Thanks to all those who have commented on the blog. Especial thanks to those who have encouraged me from far afield.
To those who sound a bit harsh concerning the compromise of Ian Paisley I would say this. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Cor. 10 v 12. It is by grace we stand and if God should withhold His grace we would all fall into grievious sin. If we don't know and feel this to be true we don't know the evil of our own hearts. In similar vein is the following, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considerating thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Gal. 6 v 1.
We cannot do this directly but we can pray that God would grant him repentence, showing him the error of his ways.
Saturday, 23 May 2009
The Rotten Heart of Rome Exposed.
A long awaited report into child abuse by Roman Catholic priests and nuns was published in Ireland on Wednesday, May 22nd. It makes for harrowing reading.
Industrial Schools were established in Ireland in the 1930s. Until they closed in the 1990s, some 30,000 boys and girls involved in petty crime or from dysfunctional families, passed through these homes. What has been revealed is truly nightmarish.
Molestation and rape was 'endemic' in the boys' institutions and church officials shielded paedophiles to save their reputation, The Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse concluded.
Children were treated more like slaves than human beings and government inspectors, out of deference to the Church of Rome, failed to stop the abuse.
"A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys." "Children lived with the daily terror not knowing where the next beating was coming from."
'Ritualised beating was routine. Girls were struck with implements designed to maximise pain.'
Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, said, "I am profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions." Perhaps we might believe this statement to be genuine if the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, who are still alive, were handed over to face trial in a court of law.
Outside the building where the report was made public, furious victims and relatives of victims who were refused admission to the building, voiced their concerns that the report was a 'hatchet job.' John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child abuse, stated, "It has devastated me and will devastate most victims. There are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever. We were encouraged to open our wounds. We opened them and they left them gaping."
A man, bearing the message on his T Shirt 'In Loving Memory of Michael "Mickey" Flanagan 1939-1998,' bore poignant testimony to the deep hurt and sorrow felt by many.
Child sex abuse, especially of boys, and savage treatment has been a hallmark of Roman Catholic priests and nuns worldwide. In all cases the hierarchy has sought to cover up what happened. There is no doubt that many of them (the hierarchy) were and are guilty of heinous crimes also. This reveals that the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is nothing but the Synagogue of Satan: And her Holy priests and nuns are wicked, cruel and vicious predators, visiting their perverted lusts and cruel inclinations upon helpless children.
This abuse has always been worse in countries where Rome ruled, and still rules the roost. In Protestant countries this has tended to be less pervasive because of calls by Protestants that RC institutions should be open to inspection. Nevertheless, here in the UK, there have been several cases of abuse. Perhaps the most notorious has been the Jesuit run college of Stoneyhurst in Lancashire, where several cases of abuse, extending back for years, have been brought to light.
Protestants have always maintained that "Home Rule equals Rome Rule" as far as Ireland is concerned. The fact that these abuses went on for years unchallenged proves this, and the fact that there will be no criminal proceedings now indicates that Rome still has the government in its grip.
The revelation in recent years of scandals involving, chiefly, priests of the RC Church doesn't mean that this is a recent phenomenon. The lives of the popes and prelates of that system, especially prior to the Reformation when Rome reigned supreme and unchallenged, were scandalous in the extreme. Rome was and is corrupt from top to bottom.
History tells us that immorality and idolatry go hand in hand. That, coupled with Rome's insistence that her priests and nuns must remain celibate, is the chief cause of such wickedness. Romans Chapter 1 teaches us what happens when men depart from truth into idolatrous practices. We would do well to pray, "From the Bishop of Rome and all his false religion, Good Lord deliver us."
Another, and by all accounts, more explosive revelations of priestly misdemeanours in the Dublin Diocese are due out in July. May it please God to use these events to open the eyes of the Irish to what Rome is really about and prepare the ground for the planting of the Gospel seed!
Industrial Schools were established in Ireland in the 1930s. Until they closed in the 1990s, some 30,000 boys and girls involved in petty crime or from dysfunctional families, passed through these homes. What has been revealed is truly nightmarish.
