Eccl._ lib. ii. c. 1). If we will but listen to the
Pope now, he will make it once again "the Church of Christ," instead
of the Church of the "Reformation," and a true living branch, drawing
its life from the one vine, instead of a detached and fallen branch,
with heresy, like some deadly decay, eating into its very vitals.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 3: No Pope, no matter what may have been his _private_
conduct, ever promulgated a decree against the purity of faith and
morals.]
CHAPTER II.
THE POPE'S GREAT PREROGATIVE.
The clear and certain recognition of a great truth is seldom the work
of a day. We often possess it in a confused and hidden way, before we
can detect, to a nicety, its exact nature and limitations. It takes
time to declare itself with precision, and, like a plant in its
rudimentary stages, it may sometimes be mistaken for what it is
not--though, once it has reached maturity, we can mistake it no
longer. As Cardinal Newman observes: "An idea grows in the mind by
remaining there; it becomes familiar and distinct, and is viewed in
its relations; it leads to other aspects, and these again to
others.
Pages:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31