CHAPTER
X.
God Compels the Church of Rome to Confess the
Abominations of Auricular Confession
THE Priests of Rome resort to various means in order to deceive
the people on the immorality resulting from auricular confession.
One of their favorite stratagems is to quote some disconnected
passages from theologians, recommending caution on the part of the
priest, in questioning his penitents on delicate subjects, should he
see or apprehend any danger for the latter of being shocked by his
questions. True, there are such prudent theologians, who seem to
realize more than others the real danger of the priest in
confession. But those wise counselors resemble very much a father
who would allow his child to put his fingers in the fire, while
advising him to be cautious lest he should burn those fingers. There
is just as much wisdom in the one case as there would be in the
other. What would you say of a brutal parent casting a young, weak
and inexperienced boy among wild beasts, with the foolish and cruel
expectation that his prudence might save him from injury?
Such theologians may be perfectly honest in giving such advice,
although it is anything but wise or reasonable. But those are far
from being honest or true who contend that the Church of Rome, in
commanding everyone to confess all his sins to the priests, has made
an exception in favor of sins against chastity. This is only so much
dust thrown in the eyes of Protestants and ignorant people, to
prevent them from seeing through the frightful mysteries of
confession.
When the Council of Lateran decided that every adult, of either
sex, should confess all their sins to a priest, at least once a
year, there was no exceptions made for any special class of sins,
not even for those committed against modesty or purity. And when the
Council of Trent ratified or renewed the previous decision, no
exception was made, either, of the sins in question. They were
expected and ordered to be confessed, as all other sins.
The law of both Councils is still unrepealed and binding for all
sins, without any exception. It is imperative, absolute; and every
good Catholic, man or woman, must submit to it by confessing all his
or her sins, at least once a year.
I have in my hand Butler's Catechism, approved by several bishops
of Quebec. On page 62, it reads, "that all penitents should examine
themselves on the capital sins, and confess them all, without
exception, under penalty of eternal damnation."
The celebrated controversial catechism of Rd. Stephen Keenan,
approved by all the bishops of Ireland, positively says (page 186):
"The penitent must confess all his sins."
Therefore, the young and timid girl, the chaste and modest woman,
must think of shameful deeds and fill their minds with impure ideas,
in order to confess to an unmarried man whatever they may be guilty
of, however repugnant may be to them such confession, or dangerous
to the priest who is bound to hear and even demand it. No one is
exempt from the loathsome, and often polluting task. Both priest and
penitent are required and compelled to go through the fiery ordeal
of contamination and shame. They are bound, on every particular, the
one to ask, and the other to answer, under penalty of eternal
damnation.
Such is the rigorous, inflexible law of the Church of Rome with
regard to confession. It is taught not only in works of theology or
from the pulpit, but in prayer-books and various other religious
publications. It is so deeply impressed in the minds of Romanists as
to have become a part of their religion. Such is the law which the
priest himself has to obey, and which puts his penitents at his own
discretion.
But there are husbands with a jealous disposition, who would
little fancy the idea of bachelors confessing their wives, if they
knew exactly what questions they have to answer in confession. There
are fathers and mothers who don't like much to see their daughters
alone with a man, behind a curtain, and who would certainly tremble
for their honor and virtue if they knew all the abominable mysteries
of confession. It is necessary, therefore, to keep these people, as
much as possible, in ignorance, and prevent light from reaching that
empire of darkness, the confessional. In that view, confessors are
advised to be cautious "on those matters;" to "broach these
questions in a sort of covert way, and with the greatest reserve."
For it is very desirable "not to shock modesty, neither frighten the
penitent nor grieve her. Sins, however, must be confessed."
Such is the prudent advice given to the confessor on certain
occasions. In the hands or under the command of Liguori, Father
Gury, Scavani, or other casuists, the priest is a sort of general,
sent during the night, to storm a citadel or a strong position,
having for order to operate cautiously, and before daylight. His
mission is one of darkness and violence, and cruelty; above all, it
is a mission of supreme cunning, for when the Pope commands, the
priest, as his loyal soldier, must be ready to obey; but always with
a mask or blind before him, to conceal his object. However, many a
time, after the place has been captured by dint of strategy and
secrecy, the poor soldier is left, badly wounded and completely
disabled, on the battle-field. He has paid dearly for his victory;
but the conquered citadel has also received an injury from which it
may never recover. The crafty priest has gained his point: he has
succeeded in persuading his lady penitent that there was no
impropriety, that it was even necessary for them to have a parley on
things that made her blush a few moments before. She is soon so well
convinced, that she would swear that there is nothing wrong in
confession. Truly this is a fulfillment of the words: "Abyssus
abyssum invocat," an abyss calls for another abyss.
