Predictions of Christopher Love, Part 9
Extracts relative to the Church of ROME. (By Lady Wallace.)
TO be able to judge of the discontent which is now general in all Roman Catholic countries, as well to draw natural conclu…ions from those com… tions which seem to be inevitable, from the a…arice of the c…ergy, you must go back to the infancy of Christianity, and make you…self acquainted with the increase, abuse, and decrease of the power of the church of Rome, which now, even its once most supe…stitious adherents begin to revolt against, from the avarice and depravity of the clergy.
Begin from A D. 66, when we find the marty…dom of Pe…er and Paul upon record: and the appointment of St. Lin, to be bishop of Rome; happy for Ch…istianity, the cruel … which cru…hed and ha…assed the ens…ved people, rendered them greedy to adopt a doctrine which promised comfo…t to their sufferings, eternal rest and blessings herea…e…, in proportion to their oppression and sufferings in this world.
In the three fi…st ages of the church. the bishop of Rome▪ in common wi…h the other …ishops▪ preached the …ctrine of Christianity in all tha… purity which ou… S…viour commanded to all his disciples, vested all with equal powers: piety, moderation, and priva…on ma…ked their lives, and there never was me… tion m…de of any superior power being invested in the bishop of Rome, till the days of Constantine the … new mode…ed the empire, and gave the … power of regulating all religious disputes … church rites and re…orms; but always re…erving to the emperor the power of au…horizing. or a…ulling, the decisions of the bishop This power, …he e…npero…s continued to exercise, without any bishop having ever hinted, that by divine authority he poss…ss…d any superiority over the other bishops, or over the government of his own country, far less in that of his …eighbours.
At the period when civil discord and foreign wars so convul…ed and dis…embered the empire, that no … could take upon him the government of the …, the emperor invested the bishops as his agents; and they assumed af…erwards this power as their right, in the fourth century, and no emperor afterwards was powerful enough to re-assume his rights.
Upon the popes becoming ve…ted with the civil government, their luxury and v…ces became scandalous. They were followed by …l…ves and mistress…s in the streets in the greatest pomp, and from their riches and power they were able to usu…p that superiority over the other bishops which they some time a…er a…empted to m…ke their credulous adherents believe they had been impowered by Christ to assume.
The high … and affluence bestowed by Constantine upon the s…e of Rome, made all the … bishops anxiou… to succeed to it, and …storia…s tell us, that the sa…e co…up…ion and in…rigue were u…d in those days as there is now to make a pope.
In 378. the emperor Gratian formed a spiritual court, which confisted of the bishop of Rome, and seven …her bishops; to judge finally of all church …; and he … that all his subjects should …ddp… the belief of the Trinity, and become of the Christian church, whi… proved that he (who was bec…me a Christian) was head of the Church and supreme in power▪ and this was frequently shewn by the emp…rors making the monks serve as soldiers, and the bishops of Rome as ambassadors: one of the popes, Sylverius, was starved to death when on an embassy.
…Till the eighth century, we … the popes power no greater than that o… our archbi…hops; after that …, the imbeci…y, superstition, and often the poverty and difficulties of the emperors, tempted them to give the popes sovereign power over provinces, titles, a…d homage, to gain …, or pardon of their ….
So soon as … were declared head of the. church, they … those Pagans who had turned … Christianity to … same ideas to them that they had to their … Druids, that the per…on who was exc…mmunicated by them, was degraded, and deprived of the common … of the people; and thu… … began first to … damnation on nations and king; who devia…ed from … politics.
In this same century, Pep…, in …, finding his sovereign, Childeric, a weak p…ince, …o … the ambitious scheme of … him, and … his throne, which pope Z…cheria encouraged him … do; knowing that if Pepin succeeded, he could not do without the influence of the church, over the minds of the people, as well as the riches of its treasury: for which Pepin promised to aid him with his arms, and every art to establish his power; and after Pepin by these means had completed his …, the; pope was attacked by Allulph, a Lomb…rd prince. when Pepin hastened to his succour, and forced … totally to give…up to the pope the … of Rome.
In the time of pope Adrian, who succeeded Zacheria, Charlemagne, who succeeded Pepin, again rep…l…ed the Lombard princes, who wi…hed to reduce the …avished power of the papal splendor. Char…emagne …ound the Pope a ve…y powerful friend: from the bigotry, the natural produce of ignorance, which reigned in those day…, the princes and people impover…shed themselves to make presents to the pope, whom they believed to be endowed with su…ernatural powers, from the miracles and … they daily … by their know…edge in … and chemistry, which knowledge was … confined to the priesthood.
Thus by reading history, you will … by what almost imperceptible degrees the church of Rome emerged from all the simplicity and … of the … doct…ines of Christ, to e…joy that splendour and corruption which have … many ages distinguished it.
Surely the leading … to become a traitor and a … was … …o the doc…rines of our Saviour.
One of the pope… causes of the great success of the … was, that … were elected; they were … always men of …ho…en abilities, and a…ts, … to the study of enr…ching and agrandizing the …: if any pope turned out a man of a different cast, the cardinals lost no time to murder or depo…e him; whereas the princes who succeeded their … were either fools or wise men, as the chance of fortune directed.
