallible is in making
thieves and murderers of our citizens, for if Catholicism is right in
teaching her followers that the Pope of Rome is infallible, this
doctrine is bound to have an influence that is awful in its effect,
for whenever a man or woman believes in the infallibility of the Pope
they are bound to believe in the infallibility of all things that he
creates; therefore you will see that this doctrine is far-reaching in
its effects, for if a Pope is infallible the bishops which he
creates are infallible, and if the bishops which he creates are
infallible, the priests which they create are infallible, and
whenever we teach a nation this abomination we have a nation of
people which believes that there is no sin so heinous which they may
commit but which may be forgiven by the priesthood, as they have
learned to believe that all things created by the Pope are
infallible, simply because they have been created by the Pope, and
whenever you preach a doctrine that has such effect upon the
inhabitants of any country you will have a set of inhabitants who
will commit crime without hesitation, as they are assured that by
paying a few dollars into the coffers of the priest they can have
their sins pardoned, and whenever you cause a nation to believe this,
you at once have a nation of criminals.
It is, in my estimation, absolutely impossible for an individual who
believes in such a damnable doctrine to become a pure, patriotic
American citizen. Now, this may seem to the reader a very broad
assertion and one that may appear too broad to be substantiated, but
I propose to demonstrate to you that it is only a natural
consequence, and if we fail to make this point clear to the reader's
mind we will not ask them to believe it.
In the first place, we desire to say that the Catholic religion--if
religion it can be termed--is founded upon the rock of superstition.
Every code of their church doctrine teaches that the Pope is
infallible and cannot err, which is absurd, and not only absurd, but
a festering lie, for no man or woman who believes in the teachings of
the Holy Bible can believe in such a doctrine, and whenever a man or
woman does believe in the infallibility of the Pope and believes that
the Pope cannot err, he or she believes that the Pope is superhuman,
and such we know cannot be the case as long as there is life in the
body, as we are all liable to the Adamic sin, as the world at large
was cursed with the Adamic sin in the Garden of Eden.
Now, we want to deal in simple facts and truths that are so simple
that the commonest man of ordinary intelligence can understand.
Now, if the Pope of Rome is infallible, he is immortal, and if every
action of this Pope is pure, then everything that is created by him
must be pure; and if such is the case, I was at one time as pure as
Jesus Christ Himself, as I for thirty years was a Roman Catholic
priest and a creature created by a Roman Catholic Pope. Every man and
woman of very ordinary intelligence knows that neither I nor any
other priest ever was pure; in fact, that man has never lived or died
who could claim infallibility and purity so long as life was left in
his body.
If the doctrines of Catholicism are correct then we have no use for a
God any longer, as we already have a Pope; and should Pope Pius X die
to-day the cardinals to-morrow, or some day in the near future, would
elect another Pope, who would take the place of Jesus Christ Himself,
according to their doctrine; and if such doctrines are true, then the
human family in the future and the unborn millions could be saved as
easily without God as they could with Him, as the Pope would perform
that mission himself.
There are thousands--yea, tens of thousands, who send handkerchiefs
and trinkets each year to Rome to be blessed (?) by the Pope, and
who believe that by having some article which has been blessed (?) by
this presumptuous vagabond will prevent them from being overtaken by
bad luck, ill health or any other misfortune that besets the path of
man.
Now, if the Pope of Rome has the power to bless and sanctify a piece
of cloth, a ring, or any dead and inert object, he undoubtedly is
"_the real thing_," and if such is the case the Bible is a lie, the
gospel a fallacy, and God Almighty becomes a hireling, and we have no
further need of a God.
What can we expect of the followers of Catholicism who believe in
this hellish doctrine, and what can we expect of a nation which is
controlled by those who teach and preach such abominations?
An institution which will teach such damnable ignorance and practice
such superstitious paganism is a plague spot and a curse to any
country, and the man or set of men who claim that the Pope is
infallible offers "_a brazen insult to God_."
[Illustration: "A MODERN JUDAS."
In his wake, misery always follows.]
Chapter XI.
The Characters of the Followers of Catholicism Compared
to the Followers of Protestantism.
