“1. An acknowledgment that Protestant governments are illegal, without the ’sacred confirmation’ of the pope, and may safely be destroyed.

“2. A renunciation of ‘any allegiance as due to any heretical’ state, named Protestants.

“3. A solemn pledge to do their utmost to ‘destroy all their pretended powers, regal or otherwise.’

“Comment on the relations which these agents of the pope sustain to our Protestant government is needless.

The Oath of Secrecy of the Jesuits.

“‘I, A. B., now in the presence of Almighty God, the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John Baptist, the holy apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and the saints and sacred hosts of heaven, and of you my ghostly father, do declare from my heart, without mental reservation, that his holiness the Pope Urban is Christ’s vicar-general, and is the true and only head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth; and that, by the virtue of the keys of binding and loosing given to his holiness by my Saviour Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, states, commonwealths, and governments, all being illegal without his sacred confirmation, and that they may safely be destroyed; therefore, to the utmost of my power, I shall and will defend this doctrine, and his holiness’ rights and customs, against all usurpers of the heretical (or Protestant) authority whatsoever; especially against the now pretended authority and Church of England, and all adherents, in regard that they and she be usurpal and heretical, opposing the sacred mother church of Rome. I do renounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince, or state, named Protestant, or obedience to any of their inferior magistrates or officers. I do further declare, that the doctrine of the Church of England, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and of others of the name of Protestant, to be damnable, and they themselves are damned, and to be damned, that will not forsake the same; I do further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise all or any of his holiness’ agents in any place wherever I shall be, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, or in any other territory or kingdom I shall come to, and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant doctrine, and to destroy all its pretended powers, regal or otherwise. I do further promise and declare, that notwithstanding I am dispensed with, to assume any religion heretical, for the propagating of the mother church’s interests, to keep secret and private all her agents’ counsels from time to time, as they intrust me, and not to divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing, or circumstance whatsoever; but to execute all that shall be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me, by you, my ghostly father, or any of this sacred convent. All which I, A. B., do swear, by the blessed Trinity, and blessed Sacrament, which I am now to receive, to perform, and on my part to keep inviolably: and do call all the heavenly and glorious host of heaven to witness these my real intentions, to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take this most holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist; and witness the same further with my hand and seal, in the face of this holy convent, this day of Anno Domini, etc.’

“The Jesuits were banished from England in 1606. They were expelled from France, A. D. 1764; from Spain and Sicily, A. D. 1767; from Portugal, A. D. 1789; and totally suppressed by Pope Clement XIV., A. D. 1773. Everywhere they were prosecuted and repelled as injurious to youth, and dangerous to all existing forms of government. The present pope has revived the order, and now we find the Jesuits secretly and openly engaged again in their pernicious and wicked devices to re-establish his power in the United States, and in the Canadas.”


CHAPTER XXXVI.