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CAUSES OF THE REVIVAL OF POPERY.

To the Editor of the Protestant Magazine.

THE revival of Popery after the power of the Pope, as a political sovereign, seemed to be so completely cut down, and prostrated by Buonaparte, is certainly very extraordinary. It may be instructive to consider what human means have been made instrumental in producing this revival. No doubt, the first and chief of these was the fatal Emancipation Act (as it is called) of 1829. By that disastrous measure, Great Britain laid down her protest and betrayed her trust, as the guardian of the fortress of Christianity, which this nation, up to that time, might be considered to be. It must be remarked, too, that the introduction of the heresy of Puseyism into our Church, and the repudiation of the doctrines of the Reformation by many of our clergy, with the apostasy of several to Rome, have all been consequent upon that lamentable event.

Another cause of this revival of Popery may be found in the general indifference among the people to the cause of true religion, and therefore a total absence of that indignation against Popery which prevailed to such a height in the reign of James II., that that bigotted monarch was compelled to abdicate his throne, exclaiming that even his own children had forsaken him. This indifference to the truth may be attributed to the increased intercourse betwixt this country and the Continent, as well as to that great luxury and dissoluteness of morals which are too frequently the consequence of national prosperity, such as, under the blessing of God, we have enjoyed to an unprecedented degree beyond all other nations.

Another cause is, that those courts of Europe which favoured the principles of the Reformation at the outset have now withdrawn their protection, and become quite lukewarm in the matter. We hear now of no champions of the Protestant cause, like the Elector of Saxony, among the rulers of this world, or among men in high and influential stations. Nay, it is to be feared that some of the descendants of the great families who distinguished themselves by supporting the Reformation are now pursuing an opposite line of conduct.

But it is chiefly by the aid of Infidelity that this revival of Popery may be said to have been effected. We seem to live in days in which, according to the prophetic words of our blessed Lord and Saviour, 'iniquity abounds, and the love of many has waxed cold." Infidelity is alarmingly prevalent, and in many modified forms. One of these is modern Liberalism. This form has now unhappily become quite fashionable in England, and in other states and countries which once were decidedly Protestant and opposed to Romanism. In this melancholy desertion of principle England is now taking the lead in her Councils and her Parliaments. Infidelity is the natural ally of Popery. Indeed they both spring from the same parent and the same Satanic source. Infidelity is always found assisting Popery by political means, at least in England, and it is in this way that the latter has acquired of late years such a powerful ascendancy in the councils of this nation. The Infidel and Liberal press, too, are all engaged in the service of Popery. In former times, literature and the public press, and the VOL. IX.-March, 1847. New Series, No. 15.

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diffusion of knowledge were always supposed to aid the cause of truth, freedom, and Christianity. But, alas! they are now almost all employed for purposes quite the reverse, and that to a grievous and 'unbounded extent.

Would that it were possible to stop here, in reviewing the causes which have produced this revival of Popery. But we fear that the Dissenters, who in the time of the Commonwealth were so zealously opposed to it, are now, in the most infatuated manner, actually advancing its progress, by espousing the cause of modern Liberalism in preference and to the prejudice of the cause of Christianity. The violence of their party spirit, and their hatred of the Established Church, seem to predominate over every better feeling. When we see a body of Christians adopting a course of conduct so injurious to the interests of the Church of Christ at a momentous crisis like the present, we cannot forbear exclaiming, with mingled emotions of grief and indignation, Shame-shame-shame!

AN OLD MEMBER.

ROMISH COLLEGE AT OSCOTT.

I OBSERVE from the public prints, that on Sunday, the 7th of February instant, another pervert to Popery, Mr. Walter Buckle, of Exeter College, Oxford, was received at Oscott College into the Romish Church by Dr. Wiseman.

Now, Mr. Editor, I beg to ask of you, whether during one of the Reform Administrations this very Romish College of Oscott was not sanctioned by a Royal Warrant? I think you will find the fact noticed in one of the numbers of the "Protestant Magazine," now of course some time ago.