Molestation and rape was 'endemic' in the boys' institutions and church officials shielded paedophiles to save their reputation, The Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse concluded.
Children were treated more like slaves than human beings and government inspectors, out of deference to the Church of Rome, failed to stop the abuse.
"A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys." "Children lived with the daily terror not knowing where the next beating was coming from."
'Ritualised beating was routine. Girls were struck with implements designed to maximise pain.'
Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, said, "I am profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions." Perhaps we might believe this statement to be genuine if the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, who are still alive, were handed over to face trial in a court of law.
Outside the building where the report was made public, furious victims and relatives of victims who were refused admission to the building, voiced their concerns that the report was a 'hatchet job.' John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child abuse, stated, "It has devastated me and will devastate most victims. There are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever. We were encouraged to open our wounds. We opened them and they left them gaping."
A man, bearing the message on his T Shirt 'In Loving Memory of Michael "Mickey" Flanagan 1939-1998,' bore poignant testimony to the deep hurt and sorrow felt by many.
Child sex abuse, especially of boys, and savage treatment has been a hallmark of Roman Catholic priests and nuns worldwide. In all cases the hierarchy has sought to cover up what happened. There is no doubt that many of them (the hierarchy) were and are guilty of heinous crimes also. This reveals that the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is nothing but the Synagogue of Satan: And her Holy priests and nuns are wicked, cruel and vicious predators, visiting their perverted lusts and cruel inclinations upon helpless children.
This abuse has always been worse in countries where Rome ruled, and still rules the roost. In Protestant countries this has tended to be less pervasive because of calls by Protestants that RC institutions should be open to inspection. Nevertheless, here in the UK, there have been several cases of abuse. Perhaps the most notorious has been the Jesuit run college of Stoneyhurst in Lancashire, where several cases of abuse, extending back for years, have been brought to light.
Protestants have always maintained that "Home Rule equals Rome Rule" as far as Ireland is concerned. The fact that these abuses went on for years unchallenged proves this, and the fact that there will be no criminal proceedings now indicates that Rome still has the government in its grip.
The revelation in recent years of scandals involving, chiefly, priests of the RC Church doesn't mean that this is a recent phenomenon. The lives of the popes and prelates of that system, especially prior to the Reformation when Rome reigned supreme and unchallenged, were scandalous in the extreme. Rome was and is corrupt from top to bottom.
History tells us that immorality and idolatry go hand in hand. That, coupled with Rome's insistence that her priests and nuns must remain celibate, is the chief cause of such wickedness. Romans Chapter 1 teaches us what happens when men depart from truth into idolatrous practices. We would do well to pray, "From the Bishop of Rome and all his false religion, Good Lord deliver us."
Another, and by all accounts, more explosive revelations of priestly misdemeanours in the Dublin Diocese are due out in July. May it please God to use these events to open the eyes of the Irish to what Rome is really about and prepare the ground for the planting of the Gospel seed!
How The Pope Gave Ireland To England.
Irish Roman Catholics believe that St Patrick came to Ireland at the behest of Rome and founded the RC Church in that land. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we shall see. Patrick was a true Evangelical Christian and knew nothing of the false teachings of the Roman Church. The Celtic Church remained free from the domination of Rome until the Council of Cashel in 1172 held subsequent to the Anglo-Norman invasion.
The Anglo-Norman invasion came about as a result of the King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, having been ejected from his kingdom, seeking the aid of King Henry 11 to recover it. Henry was too busy with wars in France and so it fell to the Earl of Pembroke, Strongbow, to begin the invasion.
The invasion began in 1167 and soon the whole of Leinster, including the most important city, Dublin, was recovered for Diarmait. Diarmait declared Strongbow as joint king with himself and gave his daughter in marriage to him. The unexpected death of Diarmait meant that Strongbow was now king, which event alarmed Henry. He was concerned that Strongbow might attempt to break away from Henry's rule and become a serious rival to him. He therefore determined to invade at the head of a large army.
