p. 19 | The “Secret Recesses” of Rome by W. A. Colcord

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 23, 1906

The “Secret Recesses” of Rome

By W. A. Colcord

Under the heading, “Old Prison Cells Found in the Vatican,” the following cablegram from Rome, dated August 4, was published in the Washington Sunday Times of August 5:—

“Interesting discoveries have been made in the Vatican during an examination of the buildings, which are showing signs of decay. A secret prison has been found between the garret and the roof of the Sistine Chapel. These cells, which resemble the famous Piombi of Venice, are supposed to have been a place of confinement for recalcitrant cardinals and other high ecclesiastics who offended the popes of olden times. Through long disuse the situation of the prison had been forgotten, but it is

known that such cells existed, and that single one or two cardinals died in them. They are not exactly luxurious, and are decidedly cramped in size.”

This bit of news vividly recalls the following closing paragraph of chapter thirty-five of “Great Controversy:” —

“God’s Word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage-ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the Word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.”

If, unbeknown to the outside world, the papacy has all these years had “a secret prison,” where, in the past, were punished and imprisoned recalcitrant cardinals and offending ecclesiastics, right in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the home of the popes itself, it ought not to be a matter of great surprise to any one if in many of its churches, cathedrals, and massive structures in other parts of the world she has “secret recesses” which, in the future, will be used for the imprisonment and punishment of those who are regarded by the popes as heretics and offenders.

W. A. Colcord.