The Northern Guardian. — 1897-12-16 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

LECTURE ON PURGATORY.  "A peep into Purgatory" was the subject of Mr Thos. G. Reed's third lecture, which he delivered at the Free Trade Hall, West Hartlepool, last night. The chair was occupied by Mr O. Baker, and there was a fairly large audience. In the course of his le ture, Mr Reed asked and answered the following questions: —What is Purgatory? Where is it? Who goes there? What do they suffer when they get there? Could we help them, and how? He was well supplied with Homan Catholic books on their own faith, and quoted largely freer them. Purgatory was thecribed as a passage from earth to heaven, when spirits suffered for sins until they were liberated , to go to heaven; but they might go to the priest and ask him to hurry matters. Accordine. to a ' Roman Catholic authority, "it was the common j opinion of the doctrines of the Church that Purgatoryis in the bowels of the earth." "Is that j the sort of geography you are taught at school?" asked Mr Reed, amidst laughter. Having shown I that Roman Catholic teachers frequently differ j from each other, Mr Reed asked how were they to get truth from a system that doctored its own doctors? Roman Catholics taught You mud not read Protestant books; you must not do any- j thing to harm an unborn intent, even to save its mother's life." A single venial sin was sufficient 1 to consign a person to Purgatory. The suffrage was even more than all the torments arising from bodily disease combined; and another Roman Catholic authority stated that it was "true material fire.' As to the period of time spent in Purgatory, authorities differed, some making it out to be as many ae hun&eds of' years, and many until the day of judgment. Mr Reed denounced the idea of helping souls out of Purgatory by penance. He did not see how hammering their 11 bodies here was going to help souls in Purgatory. (Laughter). One Roman Catholic writer stated ' that young ladies frequently spent large sums of money on dress, or parents spent prodigally on I their children, while their near relations were suffering in the flames of Purgatory. "What, a , pathetic appeal,'" exclaimed. Mr Reed, "to get hold ,(..t the silver and gold:" (Laughtee). The lecturer humorously told a tale of a horse and trap being given to get the soul of a murdered man out of Purgatory, while the murderer escaped. He would rather have given the horse as a reward to the officers of the law for tracing the criminal. (Laughter). He would much rather give a Is to a man in need of food than to a priest who could not say how far it had helped souls in Purgatory. If priests could get souls out of Purgatory, they ought to let them all out that night. (Laughter). If they could and would 11 not, they were cruel, inhuman monsters. (Ai,. I plausel. Replying to a number of questions, Mr Reed said he did not believe in "a third place.' Paradise might be some place in heaven, and Hades might be the vestibule of hell. He believed the good and the bad were separated at death, but did not receive either their full reward or punishment until the great day. To the Christian, there was a heaven revealed. He would not say spirits did or did not appear to people on this earth; but he thought the weight of evidence was against the belief. To a question as to which of his three wives a man would have in heaven, Mr Reed replied with the answer that Christ gave to a similar question. As to the , immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, he ;- denied it, but admitted the immaculate conception of Christ. As to repentance in the next world, he said it was a tremendous risk for people to run to believe that they would have better chances of repentance in the next world. They might have greater capacity and opportunities for sinning. The lecturer was frequently applauded luring his lecture; and the meeting, which was most orderly throughout, was brought to a close by a vote of thanks to the chairman.