CATHOLICS ARE SPIRITUALISTS.
By M. C. W.
THE tenth of this month we had the privilege (or misfortune) to listen to a lecture, on the "Relation of Man to the Spirit World," by the Rev. Father Rooney, in the Church of St. Dominic, San Francisco. He stated that the angels had a connection and communication with this earth, as did also the saints who had died; that modern Spiritualism was of the devil, and should be called "Spiritism" instead of "Spiritualism;" that the only true Spiritualists were the Roman Catholics. The only difference he made was this, that modern Spiritualists professed to call spirits at their will, which could only be the spirits of devils, while Roman Catholics believed that the good spirits of angels and dead saints came to man at the command of God. But the query arose in our minds, What is there in the Roman Catholic view to prevent all Romanists from joining the vast and increasing body of Spiritualists? Nothing. The Bible declares that "the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9), that "his sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not" (Job 14), that "his thoughts perish" in death (Ps. 146), and many other such like declarations. Then those spirits who appear to devout Roman Catholics, professing to be the spirit of St. Peter, or Paul, or Simeon, or Bridget, or Patrick, or Mary, are lying spirits. Satan "is transformed into an angel of light." 2 Cor. 11:14. Those who worship the dead or sacrifice to the dead, sacrifice to devils. 1 Cor. 10:20; Ps. 106:28, 36, 37. And when these lying spirits come in these guises, and deceive by these guises, what is there to hinder their deceiving as to who sent them? Nothing. They will say, "God sent us," and the devotee is deceived. But he who cleaves to the truth will bring every spirit "to the law and to the testimony;" and if they speak not according to that, they are in darkness and not light. Spiritualists and Roman Catholics will yet unite. Our safety is to depart from both.