I believe that I am not presuming too much when I consider myself
authority on the subject of "Character," as I have had the privilege
of studying the characters of the followers of both Catholic and
Protestant countries, as I have traveled extensively over both Europe
and America and have had occasion to compare the characters of the
followers of the Pope to the characters of the followers of Jesus
Christ, and the comparison is one that will lead any sane man, or
woman, and one who desires to reach a true verdict, to arrive at the
conclusion that it is a physical impossibility for any man or woman
who depends upon mortal wisdom for their inspiration to ever attain
the broadness and purity of character that the man or woman who
lives beneath the shadow of the Cross, and who looks to a living God
for their wisdom.
Character is not a spontaneous fungus which grows without proper
care, as character is an essential that must be cultivated in the
fertile soil of morality, as there is no code of morals which will
stand the crucial test of godliness unless it springs from the
eternal injunctions laid down in the Holy Bible, and without morals
an individual as well as a nation loses its identity among the good
of the land, and when this happens, society in general is the loser,
for whenever we degrade society we degrade ourselves, for there is no
man or woman so strong and powerful in their individuality but what
they can become besmirched and contaminated, to a degree at least, by
the association of those who have been lowered in the scale of
morality by the lack of this most precious jewel of the human family.
We are aware of the fact that Protestantism is not exempt from sin,
as we are well aware that we will find sinners of all degrees in the
Protestant ranks, but we make the assertion, without fear of
contradiction, that the characters in general of the followers of
Protestantism are many times superior to the characters in general of
the followers of Romanism.
We will take the large cities in the United States as an
illustration, and we will find that the saloon-keepers, comparatively
speaking, are from the ranks of Catholicism, and to engage in the
saloon business is no bar to a member of the Catholic Church, for if
this saloon-keeper, no matter if he runs a wine-room in connection
with his saloon and is responsible for the downfall of an army of
precious girls, he is considered a fit subject for heaven by the
Catholic Church provided he liberally donates to the support of this
damnable institution.
Statistics show that ninety-four bar-rooms out of every one hundred
in America are owned and controlled by the followers of Romanism. As
Catholicism establishes and builds character out of money, she makes
money her god, and as long as her followers liberally support the
great army of Catholic dignitaries they are taught that they have
performed the essential part in the establishment of character; thus
you can see what the result of this doctrine would lead to, and you
have demonstrations of this doctrine in this country, and more
especially in other countries where Catholicism is solely responsible
for the condition of the inhabitants.
Everything that is not in the Bible is taken by the Catholic Church
from the heathens and the Jews, and you will find the doctrines and
the practices of Catholicism founded upon heathenish practices and
not upon the broad plane of morals taught by Jesus Christ.
Those who may read this book, and who are not acquainted with the
characters of the rabble of Catholicism, we would be glad to have
them go to any of our large cities and visit some of the districts of
these cities which are inhabited by the followers of Romanism, and
there you will find a class whose countenances alone would condemn
them in any criminal court of the land, as they are men and women who
are made up of a foreign element and from the criminal districts of
European countries, and who are as ignorant as rams and glory in
their ignorance, and who have no idea of patriotism and of loyalty to
country, and only have an idea and desire to worship the images and
symbols of Catholicism, and any man or body of men, or any nation,
who will practice this heathenish worship cannot possess character.
I have traveled extensively over the United States and over European
countries which are controlled by the Pope, and if I could vividly
portray the characters of Catholicism and Protestantism the
comparison would resemble the countenance of the criminal compared to
the innocent and loveable features of a girl baby.
Catholicism poisons the very atmosphere that surrounds her followers,
and she is not satisfied by confining her contaminating influences to
her own followers, but she is everlastingly stretching her filthy
grasp to pull Protestantism down to her degraded level. Catholicism
lowers the standard of public opinion. She makes war on morality and
virtue, which destroys character. Catholicism countenances
wrong-doings. Catholicism tolerates evil and rewards vice, and it is
a well-known fact that "evil communications corrupt good manners,"
and if this is the case, then is it any wonder that the characters of
the followers of Catholicism cannot, nor never will, favorably
compare to the followers of Protestantism?
I am about to make an assertion that will perhaps shock those who are
not familiar with the teachings of Catholicism, but I make it without
fear of contradiction, as I know whereof I speak, as I have traveled
the Papist road for thirty years, and I declare to you with all
sincerity and honesty that Rome would not go far wrong if she counted
in her membership 95 per cent of the men and women who are on their
road to hell, and if this assertion is true, and if I have not
overdrawn my estimation, then, pray, tell me what we can expect in
the future in this country should such characters as I have just
portrayed be permitted to dominate this government.
