Another tidbit from The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest by John Gerard, sj, is "The Bloody Question." Remember this is 1583 when it was illegal and lethally dangerous to be a Catholic, nevermind a priest, in England.
This question was posed to Father Gerard:
What would you do if the Pope were to send over an army and declare that his only
object was to bring the kingdom back to its Catholic allegiance? And if he stated at
the same time that there was no other way of re-establishing the Catholic faith, and
commanded everyone by his apostolic authority to support him? Whose side would
you be on then-----the Pope's or the Queen's?
He was damned whether he agreed or not!
This is how Father Gerard responded:
I am a loyal Catholic and I am a loyal subject of the Queen. If this were to happen,
and I do not think it at all likely, I would behave as a loyal Catholic and as a loyal
subject.
This was not considered a satisfactory answer, so he was tortured. But I noticed the modifier, "...his apostolic authority...". So Father Gerard's interrogator recognized that the authority the pope has comes from the Apostles, themselves. So why wasn't he Catholic? Why isn't everyone Catholic?
 |
| from Mick Hartley's blog, http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-terrible-torture-of-jailed-jesuit.html but I can't find where the picture originated. I will credit when I find out. |
What would you do if the Pope were to send over an army and declare that his only
object was to bring the kingdom back to its Catholic allegiance? And if he stated at
the same time that there was no other way of re-establishing the Catholic faith, and
commanded everyone by his apostolic authority to support him? Whose side would
you be on then-----the Pope's or the Queen's?
He was damned whether he agreed or not!
This is how Father Gerard responded:
I am a loyal Catholic and I am a loyal subject of the Queen. If this were to happen,
and I do not think it at all likely, I would behave as a loyal Catholic and as a loyal
subject.
This was not considered a satisfactory answer, so he was tortured. But I noticed the modifier, "...his apostolic authority...". So Father Gerard's interrogator recognized that the authority the pope has comes from the Apostles, themselves. So why wasn't he Catholic? Why isn't everyone Catholic?
No comments:
Post a Comment