MEBICAN
4 utittr rKMftt,
-tVlttCt ID itltfCiSt. a ft a Amtri la A'fofssn to M VoW t a rrt rtm. m Nr
rir nut
Nt'MUKR M
VoLVMR 11.
OMAHA, NKIUIAMKA, PltlOAY, lUH KMUKU 2.1, im.
TE
A
f,
what is ro:::;ism7!
Tha ArUn Hrry Conflieiiilon m
PunUhmanl for Hamy,
Th Nlctn Fsction- Mow Horn Put
Mr foot on Her Biitar Branchat
of the Church.
Prof, Geo, I. Rudolph, I'll. I.,an ex
priest contributed Hie following article
to tho 'nfnWiV .liMrn'i'iiH lat week:
' We live In tho lnt decade of the ItMh
century of the christian era, It U
called christian btenuo llu religions
doctrine which litttl ("'on propagated
by tho upoMle. disciple and follower
of ChrlNt eventually superceded .1 i.Ih
liin nnd paganism. Tho christian form
of religion or llio ohr InMnn church be
came tho general, or universal religion
and church, mid was, therefore, called
tho Cuthollo church. Tho word Cuth
olio la Greek, nnd mon.ni "universal."
"When speaking of tho "(Cuthollo
fchurch," wo slin ily mean tho universal
church oT tho now era, or tho chrlHtlun
church.
In this mm ho every church or relig
ious denotnlnntlon which teaches tho
doctrines tliat had boon propagated by
the aVostles, disciples or followers of
ChrlHt, In a branch of tho univorMal, or
"Cuthollo" church of tho now era. It
1b lmmatorlal how largo or smull those
branches wore, or how long they ex
isted. Homo donomlnutlons of tho now
or unlvorsul church attained nioro
power than others, and they at once
utilized tholr temporal power for the
strengthening of tholr branch or
sect, while tho lesser branches or
'denominations wore extinguished
by tho stronger ones.
Tho first heavy split and largo
separation am..,g tho branches or
sects of tho universal church of
the new cr tn4e by tho
first ccum j h t go&6rl coun
cil, which ,(,i' gen'oonvonod by
.Emporor Cohstantlno In 325, and
is known In history as tho coun
cil of Nloe. The fourth century
of the dogmatizing church. The
Catholic, or universal church ex
isted In about twenty dlfforont
branches or sects at tho beginn
ing of tho fourth century, among
whlcH tho followers of Arlus
woro probably tho strongest In
number. Alexandria, which had
given birth to tho now doctrines
that superceded Judalmn and pa
ganism, also produced tho great
champions of tho largo factions
which fought for supremacy at
tho council of Nleo, Arlus and
Athanaslus, Doth wc 'voll ed
ucated and well versed In apolo
getics. Arlus had been a scholar
of tho school of Antl(Hih,and when
a priest In Alexandria, ho met
his antngonlHt,lllHhop Alexander,
with whom ho disagreed In sev
eral points of theology, The blsh
' op engaged bis deacon, Athana.
mIus, to defend his doctrine and
tooontradlot Arlus at tho council
of Nice. Dlshop Alexander's fac
tion controlled tho council and
tho emperor, and thoconseijuerieo
was that Arlus and bis followers
wero condemned, anathematized,
persecuted and exiled. Ostra
cism was tho iwxlun upcraiir
di In tho hands of tho fac
tion that controlled tho temporal
IKiwer, and tho sister branches or sects
of tho universal or Catholic faith woro
condemned as heretics and ostracized,
On tho one hand, Christianity was fight
ing against paganism, and on tho other
hand, tho stronger branches of tho
universal or christian church fought
and condemned tho lesser sects and em
ployed persecution arid tho "iMiycott"
In tho extinction of tho same. Ily con
fiscating tho goods and property of tho
exiled members of antagonistic sects,
tho ruling branch of tho universal
faith soon attained groat riches, and by
aiding Kmpcror Constantino In his
conquests, was soon recognized as tho
state church. This recognition by tho
state d'd not only establish Christianity
against paganism as tho now faith of
tho state, but It also favored tho Nlcene
faction of tho new faith as tho ruling
.church or branch of Catholicism. This
now branch or ruling sect of tho uni
versal or Catholic church, favored by
tho statu and enriched by tho confisca
tion of all tho property of condemned
heretics or dissenters, subsequently
transferred Its court from tho east to
tho west, and located at Homo, and has
since been known us tho Iloman Catho
lic branch of tho universal church of
tho new era.