Every Roman Catholic that is born in the world comes into the world
alienated from God and God's teachings, and is taught from infancy
not to depend upon God Almighty for guidance, but to depend upon
Romanism for their everlasting future, and with such doctrines
everlastingly funnelled into childhood, what can we expect of the
child when it has grown to maturity?
Protestant children are born into the world of parents who look above
the horizon of earthly things for their inspirations, and these
children are taught from infancy that they must look to an all-wise
God for succor and support; but Popery ignores all of this and
teaches by heathenish symbols and by paganic practices. Thus it is an
easy matter for any sane man or woman to understand why character
cannot be found in such a class.
The followers of Catholicism are taught that by the payment of a few
dimes they can have their sins remitted and pardoned; thus you will
see that crime has no terrors for such a class, as they believe that
when they have committed a crime all they have to do is to go to the
priestcraft and have their sins pardoned, in exchange for perhaps a
part of the money which they gained in their criminal transaction.
To rule such men, no religion is required. A Romanist does not look
to God Almighty for his salvation, but to the church, and the church
gives him her unbounded sanction to commit sin, provided that he
returns after he commits the crime and pays a few dollars to have his
sins pardoned.
A Roman Catholic can swear, break the Sabbath, dishonor his parents,
lie, steal, commit adultery, get drunk and commit any other crime
that he chooses, provided that he returns to the confessional box and
pays for having his sins pardoned.
Now, what can you expect of a class of men and women who believe in
this doctrine, and can you expect to find anything but the character
of a criminal or a degenerate? If you do, you are undoubtedly as
ignorant as the followers of Romanism, as it is a physical
impossibility to reasonably expect a man or woman who has been taught
these abominations to ever make men and women of character who will
adorn this or any other nation.
One of the rulers of England, Charles II, died with prostitutes about
him and died a disgrace to England and to himself, but Rome glorified
in him as one of her converts. The more of Rome a man or woman
possesses, and the less of God, the more the Roman Catholic Church
glorifies in him.
Catholicism is a coward--yea, a cringing coward--when not surrounded
by large numbers of her followers, as she has no excuse for her
existence and cannot defend herself by intelligent and godly
arguments, and the only way she can defend herself is by numbers; but
whenever she can resort to physical and brutal strength, she then
makes a fight which crimsons the earth with blood, and Protestantism
pays the penalty, and the reason why those in the country and in
sparsely settled districts do not know more of the hellishness of
Catholicism is because this creed cannot intelligently defend itself
and will not take issue with Protestantism unless she can take issue
by brutal power, but in our cities we have an exhibition of the
diabolical deeds of Catholicism, as the majority of our municipal
elections are controlled by the followers of Catholicism, as Rome's
followers congregate in our large cities, because they love darkness
better than light, and they infest the "tough" sections of our cities
and control our municipal elections by brute force, which is
sanctioned by the priestcraft.
We will take it for granted that the inhabitants of the United States
know more of Mexico than any other nation which is priest-ridden, so
we desire to dwell for a short time upon the characters of the
Mexican peon. You will find Mexico, which lays right across from
Texas on the Rio Grande River, a dividing line between ignorance and
intelligence, crime and godliness, and morality and immorality;
however, that part of Texas which lays near the Mexican border has
become contaminated to a great degree by these Mexican "dupes" who
follow the black flag of Romanism; but the difference in character,
in manhood, in womanhood, in intelligence and everything which
distinguishes right from wrong is so marked and so plain that one
does not have to look twice to see the difference, and there is no
cause nor no reason for this great difference in character, in
manhood and womanhood but the teachings of Rome.
If we expect America to retain her place among the nations of
intelligence and nations of greatness, and nations of goodness and
godliness, we must be character-builders, for without character we
can never expect to reach the zenith of godliness, and without
godliness individual greatness is an impossibility.
Catholicism paints the countenances of her followers with the brush
of ignorance and criminality.
[Illustration: "FOES TO KNOWLEDGE."
"Like a poisonous serpent Catholicism is endeavoring
to inoculate our public schools, with the virus of ignorance."]
Chapter XII.
Why Teachers in Our Public Schools Should Not Be
Selected from the Ranks of Catholicism.
