Fifty Years
in the Church of Rome
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Fifty Years
in the Church of Rome
BY
CHARLES CHINIQUY
Preface
Charles Chiniquy: The LORD's Faithful Witness to
the Harlotry of Rome
by Tom Stewart
A testimony of the love of God "to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by [Christ Jesus]" (Hebrews 7:25),
and a faithful warning to the Church of Jesus Christ concerning the treacheries
of the Harlot Church of Rome, is the life of Charles Chiniquy. As a French
Canadian youth, Chiniquy was given the gift of his love for the Word of God by
his unconventionally Roman Catholic parents, even though Scripture in the common
tongue had been expressly forbidden by the Council of Trent. Without his
knowledge, the seeds of Protestantism had been effectively sown in him, as
desired by the blessed translating efforts of both John Wycliffe and William
Tyndale. "But he that received Seed into the good ground is he that heareth
the Word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth,
some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty"
(Matthew
13:23).
Why all the commotion about Protestants historically encouraging the reading of
the Word of God, when both Catholics and Protestants may freely read-- but
generally ignore-- the Scriptures today? "Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God"
(Romans
10:17). Because the Word of God does not
benefit anyone unless it is believed. "For unto us was the Gospel preached,
as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it"
(Hebrews
4:2). Worse, too many are oblivious to
their false sense of security in a Deceptive Faith that has not the works of
Love. "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by Love"
(Galatians
5:6).
[Please
read our article, "Is
Faith the Only Condition for Eternal Salvation? Or, The Biblical Doctrine of
Justification by Faith" --
http://Whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/Is.Faith.the.Only.Conditio.html --,
for an important clarification of this often misinterpreted concept.]
Chiniquy aspired to the priesthood of Rome, but his joy of being ordained a
priest of Rome became "as if a thunderbolt had fallen upon me when I
pronounced the awful oath which is required from every priest: 'I will never
interpret the Holy Scriptures except according to the unanimous consent of the
Holy Fathers' " (excerpt from Chiniquy's "Fifty Years in the Church of
Rome"). How unlike Rome's oath is the Scripture, "20
But ye have an Unction [Greek, chrisma] from the Holy One, and ye know all
things. 27
But the Anointing [Greek, chrisma, or unction] which ye have received of Him
abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same
Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is Truth, and is no lie, and even as
it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him"
(1John
2:20,27)!
As a proponent of total abstinence from alcoholic beverages, he was vehemently
opposed by his drunken fellow priests. "For a bishop must be blameless, as
the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no
striker, not given to filthy lucre"
(Titus
1:7). He was horrified at the liberties
taken by the priests of Rome, especially with their female confessors, who were
required to confess their most intimate faults to the ears of a man, in the name
of Auricular Confession. "For it is a shame even to speak of those things
which are done of them in secret"
(Ephesians
5:12). He led an effort to bring
Catholicism to the United States by bringing in a large colony of French
Canadian Catholics to the state of Illinois. Attacked by jealous priests,
Chiniquy was compelled to require the services of Abraham Lincoln, who ably
defeated the Jesuits in open court battle; however, as Chiniquy warned, the
Jesuits would not forgive or forget their wound. Chiniquy later demonstrated
that Lincoln's assassination in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth was carefully
orchestrated by a conspiracy of Jesuit-Catholic accomplices. "Lest Satan
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices"
(2Corinthians
2:11).
Suffice it to say that Chiniquy's breaking into the full freedom and liberty of
the Gospel was aided by the whale vomiting its unwanted meal. Rome ultimately
excommunicated Chiniquy, but not before he gave his resignation. The bishop
"answered angrily: 'Mr. Chiniquy, I am your superior, I do not want to
argue with you. You are inferior: your business is to obey me. Give me at once
an act of submission, in which you will simply say that you and your people will
submit yourselves to my authority, and promise to do anything I will bid you.' I
calmly answered: 'What you ask me is not an act of submission, it is an act of
adoration. I do absolutely refuse to give it.' 'If it be so, sir,' he answered,
'you can no longer be a Roman Catholic priest.' I raised my hands to heaven, and
cried with a loud voice: 'May God Almighty be for ever blessed'" (excerpt
from Chiniquy's "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome"). "So then it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth
mercy" (Romans 9:16).
