The frauds of Romish monks and priests...

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LETTER II. OF THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE JwV THE ROMISH CLERGY, SfC$

Sir,

Forasmuch as there is nothing, the Church of Home more strictly forbids her children, next to the reading of the Scriptures, than the perusing of those writings, which discover the lives and doctrine of her pastors, whom it is her will they should follow blind-fold, without examining either what they say or do ; I had some fear for my first Letter, lest it might have given offence, because it made some discoveries to you of their conduct. But seeing the kind welcome you afforded it, I hope that the reflection you have made upon it, and the good inclination you express, in declaring your willingness to be further informed by me on this subject, may at length conduce to the opening of your eyes, to see the dangerous condition you are in. And seeing* I desire nothing more, than to serve as an instrument to produce so good an effect : I shall gladly continue, Sir, to communicate the observations I have made, during my travels, about matters of religion.

Being* arrived at Sasa, a small town of Piedmont in Italy, and subject to the Duke of Savoy, we were told that the body of S. Maarus, abbot and first disciple of S. Bennet, reposed in one of the churches of this place. And forasmuch as the Father that was my companion in my travels, was a reformed benedictine, of the congregation of S. Manrus in France; I asked him whether he would not go to pay his duty to that relic of his blessed founder ? but he very freely told me, that he would take heed of doing* so ; adding, that the Italians were great cheats, who pretended to have all the saints ef Paradise in their country, whereas indeed there is nothing more false ; for as much as the body of S. Maurns was preserved whole and entire, in one of their abbies in France. And moreover assured me, that the bodies of S. Bennet, and S. Scholastica were there likewise, the one in the small town of S. Sennet, on the river Loire, near Orleans, and the other at Mans ; notwithstanding the Italians contested with them about all these relics, and a vast number of others, of most authentic authority ; and that upon no other ground, but that of the Pope's bulls, which they have procured, said be, by some artifice or other, for this purpose, and which declare them to be true and lawful possessors of these relics, though clear contrary to all evidence drawn from history and tradition. But Father, said 1, do you remember the discourse you held two days ago, ag we passed the Alps, to prove the Pope's infallibility, which you extended with so much heat and eai - neatness, not only to matters of rights, but also to matters of fact'? The question then put was this, how the popes could grant such thundering' bulls, fraught with excommunications and anathemas against those who do not believe, tliatfhe house of Loretto, was transported from the Holy Land by angels, to that part of Italy, where it is supposed to stand at present ; as likewise against those who should deny, that a great mountain near to the city of Cajeta, in the kingdom Naples, which is open at the top, and as it were, split in two, was one of those rocks, that were rent at the passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ? You then affirmed, that the Pope on all such occasions, was assisted with an infallible direction from the Holy Ghost; and consequently, that it was impossible for him to be deceived himself, or to deceive others, any more

thin than in matters of faith itself: and more especially* y^t, in a case of giving- religious worship to some object of devotion, as that is, which is given to the house of Loretto and to the Holy Mountain ; and how then can you now say, Father, with respect to your S. Mavrvs and S. Bennet, or any other whatever, that those popes who declared against you in favour of the Italians, have been mistaken i Is not (his a case of worship, as well as that of Loretto ? The party was but visible, and the good Father must needs have entangled himself in a most troublesome contradiction : wherefore to avoid the shame and confusion that thence would have followed, he chose rather to turn his answer into a piece of raillery, saying, he confessed that he was indeed a very bad politician, because when he Avas on the Alps, he spake like an Italian, but that at present he spoke as a Frenchman* Because it is true, that the people of Italy, especially those of the Pope's territories, do own the Pope's infallibility in mattews of fact, which the greatest part of the Ro* man Catholics of France do deny.

This distinction of speaking as an Italian, or as a Frenchman, Mas indeed very frivolous; and in truth, if it were permitted to utter one's opinion, sometimes according to the humour of one country, and sometimes of another, if our Benedictine had spoken like a German or an Hungarian, he would have reduced the papal authority to a very low ebb : for I have observed in my travels, that these people, though for the most part they profess the Romish lleliyion, yet have this advantage, that they believe little of it. {Without doubt, Sir, it would much better have become him, to have spoken as a Christian ought to do, viz. like a good and honest man, with a sincere and unbiassed spirit, strengthened by grace, supported by reason, and grounded upon the holy

Scripture :

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Scripture : for then would lie never have attributed the title of infallible to a mortal man upon earth, which belongs to God alone. I was ready to give him my thoughts to this purpose ; but I called to mind, that I was got into Italy, where one only word might drag me before the cruel and merciless tribunal of the Inquisition, and therefore thought it more wisdom to hold my peace. However, I could not but make this reflection on these proceedings of the religious, that in cases wherein the Priests or Monks find their advantage, or in things altogether indifferent to them, they are not wanting- with open mouths to publish the Pope's infallibility : but when his infallibility seems in the least to clash with their interests, he is no more than an ignorant and mistaken man, who may be bubbled as well as any other.