Have the Romish theologians—Gury, Scavani, Liguori, etc—ever been
honest enough, in their works on confession, to say that the Most
Holy God could never command or require woman to degrade and pollute
herself and the priest in pouring into the ear of a frail and sinful
mortal, words unfit even for an angel? No; they were very careful
not to say so; for, from that very moment, their shameless lies
would have been exposed; the stupendous, but weak structure of
auricular confession, would fall to the ground, with sad havoc and
ruin to its unholders. Men and women would open their eyes, and see
its weakness and fallacy. "If God," they might say, "can forgive our
most grievous sins against modesty, without confessing them, He can
and will certainly do the same with those of less gravity; therefore
there is no necessity or occasion for us to confess to a
priest."
But those shrewd casuists knew too well that, by such frank
declaration, they would soon lose their bold on Catholic
populations, especially on women, by whom, through confession, they
rule the world. They much prefer to keep their grip on benighted
minds frightened consciences, and trembling souls. No wonder, then,
that they fully endorse and confirm the decisions of the councils of
Lateran and Trent, ordering "that all sins must be confessed such as
God knows them." No wonder that they try their best or worst to
overcome the natural repugnance of women for making such
confessions, and to conceal the terrible dangers for the priests in
hearing the same.
However, God, in his infinite mercy, and for the sake of truth,
has compelled the Church of Rome to acknowledge the moral dangers
and corrupting tendencies of auricular confession. In His eternal
wisdom, He knew that Roman Catholics would close their ears to
whatever might be said by the disciples of gospel truth, of the
demoralising influence of that institution; that they would even
reply with insult and fallacy to the words of truth kindly addressed
to them, just as the Jews of old returned hatred and insult to the
good Saviour who was bringing them the glad tidings of a free
salvation. He knew that Romish devotees, led astray by their
priests, would call the apostles of truth, liars, seducers,
possessed of the devil, as Christ was constantly called a demoniac,
an impostor, and finally put to death by His false accusers.
That great God, as compassionate now as He was then, for the poor
benighted and deluded souls, has wrought a real miracle to open the
eyes of the Roman Catholics, and compel them, as it were, to believe
us, when we say, on His authority, that auricular confession was
invented by Satan to ruin both the priest and his female penitents,
for time and eternity. For, what we would never have dared to say of
ourself to the Roman Catholics with regard to what frequently
happens between their priests and their wives and daughters, either
during or after confession, God has constrained the Church of Rome
to acknowledge herself, in revealing things that would have seemed
incredible, had they come simply from our mouth or our pen. In this,
as in other instances, that apostate Church has unwittingly been the
mouth-piece of God for the accomplishment of His great and merciful
ends.
Listen to the questions that the Church of Rome, through her
theologians, puts to every priest after he has heard the confession
of your wives or daughters:
1. "Nonne inter audiendas confessiones quasdam proposui
questiones circa sextum decalogi preoeceptum cum intentione
libidinosa? (Miroir du Clerge, p. 582.)
"While hearing confessions, have I not asked questions on sins
against the sixth (seventh in the Decalogue) commandment, with the
intention of satisfying my evil passions?"
Such is the man, O mothers and daughters, to whom you dare to
unbosom the most secret, as well as the most shameful actions. You
kneel down at his feet and whisper in his ear your most intimate
thoughts and desires, and your most polluting deeds; because your
church, by dint of cunning and sophistry, has succeeded in
persuading you that there was no impropriety or danger in doing so;
that the man whom you choose for your spiritual guide and confident,
could never be tempted or tainted by such foul recitals. But that
same Church, through some mysterious providence, is made to
acknowledge, in her own books, her own lies. In spite of herself,
she admits that there is real danger in confession, both for the
woman and for the priest; that willingly or otherwise, and sometimes
both unawares, they lay for each other dangerous snares. The Church
of Rome, as if she had an evil conscience for allowing her priest to
hold such close and secret converse with a woman, on such delicate
subjects, keeps, as it were, a watchful eye on him, while the poor
misguided woman is pouring in his ear the filthy burden of her soul;
and as soon as she is off, questions the priest as to the purity of
his motives, the honesty of his intentions in putting the requisite
questions. "Have you not," she asks him immediately, "under the
pretence of helping that woman in her confession, put to her certain
questions simply in order to gratify your lust, and with the object
of satisfying your evil propensities?"
2. "Nonne munus audiendi confessiones suscepi, aut veregi ex
prava incontinentioe appettentia (Idem, p. 582.) "Have I not
repaired to the confessional and heard confessions with the
intention of gratifying my evil passions? (Miroir du Clerge, p.