Henry landed in Waterford, Ireland, at the head of an army of four thousand in October 1171, carrying with him the Papal Bull Laudabiliter, by which the Pope bestowed Ireland as a gift to the English King on condition that he brought the Irish Church and people into submission to Rome. The Bull Laudabiliter, issued by Pope Adrian IV, reads as follows. "Adrian, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to our well beloved son in Christ, the illustrious King of the English greeting and Apostolic Benediction. Laudably and profitably does your majesty contemplate spreading the glory of your name on earth and laying up for yourself the reward of eternal happiness in heaven, in that as becomes a Catholic Prince, you propose to enlarge the bounds of the Catholic Church to proclaim the truths of the Christian religion to a rude and ignorant people, to root out the growth of vice from the field of the Lord: the better to accomplish this purpose you seek the Council and goodwill of the Apostolic See. In pursuing your object, the loftier your aim and the greater your discretion, the more prosperous we are assured with God's assistance will be the progress you make; for the undertakings commenced in the zeal of faith and love of religion are ever wont to attain a good end and issue. Verily as your excellency doth acknowledge, there is no doubt that Ireland, and all the islands that Christ the sun of righteousness hath shone, and which have accepted the doctrines of the Christian faith, belong to the blessed Peter and the Holy Roman Church, wherefore the more pleased we are to plant in them the seed of faith acceptable to God, inasmuch as our conscience warns us that in their case a stricter account will hereafter be required of us.
"Whereas then well beloved son in Christ you have expressed to us your desire to enter the island of Ireland in order to subject its people to law and to root out from them the weeds of vice and your willingness to pay an annual tribute to the blessed Peter of one penny from every house, and to maintain the rights of the churches of that land whole and inviolate. We therefore meeting your pious and laudable desire with due favour, do hereby declare our will and pleasure, that with a view to enlarging the boundaries of the Church, restraining the downward course of vice, correcting evil customs and planting virtue for the increase of the Christian religion you shall enter that island and execute whatever may attend to the honour of God, the welfare of the land; and also that the people shall receive you with honour and revere you as their lord: provided always that the rights of the Churches remain whole and inviolate and saving to the blessed Peter and the Holy Roman Church the annual tribute of one penny for every house, let it be you care that you instruct the people in the good way of life, that the Church there may be adorned, that the Christian religion may take root and grow….that you may deserve at God's hands the fullness of an everlasting reward and may obtain on earth a name renowned throughout the ages."
Pope Adrian's successor, Alexander III, wrote to the bishops of Ireland exhorting them to submit to the king. "Understanding that our dear son in Christ Henry, illustrious King of England stirred by divine inspiration and with his united forces has subjected to his dominion, that people a barbarous one, uncivilised and ignorant of Divine Law--we command and enjoin upon you that you will diligently and manfully assist the above said king to maintain and preserve that land and to extirpate the filthiness of such great abominations. And if any of the Kings, Princes or persons of the land shall rashly attempt to go against his due oath and fealty pledged to the said king you shall lay ecclesiastical censure on such a one."
Pope Alexander also addressed the Princes of Ireland. "Whereas you have received our dear son in Christ, Henry, illustrious King of England as your king and Lord and have sworn fealty to him…we ward and admonish your noble order to strive to preserve the fealty which by solemn oath you have made."
Pope Alexander wrote to Henry, subsequent to the invasion, congratulating him on his success. "We have been assured how you have wonderfully triumphed over the people of Ireland and over a kingdom which the Roman Emperors left untouched, and you have extended the power of your majesty over the same people, a race uncivilised and undisciplined. We understand that you, collecting your splendid naval and land forces have set your mind upon subjugating that people…so we exhort and beseech your majesty and enjoin upon you that you will even more intently and strenuously continue… and earnestly enjoin your majesty that you will earnestly seek to preserve the rights of the See of St Peter."
Thus, at the Council of Cashel in 1172 the Church in Ireland was subjugated under the heel of Popery.