From Susa we came to Turin, which is a very fine city, situate upon the banks of the River Po, and the court of the jQuke of Savoy. Here it was that a damning of the beauty of the churches of Italy, presented itself to our eyes : the greatest part of the parish-churches, monasteries, and convents, are very sumptuously built, and most richly adorned within. Nothing is seen in them, but marble, porphyry, jasper stones, and most exquisite gilding and painting'. The crosses, the candlesticks, lamps, statues and cases of the relics, are all of gold and silver, and almost infinite in number and value. Some good j^n^cA priests, who had joined themselves with us, to take a view of the churches, where in a strange rapture at so dazzling a sight ; and being inwardly moved to see so many temples of the Lord, so gloriously adorned, wept for joy: for as in their journey from France, they had taken their way through Geneva, and the Swiss Cantons, where they "had seen the Protestant Churches devoid almost of all material embellishments, they from thence concluded, (how truly I

E leave leave you to judge) that there was no other true religion, besides that of the Church of Rome, whose zeal for the House of God, was an evident witness of the truth of her faith. I told them that this their conclusion seemed to me to be built upon very weak principles, and that where we had a mind to prove the truth of any religion, the grandeur ana riches of the world were too weak premises to support a conclusion ; and that for my part, if I were to form a presumptive argumenf in favour of any religion, 1 should sooner take^ it from the good life and manner of those that profess it, than from the sumptuous ornaments of their churches. They shewed us the church-treasury, where is preserved the holy shroud or sheet, and soon after the canons and priests entered the choir, to sing their vespers ana complins, which are the evening prayers of the Church of Rome. They entered without any order, and very indecently, talking and laughing together, and pushing one anothers elbows. The first come, without waiting till the rest were seated in their places, began to sing the office ; and that which might well have lasted an hour and half, in case it had been said with the required pauses devoutly and modestly, as it is practised in the Common Prayer of the Church of England, was dispatched in less than a quarter of an hour, with a strange kind of precipitation, so that it was scarcely possible to distinguish between one word and another, or between the end and the beginning of the verses. In truth, Sir, were it lawful to judge of the consciences of men, from any thing that is outward, I might have had good reason to infer from their behaviour, that their hearts were much stranged from the words of their lips, and their lips and their hearts yet further from God. They did not much weary our patience with hearing them ; and the service thus roundly dispatched, they rather fled,

than

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than went out of church, every one his own why. The Father that was with me 5 perceiving that I was scandalized at it, told me, as having had some former experience of Italy, by a journey he had before made through it : that it was not yet time for me to be offended, and that the nearer I should appear to Rome, the more cause I should find for it. I had been told indeed, that the farther I went , the more stately churches I should find, and the more richly adorned : so that joining these two together, I concluded, that all this outward bravery and ornament, did not proceed from the piety or zeal of the clergy of Italy for the House of God ; because they neglected the chief glory and embellishment of it, viz* the inward, and that something else must be the motive to it, as I discovered afterwnrds, and of which I shall give you a more particular account upon another occasion. After we had visited the churches, towards evening, we went to view the great piazza of Twin, facing the palace of his Royal Highness. Here we saw many theatres or stages of rope dancers and mountebanks, wherewith the market places of the cities in Italy* are always well provided, for the satisfaction of the public. But that which surprized me most was, that the greatest part of those that assisted as auditors and spectators, about those theatres, were either priests or monks, who clapped their hands in applause of the most ridiculous and scandalous stuff they produced, and laughed with all their might. We saw there all sorts of orders, some father-jesuits, that seemed the most concerned for these fopperies, who saluted the Father Benedictine that was with us ; and having understood that he was procurator general of the order, they offered him an eminent place, near unto themselves, which he accepted of. For my part, I was unwilling to engage myself in the concern, and retired with the two French priests

