"a man humble, that is to say, susceptible of grace. And would "to God, it were a custom to confess publicly before the whole world, "our secret sins, as St. Austin did. O God! how soon should we " become men rich in grace! And why are we so much ashamed before "one man, when we shall have to endure so much on our death-bed; "which is not far distant, before God, all his angels, and the devils, "which will go infinitely harder with us; all which we may now "easily prevent, by this momentary shame before one man. Besides, "I do not know, whether a person can have a true and lively faith "who is not willing to suffer so much, and to take up so small a piece "of the cross. The second reason which ought to incite us to make "a voluntary confession, is the precious and noble promise of God, “Matt. 16." And whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven; and John 20. 23. whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them.-Thus Luther.

Again, in his second tome, fol. 84. edit. Lat, Wittemberg, 1546, he says: "There is no doubt but that the confession of sins is necessary and commanded by God. But private confession which is "now in use, pleases me in every regard, and is not only useful, but “even necessary. I would not that it were not; nay I rejoice that it " is in the church of Christ, because it is the only remedy to an afflict"ed conscience."

Again, in his book against the Anabaptists, and alibi, he declares, speaking of the church of Rome, that "she is the true church, the "pillar and ground of truth, and the most holy place. In this church "God miraculously conserves baptism, vocation and ordination of Pas"tors, the image of the crucifix, the remission of sins, and absolution "in confession," &c. And again," We confess that under the Papacy are many good Christian things, yea, all that is good in Christianity, and that we had it from thence: For we acknowledge that "under the Papacy, is the true scripture, true baptism, the true sa"crament of the altar, true keys for the forgiveness of sins, true office "of preaching, true catechism, as the Lord's prayer, the ten com<mandments, and the articles of the faith. I say, moreover, that un"der the Papacy is true Christianity, even the very kernal of Chris"tianity."

In the Ausburg confession or apology, art. 11. 12. 22. Apol. de pœnit. p. 167, 200, 201, it is expressly laid down, that "Absolution "ought to be retained in confession; that to reject it, is an error of

66

66

"the Novatians, and a condemned error; that this absolution is a true sacrament and properly so called; that the power of the keys "remits sins, not only in the sight of the church, but also in the sight "of God."And in Luther's little catechism, which is unanimously received throughout the whole party, we find these words: "In the sight of God we must hold ourselves guilty of our hidden sins: but "with respect to the minister, we must confess those only, which are "known to us, and which we feel within our hearts." And the better to discover the Lutherans conformity with us, in the administration of this sacrament, the reader need only refer to the absolution, which, as the same Luther in the same place sets it down, the confessor gives the penitent, after confession, in these terms: "Do you not believe "that my forgiveness is that of God?" "Yes," answers the penitent. "And I," replies the confessor, "by the orders of our Lord Jesus "Christ, forgive you your sins, in the name of the Father and of the "Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Do Protestants know their own doctrine, and that of the Father and Patriarch of their reformation, when they inveigh so loudly against us for believing in the utility and necessity of confession, and when they charge it with being a licentious practice? If they do not hold with the belief and practice now, it certainly is not because their founder did not strenuously recommend it.

'

The church of England also, is so well convinced of the divine institution of confession, that she enjoins a special charge to be given to those of her communion, to confess their sins upon two occasions. The one, when about to receive communion they shall find their conscience charged with any grievous sin, which we call mortal; the other when they are sick. It is thus, the minister addresses them in the conclusion of his exhortation before communion, as laid down in the book of common prayer, (latest edition printed in England).............................“ And "because it is requisite, that no man should come to the holy commu"nion, but with a full trust in God's mercy, aud with a quiet con"science; therefore if there be any of you, who by this means cannot "quiet his own conscience herein, but requireth further comfort or "counsel; let him come to me, or to some other discreet and learned "minister of God's word, and open his grief; that by the ministry of "God's holy word, he may receive the benefit of absolution, together with ghostly counsel and advice, to the quieting of his conscience, and avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness."

With regard to the second occasion, wherein the church of England enjoins a special confession to be made to the minister; we find it expressly noted in the same book, in the order for the visitation of the sick. It is thus we there read: "Here shall the sick person be moved "to make a special confession of his sins, if he feel his conscience "troubled with any weighty matter. After which confession, the priest "shall absolve him, (if he humbly and heartily desire it) after this "sort: Our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his church, to "absolve all sinners who truly repent, and believe in him, of his great

mercy, forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed “to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, "and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." The reader will perhaps be a little surprised to hear, that this is the identical form of absolution used in the Catholic church.

