First, that with regard to leaving the Dominicans I had been induced to do so from motives of conscience, though I still retained a grateful remembrance of all the kindnesses I had received from them; and that what I had done was with the full permission and licence of Pope Gregory XVI.
Secondly, that it was equally from motives of conscience I had left the ministry of the Roman Church.
Thirdly, that far from bringing any complaint against the Inquisition, I had quietly resigned to it all the charges of the ministry, testifying thereby to every one who might be willing to understand me, that from that time I intended no longer to be connected with the Church of Rome in any way whatsoever, regarding myself as subject to no one, in matters of faith, save God alone.
Fourthly, that my leaving Rome, and Italy altogether, was the natural result of the steps I had previously taken; that whether I went to the English or Spanish dominions, or any other, could be a matter of consequence to no one, provided I lived an upright life, wherever I might be; and as I felt conscious that this had been the case hitherto, I did not consider myself called upon to render an account of my actions to any man.
I had reserved to myself a more lengthened and argumentative conversation, when Monsignor Bambozzi should enter upon the question of matters of faith; he not only, however, left that subject untouched upon, but even turned it aside when I endeavoured to lead his attention towards it: nay, he went so far as to order the gaoler to let me take the air every day, for about a quarter of an hour, on the terrace of the castle, saying that he was quite satisfied with me, and that we were perfectly agreed. Yet how he could imagine we were so, when my opinions had been diametrically opposed to his, and all my answers a direct rebuff to his questions, I cannot understand. The fact is, that the Inquisition has always been about as anxious after truth, for its own sake, as Pontius Pilate was, in the presence of the Lord.
Both my judge and his companion, however, upon taking leave of me this second time, shook hands with me, saying, that I should see them again shortly.
Eight days elapsed, when I was once more asked for. "It is Bambozzi," cried my fellow-prisoners; and I went down stairs laughing, in the expectation of seeing him again; but in his place I beheld a priest of the Oratory, alone. He was full of compliments and civilities, on our meeting; and I asked him at once his name, and the cause of his visit; for as soon as he opened his mouth, I perceived by his accent that he was not an Italian. He replied that he had come to see me purely out of good-will; and showed me his name in the title-page of a book: "Dr. Augustine Theiner, of Prussian Silesia, Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the College of the Propaganda in Rome." He went on to say that he was grieved to find me in such a situation, but that still all might turn out for the best, if I would only be teachable towards God, and the Holy Mother of the Roman Catholic church. This at once brought us to the question, whether the Roman church alone had a right to be called Catholic? I maintained that it was a church, but not the church, and by logical consequence could not be called universal, for the simple reason that Rome was not the whole world:—that the Pope was Bishop of the Roman church alone, and not of the Catholic church; the proof being that many hundreds of bishops exist in the church, some dependent upon, and others independent of Rome; without reckoning all those Christian churches which pride themselves on having no other bishop than Him mentioned by Peter: "For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."[123]
He asked me, smiling, what my church was? I told him it was that of which St. Paul speaks:[124] "The general assembly and church of the First-born which are written in heaven." To a few other questions I replied to the same purport. He exhorted me to read his book, printed by the Propaganda, in which he had shown me his name; and then took his leave.
This book is a "History of the Reformation in Sweden," written, it would appear, on purpose to blacken the fame of those staunch Reformers, the good King Gustavus and the excellent Oloff Peterson; and to have the opportunity of using every description of epithets, the most offensive he could find, against Luther. It has had the honour, as the author told me, of being translated into French by M. de Montalembert, and into English by Dr. Newman, who is also become a priest of the Oratory. A second and third visit from Dr. Theiner, who came to me with other books of his own writing, which he earnestly requested me to read, were occupied with continual questions on the Roman church; he resting upon certain passages of the holy Fathers, to prove that it is the Catholic church, and I upon passages from the Fathers also, to show that what they called Catholic, was the Roman church together with all others, those only excepted which deviated from the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, and from the faith of Christ,—the Roman Church being so different in our days, and especially since the Council of Trent, from what it was in those of the holy Fathers, that if they were now living they would be the first to protest against it, and to separate from it; that before the present Roman church could be called Christian, a reformation in it was indispensable; the Jewish and the Pagan elements being so mixed up with both its doctrines and worship, that there hardly remains in it a shade of primitive Christianity: that let but the pope undertake this reformation, we would be with him, otherwise we must remain separated; nor should his threats terrify us, nor his Inquisition rob the Christians of Italy of their faith or their union; that I had shown an example to the brethren how to propagate in this country the pure and simple doctrine of Christ; that the Bible, and the Bible alone, was sufficient to destroy the whole edifice of the pope; and that on the day when I saw reprinted in Rome the New Testament in Italian, and moreover beheld the avidity with which the Romans received it, I exclaimed, "The death-knell of the Papacy is sounded."
My heart almost leaped out of my breast with joy, at having been able, in the prisons of the Roman Inquisition, to render this testimony to the truth and to the religion of Jesus Christ.