state of the english catholics.—their prudent silence in the days of jacobitism.—the church of england jealous of the dissenters.—riots in 1780.—effects of the french revolution.—the re-establishment of the monastic orders in england.—number of nunneries and catholic seminaries.—the poor easily converted.—catholic writers.—dr geddes.
the situation of the catholics in england is far more favourable at present than it has been at any period since the unfortunate expulsion of james ii. there is an opinion prevalent among freethinkers and schismatics that intolerance is bad policy, and that religious principles hostile to an establishment will die away if they are 323not persecuted. these reasoners have forgotten that christianity was rooted up in japan, and that heresy was extirpated from spain, by fire. the impolicy is in half measures.
so long as the stuarts laid claim to the crown, the catholics were jealously regarded as a party connected with them; and even the large class of jacobites, as they were called, who adhered to the old family merely from a principle of loyalty, being obstinate heretics, looked suspiciously upon their catholic coadjutors as men whose motives were different, though they were engaged in the same cause. these men would never have attempted to restore the stuarts, if they had not believed that the protestant church establishment would remain undisturbed, they believed this firmly—believed that a catholic king would reign over a nation of schismatics, and make no attempt at converting them; so ignorant were they of the principles of catholicism. but no sooner 324had the pretender ceased to be formidable than the catholics were forgotten, or considered only as a religious sect of less consequence in the state, and therefore less obnoxious than any other, because neither numerous nor noisy. in fact the persecuting laws, though never enforced, were still in existence; and the catholics themselves, as they had not forgotten their bloody effects in former times, prudently persevered in silence.
fortunately for them, as soon as they had ceased to be objects of suspicion, the presbyterians became so. this body of dissenters had been uniformly attached to the hanoverian succession; but when that house was firmly established, and all danger from the stuarts over, the old feelings began to revive, both on the part of the crown and of the nonconformists. what they call the connection between civil and religious freedom, or, as their antagonists say, between schism and rebellion, made the court jealous of their numbers and of 325their principles. the clergy too, being no longer in danger from those whom they had dispossessed, began to fear those who would dispossess them; they laid aside their controversy with the catholics, and directed their harangues and writings against greater schismatics than themselves. during such disputes our brethren had nothing to do but quietly look on, and rejoice that the kingdom of beelzebub was divided against itself.
it is true, a violent insurrection broke out against them in the year 1780; but this was the work of the lowest rabble, led on by a madman. it did not originate in any previous feelings, for probably nine-tenths of the mob had never heard of popery till they rioted to suppress it, and it left no rankling behind: on the contrary, as the catholics had been wantonly and cruelly attacked, a sentiment of compassion for them was excited in the more respectable part of the community.
the french revolution materially assisted 326the true religion. the english clergy, trembling for their own benefices, welcomed the emigrant priests as brethren, and, forgetting all their former ravings about antichrist, and babylon, and the scarlet whore, lamented the downfall of religion in france. an outcry was raised against the more daring heretics at home, and the tide of popular fury let loose upon them. while this dread of atheism prevailed, the catholic priests obtained access every where; and the university of oxford even supplied them with books from its own press. these noble confessors did not let the happy opportunity pass by unimproved; they sowed the seeds abundantly, and saw the first fruits of the harvest. but the most important advantage which has ever been obtained for the true religion since its subversion, is the re-establishment of the monastic orders in this island, from whence they had so long been proscribed. this great object has been effected with admirable prudence. a few nuns 327who had escaped from the atheistical persecution in france were permitted to live together, according to their former mode of life. it would have been cruel to have separated them, and their establishment was connived at as trifling in itself, and which would die a natural death with its members. but the catholic families, rejoicing in this manifest interposition of providence, made use of the opportunity, and found no difficulty in introducing novices. thus is good always educed from evil; the irruption of the barbarous nations led to their conversion; the overthrow of the greek empire occasioned the revival of letters in europe; and the persecution of catholicism in france has been the cause of its establishment in england: the storm which threatened to pluck up this tree of life by its roots has only scattered abroad its seed. not only have many conversions been effected, but even in many instances the children of protestants have been inspired with such holy zeal, 328that, heroically abandoning the world, in spite of all the efforts of their deluded parents, they have entered and professed. some of the wiser heretics have seen to what these beginnings will lead; but the answer to their representations has been, the vows may be taken at pleasure, and broken at pleasure, for by the law of england such vows are not binding. as if any law could take away the moral obligation of a vow, and neutralise perjury! may we not indulge a hope that this blindness is the work of god?
