Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE PRIESTHOOD. ' We have seen that Rome makes very much of the external organization of the Church; we have seen that the pope is the visible head of the Church, that he is infallible when he speaks ex cathedra; we have seen likewise that under the pope are the bishops and under the bishops ar the priests and that these different orders constitute the ruling class in the Church. This ruling body we may call the priesthood according to the Romish idea; and of this class we must say something more yet in particular. In the pope's catchism under the subject, "The Church in General," we find the following: : .1 .: 'jii 2. How did Christ establish His Church? He appointed St. Peter and the other Apostles His representatives on earth, and conferred on them a power similar to His own, that through their ministry all men might be saved. "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, so I also send you." ? St. John xx. 21. 3. What office did Christ give the Apostles in conferring this power on them? Christ gave His Apostles ? 1. The office of Teachers, to preach His doctrine; 2. The office of Priests, to administer the Sacraments; 3. The office of Pastors, to guide and rule the faithful. "All power is given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." ? St. Matt, xxviii. 18-20. "Do this in commemoration of me." ? St. Luke xxii. 19. It is quite evident from the above passages that Christ did commit unto His Church the above powers; to preach, to administer the sacraments and to rule and guide the Church. We might quote many additional passages; in "Perry's Instructions" quite a...