The Catholic world does not hesitate in declaring that our public
schools in this country are "Sinks of Iniquity," "Schools of Vice,"
and "Nurseries of Hell;" then why should the followers of Catholicism
be permitted to teach in our public schools?
This is a question that ought to vitally interest every Protestant
father and mother in this land, and the time is not far distant until
they will become interested, for just as sure as God reigns, the time
is not far in the future when Catholicism will endeavor to close up
the public schools of this land and establish her nurseries of
darkness and superstition in their stead.
If the public schools of this country are not good enough for the
children of Catholic parents, it seems to me that the Protestant
parents of this country should see to it that their children are _too
good_ to be taught by Catholic teachers.
Why is it that the Pope does not promulgate one of his "holy bulls"
and excommunicate those of his believers who take the money so freely
for their services from the public schools of this country?
Oh, no; the Pope and the priestcraft are perfectly willing, so long
as Protestants have the power to maintain those schools, that their
"jesuitical dupes" shall receive the money that is set aside for
these schools. My blood fairly boils with unbounded indignation when
I think of the hard, harsh, and ungodly slurs that Catholicism is
ever ready to throw at our public school system, and then see blind
Protestants help to place a Catholic teacher in one of our schools.
We propose to give facts and figures in this chapter that we hope
will open the eyes of drowsy, unconcerned Protestants, and help them
and their children to apply the brakes to their downward course, and
spike the guns of the Vatican with American manhood.
We hope by the time you are through with this chapter you will be
ready to make inquiries as to who is to teach your children in the
public schools. Let me ask you, Mr. Protestant, if you ever heard of
a Protestant teaching in a Catholic school? Oh, no! But then you will
fold your hands and be content to allow your children to be taught by
a man or woman who secretly despises the public school system. Shame!
Ten thousand times we exclaim you should be ashamed for not asserting
your American and God-given privileges of Protestantism gained for
you through the blood of your forefathers!
A general system of education, such as affords all alike an
opportunity to cultivate and expand the intellect, the poor as well
as the rich, is, beyond all question, one of the greatest blessings
that any nation can enjoy. Such a system had its birth in America
while it was yet comparatively free from the blighting influence of a
religio-political corporation whose whole history is one
uninterrupted and relentless war upon every system of education
which broadens the intellect and causes people to think. In America
was born the public free school system, and from the date of its
birth, in 1695, to the present, it has been the means of giving to
this nation its most renowned statesmen, jurists, patriots,
agriculturists, teachers and divines. It is one of the principal
agents by which the United States of America has been enabled to
advance to the first rank in all things that make a nation great.
But against this most sacred product of American liberty Rome lifts
her unholy hands. Against our schools she hurls her worst anathemas.
But it is our purpose in this chapter to let the Roman Catholic
Church speak for itself. Its language is plain and needs no
interpretation. Listen to Rome's damnable utterances:
"These public schools are devouring fires and pits of
destruction. They ought to go back to the devil, from whence
they came."--_The Freeman's Journal._
"If your son or daughter is attending a state school you may
be sure that you are violating your duty as Catholic parents
and conducting to the everlasting anguish and despair of your
child. Take it away. Let it rather never know how to write
its name than to become the bound and chained slave of
satan."--_The Shepherd of the Valley._
"The common schools of this country are sinks of moral
pollution and nurseries of hell."--_Chicago Tablet._
"The public or common school system is a swindle on the
people, an outrage on justice, a foul disgrace in matters of
morals, and should be abolished forthwith."--_New York
Tablet._
"The hideous fetish, called the public school, is only an
ugly idol after all."--_Colorado Catholic._
"It will be a glorious day for Roman Catholics in this
country when, under the laws of justice and morality, our
school system shall be shivered to pieces."--_Catholic
Telegraph._
"We hold education to be a function of the church and not of
the state, and in our case we do not and will not accept the
state as an educator."--_New York Tablet._
They love darkness rather than light because their deeds are
evil. Listen to the snarls of Rome's "dupes:"
"Unless you suppress the public school system as at present
conducted, it will prove the damnation of this
country."--_Father Walker._
"I frankly confess that the Catholics stand before the
country as the enemies of the public schools."--_Father
Phelan._
"The duty of all loyal, God-fearing Christian men (Roman
Catholics) then, I repeat it, is to make common cause against
this common foe."--_Father Gleason._
"The public schools have produced nothing but a godless
