The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-01 00:00:00

"S. G. 0." ON THE RITUALISTS.
The Rev Lord Osborne ha addressed another letter to
The Times on the ritualistic practices of ministers of the
Caurch of Ragland. lie says :

When I last addreased yt.o on the auhjrct of "Priests
and Bishops," although I fully believed that a section ,
of the Established Church, and that a large one, had I
adopted, not only Roman Catholic ceremonial, but I
also the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, I
was not so well aware as I am now of the extreme
lengths to which three Getrayere of every principle
of the Reformed Church had advanced. I knew well
enrugh that they had good reason to avow a good
deal of indirect episcopal sanction; but I did not con-
ceive it possible that they could have so calculated
an episcopal connivance as to odenly act out what
bow know they do lf the laity and clergy
of this kingdom who care for religious liherty,
who value our Church as one protesting against all
the error of doctrine and the tyranny of priestcraft
from which we escaped at the It-formation; if !parents
who do not choose the ordained ministers of the Estab-
lished Church to become dictators over their faith,
directors claiming to control and guide, confess and
absolve their children ; if men, with only that portion
et intellect which, however small, can yet form a fair
opinion whether ordinary men can perform the Trost
extraordinary miracle man can conceive, and, having
the power to do so, are ever exhibiting it, as they say,
and yet, wherever met, prove themselves no better or
worse, no wiser, than their fellowmen; if these care
for the faith in which they have been bred, for the
freedom of thought they have hitherto prized, for the
safety of the souls of their children, from the wiles of
a cunning in no page of history to te found surpassed,
it is time to speak out, and act.

adopted,,

"S. G. o."chargea the archlotehops and bishops with being
the real offenders:—

The archbishops are the" visitors" over the bishops;
to them ought the appeal to be now made. I cannot
sunpect them of ignorance of what the bishops—some
of them—are doing or have doe in the matter of
direct approval or indirect connivance. They know,
as we all know, that to love power is but human: that
whatever exalts the priest and given him Divine
authority must tend to exalt the bishop, who, being
priest, has a still higher position, and has equal tempta.
thin to grasp at more and more official dignity and
authority. The betrayal in parish chur-hes of the
doctrines the bishops were appointed to preserve lies
at their door; if they slumber at their posts, or, being
awake, are content to be silent, or only give such re-
buke as hardly deserves the character of a
mild remonstrance, the chief guilt is theirs- In no
profession is there more subservience, as the rule, to
the chiefs as ii, that iif the Cmrch. The bishop. have
a good deal of patronage • to gain their countenance,
to bask in the aunahinv of approval, is to a large
proportion of the clergy, the very anchor of life's hope.
The la;ty have a right, then, to look to them to atonce
suppress false teaching. If to do so may be costly, this
is no real excuse. They assumed their office with all
its liabilities: if they want more power why do they
not ask for it? In it that they fear to be met with
the question, " Hail you been diligent with the power
you now possess, used it to nip that in the hod
which has now grown to such a dangerous extent,
could you not have done so ?"
• " - •

Lord Osborne i very indignant with the ritualists for
Issuing books for the )oung of a character which he strongly
condemns. He says :
- -

I have a book before me, optinly used in some
churches, to aid the devotions of " young persons,
especially chorister." The doctrine of transubetautia-
Lion is openly taught in it. These children are taught
to adore "the elements" when consecrated, to pray
then and there that this sacrificial offering may be
applied to the "joy and refreshment" of the dead.
There is &thorough teaching in almost every doctrine
which our church, thank (10,1, repudiates. I have
another book, published at Oxford as a prayer-hook
for the young ; it professes to give church teaching to
chiblren under 12 years of age. I can hardly conceive
anything more pernicious, if it was not for the fact
that young brains could only be mystified and dulled,
not really taught, by such a course of severe mysticism.
Here the name doctrines are inculcated, the same at.
tempt is made to cause children to regard the clergymen
as priests with miraculous powers. The attempt to make
young children believe in the miracle of the altar,
' as waited in their presence, if it was not so fearlully
traitorous to the place and the service, would almost
admit of being considered comic. To expect a child
under twelve years of age to really accept seriously
the directions given is, in my poor opinion, cad proof
of utter ignorance of childhood; you might just as
well give a lesson in mathematics. Child faith is not
so easily won by statements of the wonderful, and for
all it sees ; why, it is just the clergy it knows out of
robes in them doing certain certain acts with extraor-
dinary ceremony in a plafie, the handsome decoration
of which and its incense become so familiar, that the
things done are only part of a scene which of t repeti-
tion makes to the very young a mere Church lesson, in
a highly-scented and richly-decorated school. Chil-
dren are not theologians susceptible to the claims of
any school of divines; ordinary services once a week
are no slight trial when Sunday school is superadded ;
frequent Sundaying, and the fitting of their young
minds into the grooves of that school of divinity
which this book belongs to, is altogether foreign to
eserythiug of a child that is childish. There is through-
out the book proof that the young—the very young—
er,- taught that the priest is to be the chief director of
their life ; they are to come to him for frequent con-
ft-Fusion ; they are warned of the peril to their motile if
they do not; they are assured of c implete absolittion
if they ilo. I wish, sir, I could stop here ; hut my
duty to the public compels me to add that sonic of
the directions for full confession on the ran of chil-
dren—the very young—are such as no one possessed
of ordinary decency can read without indignation,
such things as the advertisements of a certain class of
quack doctors only allude to are put into this book
with little, if any, disguise whatever. I think any
parent finding this book in the hands 4 buy or girl,
' given or recommended by the priest would be justified
morally, in far stronger steps towards him than per.
would be legally justifiable. lam quite sure I
should feel no myself. It is an outrage on all that
men in general hold to be right, that, under the guise
of religions teaching, under the role of priestcraft,
such infamous dealing with youthful minds should
be tolerated for one moment; and yet no it is.
Can the bishops, all of them, really plead ignorance of
the fact?

"S. G 0 " concludes his letter by what ha calls au sigu.
ment rffigton

I have before me, a photograph of one of
the moat active of our biehope, one who I am
sure would publicly deny that he in any way counte.
minced Ritualism. 1 am, however, 1,1 a very
different opinion; I believe his peculiar action in the
matter in his diocese, and the countenance he has
given elsewhere to those who do favour it, has done •
great deal to promote it. Hie portrait (price Iv. bd.)
, gees far to confirm me in my opinion. He is repro-
' minted in full robes, in his left hand a lofty, most