Condition of the City of the Popes.
Listen to Kirwan. “Nor, sir, is there any security for property in Rome! It is constantly confiscated on the merest pretexts, to the Church, and when not confiscated it is alienated to the ‘Holy See’ in a variety of ways. Two instances, in proof of this were narrated to me there, and by a man of high position. A Roman of wealth married a lady of foreign birth, and by whom he had a large family of children. After a life of love and harmony, he died, leaving his property to his widow and children, duly authenticated. Although regardless of the priests in health, he sent for one when dying, who confessed him, and anointed him, and fixed him off for purgatory or paradise. A few days after his death, that priest swore before the tribunal having jurisdiction in such cases, that the dying man confessed to him a great sin, and to atone for which he wished his entire property, contrary to his will, to go to the Church, and on the oath of that priest the will of the deceased was set aside, his property was turned into the treasury of the Church, and his widow and children were turned out penniless upon the mercy of the world. Thus nothing is necessary to deprive any family in Rome that has lost its head, of its property, but the oath of a priest; and if you had seen them in crowds, as I have, you would conclude, as I have, that it would be an easy matter to get a priest in Rome that would swear anything. Absolution from perjury that enriches the Church is easily secured. “Nor sir, is there any religion in Rome. I do not mean to say that among the thousands of ecclesiastics, there are none that love God, nor do I mean to say that the Lord has no chosen ones hidden among the chaff and trash that are every where visible there, but I do mean to say, and affirm as strong as language can do it, that among the masses of priests and people there is no fear of God, and no knowledge of the doctrines of our religion. And how could there be, in the absence of the means instituted by heaven to sustain and to extend religion among the people. “There is no Sabbath in Rome. The only apparent difference there between the Sabbath and other days of the week is, that the shops are more gaily dressed, the markets are more full, and more people are engaged in buying and selling. On my way to St. Peter's, from the Hotel d'Angleterre, I saw monks and priests in all the shops and markets, buying, as on other days, and chatting like magpies. In Naples, the shops are all closed, and all business suspended on feast days, but on the Sabbath all business is brisker than usual. Romanism knows no Sabbath. “There is no Bible in Rome. I made my inquiries there for a Bible, but without success. The people have no Bible—they know nothing about it. An intelligent man of fifty told me he never saw one. Multitudes of the priests know nothing about it, and when asked why they have none for sale, the booksellers will tell you that it is prohibited. Captain Packenham, once a banker in the city, and a most respectable gentleman and devout Christian, is now in banishment for circulating the Scriptures there during the short existence of the Republic. Much of true religion consists in knowing God and Jesus Christ; and how can they be known by a people from whom the Bible is excluded? “There is no preaching in Rome. Now and then a foreign priest or ecclesiastic visiting there in search of a pallium or of a cardinal's hat, may get up a brief course of lectures for the edification of the strangers wintering there; but these are usually vain and ambitious men, who seek in this way to gain favor at court, and to promote their self-interests. There is no preaching to the Italians, and when there is an occasional exception to the rule, it is not the gospel that is preached—it is either an eulogy upon some Popish saint, or a vehement harangue against the Reformation and the Protestants. Popery treats as a nullity the ascending command of the Saviour, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ This one crime, sir, is enough to subject it to the curse of ‘Anathema maranatha.’”—Selected.