generation of thieves and blackguards."--_Priest Schauer._
"I would as soon administer the sacrament to a dog as to
Catholics who send their children to public
schools."--_Priest Walker._
"The public school system must be destroyed. It must be done
by stopping Bible reading, Psalm singing and eliminating
objectionable books."--_Priest Phelan._
"To rescue these little ones out of the grasp of that monster
(the public school), of that popular idol, is our
work."--_Bishop John Hennessy._
"We can have the United States in ten years. And I want to
give you three points for your consideration: The Negroes,
the Indians and the public schools."--_Bishop Ireland._
"Emphatically a social plague."--_Archbishop Perche._
"A ripe knowledge of the cathechism, minus Massachusetts
education, is preferable to her education, minus the
catechism."--_Cardinal Antonelli._
"The common school system of the United States is the worst
in the world."--_Cardinal Manning._
"The catechism alone is essential for the education of the
people."--_Cardinal Antonelli._
"We must take part in the elections. Move in solid mass in
every state pledged to sustain the integrity of the public
schools."--_Cardinal McCloskey._
"The Roman Church alone is endowed with power to educate the
young."--_Cardinal McCloskey._
"Education outside of the control of the Roman Catholic
Church is a damnable heresy."--_Pius IX._
"Public schools open to all children for the education of the
young should be under the control of the Romish Church, and
should not be subject to civil power, nor made to conform to
the opinions of the ages."--_Pope Pius IX._
"When I see them drag from me the children, the poor little
children, and give them an infidel education, it breaks my
heart."--_Pope Pius IX._
"It is desirable, therefore, venerable brethren, that in
concert with your colleagues in the Episcopate, your efforts
and your zeal guard Catholic children from frequenting
schools in which their religious instruction is neglected and
open danger incurred of spiritual loss. Therefore we
vehemently desire, as has already been intimated to you by
the propaganda, that in approaching Episcopal meetings you
carefully discuss the measure that may best help to attain
this end. We wish you also to use earnest efforts that the
civil magistrates, who know full well that nothing is more
advantageous to the commonwealth than religion should
provide, by the enactment of wise laws, that the office of
teachings, which is carried on at the expense of the public,
including consequently the contributions of Catholics, should
contain nothing that stands in the way of their conscience or
runs foul of their religion."--_Pope Leo XIII._
We could go on and quote diabolical denunciations of our public
schools from hundreds and thousands of Catholic officials, as the
followers of Rome make no "bones" of declaring their animosity
towards the public schools of this country, and they are only waiting
for the time to arrive when they will be able to wipe from the face
of the earth every vestige of our public schools, and place in their
stead their parochial schools, which are nothing more nor less than
"mills of ignorance" and "institutions of superstition."
An institution of learning is something that is not desired by
Catholicism, for whenever you educate you destroy the doctrines of
Romanism, as the hosts of Catholicism cannot stand the searchlight of
wisdom, for whenever you educate the followers of Catholicism they
become disgusted with their dogmas of damnation.
Our public schools are the bulwarks of this government, and all that
we are to-day, and all that we may expect to be in the future, has
come and must come by and through the public schools, which are the
dearest institutions that adorn this country.
There must be no sectarianism, whether political or religious, in our
public schools, but there must be truth and duty there. The
unchanging and undying maxim of moral rectitude should be taught to
every child. It is not enough that a boy or girl should be educated
mentally. The safety of our nation, as well as his own usefulness and
happiness, demand that they should be trained to habits of
truthfulness and develop a fine standard of honor. They should be
inspired to form exalted ideals of manhood and womanhood, charity,
rectitude and godliness, and made strong in the resolution to defend
the truth, which is never found in parochial schools, as the Catholic
doctrine always tends to humiliate her followers.
The time has come when the pupils of our public schools must be
taught the love of country, and Catholicism does not teach this, but
the reverse. The children of this nation must learn to love their
native land. To whom shall we look for the inculcation of those
patriotic sentiments which should inspire the heart of every American
citizen? Not to Catholicism, by any means, but to the three hundred
thousand teachers of our public schools.
Over every school house in hamlet and city, in country and town, in
the North and in the South, in the East and in the West, the American
flag should kiss the morning breeze. Place it where twenty millions
of children will see it every day, and learn to love it as the emblem
of all that is great and good. It will represent to us and to all the
world, in a new and peculiar manner, the great fundamental truth that
the bulwark of our liberties is in the education of our people.