Chiniquy returned to his room to contemplate the enormity of his situation.
Taking his New Testament, he glanced providentially at these words, "Ye
are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men"
(1Corinthians
7:23). Gospel Salvation now became very
plain to this former priest. "Strange to say! Those words came to my mind,
more as a light than an articulated sound. They suddenly but most beautifully
and powerfully gave me, as much as a man can know it, the knowledge of the great
mystery of a perfect salvation through Christ alone. They at once brought a
great and delightful calm to my soul. I said to myself: 'Jesus has bought me,
then I am His; for when I have bought a thing it is mine, absolutely mine! Jesus
has bought me! I, then, belong to Him! He alone has a right over me. I do not
belong to the bishops, to the popes, not even to the church, as I have been told
till now. I belong to Jesus and to Him alone! His Word must be my guide, and my
light by day and by night. Jesus has bought me,' I said again to myself; 'then
He has saved me! and if so, I am saved, perfectly saved, for ever saved! for
Jesus cannot save me by half. Jesus is my God; the works of God are perfect. My
salvation must, then, be a perfect salvation. But how has He saved me? What
price has He paid for my poor guilty soul?' The answer came as quickly as
lightning: 'He bought you with His blood shed on the cross! He saved you by
dying on Calvary!'" (Chiniquy's emancipating thoughts from his "Fifty
Years in the Church of Rome").
.
.
.
DEDICATION
Venerable Ministers of the Gospel! Rome is the
great danger ahead for the Church of Christ, and you do not understand it
enough.
The atmosphere of light, honesty, truth, and holiness in which you are born, and
which you have breathed since your infancy, makes it almost impossible for you
to realize the dark mysteries of idolatry, immorality, degrading slavery, hatred
of the Word of God, concealed behind the walls of that Modern Babylon. You are
too honest to suspect them; and your precious time is too much taken by the
sacred duties of your ministry, to study the long labyrinth of argumentations
which form the bulk of the greater number of controversial books. Besides that,
the majority of the books of controversy against Rome are of such a dry
character that, though many begin to read them, very few have the courage to go
to the end. The consequence is an ignorance of Romanism which becomes and more
deplorable and fatal every day.
It is that ignorance which paves the way to the triumph of Rome, in a near
future, if there is not a complete change in your views on that subject.
It is that ignorance which paralyses the arm of the Church of Christ, and makes
the glorious word "Protestant" senseless, almost a dead and ridiculous
word. For who does really protest against Rome today? where are those who sound
the trumpet of alarm?
When Rome is striking you to the heart by cursing your schools and wrenching the
Bible from the hands of your children; when she is not only battering your
doors, but scaling your walls and storming your citadels, how few dare to go to
the breach and repulse the audacious and sacrilegious foe?
Why so? Because modern Protestants have not only forgotten what Rome was, what
she is, and what she will for ever be; the most irreconcilable and powerful
enemy of the Gospel of Christ; but they consider her almost as a branch of the
church whose corner stone is Christ.
Faithful ministers of the Gospel! I present you this book that you may know that
the monster Church of Rome, who shed the blood of your forefathers is still
at work today, at your very door, to enchain your people to the feet of her
idols. Read it, and, for the first time, you will see the inside life of Popery
with the exactness of photography. From the supreme art with which the mind of
the young and timid child is fettered, enchained, and paralyzed, to the
unspeakable degradation of the priest under the iron heel of the bishop,
everything will be revealed to you as it has never been before.
The superstitions, the ridiculous and humiliating practices, the secret and
mental agonies of the monks, the nuns and the priests, will be shown to you as
they were never shown before. In this book, the sophisms and errors of Romanism
are discussed and refuted with a clearness, simplicity, and evidence, which my
twenty-five years of priesthood only could teach me. It is not in boasting that
I say this. There can be no boasting in me for having been so many years an
abject slave of the Pope. The book I offer you is an arsenal filled with the
best weapons you ever had to fight, and, with the help of God, to conquer the
foe.