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to our inn* We had opportunity the same evening* of discoursing' with Count Zamberti, an officer of his Royal Highness, whom formerly I had seen in France, and we could not keep ourselves from acquainting 1 him, how strangely we had been surprized, to see so many religious at the public shews, and so attentive to the lewd fooleries of buffoons ; because we looked upon it as very unworthy and scandalous, and that no such thing* was to be seen in France. He told us, that this was not that which ought most to surprize us, for that in Italy, those of the clergy who did commonly frequent the Piazza in the evening, were the most esteemed of, as being ©rdina i i!y the best amongst them ; because the rest at the same time were, for the most part, either in whore-houses, or at taverns, in company of their wenches. Here I turned myself to our French priests, and said, Well, gentlemen, what say you now ? Do you think you concluded well from the magnificence of the churches of this country, that their religion and piety must needs be the best, because their churches were the most stately and sumptuous ? whereas you see that these who ought in a more especial manner, to be the living' temples of the Holy Ghost, abandon themselves to such execrable profaneness and debauchery? As to that which we alleged, that no such lewd deportments were to be found amongst our ecclesiastics in France, the Count very wisely replied, That for that li e might thank the Protestants ; for that it was only their presence that maintained the learning, modesty, and reserved carriage of the clergy of the f/allican Church, and if they once should be forced to quit the country, we should soon see all sciences and virtues exiled with them. This, Sir, agrees incomparably well with what some persons of quality of the Roman communion have of late freely

owned

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owned to me, that they begin already in France to perceive, that since the Protestants have been banished thence, and that they believed them far enough from them ; the burning zeal of the ecclesiastics, is turned to lukewarmness, their devotion grown cold, and their application to their studies l3ecome very flat and languishing. So that at present they are seldom found at their books, but for the most part ranging from one house to ano~ ther, upon pretence of encouraging and confirming their new converts, and boasting themselves for great doctors, with what they have learned, at a time when they were forced upon by the learned writings, and close arguings of the Protestant ministers. I return now to my voyage : but before I leave Turin, because I have already made mention of the church, wherein is kept the holy shroud or linen sheet, wherein they pretend our Saviour's dead body was wrapped ; I suppose you will not take it amiss, if I tell you in short what I think of it. Those of your religion suppose it to be the same shroud or linen sheet, in which Joseph of Arimathea wrapped up, and buried the precious body of our Lord Jesus Christ, after it was taken down from the cross, and that the figure of that adoreable body remains imprinted upon it, for the comfort of believers.

1 intend not to enter the lists about the truth of that history, which I never searched into ; but I shall only tell you, Sir, that there is another of them to be seen in the cathedral of Besansom in Burgundy, which they maintain to be the same in which Joseph wrapt the body of our Saviour : several popes, according to their distinct fancies and humours have granted several bulls and indigencies, some to that of Turin, others that of Besansom, until that these contestations raise such extreme feuds between the archbishops of these two cities, that at last they fell to libelling one

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another ; whereupon to stifle the flame front spreading further, a way was found out at Rome to reconcile them, by determining- (contrary to the express words of the vulgar translation, Matt. 27. Et involvit illud Sin done mnnda. A n d icrapt it in a clean linen cloth; where the w ord Sindone is in the singular number) that there were two, and consequently that both the one and the other of them were true. It cannot indeed be denied, but that there was such a shroud or linen-cloth, and it is possible that with great care it might have been preserved till now : but to see the Church of Rome, for the reconciling of two bishops, with so much easiness, boldly to determine that there were two, when the scripture seems but to speak of one ; this is that which will not go down with men of understanding : and moreover, to ordain, that the same worship and adoration be given to them both on Easter-Bay, which is given to the cross on Good-Friday, which does not differ at all from what is given to Jesus Christ himself: this is no less than downright impiety and idolatry.

After some days stay at Turin, finding myself T/ifchin two days journey of Genoua, the curiosity of seeing that lofty city, made me resolve to go thither. However, I found some strife in myself about it, because of the satisfaction I had enjoyed m the company of my Benedictine, whose conversation was indeed very pleasant and agreeable ; as iinding,that if I continued my resolution, it would be necessary for us to part ; for the letter of obedience, which he had shewed me of his general, expressed, that he was without stop or stay to go directly to Rome. 1 communicated to him my resolution of going to Genoua, whereupon he immediately told me, that he was resolved to go along* with me, and that he v/ould order the matter so, as his superiors should know nothing of it, and accordingly in the letter he wrote to them from