The Roman Catholic historian O'Driscoll acknowledges that the Church in Ireland was not always under Roman domination. "The Christian Church of Ireland as founded by St Patrick, existed for many centuries free and unshackled… and differed on many points from Rome. From the days of St Patrick to the Council of Cashel was a bright and glorious career for Ireland. From the sitting of the Council of Cashel to our own times the lot of Ireland has been an unmixed evil and all her history a tale of woe." Views of Ireland, Vol. 2, Page 84.
From the foregoing, then, it is patently obvious that Rome connived at, assisted in and encouraged the invasion and subjugation of Ireland by the Norman English. Repeatedly the Pope reminds Henry about the collecting of Peter's Pence and the forwarding of the interests of the Roman Church. It was only after the Reformation that it championed Irish independence, not out of any love or concern for the Irish, but for its own interests and influence. It is to be hoped that the continuing scandals of the sexual and physical abuse of children by the Romish clergy will break off the shackles that have for so long bound the Irish to the Church of Rome.
The Anglo-Norman invasion came about as a result of the King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, having been ejected from his kingdom, seeking the aid of King Henry 11 to recover it. Henry was too busy with wars in France and so it fell to the Earl of Pembroke, Strongbow, to begin the invasion.
The invasion began in 1167 and soon the whole of Leinster, including the most important city, Dublin, was recovered for Diarmait. Diarmait declared Strongbow as joint king with himself and gave his daughter in marriage to him. The unexpected death of Diarmait meant that Strongbow was now king, which event alarmed Henry. He was concerned that Strongbow might attempt to break away from Henry's rule and become a serious rival to him. He therefore determined to invade at the head of a large army.
Henry landed in Waterford, Ireland, at the head of an army of four thousand in October 1171, carrying with him the Papal Bull Laudabiliter, by which the Pope bestowed Ireland as a gift to the English King on condition that he brought the Irish Church and people into submission to Rome. The Bull Laudabiliter, issued by Pope Adrian IV, reads as follows. "Adrian, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to our well beloved son in Christ, the illustrious King of the English greeting and Apostolic Benediction. Laudably and profitably does your majesty contemplate spreading the glory of your name on earth and laying up for yourself the reward of eternal happiness in heaven, in that as becomes a Catholic Prince, you propose to enlarge the bounds of the Catholic Church to proclaim the truths of the Christian religion to a rude and ignorant people, to root out the growth of vice from the field of the Lord: the better to accomplish this purpose you seek the Council and goodwill of the Apostolic See. In pursuing your object, the loftier your aim and the greater your discretion, the more prosperous we are assured with God's assistance will be the progress you make; for the undertakings commenced in the zeal of faith and love of religion are ever wont to attain a good end and issue. Verily as your excellency doth acknowledge, there is no doubt that Ireland, and all the islands that Christ the sun of righteousness hath shone, and which have accepted the doctrines of the Christian faith, belong to the blessed Peter and the Holy Roman Church, wherefore the more pleased we are to plant in them the seed of faith acceptable to God, inasmuch as our conscience warns us that in their case a stricter account will hereafter be required of us.
"Whereas then well beloved son in Christ you have expressed to us your desire to enter the island of Ireland in order to subject its people to law and to root out from them the weeds of vice and your willingness to pay an annual tribute to the blessed Peter of one penny from every house, and to maintain the rights of the churches of that land whole and inviolate. We therefore meeting your pious and laudable desire with due favour, do hereby declare our will and pleasure, that with a view to enlarging the boundaries of the Church, restraining the downward course of vice, correcting evil customs and planting virtue for the increase of the Christian religion you shall enter that island and execute whatever may attend to the honour of God, the welfare of the land; and also that the people shall receive you with honour and revere you as their lord: provided always that the rights of the Churches remain whole and inviolate and saving to the blessed Peter and the Holy Roman Church the annual tribute of one penny for every house, let it be you care that you instruct the people in the good way of life, that the Church there may be adorned, that the Christian religion may take root and grow….that you may deserve at God's hands the fullness of an everlasting reward and may obtain on earth a name renowned throughout the ages."