The learned and zealous champion of Protestantism in Great Britain, Rev. Dr.
Badenoch, who has revised the manuscript, wrote to a friend: "I do not
think there is a Protestant work more thrilling in interest and more important
at the present time. It is not only full of incidents, but also of arguments on
the side of truth with all classes of Romaninsts, from the bishops to the parish
priest. I know of no work which gives so graphically the springs of Roman
Catholic life, and, at the same time, meets the plausible objections to
Protestantism in Roman Catholic circles. I wish, with all my heart, that this
work would be published in Great Britain."
The venerable, learned, and so well known Rev. Dr. Kemp, Principal of the Young
Ladies' College, of Ottawa, Canada, only a few days before his premature death
wrote: "Mr. Chiniquy has submitted every chapter of his `Fifty Years in the
Church of Rome' to me: I have read it with care and with the deepest interest;
and I commend it to the public favour in the highest terms. It is the only book
I know that gives anything like a full and authentic account of the inner
workings of Popery on this continent, and so effectively unmasks its pretense to
sanctity. Besides the most interesting biographical incidents, it contains
incisive refutations of the most plausible assumptions and deadly errors of the
Romish Church. It is well fitted to awaken Protestants to the insidious designs
of the arch-enemy of their faith and liberties, and to arouse them to a decisive
opposition. It is written in a kindly and Christian spirit, does not indulge in
denunciations, and, while speaking in truth, it does so in love. Its style is
lively and its English good, with only a delicate flavour of the author's native
French."
.
TO THE BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND PEOPLE
OF ROME
this book is also dedicated.
In the name of your immortal souls, I ask you, Roman Catholics, to read this
book.
By the mercy of God, you will fine, in its pages, how you are cruelly deceived
by your vain and lying traditions.
You will see that is not through your ceremonies, masses, confessions,
purgatory, indulgences, fastings, ect., you are saved. You have nothing to do
but to believe, repent, and love.
Salvation is a gift! Eternal life is a gift!
Forgiveness of sin is a gift! Christ is a gift!
.
Table of Contents
| Chapter 1 | . . . | The Bible and the Priest of Rome | |
| Chapter 2 | . . . | My First Schooldays at St. Thomas- The Monk and Celibacy | |
| Chapter 3 | . . . | The Confession of Children | |
| Chapter 4 | . . . | The Shepherd Whipped by His Sheep | |
| Chapter 5 | . . . | The Priest, Purgatory, and the Poor Widow's Cow | |
| Chapter 6 | . . . | Festivities in a Parsonage | |
| Chapter 7 | . . . | Preparation for the First Communion- Initiation to Idolatry | |
| Chapter 8 | . . . | The First Communion | |
| Chapter 9 | . . . | Intellectual Education in the Roman Catholic College | |
| Chapter 10 | . . . | Moral and Religious Instruction in the Roman Catholic Colleges | |
| Chapter 11 | . . . | Protestant Children in the Convents and Nunneries of Rome | |
| Chapter 12 | . . . | Rome and Education- Why does the Church of Rome hate the Common Schools of the United States, and want to destroy them?- Why does she object to the reading of the Bible in the Schools? | |
| Chapter 13 | . . . | Theology of the Church of Rome: its Anti-Christian Character | |
| Chapter 14 | . . . | The Vow of Celibacy | |
| Chapter 15 | . . . | The Impurities of the Theology of Rome | |
| Chapter 16 | . . . | The Priests of Rome and the Holy Fathers; or, how I Swore to give up the Word of God to follow the Word of Men | |
| Chapter 17 | . . . | The Roman Catholic Priesthood, or Ancient and Modern Idolatry | |
| Chapter 18 | . . . | Nine Consequences of the Dogma of Transubstantiation- The Old Paganism under a Christian Name | |
| Chapter 19 | . . . | Vicarage, and Life at St. Charles, Rivierre Boyer | |