Turin

Turin, acquainting' them, that being' not yet wholly recovered from some fits of an ague he had, he should be obliged to remain there still for some days, which was just the very time lie took to go this journey with me. I found by this that the most reformed monks make no great scrapie of violating- the obedience they have vowed to observe and to transgress the rules they profess, upon the least occasion that presents itself to them, of any particular satisfaction. The use of meat was also forbid him by his rule, and yet he no sooner found himself at a distance from the monasteries of his Order, but he made bold with it ; and as soon as he met with another, he took up his observance again as before, desiring me not to divulge that ever he had transgressed it. And in the mean time I can say with truth, that I never saw a more rigorous censor of another man's actions than he was, when he was in the company of monks, who were not reformed, or who took more liberty than those of their congregation ; he would undertake them in a high manner, yea, with insolence itself : he said, He could not look upon them any better than damned souls, and icorse than devils. Neither had he any more charitable opinion for the people, whom the monks, by way of distinction, term the people of the world and worldlings, with which words they denote all laymen in general. It seemed to him impossible for a man that lived at large in the world, to be saved, except he took up and confined himself to a convent ; yea, and it must be in a convent of his Order too.

If by chance he saw in the streets a woman well dressed, without examining- whether her condition, or some other reason might oblige her to it, he immediately pronounced a sentence of eternal condemnation against her ; saying, That she teas a victim destined to the flames of' hell; and if he heard speak of any persons newly married 3 or that had obtained some good fortune, alas, said he, these persons make their paradise of this icorld, but they shall burn for ever in the other for it* And thus without excepting any whatever, and putting a wrong* construction upon the most innocent actions, he judged with an inveteracy of heart what belongs alone to God to judg*e of. What I now say, is not only to be understood of this religious alone, but generally almost of all sorts of reformed religious, as those who profess a more strict life than others ; and of secular priests also, who by their little superstitious ways, pretend to be quite distinguished from the common sort of people : I have observed, that they judge men without mercy. Some have owned to me, that from their youth up, they have been accustomed to these ideas, the world having been always represented to them as a tempestuous and raging sea, whence it is very rare for any one to escape, without being shipwrecked, and that their monasteries are the very ports of salvation, and the havens of grace, where it is impossible to perish. Whereas, it were much better, to educate them in a spirit of humility, and to inspire in them charitable thoughts towards their neighbour, whether they be joined with them in the same profession of life, or engaged in another way, to which we ought, Christian like, to believe that God had called them. This indeed we must own, that it seems to be the unhappy lot of all persons whatsoever that engage themselves in a party, not to have any consideration, but for those of their own company, despising and condemning all the rest. It was this consideration, without doubt, that made our fathers, the first reformers of religion, to disapprove, and afterwards to reject all these kind of inequalities, which by dividing men into several different states, do ordinarily divide their hearts also, and by this means separate them from the charity of Jesus Christ. But to return to our Be-

nedictiney

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nedictinc, who as lie was extremely rigorous to others, so he was indulgent to himself. He was naturally very comical, and inclined to raillery, and did not eifect that monkish gravity, but upon certain occasions.

We arrived at Genoua the 1st of September. Being informed that there was a very fair abbey of his order in the city, called S. Catherine of Genoua, he would needs go and lodge there, in hopes of being as well entertained, as he had been hitherto in the several monasteries he had called at. He went and presented his letter of obedience to the abbot, who having read it, took a view r of him from top to toe : he asked him, of what Order he was ? he answered, that his letter shewed that, and that he was a reformed Benedictine ; the other replied, that he believed nothing* of what he said, because he was not in the habit of S. Bennett which was the chief mark which distinguished their order. Now it is to be noted, that these monks in France wear gowns of our course cloth, with a cowl cut very strait ; whereas the Italians have extremely amplified theirs, and wear stuffs very fine and lustrous ; they are very neatly shod, wear silk stockings, fine grey hats, and are not a whit inferior to the bravery of laymen. Moreover, a small difference in the habits of Italy, makes also a difference of Order. There are about ten sorts of the religious of the Order of S. Frances, which are only distinguished from one another, because some of them have their sleeves, or their cowls, two or three finger's breadth larger than the others. And yet this makes so great a division between them, that they cannot endure the sight of one another, and hate one another mortally. The monk of whom I am speaking, was not sprucely enough accommodated, according to their mode, to please this nice and curious abbot; and the conclusion was, that he very basely denied him entrance into his monastery.

