Thomas Lathbury

“ The pope endeavoured to clear himself from the guilt of being privy to the Gunpowder Treason; yet some of the planners and contrivers of the plot were protected at Rome. Had his holiness been sincere in his professions to King James, he would have delivered up those jesuits who were implicated in the treason, and who escaped to Rome. The surrender of the conspirators would have been the strongest proof of his sincerity. But not only did he not give them up to the sovereign, whose life they had sought; he did not even call them to account for the part which they had taken in the conspiracy. ”

“ If those who are called the remains of the primitive orthodoxy, out of any particular affection of piety to the holy and Apostolical throne of Jerusalem, would prefer and esteem it above the rest, we have no objection to it: for we ourselves,, though for order's sake we number it in the 4th place, yet pay it the utmost reverence and respect, and honour it as the place where the light of religion and salvation arose, where the redemption of man and the preaching of the Gospel shone out into all the world, and because there our Lord suffered for us, and there shed his precious blood. ”

“ We excommunicate and condemn every heresy, which exalteth itself against this holy and Catholic Faith. Let such persons, when condemned, be left to the secular powers, to be punished in a fitting manner. And let the secular powers be admonished, and, if need be, compelled, that they should set forth an oath, that to the utmost of their power, they will strive to exterminate all heretics, who shall be denounced by the church. But if any temporal lord shall neglect to cleanse his country of this heretical filth, let him be bound by the chain of excommunication. ”

“ I don't know whether he would be a martyr, but no man is a greater enthusiast in religion than he is in the Jacobite cause. Hereditary right and passive obedience are the chief articles of his creed. And this is the doctrine which he teaches in his little congregation, over which he presides as a pastor: where, while he boasts of the purity of his religion, and a steady adherence to his political system, he departs from every principle of humanity, and devotes his country to ruin. ”

“ That Garnet was a traitor against his sovereign and his country, cannot be denied by any Romanists, without resorting to the usual arts and sophistry of the jesuits, who contrive to deny anything which it may be inconvenient to acknowledge. Yet Bellarmine has defended him on the ground that the treason was revealed in confession: “Why,” says he, “was Henry Garnet, a man incomparable for learning in all kinds and holiness of life, put to death, but because he would not reveal that which he could not with a safe conscience?” ”

“ As for those called Whigs, who were the warmest supporters of the Revolution, and are supposed more than others to have acted in it upon the motive of securing our religion,—I will make bold to say of many of them, and that both with truth and justice, that they have no religion but their interest, nor sacrifice to any deity but themselves. The Whig party is, generally speaking, a compound of the atheistical of all opinions and persuasions whatsoever: and they can be of any religion because they are really of none. ”

“ The massacre of St. Bartholomew is too well known to need the recital of its horrid particulars. I allude to it merely to show how the principles and practices of the church of Rome correspond, whenever she has the power to act. The deed was applauded at Rome, by the head of the church. The crime was consecrated by the pope, who went in grand procession to church, to return thanks to God for so great a blessing as the destruction of the heretics. ”

“ But somebody may thus bespeak them, if gentlemen, the subject of your union with the orthodox Oriental Church be matter of doctrine and holy faith, to what purpose should the order of the Patriarchal thrones be changed, which can neither the one way nor the other, be any advantage or detriment to religion? It would rather create divisions than conciliate an union, for it has the face of an innovation; whereas our Oriental Church, the immaculate Bride of the Lord, has never at any time admitted any novelty, nor will at all allow of any. ”

“ Though my sympathies are with the deprived Bishops on many points, yet I cannot refrain from expressing my opinion in this place, that they were not justified in attempting to perpetuate the schism by continuing the succession. They might have remained quiescent, having delivered their own consciences by not taking the Oath. Every one must revere them for their scruples, and for their adherence to principles, which enabled them to endure suffering and privation; but I cannot think, that they were called upon, even by their own views, to take so strong a step as that of new consecrations. ”

“ At this stage of the discovery, the king and his ministers were ignorant of the mine, which had been carried along from Percy’s residence, under the walls of the House of Lords. This was not known until some of the conspirators had made a discovery of all their proceedings. Great was the joy of the nation when it became known that such a treason had been brought to light, and great was their gratitude to that omniscient Being, by whose gracious interposition, the dark designs of the conspirators were frustrated. ”

“ Whenever a Sovereign De Facto is universally submitted to, and recognized by all the three estates, I must believe that person to be lawful and rightful monarch of this kingdom: who alone has a just title to my allegiance, and to whom only I owe an oath of fealty. ”

“ Treason was the subject, but, said he, “of such horror, and monstrous nature, that before now, the tongue of man never delivered, the ear of man never heard, the heart of man never conceited, nor the malice of hellish or earthly devil ever practised.” In the course of his speech he further stated, that the object of the traitors was “to deprive the king of his crown; to murder the king, the queen, and the prince; to stir up rebellion and sedition in the kingdom; to bring a miserable destruction upon the subjects; to change, alter, and subvert the religion here established ”

“ I declare that I renounce that communion, and that I die a dutiful and faithful member of the Nonjuring Church, which has kept itself free from rebellion and schism: and I desire the Clergy, and all members of the Revolution Church, to consider what bottom they stand upon, when their succession is grounded upon an unlawful and invalid deprivation of Catholic Bishops: the only foundation of which deprivation is a pretended Act of Parliament." He added: "the Revolution, instead of keeping out Popery, has let in Atheism." ”

“ It is generally allowed that a retrospection into the transactions of past ages is as a glass, in which the clearest view of future events may be obtained: for, by comparing things together, we shall arrive at this conclusion, that men of the same principles will always, either directly or indirectly, aim at the same ends. The end, which all Romanists have in view, is the destruction of the church of England as the greatest bulwark of Protestantism. In past ages this end was sought to be accomplished directly by treason and murder ”

“ I quote this Article, because in the present day, when it cannot be pleaded, that the danger of the introduction of Popery is so great as at the period of the Revolution, there are persons, who look upon a compliance with the Rubrics and Canons as a symptom of Popery, and who cannot oppose Romanism without opposing their own Church at the same time. These individuals have never done so much against Popery, or suffered so much for the sake of the truth, as Archbishop Sancroft: and it is evident, that the most consistent Churchmen are the most effective opponents of Rome. ”

“ It would be easy to justify persecution and death from innumerable portions of the canon law. And how can any Romanist allege that the canon law is not binding, when it is expressly confirmed by the council of Trent? It includes all the bulls and decrees of the popes. None of the persecuting decrees have been repealed; and until the [101] church of Rome renounces them by a solemn and public act, she will be obnoxious to the charge of maintaining the duty of persecuting heretics. None of the laws respecting heresy have ever been relaxed; no sovereign was ever censured for punishing heretics ”