The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

THE CLASS BOOKS AT MAYNOOTH

We are going, says the John Bull, to increase our annual
grant to Maynooth. It is, therefore, of some importance
that we should he acquainted with the quid pro quo; in
other words, with the nature of the instruction which we
pay professors of that seminary to inculcate. Drs. Mur-
ray and M'Nally, and other authorities of the Romish
Church in Ireland, have, both before a Parliamentary
Committee, and other public occasions, specified the class-
books used at Maynooth, and from which the students for
the Priesthood are instructed. One class-book specified
by Dr. Murray is Cardinal Bellarmine. From this cele-
brated controversialist's works, Book iii., c. 31, edit.
1628, "we extract the following words :
" Heretics can justly be excommunicated, and, there-
fore, put to death. Knowing that fools will not be want-
ing who may believe them, and by whom they may be
supported, if you confine them in prison, or send them
into exile, they corrupt the neighbourhood by their
speeches and books ; therefore, the only remedy is to
send them forthwith to their own place. It is often useful
to the men themselves who are put to death to die, when
it is evident they always become worse, nor is it probable
they will ever be restored to a sane mind. All these rea-
sons persuade us that heretics night to be put to death."
Another class-book used at Maynooth is the Secunda
Secundw of Aquinas. In the question ix., art. 3, p. 93
" Those heretics who continue in their error, after the
second reproof, are not only to be consigned to the sen-
tence of excommunication, but also to the secular princes
to be exterminated. If the forgers of money or other
malefactors are justly consigned to immediate death by
secular princes, much more do heretics, immediately after
they are convicted of heresy, deserve not only to be ex-
communicated, but also justly to be killed."
Now, all this may be very orthodox according to the
Roman meridian, but it is not a very pleasant prospect
for us heretics. Nor can it be expected that we shall feel
particularly comfortable in contributing our money to
teact, the young Priests of Ireland the duty and expedi-
ency of making martyrs of us. It may be very mercifully
meant on the part of these learned theologians, and it may
be very proper on our part to submit patiently to the fiery
faggot, but it does seem the very height of despotism on
the part of our Roman friends to insist on our paying
Professors to teach our fellow-countrymen the knack of
putting us to death. It is hard to make us grow our own
faggots, light the fire that, is to burn us, and pay the exe-
cutioners the price of their tuition in their craft. A third
class-book used in Maynooth, is Bailly's Moral Theo-
logy. We venture to affirm what it is easy to prove by
copious extracts, that this work is calculated to pollute
and contaminate every mind which is schooled and in-
structed in its vile prescriptions. From Vol. 11., p. 229,
the following not very delicate questions are given to the
young confessor just emancipated from Maynooth, to be
put to every female kneeling before him :

" Has not the penitent revolved some improper thoughts
in his or her mind? What kind of desire was it? Has
he or she felt unlawful passions ? And if the penitent
shall answer that he or she has had improper thoughts or
irregular desires, the confessor shall ask whether any im-
proper actions followed."
" If the penitent be a girl, she should be asked whether
she has adorned herself in order to please the men ? whe-
ther for this purpose she has used paint, or stripped her
arms, shoulders, or neck ? whether she has frequented
the churches that she might show herself in the vestibule
or window, so as to attract observation? whether she has
spoken, or read, or sung-anything immodest? whether
she is not attached to somebody with a mote. peculiar af-
fection? whether she has not permitted him to take some
liberty with her? whether she has not allowed herself to
be kissed ?—and if occasion occurs for ulterior. inquiries,
the confessor," &c., &c.
Now, these and other questions it may be very pleasant
or very orthodox for bachelor Priests to put to married
and unmarried females; but, feeling as most Protestants
do, that these queries are the suggestionv of things the
penitent may never have dreamed of, and calculated to
contaminate the springs of social and domestic purity, it
does seem hard that we should he compelled to pay men
to teach such theology, and thereby contribute with our
funds to the spread and influence of immorality. Dr.
DeViegue, another of the class-books and guides, gives
the following direction in his Tracialus de Penitentia p.
164 :

"That the very great bashfulness with which a penitent
may be suffered, from th, confession of certain sins, and
the fear lest she may suffrr in the estimation of her con-
fessor, are not sufficient causes to excuse a person from
making an entire confession. This modesty is to be over-
come, and that confession would he sacrilegious which was
cut shot t from a motive so vain:"

Such are some • f the lessons we are to pay for. Dis-
senters deerne paying towards the support of a Protestant
church. e in,y now presume they will give vent to a
torrent of indignant eloquence at the proposal to teach
the lessons, of which we have submitted a specimen or
two, to a Lirger number of persons, by contributing twice
ten thousand pounds to Maynooth. In these remarks we
have made no attempt to discuss the principle involved.
because that principle .was sacrificed in the annual grant
of XB,OOO a year; but it is surely worthy the attention of
Sir Hobert Peel,'Whether this increase of the annual grant
to Alayrfooth be not an additional incentive to teach anti-
social doctrines, destructive alike of the purity and. exist-
ence of s:miety. It is at this period that the inquiry may
be most naturally instituted. One thing we venture to
assert—that either some of the leading and most influen-
tial Protestants of Ireland, both clergy and laity, are griev-
ouscouldrevolt calumniators, or Mayoooth is a hotbed of wicked and
pestilential doctrines. The latter true, to our certain
knowledge ; and were we not afraid of polluting the minds
class
-books Protestant
otesftanitayrnecaodteirla, .
such
and horrify them.