,transcribed from the c#ahhi edition printed by ,j4 ,t4 ,drought by ,david ,price4 ,,rev4 ,t4 ,,connellan1 ,,to ,,his ,dearly ,beloved ,brethren1 ,,the ,,roman ,,catholics ,,of ,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,elphin4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,dublin3 ,printed by ,j4 ,t4 ,,drought1 #f1 ,bachelor's-walk4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,letter1 ,,etc4 ,,beloved ,,brethren1-- ,,for seven years and three months ,i laboured among you4 ,thousands of you knew me in the ,confessional2 almost all of you have heard my voice from the pulpit2 ,i have baptized not a few among you4 ,i have laboured in the four most populous centres in your diocese--,sligo1 ,strokestown1 ,roscommon1 and ,athlone--and from the day on which ,i entered upon my work to the day of my departure from the diocese1 there has never been a word of disagreement between us4 ,i resided but four months in the parish of ,strokestown1 yet1 at my departure1 my flock presented me with a purse of sovereigns4 ,most of you have read the comments in the local journals when ,i left the diocese1 and ,i leave them to speak for themselves4 ,i am returning to live and die among you if you will permit me1 and ,i know the question that will naturally be asked by every one of you4 ,you will say--8,yes1 we remember ,father ,connellan very well4 ,he preached in our chapel1 and we used to call him #8the fair-haired priest4' ,but wasn't he drowned in ,lough ,ree a couple of years ago8 ,is it his ghost that is coming among us80 ,well1 my clear friends1 ,i am thankful to say ,i was not drowned in ,lough ,ree4 ,i left the diocese1 put off my clerical garb1 and worked on the ,press in ,london for eighteen months4 ,it was rather a curious thing for a 8fair-haired priest0 to do1 arid ,i am going to give you my reasons for the step in as few words as possible4 ,i was not more than two years a priest when ,i began to have conscientious scruples4 ,i shall tell you the causes of these scruples and troubles1 not in the order in which they arose1 for that would be impossible in a short sketch like the present1 and if you cannot master the difficulties yourselves1 you can ask your parish priest to explain them for you4 #a4 ,we have all a great love for ,st4 ,patrick1 and ,i used to read everything ,i could lay my hands on concerning him when ,i was a ,roman ,catholic priest4 ,now1 ,st4 ,patrick left some writings in manuscript1 and one of these is called 8,st4 ,patrick's ,confession40 ,all agree in believing this the genuine work of ,st4 ,patrick4 ,now1 the following are the opening words of ,st4 ,patrick's ,confession3--8,i1 ,patrick1 a sinner1 the rudest and the least of all the faithful1 and most contemptible to very many1 had for my father ,calpurnius1 a deacon1 a son of ,potitus a presbyter1 who dwelt in the village of ,bannavem ,taberniae40 ,presbyter1 ,i may tell you1 is the old word for priest1 so we find that ,st4 ,patrick's father was a deacon1 and his grandfather a priest4 ,if a ,roman ,catholic deacon or priest were to marry now1 he would at once be suspended2 and don't you think the priests and deacons living only three centuries after ,christ were more likely to be right than those of the nineteenth century8 ,again1 in none of the works of ,st4 ,patrick is there a single word about devotion to the ,blessed ,virgin1 the ,sacrifice of the ,mass1 ,purgatory1 ,invocation of ,saints1 or the like4 ,st4 ,patrick always prays to ,god alone1 and ,joceline1 an early ,roman ,catholic historian1 says of him--8,he used to read the ,bible to the people1 and explain it to them for days and nights together40 ,lastly1 you have always believed1 and so did ,i for nearly thirty years1 that ,st4 ,patrick planted the ,roman ,catholic religion in ,ireland in the fifth century4 ,we know that every part of the ,island became ,christian1 and that ,ireland was called 8the ,island of ,saints40 ,but if ,st4 ,patrick planted the ,roman ,catholic religion in ,ireland in the fifth century1 is it not very curious that in the ,bull given by ,adrian ,,iv4 to ,henry the ,second1 in which he permits ,henry to conquer ,ireland1 the ,pope expressly states he does it 8in order to widen the bounds of the ,church40 ,the ,pope handed over ,ireland to ,henry the ,second on condition 8that he would take care that a penny should be annually paid from every house in ,ireland to ,st4 ,peter10 and his ,holiness expressly states that his object is 8to widen the bounds of the ,church40 ,now1 ,christianity had been spread into every corner of 8the ,island of ,saints0 for seven centuries1 and yet the ,pope wants to 8widen the boundaries of the ,church0 by introducing his religion into ,ireland4 ,what does it mean8 ,well1 ,i give you the facts from ,dr4 ,lanigan1 a ,roman ,catholic historian 7vol4 iv41 #afd71 and leave you to draw your own conclusion4 #b4 ,when ,i was a ,roman ,catholic priest1 one of my chief duties was to hear confessions4 ,it is not a pleasant duty1 ,i can assure you1 but it was always a pleasure to me to work for the good-natured ,irish peasantry4 ,well1 the chief argument in support of ,confession is taken from the #bjth chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel and the #bcrd verse--8,whose sins you shall forgive1 they are forgiven them2 and whose sins you shall retain1 they are retained40 ,now1 to understand the point of my argument1 you must read in your ,douay ,testament from verse #ai4 ,then turn back to the #bdth chapter of ,st4 ,luke1 and commence at the #ccrd verse4 ,both ,evangelists narrate exactly the same incident2 for in both he said1 8,peace be to you10 and 8,he showed them ,his hands and ,his side40 ,but what do we find8 ,in ,st4 ,john1 verse #ai1 we find that it was the 8,disciples10 not the eleven ,apostles only1 who 8were gathered together for fear of the ,jews40 ,in ,st4 ,luke1 verse #cc1 we find that it was 8the eleven0 8and those that were with them0 whom ,jesus addressed4 ,thence it follows that not alone did ,jesus give to the eleven ,apostles the power of forgiving sins1 but ,he gave it to 8those who were with them0--to the whole company of the 8,disciples10 and among that company there were certainly some women4 ,therefore ,christ gave power to women to remit sins in the ,confessional4 ,it follows as a necessary consequence2 and ,i hope you will ask one of your priests to solve the difficulty for you4 ,my friends1 you will find nowhere in the ,new ,testament a record of any of the ,apostles having remitted sins in the ,confessional4 ,they remitted them1 no doubt1 by preaching the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,they bound and loosed1 as you may see 7,acts xv4 #bh1 #bi72 but there is no record of their having set up the ,confessional4 ,in the #afth chapter of the ,acts1 when the terrified keeper of the prison fell down at the feet of ,paul and ,silas1 saying1 8,masters1 what must ,i do that ,i may be saved80 we do not read that ,paul took out his stole1 and asked him to make his confession4 ,on the contrary1 he said1 8,believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved40 ,indeed1 it can be conclusively proved from history that private confession was introduced by ,leo ,i4 in the fifth century4 ,public confession always existed4 ,st4 ,james inculcates it 7chap4 v4 #af71 where he says1 8,confess therefore your sins one to another10 showing that the priest is just as much bound to confess his sins to you as you are to the priest4 #c4 ,all ,roman ,catholics try1 where they can1 to go to ,mass every ,sunday and holiday1 and they believe that ,jesus ,christ is really and substantially present in the ,host4 ,they believe they receive ,him in the ,holy ,communion also3 and many of you are yet living1 ,i have no doubt1 to whom ,i carried the ,holy ,communion when you were sick4 ,now1 the carnal presence of ,christ in the ,eucharist is tried to be proved from the sixth chapter of ,st4 ,john and from the words of institution4 ,the words in the sixth chapter of ,st4 ,john must have been spoken at least thirteen months before the ,last ,supper1 as may be seen by a reference to ,john vi4 #d and ,john xii4 #a4 ,the ,church of ,rome says ,christ's words1 both in the ,sixth of ,john1 and at the ,last ,supper1 must be taken literally4 ,very well4 ,in the #edth verse of the sixth chapter of ,st4 ,john1 ,christ says1 8,except ye eat the flesh of the ,son of man1 and drink his blood1 you shall not have life in you40 ,therefore all who do not receive the ,holy ,communion must perish1 and baptized infants1 for example1 are eternally damned1 ,i say the conclusion is inevitable1 if the doctrine of the ,church of ,rome be true4 ,but the same ,church of ,rome holds that baptized infants1 when they die go straight to ,god4 ,again1 in the #eeth verse1 ,christ says1 8,he that eateth ,my flesh1 and drinketh ,my blood1 hath everlasting life3 and ,i will raise him up in the last day40 ,therefore all communicants are saved4 ,in fact1 you are landed in absurdities to no end