Tho council of Nice had expressed Its
doctrinal points In tho Sinilxtluvi Sunr.li
Athniumi, or symbol of St, Athanaslus,
and In tho Nlceno creed, which Is now
sung as tho "creiffl" In tho "holy" mass,
jn which those words aroused: (Von-
ratlmild ml npuMolUi phurvh. V.wr
In. Ih wmpHI of Nlo that "holy
t'nthoUo n.l a"! ehwwh b
Um kn m th lloman Catholic
pnmvh, V iH U lni!jf "Uoinnn
Urn." Tin Uonmn branch of the Cat hollo
church has tuadn tl Unman Mhop
with H or head of tho whole church
with se lo condemn all other nfts
of tho christian faith as heretics and
dlswntcr. Uomanlsiit lsgn to con
demn every ulster branch of Christian
ity by defining new lnts In theology
Ht every ccuineiilral council. llomUh
tl oology gives a table of heresies, or
",S'i",iiis llcrtticorum," naming tho
heretics and heresies of each century,
from tho first to tho iilnotoic(h, In nit
over eighty dllTeretit branenvs which
havo Isjen condemned, anathematized,
'"Miyeottod," iM-rsooutod, and, tn most
",hs I, extinguished by thu grout "holy"
church of Itomo, which asiumed tho
right and authority to define Its thoo
logical tenets, und to condemn allslsUr
branches that would not accept Its "In
fallible" definitions. Besides the tubu
lated branches of tho Catholic or unl
versul chnrch condemned by the I toman
branch of Christianity, wo must add tho
uncounted numbers of modern Protes
tant branohos or sects, which havo all
been condemned and anathematized by
tho great "holy" council of Trent
(1,145 " i and by tho various papal bulls
or i dicta down to the present duy.
Romanism which sprung from tho early
form of Christianity, hus Incessantly
and most successfully striven to banish
all Christianity from tho face of tho
earth and to establish It popish sys
tem of theocracy arid hierarchy as tho
ruling power, nnd Its popish supersti
tion and idolatry as tho revealed re
ligious cult of tho new era.
Tho history of the papacy would re
quire volumes, It has boon written by
most competent historians In a non
sectarian spirit, and it has lioon eulo
gized by tho "authentic" editions of
Romish sources, Tho author of this
article docs not Intend to give his
readers a history of tho papacy, nor tho
evolution of Romanism from prlmovlul
Christianity to Its present state of
bombastic, sacerdotal Idolatry, but
"Romanism unveiled," or the papacy
us it is, In its Inner workings. The
uninitiated outsider or heretic will bo
Introduced Into tho secrets and mys
teries of the idolatrous, superstitious,
hypocritical, despotic and greedy
"holy" church of Itomo, which claims
to be the only true church of God, Ro
manism claims to hold tho "keys of
tho kingdom of heaven," and to be tno
only brunch of,t ho christian or Catho
lic church of tho new era possessing
the power to open or to shut tho "gates
of heaven," to forgive sins on earth or
the punishment of sin In purgatory, to
save tho souls of mankind, and to send
them to an eternal beatitude In tho
heavens above, or to damn them to tho
tortures of an everlasting hell below.
All this power Is clulmed by Roman
Ism, as well as tho theocratic power to
rule and govern all curthly affairs of
the world.
il
rrvm th dajs 4 tln inhhicI! t NUv, .
In .1S ltmanlm ha tep Itsrlalm
to tnioial as w id! a tlrUal er
ocr all Cliil'tvn.loiu u flrwl sU-p
m to tv iveogtiUoit as tlin entjr b-gltl-;
lat and tnw branch of f hrlstlanlty
and to l' establUhiHl as the slat
chtiivh. This aiHHtmpllnhtil, Uomanlsin
went on gaining ground In lvmoil
affairs until It bad eslablUhml Its
tlHHH'racy, by which It claimed the
Cod given authority and swi.r U act.
