The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-06-15 00:00:00

Drpool, as the stmpl

and gross idolatries practised in
les of ancient Greece and Rome. I
11 upon the difference between the simple
t used to be performed by a single priest,
would-be imposing service called "high mass,"
vhere now-a-days ; but would just
that Dr. Cahill may talk as he pleases

•
batikingi the kneeling, the curtseying,' And: the kissing
exhibited in this service—a service that requires as much
rehearsal to put it effectually within the area of the altar
railings, as is required by a new play when put upon the
stage for the first time. My object, however, in this
letter, is chiefly to draw your attention to the adoration
now paid to the Virgin Mary, which most certainly was
not given to her in England a quarter of a century ago.
In those days, the evening service in Roman Catholic
chapels consisted in the singing of " Vespers," (a selection
from the Psalms,) followed by a suitable discourse from
the pulpit. Now, the service used is called the " Bene-
diction," the principal part of which consists in singing a
long Litany to the Virgin, in which she is addressed by
every conceivable name, from " Queen of Heaven" to
"Tower of Ivory," Should this be omitted, the " Rosary
of Mary" takes its place, in which she is even more
distinctly worshipped than in the singing of the Litany;
proving very clearly to my mind. that English Popery, by
its contact with Irish and Ultramontane Popery, is
becoming every day more and more Marian, less and
less Christian. But it is possible that my opinion in this
matter may carry little weight, and that some of the
old-school Roman Catholics who had the good fortune to
escape being taught Mariolatry in their youth may not
credit my assertion regarding the doctrines now held by
their church. For this emergency, however, I am pro-
vided with ample proofs. In the Dublin Telegraph
published last week, a letter appeared from a 2,1 r.
M'Ewan, a recent convert to Popery, and late master of
a Protestant school in this town, who may be fairly sup-
posed to have received the faith in its very latest form ;
and as he is a man of some education, he is, of course,
capable of correctly understanding the instructions given
him. This writer expresses himself in the following
manner :—" I am an humble adorer of Jesus and Mary."
And, again, he says :—" I went like a little child, putting
aside what worldly learning I possessed, and threw myself
at the feet of Jesus and Mary." But as a further proof
that Mary worship was not practised by English Roman
Catholics twenty years ago, and that it has been gradually
gaining ground in the interval, until now, when it may be
said to have obtained its zenith, I would refer you to a
letter published a fortnight ago in the Catholic Standard,
which shows, that notwithstanding the reading of rosaries
and singing of litanies, they were still considered short-
coming in their idolatry—so much so, that a missionary
(Dr. Gentili) was despatched from Rome for the express
purpose of instructing the English priests (not the people)
in the correct worship of Mary; and the leading dogma
of this Romish doctor was, that in the " Communion,"
the faithful received not only the body, blood, soul, and
divinity of Jesus, but the body, blood, soul, and, I
suppose, divinity, of Mary likewise. At present I add
no more, but remain one who, although no bigot, cannot
shut his eyes to the fact, that the Roman Catholicism of
the present day is not what it was some years ago, and
that it is now well calculated to excite, and, to a certain
extent, is worthy of, the extreme disapprobation with
which the British people generally regard it.
June 12, 1552. SENEX.