| Chapter 20 | . . . | Papineau and the Patriots in 1833- The Burning of "Le Canadien" by the Curate of St. Charles | |
| Chapter 21 | . . . | Grand Dinner of the Priests- The Maniac Sister of Rev. Mr. Perras | |
| Chapter 22 | . . . | I am appointed Vicar of the Curate of Charlesbourgh- The Piety, Lives and Deaths of Fathers Bedard and Perras | |
| Chapter 23 | . . . | The Cholera Morbus of 1834- Admirable Courage and Self-Denial of the Priests of Rome during the Epidemic | |
| Chapter 24 | . . . | I am named a Vicar of St. Roch, Quebec City- The Rev. Mr. Tetu- Tertullian- General Cargo- The Seal Skins | |
| Chapter 25 | . . . | Simony- Strange and Sacrilegious Traffic in the S0-called Body and Blood of Christ- Enormous Sums of Money made by the Sale of Masses- The Society of Three Masses abolished, and the Society of One Mass established | |
| Chapter 26 | . . . | Continuation of the Trade in Masses | |
| Chapter 27 | . . . | Quebec Marine Hospital- The First Time I carried the "Bon Dieu" (the wafer god) in my Vest Pocket- The Grand Oyster Soiree at Mr. Buteau's- The Rev. L. Parent and the "Bon Dieu" at the Oyster Soiree | |
| Chapter 28 | . . . | Dr. Douglas- My first Lesson on Temperance- Study of Anatomy- Working of Alcohol in the Human Frame- The Murderess of Her Own Child- I for ever give up the use of Intoxicating Drinks | |
| Chapter 29 | . . . | Conversions of Protestants to the Church of Rome- Rev. Anthony Parent, Superior of the Seminary of Quebec; His peculiar way of finding access to the Protestants and bringing them to the Catholic Church- How he spies the Protestants through the Confessional- I persuade Ninety-three Families to become Catholics | |
| Chapter 30 | . . . | The Murders and Thefts in Quebec from 1835 to 1836- The Night Excursion with Two Thieves- The Restitution- The Dawn of Light | |
| Chapter 31 | . . . | Chambers and his Accomplices Condemned to Death- Asked me to Prepare them for their Terrible Fate- A Week in their Dungeon- Their Sentence of Death changed into Deportation to Botany Bay- Their Departure of Exile- I meet one of them a Sincere Convert, very rich, in a high and honourable position in Australia, in 1878 | |
| Chapter 32 | . . . | The Miracles of Rome- Attack of Typhoid Fever- Apparition of St. Anne and St. Philomene- My Sudden Cure- The Curate of St. Anne du Nord, Mons. Ranvoize, almost a disguised Protestant | |
| Chapter 33 | . . . | My Nomination as Curate of Beauport- Degradation and Ruin of that Place through Drunkenness- My Opposition to my Nomination useless- Preparation to Establish a Temperance Society- I write to Father Mathew for advice | |
| Chapter 34 | . . . | The Hand of God in the Establishment of a Temperance Society in Beauport and Vicinity | |
| Chapter 35 | . . . | Foundation of Temperance Societies in the Neighbouring Parishes- Providential Arrival of Monsignor De Forbin Janson, Bishop of Nancy- He Publicly Defends Me against the Bishop of Quebec and for ever Breaks the Opposition of the Clergy | |
| Chapter 36 | . . . | The God of Rome Eaten by Rats | |
| Chapter 37 | . . . | Visit of a Protestant Stranger- He Throws an Arrow into my Priestly Soul never to be taken out | |
| Chapter 38 | . . . | Erection of the Column of Temperance- School Buildings- A noble and touching act of the People of Beauport | |
| Chapter 39 | . . . | Sent to succeed Rev. Mr. Varin, Curate of Kamouraska- Stern Opposition of that Curate and the surrounding Priests and People- Hours of Desolation in Kamouraska- The Good Master allays the Tempest and bids the Waves be still | |
| Chapter 40 | . . . | Organization of Temperance Societies in Kamouraska and surrounding Country- The Girl in the Garb of a Man in the Service of the Curates of Quebec and Eboulements- Frightened by the Scandals seen everywhere- Give up my Parish of Kamouraska to join the "Oblates of Mary Immaculate of Longueuil" | |