The poor Benedictine was put into such a rage by the affront put upon him, that he could not forbear downright railing at the abbot in his own monastery; telling him, that he was an abbot accursed of God : that damnation would be his portion, and that all those who lived under his conduct, might make state to go to hell with him ; that it was the}/ that had changed the ve* nerable habit of the Order, and altered it to that degree, that it seemed at present rather contrived to please and entice young tadies, than to distinguish them from the people of the world ; and that they would see one day, but alas, too late ! what a reception their glorious patriarch would afford in Heaven, to that poor habit which he had upon his body, and which they vilified so much here on earth. The abbot found himself so extremely nettled at this invective, that he threatened our reformed monk, that in case he did not that very evening depart the city, he would take care to stop his pipes for him. The poor monk frighted, and trembling at his threat, returns to the inn where I was, and gave me an account of his disaster. This was the reason, that I staid only three days at Genoua, because my companion, for fear of being sacrificed to the Italic revenge, durst not stir abroad, but was fain to keep himself shut up in a chamber, all the while I stayed there to take a view of the city.

Revenge is an abominable vice, and which at present is not without great reason particularly appropriated to the Italians ; but certainly amongst them all, there are none who exercise and act it with greater rage and fury than the clergy, who, as they have no families to care for, their attention is less divided, and consequently more united and concentred, to resent injuries done unto them, and have also more leisure time to descant upon them ; and besides all this, in case of any acciaent, they

have have none but their own persons to save, neither do they fear so much as others the confiscation of their goods, as being assured, that whatsoever co^itry their lot may cast them upon, so it be the Romish communion, they cannot miss of getting- a livelihood by their masses, and of being furnished with a full supply of their necessities. This is a patrimony that follows them wheresoever they go, and cannot be taken away from them, but with their life. One thing extremely facilitates the taking of revenge in Italy, viz. the great number of petty principalities, into which it is divided ; and whereof the princes are all of them independent one of another, and extremely jealous of preserving their rights, especially of protection and refuge, to those who having done some ill turn, retire themselves to their territories. The ambassadors of the king of France would sooner,and with more easeobtain a fugitive person from the Emperor, than from the Duke of Mirandula, whose territories do not extend themselves to three Italian miles ; because, always the more inconsiderable any power is, the more it strives to appear great. Ihe common-wealth of S. Marin, is but an inconsiderable hamlet of about some fifty houses of poor peasants, who are governed by themselves : and though they be shut in on every side by the Pope's territories, which they call the Domaine of S. Peter, yet they do give such a resolute protection to priests guilty of murder or manslaughter, that it is not possible for the Pope to persuade them, to deliver up any one of them ; neither are the sovereign princes of Italy, only thus jealous of their franchises of their estates, but also all persons of quality in general, who w ill not permit a malefactor to be seized in their houses. I shall here tell you by the bye, Sir, that it is this pretended liberty which was the rise of the franchise or liberty of the ambassadors of crowned heads at Rome, and which caused the

great great dispute between Pope Innocent XI. and th& Prenck King ; for seeing the ambassadors, to distinguish themselves, were willing to have some privilege above the ordinary nobility, they did not only pretend to have an immunity for their palaces,, but over and above, an entire franchise throughout all the quarters, where their abode was. NW Pope Innocent XL conceived it an enterprize becoming his glory and courage, efficaciously to endeavour the final destruction of these retreats for robbers and murderers in Rome, obliging" the ambassadors for ever to renounce the franchises of the quarters, and to content themselves, for the respect borne to their masters,with the immunity of their houses. But, to speak truth, to what purpose was it for the Pope to be so zealously bent to abolish these places of refuge? Did not he know, that all the churches, monasteries, convents, and colleges of Rome, are so many open places, which one meet with at every tlirr-, where injustice, incest, robbery and murder are protected and secured? 1 confess, it seems not unreasonable, that the churches of God should be esteemed so holy and sacred, as to make it a kind of profanation to enter them armed, in order to seize a criminal ; but what reason is there to * allow the same privilege to all cloisters eti'd houses of those wretched monks, that are the very worst of criminals ? -and the compass of whose walls take up so much ground, that if they were all joined together, they would, without doubt, make more than a third part of Rome: and what is the sacreduess and holiness of these profane persons, for which they are to enjoy this exemption? For my part, I cannot imagine any other reason for it, but that the Pope, with the rest of the ecclesiastical princes of that communion, endeavouring no less to establish their temporal power, than their usurped tyranny over the souls of men, will be very backward