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Show rTMC FtL SYLlSiiS : " X With a Refutation ol ths Errors Which It Condemns ; Translated from the Italian of L'FalconL Nineteenth Error. "Socialism, com-munh-ni, secret societies, biblical sn-cietles, sn-cietles, clerico-liberal i-ocieties." REFUTATION. Pefts of tlm kind are frequently reprobated re-probated in terms of the severest condemnation con-demnation in the encyclical "Qui pluri-bus." pluri-bus." Nov. 9th. 1846; in the ' allocution "Quibuc quantisque," April 20th. 1S40; in the encyclical "Nuscites et n-jbisrum" Dec. Sth. 1849; in tr.e allocution ' Sin-guiari Sin-guiari quadani." Dee. 9th. 1824; and in the encyclical "Quanta confieiamur," Aug. 10th. 1&63. The organization known as "Free Masonry," which is', paving the way for the advent of anti-Christ, aims' at the total destruction of all existing social institutions: it wages a deadly warfare against throne and altar, and above all seeks the complete overthrow of the Catholic church, its nn n decided decid-ed enemy, in order th.it it may be in a position to establish a universal republic repub-lic upon what it i-s pleased to term the religion of humanity. x Feeling themselves themsel-ves sufficiently strong, now that a large portion cf the world is under their control. con-trol. Free Masons make no secret of their purposes and plans'; they tell us openly that in the future republic no one will be permitted to fill any office of authority or even to exeroe any of the ordinary c n pleyr.-.ents of life unices he be a nieir.ber of their organization; that as St. John s;ays in his Aoocalv-pse. Aoocalv-pse. "No man shall buy or f?Il. but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of hi name." In th:'-s republic they are to be the real and only rulers: they are to exercise an unlimited rway over property and life: and the people at large will be like a drove of cattle, ruled with a rod cf iron, and existing solely for the pleasure of its masters'. They have repeatedly declared through their authorized organs that all who, having passed the twentieth year of their age, refuse to affiliate with them, will be indiscriminately put to death. The other aocietiei? mentioned in the heading of this section are all either directly or indirectly connected with Free Mamna; they are subordinate to it, and co-operate bv means of their own special aims in the one grand aim of effecting the total overlhiow oi existing ex-isting social institution?. Hence the name.' of socialist and radical terms applied to those misguided men. who, banded together in unholy union, s-3ek to uproot the deepest foundations of human society. The present order of things is assaulted upon all side's. The Biblical isocietiea seek to falsify Catholicism Catho-licism by sending among Catholics people wolves in cheep's clothing, and by trading in the consciences of the poor and ignorant classes? after the manner of Simon Magus, who defired to purchaee the gifta of the Holy Ghost with a piece of gold. They scatter I broadcast among the people altered and -spurious editions of the scriptures', in order to deceive them as to the true meaning of God's wcrd; they practice every ppecies of cunning in the effort to secure the wide spread discrimination discrimina-tion of their corrupt bibles, sailing them at a merely nominal price, and not hesitating hes-itating even to give them away when unable to dispose of them in any other manner. They know that once faith is weakened, weak-ened, charity grows cold, and it is thus they hope to prepare the hearts of the people for the reception of their schir?-matical schir?-matical and heretical opinions. God, however, has covered their efforts with sterility; their proselytes aie the scum of Catholicity, consisting almost exclusively of wild and reckless young men and a few unfrocked and disgraced relig'ous unfortunate wretches who have sold their birthright birth-right for a paltry piece of gold; in short, the Biblical societies are. to quote from one of their own journals, "the broom which sweeps the garden of the I Vatican and purges it of all impurities." impuri-ties." Their missions among the heathens of the Indies are equally devoid de-void of result; the faith of their followers fol-lowers in those benighted lands lasts while their gold continues to sparkle; when the gold is exhausted, to light of the gospel no longer