there are at this time five catholic colleges in england and two in scotland, besides twelve schools and academies for the instruction of boys: eleven schools for females, besides what separate ones are kept by the english benedictine nuns from dunkirk; the nuns of the ancient english community of brussels; the nuns from bruges; the nuns from liege; the augustinian nuns from louvain; the english benedictine nuns from cambray; 329the benedictine nuns from ghent; those of the same order from montargis; and the dominican nuns from brussels: in all these communities the rules of the respective orders are observed, and novices are admitted; they are convents as well as schools. the poor clares have four establishments, in which only novices are received, not scholars; the teresians three; the benedictine nuns one. convents of monks are not so numerous; and indeed in the present state of things secular clergy are better labourers in the vineyard; the carthusians, however, have an establishment in the full rigour of their rule. who could have hoped to live to see these things in england!
the greater number of converts are made among the poor, who are always more easily converted than the rich, because their inheritance is not in this world, and they enjoy so little happiness here that they are more disposed to think seriously of securing it for hereafter. it is no difficult 330thing to make them set their hearts and their hopes upon heaven. their own clergy neglect them; and when they behold any one solicitous for their salvation without any interested motive, an act of love towards them is so unexpected and so unusual, that their gratitude prepares the way for truth. the charity also which our holy religion so particularly enjoins produces its good effect even on earth; proselytes always abound in the neighbourhood of a wealthy catholic family. were the seminaries as active as they were in the days of persecution, and as liberally supplied with means, it would not be absurd to hope for the conversion of this island, so long lost to the church.
another circumstance greatly in favour of the true religion is, that there is no longer any difficulty or danger in publishing catholic writings. they were formerly proscribed and hunted out as vigilantly as prohibited books in our own country; but now the press is open to them, and able 331defenders of the truth have appeared. this also has been managed skilfully. to have openly attacked the heretical establishment might have attracted too much notice, and perhaps have excited alarm; nor indeed would the heretics have perused a work avowedly written with such a design. accordingly the form of history has been used, a study of which the english are particularly fond. an excellent life of cardinal pole has been written, which exposes the enormities of henry viii. and the character of the wretched anna boleyn. another writer, in a history of henry ii. has vindicated the memory of that blessed saint thomas of canterbury, who is so vilified by all the english historians; and bishop milner, still more lately, in a work upon antiquities, has ventured to defend those excellent prelates who attempted, under philip and mary, to save their country from the abyss of heresy.
a division for a short time among the catholics themselves was occasioned by 332dr geddes, a priest of great learning, but of the most irascible disposition and perverse mind. this man began to translate the scriptures anew; and, as he avowed opinions destructive of their authority, as well as of revealed religion, his bishop very properly interfered, forbade him to proceed, and on his persisting suspended him for contumacy. he obstinately went on, and lived to publish two volumes of the text and a third of notes: the notes consist wholly of verbal criticism, and explain nothing, and the language of the translation is such as almost to justify a suspicion that he intended to debase the holy writings, and render them odious. as long as he lived he found a patron in lord petre; but his books are now selling at their just value, that is, as waste paper; and if his name was not inserted in the index expurgatorius it would be forgotten.
pope and dryden, the two greatest english poets, were both catholics, though the latter had been educated in the schism.