But it will not be improper here, to take notice, that the book of common Prayer, published by and with the approbation of the bishops, clergy and laity of the Prostestant Episcopal church, in the United States of America in convention, and which has been generally adopted by said church, since the first day of October, in the year of our Lord 1790, does not contain in the exhortation before communion, as taken down above, the words, the benefit of absolution, nor in the order for the visitation of the sick, any part of the above preamble and formula of absolution, which have been entirely expunged. What reason could have induced the bishops, clergy, &c. of the United States, to make the above extraordinary alteration and omission, whether it was their disbelief in the efficacy of the Absolution of the minister, which however, was thought and believed during the long interval between the days of Edward the sixth, when the liturgy was first compiled to the epoch of the American Revolution, to be a real benefit, and so great a benefit, that it was considered some could not quiet their conscience without it, as may be seen in the warning, for the celebration for the communion, and still more clearly inculcated in the order for the visitation of the sick, in the English book of common Prayer, or whether they deemed the above to be incompatible with the constitution, and laws of our constitution, and that blessed liberty wherewith Christ as they say in the preface, hath made us free, and which they declare also, to be one of the many reasons which influenced them in the charges which have been made, or whether they considered the absolution of the minister to be an unessential point of

doctrine, or a point of mere discipline, subject to such changes and alterations as local circumstances might require, I will not pretend to say. But certain it is, that to me as a Roman Catholic, and conse◄ quently not much accustomed to changes, this omission has appear ed not a little surprising; especially as the words of the Episcopal formula of absolution, viz. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his church, to absolve all sinnsrs who truly repent, &c............And these others. And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, &c.have always led me to believe that they considered themselves as ministers empowered by Christ to absolve (not to declare them to be absolved, as their present revised book of common Prayer says) truly repentant sinners, and consequently, absolution, to have been divinely instituted, and as I do not find any mention made in any part of said revised book, of their having, since the American Revolution and independence, received from heaven any other equivalent means whereby they can, (as a dernier resort) quiet the conscience of the guilty, and remove from the poor unhappy, though repentant sinner, all scruple and doubtfulness.—Be this however as it may, I do not think, they, at least no more than the Lutherans, can with any propriety, charge that with being a licentious practice, namely, confession with the use of absolution, which they themselves once followed as well as we, which they have so very recently left off, and which their own acknowledged mother church, the church in England holds with, to this present day; or find any fault with us for preferring, having availed ourselves also, of that same blessed liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us free, and which our constitution has left us the free enjoyment of, to adhere to what was practised by us, long before Edward the sixth, and what we mean, old fashioned as we are, to carry with us, in spite of every new fashion, to the grave, and our successors and immediate posterity, to their graves, and so on to the end of the world.

But to resume. I say that the above warning, before the communion of the English Episocpal church and her formula of absolution as set down in her Book of Common Prayer, in the order for the Visitation of the sick, shew evidently that this said church holds, that Jesus Christ is the author of the confession which is made to the ministers of his church, that it is founded upon the divine word of Scripture, and that they do indeed possess the power to absolve all sinners truly repentant, and consequently that all sinners are obliged to make a spe

cial declaration or confession of those sins with which their conscience reproaches them. It is true that the Puritans, the Presbyterians, the Anabaptists, and some other religious sects made a formal petition to king James, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and four, at the conference held at Hampton court, to have confession abolished; but the king, far from granting their petition, confirmed the said practice, as may be seen in the 113th Canon of this same Conference, page 8, and 46, where, in conjunction with all the bishops of the realm, he declares, in quality of head of the English church, confession to be apostolical, that is to say, of divine institution. He speaks the same language, and with equal force in his Meditations upon the Lord's Prayer, where he says: "As to myself, "I do heartily approve of confession, even when made in private to “a minister, and I could moreover wish that it were more practised amongst us; for I consider it to be a most excellent thing, and every "way calculated to prepare men for worthily receiving the holy sa"crament."

And to shew that the real belief of the Episcopalians, is as I have stated it above, and to put this matter beyond all dispute, I shall cite two Episcopalian doctors of the English church Mr. Bayle, the first I shall name, declares himself so decidedly in favour of confession, in his book against the Presbyterians, entitled, The Practice of Piety, that, I believe, no catholic will be found more favourable to confession than he is in the 51st article, page 627, (edit. 13.) These are the very words he makes use of in his exhortation to a sick man, to make a sincere confession of his sius to a minister; "Send," says he, "and

enquire after some holy and religious minister; not only that he may pray for thee, but that he may impart to thee, after a confession and ❝ an unfeigned sorrow and repentance, the absolution of thy sins: for, as God hath called him to baptize thee in the repentance and remis"sion of thy sins, so also he hath given him a vocation, a power and "authority, provided thou doth repent, to absolve thee from thy sins: "for, the Lord hath said to him: And I will give unto thee the keys

of the kingdom of heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth “shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth "shall be loosed in heaven. And again: Verily I say unto you, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and "whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them. Now, it is "not said, Whose soever sins ye declare to be remitted; but whose