582.)
O ye women! who tremble like slaves at the feet of the priests,
you admire the patience and charity of those good (?) priests, who
are willing to spend so many long and tedious hours in hearing the
confession of your secret sins; and you hardly know how to express
your gratitude for so much kindness and charity. But, hush, listen
to the voice of God speaking to the conscience of the priest,
through the Church of Rome!
"Have you not," she asks him, "heard the confession of women
simply to foster or gratify the grovelling passions of your fallen
nature and corrupt heart?"
Please notice, it is not I, or the enemies of your religion, who
put to your priests the above questions; it is God Himself, who, in
His pity and compassion for you, compels your own Church to ask such
questions; that your eyes may be opened, and that you may be rescued
from all the dangerous obscenities and the humiliating and degrading
slavery of auricular confession. It is God's will to deliver you
from such bondage and degradation. In His tender mercies He has
provided means to drag you out of that cesspool, called confession;
to break the chains which bind you to the feet of a miserable and
blasphemous sinner called confessor, who, under the pretence of
being able to pardon your sins, usurps the place of your Saviour and
your God! For while you are whispering your sins in his ear, God
says to him through his Church, in tones loud enough to be heard:
"In hearing the confession of these women, are you not actuated by
lust, spurred by evil passions?"
Is this not sufficient to warn you of the danger of auricular
confession? Can you now, with any sense of safety or propriety, come
to that priest, for whom your very confession may be a snare, a
cause of fall or fearful temptation? Can you, with a particle of
honor or modesty, willingly expose yourself to the impure desires of
your confessors? Can you, with any sort of womanly dignity, consent
to entrust that man with your inmost thoughts and desires, your most
humiliating and secret actions, when you know from your own Church's
lips, that that man may not have any higher object in listening to
your confession than a lustful curiosity, or a sinful desire of
exciting his evil passions?
3. "Nonne ex auditis in confessione occasionem sumpsi
poenitentes utriusque sexus ad peccandum sollicitandi?" (Idem,
p. 582.)
"Have I not availed myself of what I heard in confession to
induce my penitents of both sexes to commit sin?"
I would run a great risk of being treated with the utmost
contempt, should I dare to put to your priests such a question. You
would very likely call me a scoundrel, for daring to question the
honesty and purity of such holy men. You would, perhaps, go as far
as to contend that it is utterly impossible for them to be guilty of
such sins as are alluded to in the above question; that never such
shameful deeds have been perpetrated through confession. And you
would, maybe, emphatically deny that your confessor has ever said or
done anything that might lead you to sin or even commit any breach
of propriety or modesty. You feel perfectly safe on that score, and
see no danger to apprehend.
Let me tell you, good ladies, that you are altogether too
confident, and thus you are kept in the most fatal delusion. Your
own Church, through the merciful and warning voice of God speaking
to the conscience of your own theologians, tells you that there is a
real and imminent danger, where you fancy yourself in perfect
security. You may never have suspected the danger, but it is there,
within the walls of the confessional; nay, more, it is lurking in
your very hearts, and that of your confessor. He may hitherto have
refrained from tempting you; he may, at least, have kept within the
proper limits of outward morality or decency. But nothing warrants
you that he may not be tempted; and nothing could shield you from
his attempts on your virtue, should he give way to temptation, as
cases are not wanting to prove the truth of my assertion. You are
sadly mistaken in a false and dangerous security. You are, although
unawares, on the very brink of a precipice, where so many have
fallen through their blind confidence in their own strength, or
their confessor's prudence and sanctity. Your own Church is very
anxious about your own safety; she trembles for your innocence and
purity. In her fear, she cautions the priest to be watchful over his
wicked passions and human frailty. How dare you pretend to be
stronger and more holy than your confessor is in the mind of your
own Church? Why should you so wilfully imperil your chastity or
modesty? Why expose yourself to danger, when it could be so easily
avoided? How can you be so rash, so devoid of common prudence and
modesty as to shamelessly put yourselves in a position to tempt and
be tempted, and thereby incur your temporal and eternal
perdition?
4. "Nonne extra tribunal, vel, in ipso confess
ionis
actu, aliuqia dixi aut egi cum Intenticne diabolica has personas
seducendi?" (Idem, idem).
"Have I not, either during or after confession, done or said
certain things with a diabolical intention of seducing my female
patients?"