up or deHii aoveiflgn lords, kings mid
emperors, and to make them stilmer
V lent to Its dominion over all list Ions,
Having attained this Umporal hiwiT,
it N'i'sme an easy task Ui miinulgaWi
nnd to enforce Its theological doclstont,
by which It bound all christians to ive
ognlze the temporal and spiritual
Miwer and snpivmitcy of tho HoinUti
church, und the authority of tho pope
in all things. Thus tho successor' of
tho mock nnd lowly Jesus of Nnaareth
established tho most magnificent papal
court In Homo, called tha "holy soa("
from which the "Infalllblo" head I
the church sends out Its blessings and
dispensations, curses and anathemas,
over tho whole human race. Romanism
claims that St. Peter, tho apostle of
Jesus, who had received tho "keys of
tho kingdom of heaven," and tho ordi r
to "food my luinbs, feed my sheep,"
und tho ordi tuition as head of tho whole
church In tho words of Its founder:
"Thou art Peter, tho rock, and upon
this rock I shall build my church, and
tho gates of hull shall not prevail
agulnst It," was tho first popo of tho
chrlHtlun church, and hud moved his
soo from Jerusalem to Romo. Roman-
Ism claims an urlbrokon succession ofj
popes or Roman pontiffs from Ht, Peter,
tho apostle, down to tho present day,
and that tho power to rulo and govern)
tho church and all nations of the earth
hod boon transmitted from ono popo to i
another without Interruption, In spite
of tho fact that tho popes of tho 1 itli
century hud boon driven from Rome
and kept out of It for about seventy
years, during which period they resided
at Avignon, In Franco, At times two
and three popes contested for the holy
ec.
Prof, Von Ranko ays: "The sent of
tho pupal court wus carried beyond th
Alps, and the bishops of Romo became
deismdents of France. Two points.
eaon wiui a uourmui -mo, maoo nu
all
f.uropo ring witti ineir mutual inve.
tlve und Unutbemus. Tho plain chris
tian people, brought up In tho belief
that It wu a sue red duty to bo In com
munion with the head of the church,
were unable in discover amid conflict
ing testimonies und conflicting argu
ment, to which of tho ' two worthless
priests, who wero cursing and reviling
each other, tho leadership of tho chinch
rightfully Isdonged." And again: "The
papal court has is sen a scandi.1 to the
christian name. Its annals are black
with treason, murder and incest."
(Macauluy's iMlscclluncous Writings,
vol. II, page 474.)
The pupal court, or the "holy see"
of the "vicar of Christ," Is the most
expensive show on earth. At the head
of the whole church is tho popo or su-
ptvme iiitllt, aim U Ihw "Infallible"
authority In thing iM-rtalnlng to the
complicated theology f th gtval
church. Tho sis uniform consist
of hltv cacMn k, or goa n, a hlte cltv
Imw and ahit rs'k'l or mantle. Hi
bead Is adoi iumI by a triple crown called,
tiara. On the fourth finger of hi
t'tiihl band be wear a heavy golden
Hun with costly diamond. tu his
feet bo weMi-apalrof ablie llpsr,
adorned w ith gold and diamond. The
sS' Is generally called the "holy
father," and tho majority of Houian
Catholic subject do not know the o
by nny other name. The holy father
reside In the Vatican, w hich Is a collec
tion of (wince ami court on the vail
ran hilt, In Home, adjoining tho church
of St. Peter. When tho holy father
receives visitors in any of his reception
balls or chattel.), bo nits on nu clovnted
throne, his feet projecting on a richly
carpeted platform. Tho visitors, upon
being ushered Into the august presence
of his "hollnoss," prostrate themselves
according" to given Instructions, and
then proceed to kins tho "holy" cross
on tho popu's slippers. From this cus
tom has been derived tho humiliating
expression of "kissing tho popu's toe."
Everybody appearing In tho presence
of his holiness must go through tho
act of kissing tho pope's too priest or
luyraan, Catholics, Protestants or In
fidels, civilized or uncivilized. No one
could even attempt to bo admitted be
fore tho popo unless ho would kiss the
pojKi's too, any more than a white man
could attempt to sit down and transact
any business with the savage Indian
trllsss unless ho would first accept and
smoke tho plpo of peace.