The war of the revolution was fought to establish our nationality.
Incalculable blood and treasure have been spent to establish and keep
our national life intact, and the national policy with relation to
our public schools is part and parcel of that all-absorbing
determination to secure the perpetuity of the state. Men make better
citizens for being educated. The higher the popular intellect is
raised the more intelligent and independent will be its vote. The
stronger the source of government, the stronger the government. If
the "bayonets that think" are the most potent, the "ballots that
think" are the most beneficent.
Every victory which our nation has won has been a victory of the
public schools and a death knock to Catholicism. They have been the
nursery not only of our statesmen, but of our patriots and soldiers.
They are an American institution and are destined to live as long as
the republic survives. There is no other American institution that
American people would sooner fight for and die for than that which
secures an educated and intelligent nationality. Let us maintain
inviolate our public schools to the end that our nation may ever be
the home of liberty, "the land of benedictions."
In the unbounded universe of God's domain there are manifold
diversities, and yet there is an essential unity that binds the world
together; there is a common point where all matter unites.
As there is great freedom and diversity permitted in the unity of
nature, so, in our country of religious and political freedom, we
must grant the greatest latitude possible to the individual
conscience in personal, religious and civil rights consistent with
good government. But that there must be a code of morality common to
all as the basis of our civilized jurisprudence, in which the rights
of all center or unite and are equally protected, every reasonable
mind must admit. But where do we get our ideas of what is morally
right, and what is morally wrong, as the basis of our common law and
jurisprudence? What book or books contain the best code of morals? We
answer, the Bible. For the excellency of the morality of the Bible
has been admitted by the most distinguished men who have opposed its
supernatural revelation, among whom are Gibbon, Byron, Carlyle, Lord
Bollingbroke, Napoleon Bonaparte, Goethe and Renan. Thomas Jefferson,
speaking of Christ as a teacher, said: "He set forth the sublime
ideas of the Supreme Being, aphorisms and precepts of the purest
morality."
Catholicism says: "No Bible shall be taught in the public schools,"
but demands that she be allowed to proclaim her dogmas.
Benjamin Franklin, five weeks before his death, said of Christ: "I
think His system of morals, and His religion, as He left them, are
the best the world ever saw or is likely to see." The services of the
Bible in behalf of human rights and freedom, and in reforming and
purifying jurisprudence and politics, have been recognized by many of
the most distinguished historians, jurists and statesmen.
As the makers of our laws and the founders of our government have
accepted the moral code of the Bible as the basis of our
jurisprudence, and have forbidden the union of church and state, and
have left every citizen free to "worship God according to the
dictates of his own conscience," so long as he does not interfere
with the rights of others or violate the moral code common to all
citizens, for the law cannot allow a person to murder or steal, or
burn human sacrifices, or be a polygamist, or commit any other public
crime, even if the dictates of his conscience should lead him into
such a form of religion, because the moral code of the Bible is the
basis of our jurisprudence, and it forbids such things.
Therefore, we demand that the "book of books" be kept where the
rising generation shall come under its moral teaching without party
or sectarian comment, so that all may understand the fundamental
principles upon which the science of our common law rests, and thus
one of the objects of the order is "to maintain the public school
system of the United States and to prevent sectarian interference
therewith, and upholding the reading of the Holy Bible therein."
The argument that the reading of the Bible in the public school
should be abolished because it is objectionable to the conscience of
some comes only from the Church of Rome, and applies with equal force
against the moral code of jurisprudence, because it is objectionable
to the conscience of the anarchist, and the conscience of the
anarchist is just as sacred and entitled to as much respect, under
the law, in this free country of ours as the conscience of any one
else.
We have just as much right to take the moral code out of our common
jurisprudence as to take the Bible out of our public schools, because
the moral code of the Bible is the moral code of our common law.