penetrates the hearts of the children of paganism. Christ gave the mission of converting the nations not to wolves, but to lambs: not to merchants, but to those who were willing to abandon all things for His sake. Itis not surprising then that the agenUi of these Biblical societies do not reap abundant harvests; they have not been commissioned by the Lord; "non misit eos." In the darkness of their council chambers the .secret societies prepare Their plan of attack. Some devote themselves to the task of slandering the priesthood and the religious brotherhoods brother-hoods seeking to inspire the people with suspicion of their motives and with contempt for their character, and thus neutralize the effect which their instructions and warnings might otherwise other-wise produce on those entrusted to their charge. The aim of these organizations organ-izations is to hurl the servants of the Church from the lofty pinnacle of respect re-spect and veneration to which a grateful grate-ful people has raised them, well knowing know-ing that, once thia result is achieved, religion will be a mere abstraction incapable in-capable of successfully opposing their triumphant progress. Hence they are continually asserting that the priests and brothers are monsters of egotism and hypocrisy, who keep the people in ignorance and superstition for the cole I purpose of strengthening and perpetuating perpetu-ating their own domination; that they f are the most, inveterate enemies of progress, and would fain bring the world back to the darkness of the middle mid-dle ages; that they are idle, good-for-nothing vagabonds, who live at the expense of the people, and refuse to give society the benefit of thoso services serv-ices which are its natural right. Others are assiduously employed in the endeavor to inspire sovereigns w ith the idea that the Church is continually Btriving to usurp their royal prerogatives. preroga-tives. They assume an ardent zeal and tender regard for the rights of kings, urging them to be on their guard against the intriguing court of Rome. They load the Church with calumnies, falsify history, facts and causes, and practice all kinds of deceptk.n, in order or-der to succeed in their infamous pur pose. The rulers of Europe gave credence cre-dence to these misrepresentations. a'i." they are to this day paying the penalty pen-alty of their credulity. They luail.-l the Church with chains, and b: th--i-thnm. -s began - to tremble en th-- i foundations and were threatened complete ruin. They refused t,. !--s;e,-t the divine authority .f i;, Church, cast her in the mire, humbi'-.i her before the people, sought in ever, way to degrade her. whu had prove, herself the great bulwark of the -power; who had always preached s-ib-mission and obedience to legitim.r authority: who had never ceased to ir-culcate ir-culcate the precepts of the Anost'. Whosoever resisteth the power, res is-eth is-eth the ordinance of God. The peoj,,.. in their turn refused to resteer. ;. rights of their rulers and held them : a strict accountability for the ai-ts their subordinates. When kings i, vade the sanctuary and trample in-1 the rights of the Church. God . o, : , them with a leprosy which ren.!. them hateful in the eyes of men. "IVr quae peccavit homo et per haec t- i -quetur." thers again busy themselves in t: 'effort to unduly excite th- imaaina'i.. . ; of the mas:-?-!: they aie or.r,!:r., : pratins: about the people's rights. i.-;t ! studiously avoid making any n;?i;;:-: of the people's dutip-: they exaca.rf-: exaca.rf-: abuses, which may have crept into tt ! administration of public affairs. 0a'-1 0a'-1 umniate the government and its n:ii;-j n:ii;-j isteT?. and inspire the- masses, v. i- ' an inordinate c:re of change by ! pietin.-; in glowing color.- the ad van:-i van:-i ares which would surely ac. rue : i tl-.?m. if they would only rise in th--::-I might, overthrow monarchical inslit'i-I inslit'i-I tions and govern themselves by n a .