[This College is now aggregated to the London University.ED. P. M.]

NATIONAL SINS AND NATIONAL PUNISHMENT.

IN ordinary matters, it is dangerous and presumptuous to interpret, with a direct application, what may well be broadly deemed God's judgments. But the present is no ordinary matter. God, as the moral Governor of the world, has been daringly insulted by the successive acts of our Legislature: and evil has promptly and enduringly followed each act. We may, peradventure, err in directly connecting the evil with the insult: but still, if it be a mistake, we cannot err in our endeavour to extract wisdom from even a supposed connexion of cause and effect.*

There seems to be a very general impression, that the present calamity is a judgment from God: though there may be a difference of opinion as to the special sin which has called down this judgment. In the wonderful course of God's Providence, good frequently springs from evil. I have been credibly informed, that, among the lower classes of the Irish Papists, a persuasion is gaining ground, that the calamity is a judgment upon the wickedness of their priests, for cursing Protestants from their polluted altars, and for denouncing all who presume to read the Bible. The result of this belief is, I am told, that doors are now opened to the visits of Protestants, which were previously shut against them.

PETITIONS.

THE Committee of the Protestant Association have adopted the two following petitions, forms of which may be had at the Office.

PETITION FOR THE REPEAL OF THE MAYNOOTH ENDOWMENT ACT.

To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom, &c., &c. The Petition of

HUMBLY SHEWETH

That your Petitioners, recognising the Holy Scriptures as the only unerring standard of faith and practice, and convinced by the testimony of the Word of God, that the doctrines of the Church of Rome, exemplified in its general practice and teaching, are "superstitious and idolatrous," opposed to the best interests of society, and to the welfare and salvation of immortal souls, must regard all support and countenance of such a system by the State, as a national sin, and calculated to bring down the judgments of God upon this professedly Protestant country.

That they cannot but consider the "Act for the permanent Endowment of the Romish College of Maynooth," which was passed in the session of Parliament for the year 1845, as a participation in the guilt of idolatry, a dereliction from the principles of the British Constitution, and a violence done to the conscientious convictions of all true Protestants.

That your Petitioners would respectfully remind your Honourable House, that the Homilies, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, severally protest in the strongest language against the Antichristian doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome,-which protest the Bishops and Clergy are, by their ordination vows, bound to uphold.

That of the Thirty-nine Articles, no less than nineteen are expressly directed against those doctrines and practices, and that one of them expressly declares, that the sacrifices of Masses are "blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits," and that in the Prayer-book it is asserted that the doctrine of Transubstantiation, involves " Idolatry to be abhorred of all faithful Christians."

And lastly, they would further remind your Honourable House of the solemn obligation entered into, not only by some of the present and late members of the Queen's Government, but by the Sovereign herself, in the Declaration against Transubstantiation, of which the following is a copy :

30 CHAS. II., ST. 2.

"I, Á. B., do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare that I do believe that in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever; And that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by Euglish Protestants, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever, and without any dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope, or any other

authority, or person whatsoever, or without any hope of any such dispensation from any person or authority whatsoever, or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration or any part thereof, although the Pope or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, should dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void from the beginning."

That your Petitioners, deeply pained by the present state of Ireland, feel that the present distress there, may be regarded as a national punishment for the national guilt of supporting Popery.

That your Petitioners, therefore, on every ground of principle, policy, and consistency, humbly implore your Honourable House to repeal the Act for the permanent Endowment of Maynooth College, and to withdraw every kind of national support and encouragement, which has been heretofore given to the Church of Rome,

And your Petitioners, &c.

** In Petitions to the House of Lords, the words "the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal” must be substituted for “ the Honourable the House of Commons," and "your Right Honourable House" for "your Honourable House."

PETITION AGAINST FURTHER CONCESSIONS TO POPERY.

