Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/407

 CH&P. XII.] PuftG,,rOiT. 401 ber, 1818, pefe 109, shows that 8 purgatorian society was also esta- blished in London: "The Roman Catholics in London have. an association of Sunday schools, and the reader may be edified by the tide under which it has been instituted, and by some of its rules. It is called a spiritual asso- ciation, in honour of the most holy Trinity, and under the protection of the blessed Virgin Mary, for the relief of souls in purgatory, and instruction of the ignorant. "All moneys acquired by this charity, from subscriptions or other- wise, shall be destined to provide that the holy sacrifice of the mass be offered for the intentions of the society, and for the support of the schools. "At the death of any member, mass shall be said three times for the repose of his (or her) soul. Masses shall be said every month for the deceased members of the society in general. The standing intentions of this society shall be: 1st. The souls most in need. 2d. The de- ceased members. 3d. The welfare of the living subscribers. "A member may enter the names of his departed parents or friends in the books of the society, and such deceased persons shall be deemed members of the same, and part,'ke of its spiritual advantages, as long as their subscriptions continue to be paid. "The rosary o; the blessed Virgin Mary shall be said daily for the intentions of the society, and on no account whatever be omitted." This association was formed in 1810, a brief notice of which can be seen in M'Gaviu's Protestant, vol. i, page 550. The object of the society iu Dublin was to relieve suffering souls in purgatory, particularly members of the society and their friends, by tlse most easy means irnag/nable. And what are these means ? Why, paying a penny a week, as the easiest manner of raising money: and the money must go to the clergy, as they alone can give the mssses. The seventh rule provides that a subscriber in order to obtain the benefit of the itmtitution must be of six months' standing, must die a natural dea, and clear of all dues at the time of !ds departure. Besides, the soci- ety could be denominated, "A SocieTY TO r.tcn Ta CLintOY," with more propriety, than an institution to benefit the people. The London society seems to include Sunday schools as one object: but this appears to be lost sight of immediately, and the relief of souls in iurgatory comes in as haying almost the sole claim on the funds of the society. And this society, too, takes its final direction in contributing its money toward enriching the clergy by purchasing masses which they alone can bestow. But it is useless here to enlarge. These pur- gateriss societies prove the degraded ignorance of Roman Catholics, and the corrupt state of their clergy. There is one custom which prevails extensively in Irehad, and per- haps in other countries, which excels even purgatofian societies in corruption. This is the custom of anting t corpse. This is done �ery much after the manner of an auctioneer, in the act of selling property under the hammer; for the term c. ant/ng is used in Ireland in he same sense as am:t/on or youins is employed in America. Previous to the funeral procession mass is performed for the soul of the de- ,/ceased. Immediately at the close of the mass, and before the procos.. sion commences, the priest proceeds to collect money from the per- VOL. I.--26 �

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