"What arch enemy of our holy religion is so bold and impious as
to put to our saintly priests such an impudent and insulting
question?" may ask some of our Roman Catholic readers. It is easy to
answer. This great enemy of your religion is no less than a justly
offended God, admonishing and reproving your priests for exposing
both you and themselves to dangerous allurements and seductions. It
is His voice speaking to their consciences, and warning them of the
danger and corruption of auricular confession. It says to them:
Beware! for ye might be tempted, as surely you will be, to do or say
something against honor and purity.
Husbands and fathers! who rightly value the honor of your wives
and daughters more than all treasures, who consider it too precious
a boon to be exposed to the dangers of pollution, and who would
prefer to lose your life a thousand times, than to see those you
love most on earth fall in the snares of the seducer, read once more
and ponder what your Church asks the priest, after he has heard your
wife and daughter in confession: "Have you not, either during or
after confession, done or said something with a diabolical intention
of seducing your female patients?"
If your priest remains deaf to these words addressed to his
conscience, you cannot help giving heed to them and understanding
their full significance. You cannot be easy and fear nothing from
that priest in those close interviews with your wives and daughters,
when his superiors and your own Church tremble for him, and question
his purity and honesty. They see a great danger for both the
confessor and his penitent; for they know that confession has, many
a time, been the pretence of the cause of the most shameful
seductions.
If there were no real danger for the chastity of women, in
confessing to a man their most secret sins, do you believe that your
popes and theologians would be so stupid as to acknowledge it, and
put to confessors questions that would be most insulting and out of
place, should there be no occasion for them?
Is it not presumption and folly, on your part, to think that
there is no danger, when the Church of Rome tells you, positively,
that there is danger, and uses the strongest terms in expressing her
uneasiness and apprehension?
Why! your Church sees the most pressing reasons to fear for the
honor of your wives and daughters, as well as for the chastity of
her priests; and still you remain unconcerned, indifferent to the
fearful peril to which they are exposed! Are you like the Jewish
people of old, to whom it was said: "Hear ye indeed, but understand
not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not?" (Isa. vi. 9).
But if you see or suspect the danger you are warned of; if the
eye of your intelligence can fathom the dreadful abyss where the
dearest objects of your heart are in danger of falling, then it
behooves you to keep them from the paths that lead to the fearful
chasm. Do not wait till it is too late, when they are too near the
precipice to be rescued. You may think the danger to be far off,
while it is near at hand. Profit by the sad experience of so many
victims of confession who have been irretrievably lost,
irrecoverably ruined for time and eternity. The voice of your
conscience, of honor, of God Himself, tells you that it may soon
become too late to save them from destruction, through your neglect
and procrastination. While thanking God for having preserved them
from temptations that have proved fatal to so many married or
unmarried women, do not lose a single moment in taking the necessary
means to keep them from temptation and falls.
Instead of allowing them to go and kneel at the feet of a man to
obtain the remission of their sins, lead them to the dying Saviour's
feet, the only place where they can secure pardon and peace
everlasting. And why, after so many unfruitful attempts, should they
try any longer to wash themselves in a puddle, when the pure waters
of eternal life are offered them so freely through Christ Jesus,
their only Saviour and Mediator?
Instead of seeking their pardon from a poor and miserable sinner,
weak and tempted as they are, let them go to Christ, the only strong
and perfect man, the only hope and salvation of the world.
O poor deluded Catholic women! listen no longer to the deceiving
words of the Church of Rome, who has no pardon, no peace for you,
but only snares; who offers you thraldom and shame in return for the
confession of your sins! But listen rather to the invitations of
your Saviour, who has died on the cross, that you might be saved;
and who, alone, can give rest to your weary souls.
Hearken to His words, when He says to you: "Come unto Me, O ye
heavily laden, crushed, as it were, under the burden of your sins,
and I shall give you rest. . . I am the Physician of your souls. . .
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick. . . Come, then, to Me, and ye shall be healed. . . I have not
sent back nor lost any who have come to Me. . . invoke My name. . .
believe in Me. . . repent. . . love God, and your neighbor as
yourself, and you shall be saved. . . For all who believe in Me and
call upon My name, shall be saved. . . .When I am raised up between
heaven and earth, I shall draw every one to Me. . . ."
Oh, mothers and daughters, instead of going to the priest for
pardon and salvation, go to Jesus, who is so pressingly inviting
you! and the more so as you have more need of divine help and grace.
Even, if you are as great a sinner as Mary Magdalene, you can, like
her, wash the feet of the Saviour with the flowing tears of your
repentance and your love, and like her, receive the pardon of your
sins.
To Jesus, then, and to Him alone, go for the confession and
pardon of your sins; for there, only, you can find peace, light, and
life for time and eternity!