The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-11-06
REV. SLATTERY'S LECTURE
EX-ROMISH PRIEST DENOUNCES
BITTERLY THE PRIESTHOOD.


Abuses Spoken of and Explained-The
Enclosed Convents-A Peculiar Decree of
the Council of Trent-Treatment of i
Priest Who Left the Order-Ideas on the
Public School Question.
Warner hall was filled last evening
with an intelligent audience to hear
Rev. Joseph Slattery of Boston, an eX-
priest of the Roman Catholic church
and at present a Baptist minister, speak
on the subject why Left the Roman
Catholic Priesthood and What l Saw
Therein" Mr.. slattery is over six feet
tall, finely proportioned, and is fine
speaker being possessed with a voice
of great power and tinctured with a
brogue pleasant to hear.
In opening his lecture he said that he
was born in Ireland in March, 1857, at
tended the Catholic seminary of Linn
erick and the theological college at
Thurles, Ireland, and was admitted to
the priesthood in 1880. Rev. Mr.. Stat
terry said that to change ones religion
is a serious matter and is justifiable
only under three conditions, namely
that he believes that by changing his
religion he may be enabled to know
more about God; that he may learn
more of Gods truths, and that he may
have more liberty in practicing Gods
truths. One reared in the Romish
church knows enough about the pope,
but little about God, and in following
the pope of Rome there is no liberty in
practicing Gods truths. The theology
taught in a Catholic college is entirely
different from that taught in Protes-
tant colleges. The teachings are chiefly
so-called moral teachings, but are real
ly the most immoral possible. There is
not a single human weakness which is
not described in every detail in the So
called moral books of Catholic colleges.
1t is so vile, so immoral that if trans
lated into English from the Latin and
published the man who did so would
be behind the bars for distributing OBJ
scene literature. What if the theology
of Protestant divinity schools could not
be published in the English language!
This is exactly what the Roman church
is doing. Men studying for the priest
hood are bound to study such books,
and it is time to demand that they be
destroyed. One of the teachings of
these books is on matrimony, and what
do celibate priests want to know about
matrinony if not concerning other
mems wives? The Protestant man who
marries Catholic woman is to be pit
led Candidates for admission to Cath
Ole colleges are not examined on phil
osophy, but on these so-called morals
of the church, and if they are found
deficient in this respect they are com
PEELED to study them twelve months
longer.
Mr.. Slattery then said that he was
and was confirmed by Archbishop
Croke. For three years he was priest
in Dublin and while there learned that
priests in America were still more I'M
scrupulous than those in Ireland, and
Archbishop Croke of Cashel said that
when any Of his students went to Amer
lea to take parishes he did not wish
them to return. They were too much
tainted even to be tolerated by the Irish
Catholic clergy, something hard to be-
lieve. People in the Catholic church
have no voice in the church polity, but
are subservient in every detail to the
mandates of the pope. After three years
in Dublin Mr.. Slattery was transferred
and finally was sent to take charge of
Carmelite enclosed convent. There
the nuns were confined behind closed
iron bars, and when he went in to speak
to the Lady superior she was behind
thick iron bars and a wall of thick per-
forated zinc, through which the CONVEX
sation was carried on. When girls en-
ter these enclosed converts they are
never again permitted to see the faces
of their parents or of any one else, not
even a nun, except that of the priest in
charge. They receive the communion
through the bars, and this communion
instead of being symbolical of the body
and blood of Christ, they are led to be
lieve is the real body and blood of
Christ.
Mr. Slattery showed the form in which
this is administered. He exhibited
TOuHu WILLY ulShoy WIllCll Tie IlulS are
told are a part of the real body of
Christ These same practices exist in
America, and the people who did so
much to free the southern negro should
demand that every convent in the coun-
try be opened to government inspection
Mr.. Slattery then said that the cause
of his leaving the priesthood was that
when he came to take charge of the
religious services of q certain convent
in Ireland part of his duty was to give
lectures to the young ladies, and this
necessitated extra study, in the course
of which he one day found a peculiar
doctrine promulgated by the Council
ofof Trent. This is that unless the
priest who baptizes a child has good
intentions the child can never partake
of the seven sacred sacraments of the
Catholic church. These sacraments are
baptism, confirma ton, the eucharist,
extreme JUNCTION, holy orders, penance
and matrimony. AS he read this and
that he had been baptized when
only two years of age he wondered what
were the intentions of the priest who
baptized him, and whether if the
priests intentions were not good wheth-
er he could ever be saved He proposed
the question to a conference of priests