unless you take ,christ's own interpretation in the #fdth verse1 8,the words that ,i have spoken to you are spirit and life40 ,jesus gives the key also in the #ceth verse1 where ,he said1 8,he that cometh to me shall not hunger2 and he that believeth in me1 shall never thirst40 ,it is by believing in ,jesus1 and coming to ,him1 that we are to have eternal life4 ,but the ,roman ,catholic ,church attempts to prove the carnal presence of ,christ in the ,eucharist from the words of institution also3 8,this is ,my body1 this is ,my blood40 ,she says nothing can be clearer than these words1 and that1 unless ,christ intended to leave ,his real ,body and ,blood1 ,he would have been guilty of deception4 ,well1 when ,jacob1 in ,genesis xlix4 #i1 said1 8,juda is a lion's whelp10 his words were very plain2 but do you think any of his hearers believed ,juda to be really a lion's whelp8 ,when we read in the #aahth ,psalm 7verse #aje71 8,thy word is a lamp to my feet10 do we think ,god's ,word really a material lamp8 ,when we read in ,john 7x4 #i71 8,i am the door10 do we believe ,christ to be really a door8 ,not at all4 ,holy ,scripture is full of figurative language1 and ,christ constantly used it4 ,besides1 in ,luke 7xxii4 #ai7 we read1 8,do this for a commemoration of me10 and in #a ,cor4 xi4 #bf we read1 8,for as often as you shall eat this bread1 and drink the chalice1 you shall show the death of the ,lord1 until ,he come40 ,so the ,lord's ,supper was to be a memorial1 a commemoration of ,christ4 ,but we do not keep a memento of a person1 no matter how dear1 who is bodily present4 ,it is only when the friend is really departing that he leaves a memorial4 ,jesus1 in ,john 7xiv4 #b1 #c71 says1 8,i go to prepare a place for you4 ,i will come again1 and will take you to myself1 that where ,i am1 you also may be40 ,why did not ,christ say1 8,do not be troubled4 ,i am leaving myself in the ,eucharist4 ,you can handle me1 feed on me4 ,i shall be a thousand times more intimately connected with you than ever before40 ,he says nothing of the kind1 however4 ,nor does ,st4 ,peter in his famous sermon 7,acts iii4 #bj7 at ,solomon's porch2 but he says1 8,when the times of refreshment shall come1 ,he shall send ,jesus ,christ1 whom heaven indeed must receive until the times of the restitution of all things40 #d4 ,i should be sorry to weary you1 and so the last point ,i shall discuss here is the alleged primacy of jurisdiction given by ,christ to ,st4 ,peter1 and through him to the ,pope4 ,the chief text upon which the ,roman ,catholic ,church relies in this matter is ,matt4 xvi4 #ah--8;,and ,i say to thee1 ,that thou art ,peter and upon this rock ,i will build my ,church1 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it40 ,in a note in the ,douay ,testament we are told that ,christ's words were the same as if ,he said in ,english1 8,thou art a rock1 and upon this rock ,i will build my ,church40 ,but it is very remarkable that the ,evangelist uses the word ,petros for ,peter1 and ,petra for the rock4 ,now ,petros means a stone1 while ,petra means a rock2 so that the words of ,christ would really signify 8thou art a stone1 and upon this rock ,i will build my ,church40 ,if ,christ intended to found ,his ,church upon ,peter1 ,he surely would have said1 8,thou art ,peter1 and upon thee ,i will build my ,church40 ,but ,he really does say1 thou art ,peter 7that is a stone71 and upon this rock 7,petra7 ,i will build my ,church4 ,peter certainly was a stone in the edifice equally with the other ,apostles1 for ,st4 ,john in the ,apocalypse 7xxi4 #ad7 tells us that the wall of the new ,jerusalem 8had twelve foundations1 and in them the names of the twelve ,apostles of the ,lamb40 ,st4 ,augustine distinctly states that ,christ is the rock--8,because ,i am ,petra1 a rock1 thou art ,petrus1 ,peter2 for ,petra1 the rock1 is not from ,petrus1 ,peter2 but ,petrus1 ,peter1 is from ,petra the rock4 ,and upon this rock ,i will build my ,church2 not upon ,peter1 whom thou art1 but upon the rock whom thou hast confessed0 7tom1 v41 #ajig74 ,st4 ,jerome holds the same opinion4 ,but the ,church of ,rome says ,christ gave ,peter the keys 7,matt4 xvi4 #ai74 ,no doubt2 and ,peter admitted the ,jews by the doors of the ,church 7,acts ii4 #da71 and afterwards the ,gentiles 7,acts x474 ,he also gave him power to bind and loose1 and bestowed exactly the same power on the other ,apostles 7,matt4 xviii4 #ah74 ,but even if ,christ had conferred upon ,peter this extraordinary power1 it would not