The popes, under pretence of managing the … of the church and the con…ciences of kings, were a…ways fending men to undermine the polities of every cabinet; either by encouraging the weaknesses of the leading men, or by denouncing thunders which … the weak minde… and …; and thus with the aid of all powerful gold … i…fluence. There…ore, it is … to be wondered at, that they should so long have kept all Europe in a state of blood, barbari…m and bigotry, which … would have been i…s wretched …, had not England, Swi…zerland, and many of the German Principalities, by the will of Providence, re…o…med▪ an… … from the u…j…st vsurpa…ion of the Church of Rome. Re…igion … that period has ce…sed to be the … of state intrigues in those rival nations which gave laws to the world.
Should a general reform of that Church now h…ppen, which is very probab…e, the minds of its ad…e…ents seem ripe for revolt, from their groaning severely under the tyranny of a corrupt avar…cious clergy; and we may expect to see all Europe enjoy pe…manent peace …ut the restless spirit of domination in the Romish Clergy will leave no attempt u…ried to secu…e their power; and it is only by a conflict which must produce va…ied … of blo…d, that they will submit to restore their usurped spoils: we find that already many of them have kept the chair by ass…ssinations, cruelty and treachery.
Sergiu… the Third made one of his numerous bas…ards, Pope, under the name of John the Eleventh. John the Twel…th was also a bastard of Pope Agape…us; for in those days, … those heroes willingly made the sacrifice to God of that generally troublesome appendage to a libe…ine—a wife, yet the… could not dispense with a variety of mistresses. Gregory the Se…ond profited the most by his amours; for the Empr…ss Matilda, and the daughter of the Duke of Tuscany left him large legacies. Pascal the Second stirred up and supported Henry the Fifth to act so bad a part by his Father; for it was those scan… lous …epresentatives of divine virtue which armed …ons against their fathers, and made them be…me ra…ors to their oath and allegiance. Alexander the … is reco…ded as a wonder of brutal crimes-Clement the Seventh had the mortification to see … his cha…, and could work no miracle to prevent his being dr…ven out of Rome. He also … the Emperor … cry loudly against the pow…r and u…urpation of the …, which awed him so …uch that he lost England, as he dared not give … to Hen…y the Eighth to divor…e Catharine of A…agon, becau…e she was the Aunt of Charles whom he was afraid more to irritate. Henry, enraged against every thing which stood in opposition to his wishes, bu…ned the Pope in …ffigy in Lon…on, and ordered every ore to change their …eligion with as little remoise as he changed his wife: thus an … people are for e…er persecuted by despotic …ools. Paul the Third was famous for being the most luxurious and licen…ious man of his time; he made his ba…ards cardinals whe… boys.
At this period the …lergy made a violent effort to re-establish their power in Englan…; and Mary with that cru…l, revengeful spirit, which seems to have been the most powerful engine of the church, by burning and ex…irpating all those who dared oppose her, did all she could to bring England again under the yoke of pop…y: but such a co…uct was not calculated to make pro…elytes of the minds of men, enlightened by the mild i…fluence of truth, and it soon pleased God to purge the ear…h of such a monster.
But it was … to Paul the Fourth to see the mortal blow given to the power of the S…e of Rome, in the glorious reign of Elizabeth, whose want of …oleration, which stained her name with a Sister's death, arose from a conviction that tolerating such opposite doct…ines in the chur…, must inevitably, sooner or later, involve the … in civil disco…d.
Six…us the … was …, at England's having not only thrown off the … of Rome but her sudden rise to grand …r and …, that he promised Philip the Second to secure to him the … of Britain, prov…ded he would do h…m…ge to him, but all his hol… … and masses would not save the invin…b…e armada.
In latter times, the popes have … a ver… … conduct in com…arison to … former. Their intrigues are now chie…ly … to … money on the superstitious, and in that debau…her… which so eminently distinguishes the clerg… in the Roman Catholic count…ies, where the harrassed people revo… at seeing the divine representatives of Christ such avaricious …; and poor, miserable and di…contented they only wait an opportunity to throw off the yoke, and worship God in purity and sincerity
No p…i…ce is now so ignorant as to tremble at the thunders of the Vatican: yet the pope c…tinues to impoveri…h the neigh…ouring ki…gdoms, b… selling every year his bulls nec…ss…ry for all ranks of the priesthood, to their being in orders; it would appear very wonderful that sovereig…s should continue to submit to what so evidentl… impoverishes their people, did not that love of despotism. which is imbi…ed with the name of king, render them unwilling to destroy its chief source.
On a view of the many vicious characters who have filled the chair, one shudders to think in this enlightened age, that any part of mankind shou…d attribute to such sinners the virtues of Christ, and lo…k on men polluted with every crime, as ves…ed with a supernatural power.
At fi…st, by degree…, by treac…ery and us…rpation on the part of the … of Rome, by interested motives on the part of the Emperor, and b… big…try in the people, they a…ved a… that wealth, splendor and power. wh…ch th…y make their … followers falsely believe th… have derived …om Heaven: but now the mi…ds of men are ope…ing to the treacherous delusions which have so long duped them. and reformation o… an absolu… revolution, will most likely soon be …ffected in all … governments.