The holy father Is assisted In the
official affairs of tho great "holy"
church 0f Itomo by seventy cardinals,
, , . , , -
In foreign countries, but always subject
to tho pope's call, Tho cardinals are
tho ecclesiastical princes who constitute
tho pope's council, or tho "sacred col
lege," They aro the electoral college
who elect from their midst tho ono who
Is to bo mado pojsi, Tho uniform of
tho cardinal Is a rod cassock and clo
ture, and rod rocket, or short mantle,
His head is covered by a brood red hat
with long tassel on each side. On his
right hand the cardinal wear a costly
ring, and on his feet a pair of red
steckings. Tho cardinals are tho ex-
:,cutivo body of Romanism, Next to
the cardinals jn authority come tho
bishops In all the countries of tho glolw
where are Roman Catholics, A bishop
Is appointed by tho jnipo to bo ut tho
heor of u diocese, und ha full control
.over the priests and people of his Juris
diction, Hi uniform consists of a
purplo cassock and clnturo, and rocket,
or short muntlo. Ills head is adorned
by a in lire, which Is a high cup with a
split top, resembling a huge split
pumpkin seed, having two large strips
bunging down over the bishop' hack
On the fourth finger of the right band
the bishop wear a golden rln,' with a
costly topaz. On approaching bishop
the visitor is required to kneel down
and kiss the topaz on the r'njf, for
which he then gains un lndul fence, of
forty day. Tho bishop also
purple stocking, Tha third order In
the church U that of tb prl.-t lln
ulordlnt to bis tlhop, and I
statloni-d at a church under thelitis
diction of the hUhop, to look alter lit
temporal aftalra of HooistiUm and the
spiritual wantof hUths-k. The pi lost
uitlfot iii U a black raww k, or gown,
and black cloture, and a black blrvtU
a beal ct vcr, The hltvll of the
priest bn thrtH eornor, but Is made
for four corner, leaving off one of
them, which give It a very peculiar
ami odd shaH. Tho priests are re
Mnlhlo to their hlho, tho bishop
to the college of tho carditis!, nnd the
cardinals to tho holy father.
All decisions, dlsHnsatlons, regula
tions, orders, Indulgences, biesslng,
curses or auathemna come from the
supreme Homnti office, which regulates,
forbids, or commands all affairs of tho
whole body of Romanism. The min
has the privilege to convene his cardin
als nml bishop from all tho churches
of tho earth to a siwclul ecumenical or
general council, whenever ho desires
to speuk "ex cathedra," or from tho
holy chair of Ht. Peter; but he can at
any time give his decision on nny point
of theology, and such decision becomes
binding forall RomunCuthollcs. Prom
tho council of Nice to the present dny
there have boon nlnotoon ecumenical
councils hold, in which tho teaching
of all ot her churches outside of Homuu
Ism have boon condemned und cursed.
Out of tho olden times, when tho
church wus supreme und tho theocratic
power of the popo of Rome was in full
force all over Europe, was retained tho
adage: "ltoma locutaren JlnUa
Romo ha spoken, the question Is
settled, if any ono had any difficulty
with the church authorities, In cite es
iastlcal or in political affairs, and then
appealed to tho highest ecclesiastical
authority, the pope, ho was always sure
to receive an adverse decision, for
Rome would always decide a case In
her favor, . When Romo hud once pro
nounced judgment In a case there was
no further appeal possible, for Rome
wo tho supremo and only Judicial
authority on earth, according to the
theocracy of Pope Gregory VII. The
pom claim to be tho vicar of Jesus
Christ and God's representative on
earth, and tho successor of Ht. Peter,
tho ajxistlo. The spiritual or ecclesi
astical authority had boon handed
down by God, the Father, Creator of
heaven and earth, through His only
begotten Son, Jesus Christ, tho founder
of tho Roman Catholic church, to Ht.
Peter, HI apostle and first opo of
Romo, and to his successors, tho popes
of tiie holy mother, the church of
Rune. Thu Romo had at onco sprung
Into significance us tho mother of all
tho churches and as tho pupal court of
tho holy mother, the church of God.
Civil power had b en derived from the
"evil spirit," and those who exercised
it were subject to tho highest author
ity, the vicar of Christ und representa
tive of God, the point, and ho claimed
and exercised tho right to deiHiso
, sovereign lords, kings or emperors at
i will, and to release their subjects or
vassals from their allegiance to tnem.