We desire the Bible to be kept in the school as the standard of moral
truth, as the dictionary is kept there as the standard of words and
their definitions. As the unabridged dictionary contains all the
words of the English language, so the Bible contains all the truths
of Christianity. Every book has a part of the words of the
dictionary, so every Christian creed has a part of the truths of the
Bible. As there never was a book written that contained all of the
words of the dictionary, so there never was a creed written that
contained all the truths of the Bible. Therefore, as the dictionary
and not the books is the standard for words and their meaning, so the
Bible, and not the creeds, is the standard of moral truth. A man can
take the words in the dictionary and write a bad book, but that is
not the fault of the dictionary, but of the man. A person may take
passages of Scripture and misapplied truths and write a bad creed,
but that is not the fault of the Bible, but of the creed-maker. But
every man who takes the Bible as a whole has a complete standard of
moral truths.
It is claimed that the Bible should not be read in the school because
there are passages that are not proper to be read before children, or
a promiscuous audience, but this is only claimed by Catholicism. Yes,
and there are words in the dictionary that it would be just as
improper to use and define before children or a promiscuous audience
as any passage in the Bible. Therefore, it would be just as
reasonable to exclude the dictionary as the Bible from the school
room on this hypocritical argument in favor of false modesty.
The man's conscience that will object to the reading of the Bible in
the public school will ultimately object to the moral code of our
jurisprudence, and such a conscience is dangerous to our form of
government, inimical to the best interests of society and good
government, as has been clearly demonstrated in the past. The Mormons
claimed the right under our constitution to live in polygamy, as that
was their religion and the way they served God according to the
"dictates of their own conscience." But the supreme court decided
they could not worship God according to the dictates of their
conscience if their worship was a violation of the moral code common
to all. Thus all must submit to the moral code irrespective of their
individual conscience. So the Bible should be read in the public
schools, irrespective of the conscience of any, until the majority of
the government of the people, for the people and by the people shall
say: "Away with your Bible, away with your Sabbath, away with your
Christian jurisprudence, and give us infidel, revolutionary France,
or lawless anarchy, or the inquisition of the dark ages!"
Our public school is the mill that is to grind out this standard of
morality, knowledge and patriotism common to all. Hence we must have
the Bible in it as the standard of morality, and primary principles
of literature, science and art, the standard of knowledge, and the
American flag and its essential principles as the standard of
patriotism. Our American school system is like a great paper mill,
into which are cast rags of all kinds and colors, but which lose
their special identity and come out white paper, having a common
identity. So we want the children of the state, of whatever
nationality, color or religion, to pass through this great moral,
intellectual and patriotic mill, or transforming process, and thus
lose their foreign peculiarities and come out not as Germans, Irish,
English, Huns or Poles, but as Americans, having the common identity
of morality, knowledge and patriotism that is essential to true
American citizenship and good government stamped upon their minds,
and when they pass through this mill of purification they then begin
to lose confidence in the heathenish doctrines of Catholicism.
In a government where the people are the rulers, intelligence and
education are necessary to maintain the nation's stability. Under
this belief, the public school system of the United States was
founded.
Following are expressions of prominent Americans on the general
subject of popular education:
President Hays: "I am firmly convinced that the subject of popular
education deserves the earnest attention of the people of the whole
country, with a view to wise and comprehensive action by the
government of the United States. The means at the command of the
local and state authorities are in many cases wholly inadequate to
deal with the question. The magnitude of the evil to be eradicated is
not, I apprehend, generally and fully understood."
President Garfield: "Next in importance to freedom and justice is
popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be
permanently maintained. Its interests are intrusted to the state and
to the voluntary action of the people. Whatever help the nation can
justly afford should be generously given to aid the states in
supporting common schools, but it would be unjust to our people and
dangerous to our institutions to apply any portion of the revenue of
the nation of the states to the support of sectarian schools. The
separation of the church and the state in everything relating to
taxation should be absolute."
Dr. Strong: "Free schools are one of the cornerstones of our
government."
Washington's Farewell Address: "Promote them as an object of primary
importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In
proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public
opinion, it is essential that public opinions should be enlightened."
Calhoun: "In proportion as a people are ignorant, stupid, debased,
corrupt, exposed to violence within and danger without, the power
necessary for a government to possess in order to preserve society
against anarchy and destruction becomes greater and greater, and
individual liberty, less and less, until the lowest condition is
reached, when absolute and despotic power becomes necessary on the
part of the government and individual liberty extinct."
The church of Rome wants to rule by tyranny so that she can force her
"dupes" to do her bidding.
No subject could be of more interest to American citizens to-day than
that of foreign immigration to America. Every section of the country
has felt, to some degree, the demoralizing effect of the free
admission of aliens, unsuited
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