Pope Adrian's successor, Alexander III, wrote to the bishops of Ireland exhorting them to submit to the king. "Understanding that our dear son in Christ Henry, illustrious King of England stirred by divine inspiration and with his united forces has subjected to his dominion, that people a barbarous one, uncivilised and ignorant of Divine Law--we command and enjoin upon you that you will diligently and manfully assist the above said king to maintain and preserve that land and to extirpate the filthiness of such great abominations. And if any of the Kings, Princes or persons of the land shall rashly attempt to go against his due oath and fealty pledged to the said king you shall lay ecclesiastical censure on such a one."
Pope Alexander also addressed the Princes of Ireland. "Whereas you have received our dear son in Christ, Henry, illustrious King of England as your king and Lord and have sworn fealty to him…we ward and admonish your noble order to strive to preserve the fealty which by solemn oath you have made."
Pope Alexander wrote to Henry, subsequent to the invasion, congratulating him on his success. "We have been assured how you have wonderfully triumphed over the people of Ireland and over a kingdom which the Roman Emperors left untouched, and you have extended the power of your majesty over the same people, a race uncivilised and undisciplined. We understand that you, collecting your splendid naval and land forces have set your mind upon subjugating that people…so we exhort and beseech your majesty and enjoin upon you that you will even more intently and strenuously continue… and earnestly enjoin your majesty that you will earnestly seek to preserve the rights of the See of St Peter."
Thus, at the Council of Cashel in 1172 the Church in Ireland was subjugated under the heel of Popery.
The Roman Catholic historian O'Driscoll acknowledges that the Church in Ireland was not always under Roman domination. "The Christian Church of Ireland as founded by St Patrick, existed for many centuries free and unshackled… and differed on many points from Rome. From the days of St Patrick to the Council of Cashel was a bright and glorious career for Ireland. From the sitting of the Council of Cashel to our own times the lot of Ireland has been an unmixed evil and all her history a tale of woe." Views of Ireland, Vol. 2, Page 84.
From the foregoing, then, it is patently obvious that Rome connived at, assisted in and encouraged the invasion and subjugation of Ireland by the Norman English. Repeatedly the Pope reminds Henry about the collecting of Peter's Pence and the forwarding of the interests of the Roman Church. It was only after the Reformation that it championed Irish independence, not out of any love or concern for the Irish, but for its own interests and influence. It is to be hoped that the continuing scandals of the sexual and physical abuse of children by the Romish clergy will break off the shackles that have for so long bound the Irish to the Church of Rome.
The Papal Bull Excommunicating Elizabeth 1st
Pius Bishop, servant of the servants of God, in lasting remembrance of the matter.
He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in heaven and earth, has committed one holy catholic and apostolic church, outside of which there is no salvation, to one alone upon earth, namely Peter, the first of the apostles and to Peter’s successor, the Pope of Rome, to be by him governed in the fullness of his power. Him alone he has made governor over all peoples and kingdoms, to pull up, destroy, scatter, disperse, plant and build, so that he may preserve His faithful people, (knit together with the girdle of charity) in the unity of the Spirit and present them safe and spotless to their Saviour.
(1) In obedience of which duty, we (who are called to the aforesaid government of the church) spare no pains and labour with all our might that unity and the Catholic religion (which their author, for the trial of His children’s faith and our correction, has suffered us to be afflicted with such great troubles, may be preserved entire. But the number of the ungodly has so much grown in power, that there is no place left in the world which they have not tried to corrupt with their most wicked doctrines, among others, Elizabeth, the pretended queen of England and servant of crime, has assisted in this, with who, as in a sanctuary, the most pernicious of all have found refuge. This very woman, having seized the crown and monstrously usurped the place of the supreme head of the Church in all England, together with the chief authority and jurisdiction belonging to it, has once again reduced this same kingdom, which had already been restored to the Catholic faith and to good fruits, to a miserable ruin.
