Jesuit's Oath of Secrecy (Morton, The Roman Catholic Church and its relation to the federal government, 1909)

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Jesuit's Oath of Secrecy

   "I, A. B., now in the presence of Almighty God, the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the archangel, the blessed St. John Baptist, the holy apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and the saints and sacred host of heaven, and to you my ghostly father, do declare from my heart, without mental reservation, that his holiness Pope Urban is Christ's vicar-general, and is the true and only head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth; and that by the virtue of the keys of binding and loosing given to his holiness by my Saviour Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, states, commonwealths, and governments, all being illegal, without his sacred confirmation, and that they may safely be destroyed: therefore to the utmost of my power I shall and will defend this doctrine, and his holiness' rights and customs against all usurpers of the heretical or Protestant authority whatsoever: especially against the now pretended authority and Church of England, and all adherents, in regard that they and she be usurpal and heretical, opposing the sacred mother church of Rome. I do renounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince, or state, named Protestants, or obedience to any of their inferior magistrates or officers. I do further declare that the doctrine of the Church of England, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and of others of the name of Protestants, to be damnable, and they themselves are damned, and to be damned, that will not forsake the same. I do further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise all, or any of his holiness' agents in any place, wherever I shall be, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, or in any other territory or kingdom I shall come to, and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestants' doctrine, and to destroy all their pretended powers, regal or otherwise. I do further promise and declare, that notwithstanding I am dispensed with to assume any religion heretical for the propagation of the mother church's interest, to keep secret and private all her agent's counsels from time to time, as they intrust me, and not to divulge directly or indirectly, by word, writing, or circumstance, whatsoever; but to execute all what shall be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me by you my ghostly father, or by any of this sacred convent. All which I, A. B., do swear by the blessed Trinity, and blessed Sacrament, which I now am to receive, to perform, and on my part to keep inviolably. And do call all the heavenly and glorious host of heaven to witness these my real intentions, and to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take this most holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist; and witness the same further with my hand and seal in the face of this holy convent." — Foxes and Firebrands. Usher.

   The antiquated form, which is of similar import, can be found in Baronius, who thus concludes his account of it. "Hactenus juramentum, etc. That is the oath which to that period all the prelates used to take." An. 723, and 1079. Lab. Concil. Tom. 10, p. 1504; and Tom. 11, p. 1565.

Morton, Francis T., The Roman Catholic Church and its relation to the federal government, Boston: Richard G. Badger, the Gorham Press, 1909, pp. 40-41.

Online Source: archive.org/details/romancatholicchu00mortuoft

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