The Sale of Relics

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Nov 24, 1910

The Sale of Relics

THE Roman Church has for centuries attributed great virtue to dead men's bones. If some church or monastery could possess some relic of a supposed saint, it was considered a happy possession indeed. If the relics of the dead should possess potency, why should not the same power attach to the living? Thus evidently has one of the present Pope's attendants reasoned in gathering up the shorn locks of Pius X, and carrying on a very lucrative business in selling them to the faithful. It is reported that he has made a snug little sum, principally from the foreign visitors to Rome. According to current reports, he confessed to this practise, and has been discharged from his position. Solomon says that “a live dog is better than a dead lion.” It is apparent that this grave offender reasoned that if the relics of dead men were so potent, the locks of a living Pope would be even more efficacious. Accepting his premises, we must admit his conclusion. He certainly was acting a consistent part, considering the beliefs and practices of Rome.