they took the words they then used, and upon which, if upon any thing in our Liturgy, they must ground this their proceeding, gave them no authority nor pretence for absolving these persons." They further state, that the rubric relates to sick persons who have made a confession; while these clergymen absolved notorious criminals, without even moving them to make a special confession of their sins, the parties themselves not desiring absolution. It is alleged, that the Clergy, as they knew nothing of the state of mind in which the criminals were, could not absolve them, without a breach of the order of the Church. The Bishops also add, that the Clergy, if they were aware of the sentiments of the criminals declared in their papers, must have viewed them as hardened impenitents, or martyrs. The Bishops consider the former supposition as quite out of the question: but they remark on the other, "If they held these men to be martyrs, then their absolving them in that manner was a justification of those grievous crimes for which these men suffered, and an open affront to the laws both of Church and State." The Bishops then add, that they were moved by a desire to prevent the Church from being misunderstood; and that, therefore, "we disown and detest all such principles and practices; looking upon them as highly schismatical and seditious, dangerous both to the Church and State, and contrary to the true doctrine and spirit of the Christian religion."[1]
It was to be supposed, that the government would
- ↑ State Tracts, vol. iii. 692-3. Ralph remarks, that among the Bishops "were Crew of Durham, Mew of Winchester, and Sprat of Rochester." Vol. ii. 646. These three Prelates had acted very inconsistently in the preceding reign.