To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled.

SHEWETH

The humble Petition of

That your Petitioners have heard, with deep regret and alarm, of a Bill now before your Honourable House, having for its object to repeal, amongst others, certain provisions which were enacted by their ancestors, not for the purpose of religious persecution, but to protect the Crown, the judicature, and the people of this country from the influence and dominion of the Court, or Church of Rome.

Your Petitioners would venture to remind your Honourable House of the distractions and divisions which were created in this country in former times, by the political principles and treasonable practices of the Papacy, and that in the present day, the spiritual power of the Court, or Church of Rome, unaltered in its tenets and principles, is exercised for temporal objects, and has been arrayed in more than one instance, against the power of the State.

Your Petitioners would further desire to draw attention to the fact, that various laws against the interference of the Church or Court of Rome, were enacted at a time when the Sovereign, the Church, and the people of this country were Roman Catholic, and that some such laws are still more requisite to protect the Institutions of a Protestant country.

Your Petitioners earnestly entreat your Honourable House, that

before any alterations are made affecting the Oath of Supremacy,— and other protective provisions, especially those of an Act, passed in the 10th of George IV., entitled, "An Act for the Relief of His Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects,"-prohibiting public Romish processions—the assumption, by Roman Catholics, of the titles of Protestant Archbishops, Bishops, and other dignitaries—the appearance of Romish ecclesiastics in public processions-in the dress of their order-and the institution of Jesuit and other monastic orders bound by religious vows— -Your Honourable House will be pleased to appoint a Committee of Inquiry, directed to ascertain what are the real principles, tenets, and doctrines of the Church of Rome, and how far they are compatible with the principles of the British Constitution, and the peace, safety, and prosperity of this great empire.

And your Petitioners will ever pray, &c.

* In Petitions to the House of Lords, the words "the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal" must be substituted for "the Honourable the House of Commons," and "your Right Honourable House "for" your Honourable House."

CONVERSIONS FROM POPERY. TRANSUBSTANTIATION-IDOLATRY-THE

ONE MEDIATOR-THE CONFESSIONAL.

WHILST Some are intent upon fettering the chains of Popery upon Ireland, many Roman Catholics, both lay and clerical, are renouncing the errors of the great apostasy, and becoming obedient to the faith. (Acts vi. 7.)

The following letter is addressed by one of the converts received into the ancient Church of Ireland, in St. Audeon's Church, Dublin, on the 3d of January, 1847 :—

"To the Roman Catholics of Kanturk, County of Cork.

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My Dear Friends,-You are no doubt aware of the step which I thought it my duty to take in leaving my native place, and of my intentions to renounce for ever the abominations of the Church of Rome-a dreadful act, no doubt, in your eyes, and perhaps a cause of sorrow to some of you. While I was among you, a feeling of kindness and affection, always existed between us, that I now wish to renew; and as an earnest of my sincerity, I submit to your consideration the reasons which actuated me in withdrawing from a Church, of

which I was once a steadfast member. I am induced to address you, not only that I may repel misrepresentation, but also manifest a regard for the salvation of your immortal souls. I well know that some of you are in your hearts disgusted with a system which makes you the veriest slaves the glorious path which I have chosen on earth, and that you would follow for myself, were you not prevented by a fear of persecution; for Popery and persecution are synonymous terms. Alas, my friends, the glorious tidings of salvation, which are to be found only in the Book of Life, have not penetrated your souls, and until you study that divine book, which your priests so studiously withhold from you, I fear you will not have the moral courage to fly from the unholy Church of Rome. I was once as blind as any of you, and, indeed, more bigotted and infuriate than any member of my family. My blind zeal carried me so far, that I detested the very name of Protestant; but, thanks be to him whose heavenly doctrine I now maintain, the cloud of darkness has vanished, and I am able to see salvation through my Redeemer only. I hope you will digest and read with attention the following stubborn

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