| Chapter 41 | . . . | Perversion of Dr. Newman to the Church of Rome in the light of his own Explanations, Common Sense and the Word of God | |
| Chapter 42 | . . . | Noviciate in the Monastery of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of Longueuil- Some of the Thousand Acts of Folly and Idolatry which form the Life of a Monk- The Deplorable Fall of one of the Fathers- Fall of the Grand Vicar Quiblier- Sick in the Hotel Dieu of Montreal- Sister Urtubise: what she says of Maria Monk- The Two Missionaries to the Lumber Men- Fall and Punishment of a Father Oblate- What one of the best Father Oblates thinks of the Monks and the Monastery | |
| Chapter 43 | . . . | I accept the hospitality of the Rev. Mr. Brassard of Longueuil- I give my Reasons for Leaving the Oblates to Bishop Bourget- He presents me with a splendid Crucifix blessed by his Holiness for me, and accepts my Services in the Cause of Temperance in the Diocese of Montreal | |
| Chapter 44 | . . . | Preparations for the Last Conflict- Wise Counsel, Tears, and Distress of Father Mathew- Longueuil the First to Accept the Great Reform of Temperance- The whole District of Montreal, St. Hyacinthe and Three Rivers Conquered- The City of Montreal with the Sulpicians take the Pledge- Gold Medal- Officially named Apostle of Temperance in Canada- Gift of £500 from Parliament | |
| Chapter 45 | . . . | My Sermon on the Virgin Mary- Compliments of Bishop Prince- Stormy Night- First Serious Doubts about the Church of Rome- Faithful Discussion with the Bishop- The Holy Fathers opposed to the Modern Worship of the Virgin- The Branches of the Vine | |
| Chapter 46 | . . . | The Holy Fathers- New Mental Troubles at not finding the Doctines of my Church in their Writings- Purgatory and the Sucking Pig of the Poor Man of Varennes | |
| Chapter 47 | . . . | Letter from the Rev. Bishop Vandeveld, of Chicago- Vast Project of the Bishop of the United States to take Possession of the Rich Valley of the Mississippi and the Prairies of the West to Rule that Great Republic- They want to put me at the Heart of the Work- My Lectures on Temperance at Detroit- Intemperance of the Bishops and Priests of that City | |
| Chapter 48 | . . . | My Visit to Chicago in 1857- Bishop Vandeveld- His Predecessor Poisoned- Magnificent Prairies of the West- Return to Canada- Bad feelings of Bishop Bourget- I decline sending a Rich Woman to the Nunnery to enrich the Bishop- A Plot to destroy me | |
| Chapter 49 | . . . | The Plot to destroy me- The Interdict- The Retreat at the Jesuit's College- The Lost Girl, employed by the Bishop, Retracts- The Bishop Confounded, sees his Injustice, makes Amends- Testimonial Letters- The Chalice- The Benediction before I leave Canada | |
| Chapter 50 | . . . | Address presented me at Longueuil- I arrive at Chicago- I select the spot for my Colony- I build the first Chapel- Jealousy and Opposition of the Priests of Bourbounais and Chicago- Great Success of the Colony | |
| Chapter 51 | . . . | Intrigues, Impostures, and Criminal Life of the Priests in Bourbounais- Indignation of the Bishop- The People ignominiously turn out the Criminal Priest from their Parish- Frightful Scandal- Faith in the Church of Rome seriously shaken | |
| Chapter 52 | . . . | Correspondence with the Bishop | |
| Chapter 53 | . . . | The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary | |
| Chapter 54 | . . . | The Abominations of Auricular Confession | |
| Chapter 55 | . . . | The Ecclesiastical Retreat- Conduct of the Priests- The Bishop forbids me to distribute the Bible | |
| Chapter 56 | . . . | Public Acts of Simony- Thefts and Brigandage of Bishop O'Regan- General Cry of Indignation- I determine to Resist him to his Face- He employs Mr. Spink again to send me to Gaol, and he Fails- Drags me as a Prisoner to Urbana in the Spring of 1856, and Fails again- Abraham Lincoln defends me- My dear Bible becomes more than ever my Light and my Counsellor | |