(2) Prohibiting with a strong hand the exercise of true religion, which after its overthrow by Henry VIII (a deserter there from) Mary, the lawful Queen of famous memory, had with the help of the Holy See restored, she has followed and embraced the errors of the heretics. She has removed the Royal Council, composed of the nobility of England, and has filled it with obscure men being heretics; oppressed the followers of the Catholic Faith, instituted false preachers and ministers of impiety, abolished the sacrifice of the mass, prayers, fasts, choice of meats, celibacy, and catholic ceremonies, and has ordered the books of manifestly heretical content to be propounded to the whole realm, and that impious rites and institutions after the rule of Calvin, entertained and observed by herself, be also observed by her subjects. She has dared to eject bishops, rectors of churches and other Catholic priests from their parishes and benefices, to bestow these and other things ecclesiastical upon heretics, and to determine spiritual causes, has forbidden the prelates, clergy and people to acknowledge the Church of Rome, or to obey its precepts and canonical sanctions, has forced most of them to come to terms with her wicked laws, to abjure the authority and obedience of the Pope of Rome, and to accept her, on oath, as their only lady in matters temporal and spiritual, has imposed penalties and punishments on those who would not agree to this, and has exacted them of those who have preserved in the unity of the faith and aforesaid obedience has thrown Catholic prelates and priests into prison where many worn out by long languishing in sorrow, have miserably ended their lives. All these matters are manifest and notorious among all nations, they are so well proven by the weighty witness of many men, that there remains no place for excuse, defence or evasion.
(3) We seeing then impieties and crimes multiplied one upon another, the persecution of the faithful and the affliction of religion daily growing more severe under the guidance and activity of the said Elizabeth and recognizing that her mind is so fixed and set that she has not only despised the pious prayers and admonitions with which the Catholic princes have tried to cure and convert her but has not even permitted the nuncios sent to her in that matter by this See to cross into England, are compelled by necessity to take up against her the weapons of justice, though we cannot forebear to regret that we should be so forced to turn upon one whose ancestors so well deserved of the Christian community. Therefore, resting upon the authority of those, whose pleasure it was to place us (though unequal to such a burden) upon this supreme seat, so that we out of the fullness of our apostolic power declare the aforesaid Elizabeth to be a heretic and a favourer of heretics, and herself in the matter aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of excommunication and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ.
(4) And moreover (we declare) her to be deprived of her pretended title to the aforesaid crown and all her lordship, dignity and privilege whatsoever.
(5) And also (declare) the nobles, subjects and people of the said realm, and all others who have in any way sworn oaths to her, to be forever absolved from such an oath and from any duty arising from lordship, fealty and obedience, and we do, by the authority of these presents, so absolve them and so deprive the same Elizabeth of her pretended title to the crown and all other the above said matters. We charge and command all and singular the nobles, subjects, peoples and others aforesaid that they do not dare obey her orders, mandates and laws. Those who act to the contrary we include in the like sentence of excommunication.
(6) Because in truth it may prove too difficult to take these presents wheresoever it be necessary we will that copies made under the hand of a notary public and sealed with the seal of a prelate of the Church or of his court shall have said force and trust in and out of judicial proceedings, in all places among all nations as these presents would have if established or shown.
Given at St Peter’s Rome on 27th April 1570 of the Incarnation, the fifth year of our pontificate.
He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in heaven and earth, has committed one holy catholic and apostolic church, outside of which there is no salvation, to one alone upon earth, namely Peter, the first of the apostles and to Peter’s successor, the Pope of Rome, to be by him governed in the fullness of his power. Him alone he has made governor over all peoples and kingdoms, to pull up, destroy, scatter, disperse, plant and build, so that he may preserve His faithful people, (knit together with the girdle of charity) in the unity of the Spirit and present them safe and spotless to their Saviour.
