New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-18

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| the priest that must do that. Thus the
| priests of popery dethrone the Son Of God,
rob him of his mediatorship, and by and
| through their own authority deal out or
| withhold salvation to the people. These
statements are fully sustained by the teach
| ingsS of catholicism respecting baptism.
| This ordinance is made necessary to saliva
| ted are washed away. No matter how
abandoned the person has been when bap-
| tized, even if at the point of death, he is
| saved.
| - Notice another so-called sacrament-ex-
| treme unctiOn. This is the sacrament for
| the dying, and it is held that by this any
| person dying may be saved This is SIMPLY
| ROmish superstition by which the igno-
rant are deceived and the devil insured of
! his victims. The perfect absurdity, not to
| say wickedness, of this rite will be seen
in notice of its form: '.The priest makes
| the sign of the cross three times ON the sick
person in the name of the Trinity. Then
| comes the imposition of hands, the invoca-
| ton of angels, patriarchs, prophets, apos-
ties, martyrs, confessors and virgins to ex-
! tinguish the power OF the devil and every
unolean spirit in the patients limbs,
marrow and every joint of his limbs.
! The priest then dips his thumbs
in the holy ointment and annoints
| the person in the form of cross
! on his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands and
| feet. These organs are then wiped with
cotton, and thescOtton is burned" After
this scene of superstition, balderdash and
oftentimes ipdecency, the patient hasa safe
passport toleaven .
| Penance is also considered a very i'm
portant sacrament. This consists in the in
Fiction of bodily suffering for sin, The
| penance of the Catholic Church is precisely
| the same in practice as the heathens self
torture to appease his God. e .Fi
Romanism's greatest sin respecting the
| sacraments lies in her sO-called mass, which
takes the place of the Lords Supper. The
! creed says: II. 4, f. y 4.,ll f.- .'r .re
| profess, likewise that in the mass there is
| offered to God true, propere and propitatory
sacrifice for the living and the dead, and that in
| the most holy sacrifice of the eucharist there is
truly, really and substantially the body and blood,
| together with the soul and divinity of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and that there is made conversion
OF the whole substance OF the eread INTO the body
blood; which conversion the Catholic Church calls
| Transubstantiation. fe -.-l4 o..
If there was not another article in the
Catholic creed to be criticised, this one is
| enough to brand her with complete apostacy
from the faith of the Gospel. This article
| teaches the mOnstrous absurdity of tran
substantiation, and also declares that every
| priest at sacrament makes a Precipitation
for sin. ..t..-..Is..- .--. r..- I..
By transubstantiation catholicism teaches
that by the words of the priest the bread
and wine-or wafer-are made really and
truly to be the body and blood of Christ.
This doctrine was long debated in the
church, and not until the thirteenth
century did it gain strength enough
to permit Innocent III to pro-
claim it in council as a church dogma
So absurd a superstition as this shocked
even the heather world Cretus exclaimed
christians eat their God" Il have trav-
eled the world over" said Averoes, the
Arabian philosopher, "and seen many
people, but none so scottish and ridiculous
as Christians who devour the God whom
they worship" Cicero, in his de Natura,"
speaks of christians being so demented as
. to believe what they eat is God"
But if Reconsideration may be pro-
nounced an absurd superstition, the re-
mainder of this article of religion can be
called blasphemous. 1t says THAT in the
mass there is offered TO God proper and
propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the
dead" Here is the climax of Catholic
apostacy respecting the atonement of Christ
Paul says: Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many" Again, now once in
the end of the world hath appeared Christi
to put away SIN by the sacrifice of HIMSELF
Many like statements in the Bible tell us
that Christ offered Himself on Calvary once
for all time. But the Catholic priest, in his
impious blasphemy. pretends to offer I'D
Christ at every celebration of mass. Couple
with this dogma of the Catholic teaching that
sacraments contain the thing they signify
and confer that blessing by the will OF the
will of the priest, and salvation is made to
depend simply on the eating of wafer in
the one hand and the will of the priest on
the other. And here another point must be
added-that the benefits of the sacraments
are DISTRACTED only by mortal sins. Ord-
nary sins, it is taught by popery, may be in
dulged in and yet the subject receive all the
benefits of the atonement Who can con-
ceive of more direct and blasphemous use
of the atonement of Christ! God cannot
look upon sin with the least degree of allow
ance and still the priest offers salvation IT.
respective of ordinary sins.
Such absolute and perfect surrender of
the Gospels highest and most glorious truths
to the demands of superstition and positive
wickedness may give Rome power among
the ignorant millions of earth, but they are
evidence of terrible apostacy from truth
Let now the ceremonies be recalled-her
festivals referring TO Mary and canonized
saints; her professions preceded by casting
of flowers, robed priests and burning in
cense; her snowy symbolism and parapher-
MALTA by which the eyes of the incredulous
are dazzled with earthly pomp and subdued
to earthly authority; her holy water = |
her tabernacle - her crucifix her can
dies and tapers her burning incense
in short her thousand and one !
contrivances by which to the |
world she wears bold front of pomp and |
And we can understand how |
popery palmed off its arrogance and false |
religion upon the people of the past, and |
insured a recognition of their pretensions |
among the superstitious of all ages.
The apostacy of the Catholic Church is
not confined even to unwarranted assump-
tons of authority and pervertion of Gods
truth, but extends to the teaching of posi-
tive idolatry. From the superstitious be-
lief that the Pope or priest can save or
damn man, it is but slep to idolatry.
The Pope and priest of the Catholic Church
compel hOnors from their communion due
only to God. The pope and the Lord"
says Innocent, form the tribunal, so that,
sin excepted, the Pope can do nearly all
that God can do" The Catholic canon
calls the Pope Our Lord God" "The
Emperor Constantine says Nicholas l.,
confirmed the appellation of God on the
Pope, who, being God, can not be Judged by
man. This idolatrous blasphemy is also
by and paid to priests-was
many times repeated in the late Ecumenical
Council
The idolatry of catholicism is most glar-
ngly shown in the homage paid to Virgin
Mary. In the church ceremonies she re-
,eives more attention than Christ himself
All manner of absurd and idolatrous homage
S paid her. She is called the Mother of
1od,' 'the queen of heaven" the media
rix between heaven and earth" and
refuge of sinners in direct contempt of
he Word of God. "There is one God. and
nc mediator between God and man; the
nan Christ Jesus"
What is true of Mary, is true of saints