The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-29 00:00:00

DR. PUSEY AND THE CONFESSIONAL.

"s. G. 0." has written a letter to the London
s, of which the following is an extract :
. _

A young lady some years since, came under the Influence
of a director o confessor of the Church of Ragland. He
obtained a complete ascendancy over her. She, before him,
took • VOW of celibacy for two years. II OkO,OOO to her par t 0.1.4
An offer of marriage was made to her, with their approval
There was no question of her marrying until after the time
of her vow should have expired, but ev-n then she had
scruples unites her director would give his sanction .
this, even when solicited by her parents, he repr.,,l
do. The result was she remained single, died so, nil
the gentleman who wished to marry her, ldned
the Roman Church. This same director, In another
cue, took an oath of celibacy from a yocing lady he
afterwards absolved her, and she married a clergyman, in
another case, it is not clear he took the oath or vow frees
the lady, hut she went to him for absolution from It, was
absolved, and is at present living, I Onus • happy Married
woman. I bring forward these cases, not as at all believing
they are uncommon, but because proofs of their truth have
been afforded me, and In such reetialre may esuly suppose, It
difficult, as the role, for many reasons to get the truth.
Permit me to ask Dr. l'usey if he can plead ignorance of
such cases as the above Is he prepared to defend any
clergyman of the Fatablished Clurch In the exercise of
the authority he may gain over young ladles as their
confessor sad director in, unknown to their puents,
aiding them to bind themselves by vows, or oath.,
or whatever the procea clay be to celibacy, or
Indeed, to any one c mrse of life which shall hold them
tied by such vow, until the priest chooses to release them?
Can he justify the holding a young lady to such vow against
the will of the parents when it become, known to them :
I believe he will welt to justify it. I cannot doubt, with the
evidence I have before aie, that in be first of the three cases
if not in all the others, he—Dr Pusey—was the confessor
or director who acted as I have described.

If it I. 80, I am obliged to add my conviction that In his
large experience and practice as confeseor and director he
has, soln .d again, been the means of no bringing young
person• in subjection to his will and teaching tin" they have
concealed, with the sanction of a priest, much that, accer
lag to God'. plain law of duty to their parents, they might
to have made known to them.

To the above letter of G. o.'s,” Dr. Pusey re.
plies
It. a dexterous strategic movement on his part, ["9.i
when I was pressing upon your reader, the question how
to prevent terrible evil, in which I know from privates
letter to myself the hearts of English parents, far and wide,
went along with me, to turn the dlscussion, and induce you
to tunt it. to certain advice !supposed to have been given,
trit,ch ho. ab•viutzly irt,h Confer,ton. I doubt
whetter he wtl succeed in trite Parents will not, when the
fact is brought before them, be turned saidefrom considering
how their cloldren may best be protested from terrible evil
destructive to soul and body, by an ellegation of unwlsdony
Very many years ago, in some insulated cues
With regard to those cases, I have written to "i G. O." to
inquire of it,m to whom he refers in the histories which he
has detailed to you. Two of the cases, I ant absolutely
certain, cannot relate to me. For I do not believe, and never
believed, that any rriext has any power to absolve tr.ou a
vow mute to Almignty (hod, which in these cases the pnest is
alleged to have done.

tr;c.e-ivn.:73. G. answer I will Write further to
erplatn my principles, as you desire it.
Meanwhile, I may a. well say this, that I am certain that
—l. 1 neve. reo,lnniended to any lady to take a v•iw for life.
I do not think alert vows 1.1.0111., although, under certain
circumsomees. I should think town cb,cl.leilly unwise
I never ad riord thom I That I had many years ago difficult
cases In which to advise when persoia wished to make vows
for life, which wont t have been rash in them, and which I
had to dissuade. 3 That if "S 0 0 's" statement of my
having sanctioned in that case a vow for two year. is
accurate, it was to prevent • mak vow for Ile 4. That
such • vow would Into, and would he Intended to leave, a
person perfectly free at the end of the two years, al free as
II hoot she had eeeee made it; and that it would be a
shocking Immorality for any one to expresa • solemn con-
viction that Gui had called him or her to that single life
which Hooker, In al.nsion to our Lord's wordy, calls "• thing
more angelical and divine" H H, b v., c. 731, and then to
set irrevocaoly In s way vposed to that conviction within
two years. 5 That, supposing • person to have had such a
strong conviction tr..t she was cal.eil by GM to • single Me,
It would have been utterly wrong In any clergyman td, recant.
mend math an one to marry, which is what I am alleged to
have refused to do. At the expiration of the two years the
lady was ;erfectly tree an before she had only her original
responm Witty to decide whether elle was called by God to a
sing e life or no. Is inch • case it would have been mere
clerical tyranny, us well se unfaithful, to have persuaded
such as one to marry against her own convictions, soil
h... been La have ner.nwiedil env one against mar-
riage if her convictioos had been toe other way Since
parents leave their children free to marry or nit to marry,
there was no querion of filial obedience. 0 I suppose that
It is added ad intialolll that the gentleman who sought her
In marriage became • Homan Catholic. In all probability,
then, the lady, had she married, would have become one
too: which I supp,.e that "3 C 0." wonti not have
thought desirable. lie word more ou the original subject
of Confession. Use who has taken so much real interest in
the moral and material welfare of the working classes as
"3. G. 0" will he glad as well as surprised to hear that
Cinfession has In many cases arrested a deeps& which, Ills
morally certain, would, U left to itself, have terminated is
Insanity or suicide.