Tho faithful who hud been brought up
hi the lu'll-l that th h.'l father n(
l ,!) d In all tblliil, aibl reftt'K
at leg lam, to their f,Mii,iu'(nlil. ,1
kick' or emm-ror. and mwtaln th
pt'po, No matter what tho litigation
a, the moment that tho hlhow or
pt hut would (oil tin people: ''mnit
lor, if. i, rr flo,imi" - Horn baa Hikn,
and the question I settled, the him s
cause bad to l defend,! under 'iialty
of ckitoiiiiuiinlentlon.
In olden time a public communica
tion from tho (tnlti of the "holy" church
wo considered to mi a ttmt dlsgrociv
ful thing, The excommunicated uli
jeel wn at once publicly denounced
from the altar, and the strictest "boy
cott" wn declared HHnlnst him. Tha
faithful were compelled to shun him
under penalty of excommunication.
This kind of excommunication wa
pronounced against any member of tho
church who failed to submit to the
authority of the popo, Th same ex
communication isactuully practised In
our own day, nnd has boon In vogue
since tho very days of tho edict of
Milan, In 81.1, or tho council of Nloo, In
1125, and bus been practised by the
papal court through all the Intervening
centuries.
What an arrogant und haughty as
sumption of power! Tho history of
Romanism show up a list of 274 popo;
good, bad, and Indifferent. Illiterate,
fanatical saint and haughty, arrogant
despots, scholarly gontlemon and lloen
tlous scound rels, pu nolll Ions tVologlans
and scheming politicians were by fraud,
bribery, corruption, or by scheming
plots elected to fill tho pupal chair, and
to dispense tho unbounded treasury 0
christian salvation to tbo whole
human ruco,
Tho popo of Romo exorclaestho,
same power and authority today
over his subjects w' tho pope
of tho middle ages did, except
that he hits not tho temporal
power to Inflict tho same jmnlsh
ments as his predecessor dealt
out to disobedient or refractory
subjects. ;
Romanism or Romish eeoleslus
ticlstn I tho personification of
IKiwer In tho pope of Rome, or
the concentration of political
power In the ohurch against the
state. Romanism moan tho estab
lishment of a theocracy of Intel
cranceand absolute despotism of
ecclesiastical cannibalism and
sacerdotal terrorism. The ult
mate aim of Romanism Is llio
"dod Ideation" of the holy father
of all Christendom, and the con
sequent subjugation of all tho
faithful and tho extermination of
all "renegade."
Having given a general Idea
and a short historical sketch of
Romanism in this article, the au
thor will present In subsequent
article a correct description of
the peculiarities of the tenet of
Romish theology and popish prac
tice for the Instruction of the
public at large, I shall endeavor
to present everything that may
bo calculated to give an "uniniti
ated outsider" a clear view of Ro
manism as it Is. As these articles
are not calculated to bo sensa
tional, but instructive, the mor
bid upiictlto of reader of r,hy
literature may not H gratified.
In order to Instruct my :ad rs
in the "lnst'n' of Rom.r.li.in,it In
not newwtnry to ramduet tUara
through th: sewers A Romish corrup
tion. Tlu'e nt'tteli. ara calculated to
Isi a guide In fto band of men, women
and children of all creed or denomina
tions of christian churches, a well as
for tho unbeliever or skeptic. I shall
simply present facts and relate my own
experience and observations while in
the priesthood, and leave It to the
reader to draw his own conclusions.
Romanian I tho greatest and most
dangerous enemy of the human race,
and tho wonder that It ha succeeded so
well and ha gained such a strong foot
hold, Is tho fact that tho non-Catholics
aro always too willing to excuse so
many wrongs In the Romish church
because they are committed under the
guise of religion. Wrong is wrong,
and no theology or church can justly
say that wrong Is right.
We Made No Mistake.
The youngest member of the next
legislature will bo Chas. II. Clark, ol
Omaha, son of H. T. Clark. Mr. ClarV
was elected to tho senate by a hand
some majority. Ho is only twenty
three year old and the youngest mem .
bcr ever elected to the Nebraska la
making body. Mr. Clark Is a brlgh
young man who comes from ono of N
bruska's oldest, wealthiest and mos
highly rcsHcted fumllle. Like h
father und brothers ho Is an active ar
red-hot republican. Tho boy senate
will "know bis right and, know'"
dure muintuin. -Fremont Tribune,
Patronize the men who patrt
this pucr.
I