- ! of their own immediate representatives, j The people, they say. are the source :' j all pe.wer. and the only true sovereign:. They who seek to rfign or rule in e;i. position to their will are despots: t!: y should be driven from power and saw way to the supremacy of the people, j ThC:C who are instrumental in the dh'Sc-mina'tion of their ideas are ene-! ene-! mks alike of God and man: they are j ir.fide'.s without conscience and with-'out with-'out he:.rt. Alas.! How many even ..f I the ministers of the altar are sedu e 1 i by them, not only to their own p-rdi-i tion. but to the ruin cf nmr.berUst i others to whom they should have bfn j an object of edification and nx of I scandal. ! Distinguished by the Almighty with the most signal marks of favor, surrounded sur-rounded by the plenitude of His graces, defitined to be guides, to the blind, ! teachers, to the ignorant, the d-I-spen-ers I of God'? mercies on earth, they reb -1 ! against their mother, the Church. prove recreant to their high vocation ! and, aid the enemies of religion ar.t society in their wcrk of demoraliza-; demoraliza-; tion: constituting themselves into j clerical liberal organization? they in-' in-' eolently assume to be the teachen? f ; tha Sovereign Fontiff. who is the j teach?r of teacfaers. from whom n-n- ' can differ without being branded as I schismatics or heretics, and whose j heaven directed hand guides the orw I only bark of safety on this tempe-itu-I ous sea of life. They influence the brutal passion? of the masses, blas-! blas-! pheme authority and ridicule the j truths of religion, the customs and ceremonies of the Church and all Vhi objects of Catholic veneration. ! Under the influence of the demoraliz-, demoraliz-, ing teachings of the secret societies, the people are deprived of that consolation, conso-lation, which springs from the hope of enjoying a blessed eternity as the recompense re-compense of good deeds performed in this world; and inspired ith one intense in-tense longing for political influence: convinced that they were born for . happine-.-n and tha-: happiness con-sis-n in the poss:-sion of power: that thi ' is the last objective end of their ex-, ex-, irlc-nce and that riches are a i nece-Tizary meir.s to the attainment attain-ment of that end: taught to regard I with contempt "the idea that this world ' is merely a place of probation and that happiness can oniy be secured in ' the life to come imbued with principles princi-ples stic-h as there, they at ea-iiy carried away by the fascinating but delusive prospects held out by com-mun'sm, com-mun'sm, led into the commission of the most frightful excesses and induced to attempt the destruction of society itself.' I say the delusive prospects held ' out by communism. because al-. al-. though the rich may be temporarily d-: d-: prived of their possesions, communism ; can r.-aver exist as a permanent jn.sti-i jn.sti-i tution it ir repugnant to the natural equality of men; and if an equal dis-; dis-; tribution cf property should actually ' take place, it would necessitate th-cessation th-cessation of all industry becau;e n ! one would consent to undergo the fatigua cf toil unlers assured that h-would h-would be permitted to enjoy the fruiM cf his- labor: mankind would in that contingency be reduced to the condition condi-tion of those fantastic beings, the ' creatures cf Rousseau's fertile imagi-; imagi-; nation, and. like them, be forced to ' unsavory acorns as a staple article of food. i Moreover, communism, even though I it should succesd in actualizing it.- i theories; and plunging society into a ! state of chaotic confusion, would ; tpeeiily yield to Free Masonry, which. ! assuming the reins cf power. wouM bend the people's neck beneath it i iron yoke, and realize the reign of ! antichrist, the enemy of God par excel- lence. j Li t the reader be assured that this ' j sketch of the workings and aims of j the secret societies is not the mere picture of an overheated imagination, i but that it is on the contrary a faith-j faith-j ful portraiture of positive and un- deniable facts. We have lamentable i proof of the real nature of their de-: de-: signa in the recurrence? of the year 1 1851. when with the noinard in one I hand and the torch in the ether, their 1 emissaries spread terror ami eonster-! eonster-! nation throughout Europe. In tha same year the world witne-ss'-sd the i extraordinary spectacle of a Protectant ' monarch, the king of Prussia, inviting the Jeruit Fatheis to his capital for the purpose of conducting a series of minions which were attended both h" himself and cither members cf the royal family. But when the polnard had . been returned to Its' scabbard and the torch extinguished, he resumed his former indifference to the Church and forgot the debt of gratitude which h owe her ministers. (To be continue) |