(1) In obedience of which duty, we (who are called to the aforesaid government of the church) spare no pains and labour with all our might that unity and the Catholic religion (which their author, for the trial of His children’s faith and our correction, has suffered us to be afflicted with such great troubles, may be preserved entire. But the number of the ungodly has so much grown in power, that there is no place left in the world which they have not tried to corrupt with their most wicked doctrines, among others, Elizabeth, the pretended queen of England and servant of crime, has assisted in this, with who, as in a sanctuary, the most pernicious of all have found refuge. This very woman, having seized the crown and monstrously usurped the place of the supreme head of the Church in all England, together with the chief authority and jurisdiction belonging to it, has once again reduced this same kingdom, which had already been restored to the Catholic faith and to good fruits, to a miserable ruin.
(2) Prohibiting with a strong hand the exercise of true religion, which after its overthrow by Henry VIII (a deserter there from) Mary, the lawful Queen of famous memory, had with the help of the Holy See restored, she has followed and embraced the errors of the heretics. She has removed the Royal Council, composed of the nobility of England, and has filled it with obscure men being heretics; oppressed the followers of the Catholic Faith, instituted false preachers and ministers of impiety, abolished the sacrifice of the mass, prayers, fasts, choice of meats, celibacy, and catholic ceremonies, and has ordered the books of manifestly heretical content to be propounded to the whole realm, and that impious rites and institutions after the rule of Calvin, entertained and observed by herself, be also observed by her subjects. She has dared to eject bishops, rectors of churches and other Catholic priests from their parishes and benefices, to bestow these and other things ecclesiastical upon heretics, and to determine spiritual causes, has forbidden the prelates, clergy and people to acknowledge the Church of Rome, or to obey its precepts and canonical sanctions, has forced most of them to come to terms with her wicked laws, to abjure the authority and obedience of the Pope of Rome, and to accept her, on oath, as their only lady in matters temporal and spiritual, has imposed penalties and punishments on those who would not agree to this, and has exacted them of those who have preserved in the unity of the faith and aforesaid obedience has thrown Catholic prelates and priests into prison where many worn out by long languishing in sorrow, have miserably ended their lives. All these matters are manifest and notorious among all nations, they are so well proven by the weighty witness of many men, that there remains no place for excuse, defence or evasion.
(3) We seeing then impieties and crimes multiplied one upon another, the persecution of the faithful and the affliction of religion daily growing more severe under the guidance and activity of the said Elizabeth and recognizing that her mind is so fixed and set that she has not only despised the pious prayers and admonitions with which the Catholic princes have tried to cure and convert her but has not even permitted the nuncios sent to her in that matter by this See to cross into England, are compelled by necessity to take up against her the weapons of justice, though we cannot forebear to regret that we should be so forced to turn upon one whose ancestors so well deserved of the Christian community. Therefore, resting upon the authority of those, whose pleasure it was to place us (though unequal to such a burden) upon this supreme seat, so that we out of the fullness of our apostolic power declare the aforesaid Elizabeth to be a heretic and a favourer of heretics, and herself in the matter aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of excommunication and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ.
(4) And moreover (we declare) her to be deprived of her pretended title to the aforesaid crown and all her lordship, dignity and privilege whatsoever.
(5) And also (declare) the nobles, subjects and people of the said realm, and all others who have in any way sworn oaths to her, to be forever absolved from such an oath and from any duty arising from lordship, fealty and obedience, and we do, by the authority of these presents, so absolve them and so deprive the same Elizabeth of her pretended title to the crown and all other the above said matters. We charge and command all and singular the nobles, subjects, peoples and others aforesaid that they do not dare obey her orders, mandates and laws. Those who act to the contrary we include in the like sentence of excommunication.
(6) Because in truth it may prove too difficult to take these presents wheresoever it be necessary we will that copies made under the hand of a notary public and sealed with the seal of a prelate of the Church or of his court shall have said force and trust in and out of judicial proceedings, in all places among all nations as these presents would have if established or shown.
Given at St Peter’s Rome on 27th April 1570 of the Incarnation, the fifth year of our pontificate.
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