| Chapter 57 | . . . | Bishop O'Regan sells the Parsonage of the French Canadians of Chicago, pockets the Money, and turns them out when they ocme to complain- He determines to turn me out of my Colony and send me to Kahokia- He forgets it the next day and publishes that he has interdicted me- My People send a Deputation to the Bishop- His Answers- The Sham Excommunication by Three Drunken Priests | |
| Chapter 58 | . . . | Address from my People, asking me to Remain- I am again dragged as a Prisoner by the Sheriff to Urbana- Abraham Lincoln's Anxiety about the issue of the Prosecution- My Distress- The Rescue- Miss Philomene Moffat sent by God to save me- Lebel's Confession and Distress- My Innocence acknowledged- Noble Words and Conduct of Abraham Lincoln- The Oath of Miss Philomene Moffat | |
| Chapter 59 | . . . | A Moment of Interruption in the Thread of my "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome," to see how my said Previsions about my defender, Abraham Lincoln, were to be realized- Rome the implacable Enemy of the United States | |
| Chapter 60 | . . . | The Fundamental Principles of the Constitution of the United States drawn from the Gospel of Christ- My First Visit to Abraham Lincoln to warn him of the Plots I knew against his Life- The Priests circulate the News that Lincoln was born in the Church of Rome- Letter of the Pope to Jeff Davis- My last Visit to the President- His admirable Reference to Moses- His willingness to die for his Nation's Sake | |
| Chapter 61 | . . . | Abraham Lincoln a true Man of God, and a true Disciple of the Gospel- The Assassination by Booth- The Tool of the Priests- John Surratt's House- The Rendezvous and Dwelling Place of the Priests- John Surratt Secreted by the Priests after the Murder of Lincoln- The Assassination of Lincoln known and published in the Town Three Hours before its occurrence | |
| Chapter 62 | . . . | Deputation of Two Priests sent by the People and the Bishops of Canada to persuade us to submit to the will of the Bishop- The Deputies acknowledge publicly that the Bishop is wrong and that we are right- For peace' sake I consent to withdraw from the Contest on certain conditions accepted by the Deputies- One of those Deputies turns false to his Promise, and betrays us, to be put at the head of my Colony- My last Interview with him and Mr. Brassard | |
| Chapter 63 | . . . | Mr. Desaulnier is named Vicar-General of Chicago to crush us- Our People more united than ever to defend their Rights- Letters of the Bishops of Montreal against me, and my Answer- Mr. Brassard forced, against his conscience, to condemn us- My answer to Mr. Brassard- He writes to beg my Pardon | |
| Chapter 64 | . . . | I write to the Pope Pius IX, and to Napoleon, Emperor of France, and send them the Legal and Public Documents proving the bad conduct of Bishop O'Regan- Grand-Vicar Dunn sent to tell me of my Victory at Rome, and the end of our Trouble- I go to Dubuque to offer my Submission to the Bishop- The Peace Sealed and publicly Proclaimed by Grand-Vicar Dunn the 28th March, 1858 | |
| Chapter 65 | . . . | Excellent Testimonial from my Bishop- My Retreat- Grand-Vicar Saurin and his Assistant, Rev. M. Granger- Grand-Vicar Dunn writes me about the new Storm prepared by the Jesuits- Vision- Christ offers Himself as a Gift- I am Forgiven, Rich, Happy, and Saved- Back to my People | |
|
Chapters 66 - 76 Final |
Chapter 66 | . . . | The Solemn Responsibilities of my new Position- We give up the name of Roman Catholic to call ourselves Christian Catholics- Dismay of the Roman Catholic Bishops- My Lord Duggan, co-adjutor of St. Louis, hurries to Chicago- He comes to St. Anne to persuade the People to submit to his Authority- He is ignominiously turned out, and runs away in the midst of the Cries of the People |
| Chapter 67 | . . . | Bird's-eye View of the Principal Events from my Conversion to this day- My Narrow Escapes- The End of the Voyage through the Desert to the Promised Land |