follow that it has been transmitted to the ,pope4 ,they tell us that ,st4 ,peter was the first ,bishop of ,rome4 ,but what authority have we for such a statement8 ,only a shadowy tradition4 ,st4 ,peter is said to have founded the ,church of ,antioch1 and has written an ,epistle from ,babylon4 ,why should not the bishops of ,antioch or ,babylon have as good a right to call themselves successors to ,st4 ,peter as the bishops of ,rome8 ,the ,roman ,catholic ,church says ,peter was bishop of ,rome for twenty-five years1 and was put to death the same year with ,st4 ,paul4 ,well1 the ,acts of the ,apostles take us down to ,a4,d4 #ff1 and it is most extraordinary they never mention ,peter in connection with the ,see of ,rome4 ,even more extraordinary1 if possible1 is the fact that1 although ,st4 ,paul resided two whole years at ,rome1 and wrote several ,epistles therefrom1 he never once mentions ,peter's name4 ,in his second ,epistle to ,timothy1 written1 as the ,douay ,testament tells us1 8not long before his martyrdom10 he says3 8,only ,luke is with me40 ,nay1 when he was before ,nero1 at his first examination1 not a friend stood by to comfort him4 8,at my first answer1 no man stood with me1 but all forsook me2 may it not be laid to their charge40 ,where was ,peter8 ,the ,church of ,rome says he had been residing at ,rome twenty-five years then4 ,was ,st4 ,paul totally ignorant of his presence there8 ,i do not propose to touch upon any more points of controversy just now1 but from what ,i have written1 you will gather that it would have been dishonourable and wicked of me to remain in the ,church of ,rome4 ,of course the proper thing for me to do was to write to my bishop1 and resign into his hands the charge he had given me seven years previously4 ,but you know how a poor ,irish priest1 who retires from his ministry for conscientious motives1 is reviled and persecuted4 ,then1 my parents were living4 ,i dare say some of you know them1 and if you do1 you are aware that they are devout ,roman ,catholics1 and are respected and esteemed by their acquaintances4 ,they doated upon me1 and ,i knew they would much prefer to weep over my dead body than mourn over what to them would be my fall4 ,i gave them the easier alternative4 ,on ,tuesday1 the #bjth of ,september1 #ahhg1 ,i said ,mass in ,st4 ,peter's1 ,athlone1 as usual2 had a talk with my old parish priest1 ,dr4 ,coffey1 about schools1 after breakfast1 and then left1 as ,i suppose for ever4 ,i sent a suit of secular clothes to my boat1 pulled up to ,lough ,ree1 and1 having left my lay suit on the bank1 undressed in the boat and swam ashore4 ,i thank ,god that from that moment ,i have had1 what ,i had not tasted for years previously1 perfect peace4 ,i got a position as sub-editor on a ,london newspaper1 and for eighteen months gave myself to deep and constant study in the ,british ,museum4 ,i began to feel that it was ,god's will ,i should return to ,ireland1 and tell my dearly-loved countrymen of all that ,christ has done for me4 ,he has accepted me4 ,i1 a poor sinner1 believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 cast myself upon ,him1 and know that 8,i have peace with ,god1 being justified by faith40 ,god spared not ,his own ,son4 8,he made ,him to be sin for us10 therefore for me4 8,we were reconciled to ,god by the death of ,his ,son40 ,this blessed acceptance has flooded my very soul with spiritual joy and gratitude1 and as the perennial fountain spreads its waters over the surrounding meadows1 so1 my friends1 do ,i long to impart to others the riches with which ,christ has endowed me4 ,i have nothing to say1 except what ,paul said to his own countrymen after his conversion3 8,but this ,i confess to thee1 that according to the sect which they call heresy1 so ,i serve the ,father and my ,god1 believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets0 7,acts xxiv4 #ad74 ,i have written nothing that ,i have not grounded upon ,god's ,word4 ,christ bids us 8,search the ,scriptures40 ,i hope to meet you all again1 and to prove to you from ,god's book1 admitted by your own ,church to be inspired1 that ,i have followed ,god's guidance4 ,your priest may denounce me1 but ,i am quite willing to discuss the matter with him1 and accept you1 his own flock1 as the judges4 ,meanwhile1 may ,god bless you all1 and may you 8grow in grace1 and in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ40 ,your obedient ,servant1 ,,thomas ,,connellan1 ,late ,roman ,catholic ,curate1 ,st4 ,peter's1 ,athlone4