their ? to the church, that is, the clergy, (for alms are a part of the ?'?,?, as truly as prayers or roeroes are,) are certlinly it/a better condition to obL!in salvat/ofi than the poor are, who have little of alms to give in order to procure masses ? The priests will furnish masses in j?rop?rl/? a8 they receive the alms; the rich can give the greater amount of alms or suffrages; and they teach that the suffrages infallib� tAos? for ?olunn the? ar? offered, because th?r? is no impediment. The consequence is, that the more alms or donations the clergy re- ceive, the greater profit will be derived to those for whom th? offerings are made; and the rich can, ?nd do, make the greatest offerings, and must therefore be in a better state than the poor; and this view of their doorfine is confirmed by the decision of the Council of Trent, which, in reference to those priests and others who did not appropriate the money or legacies for ma?os to their do$i?,?,ned objects, or who did not say masses in proportion as they were paid for them, decreed: "that the suffrages, and all services due to the dead from endowments of ceased persons, or in any other way, should not be performed slightly, but diligently and carefully by the priests and ministers of the church." Thi? decision of the council, in their decree concerning purgatory, vir- tually and practically authorizes all the superstitious and lucrative practice8 connected with purgatory. To the objection, that the rich are placed in a better condition than the poor, Dens gives the following unsatisfactory and evasive reply, which properly contradicts the doctrines of his church on this point: "The reason why the greater number of suffrages profit the rich is m?roly by accident; for there is nothing to hinder that the rich, cording to St. Thomas, (art. 12, mi. ?,) should be by accident in one respect, when the poor, in other respects, should be in like manner in a better condition. Hence, because the poor, on this henri, may pos- sess less, they may p?toa?acx, be compensated in this, that God ma? al?l ? for them those suffrages offered for those who are now damned or in heaven. Or it may farther b 0 replied, that although the suffrages infallibly profit the dead for whom they are made, nevertheless, it de- ponds on the will of God whether they obtain the whole or a part of tha remission of their punishment; so that the remission of the punish- meat may be regulated according to the disposition and capacity of the dead person for whom the suffrages were offered; whence it follows, that though more suffrages are made for the soul of the rich, it does not follow that he is always aided the more. "? 8ixtM?. They also lay much stress on the places where men are buried, az in churches, consecrated chureh-yard?, and especially under the altar. it would be endless to enumerate the various superstitious opiniotm and practices which are connected with this alone. A few
- "Qued plum pro di?i?ibu. ?uffr?i? fi?nt, hoc o?t per ?cid?n?: uihil ?at?m pro?
h'l?t juxta 8. Th., (?xt. 12, ?d. $,) d?vite? per ?ecider? e? meliori? �onditioni? quan- tum ?d ,liquid, eum p?upere? quoad aim ?imiliter ?int meliori? condifioni?. ]?inde, qued pM?pero? ex hoe capitc minu? Irabent, forte compen?ntur per hoe, qued Dens illh ?pplicet ,uffmgi? pro illin, qai d?mn?ti v?l j?xn in e?!o ,ant, f?:t? vd otiam diet po?t, qued, licet ?uffr?gi? inf?llibilit?r pr?int illi? d?functb, pro quibu? fiunt; t?mon a volun?at? Dei dependent, qued toturn, ?el tanturn partera remi?m'oui? pmn?rum con- ?qu?utur; it? ut rerni?io pa?n? reguhtu? ?eeundum di?po?itionern et �?p?eitatem ii- !iu? d?funeti, pro quo ?uff?gi, offeruntur: und? liee? pro ?nima diviti? plur? f?nt fmgi? non ?luitur, q?d ??.mper plu? juvmt,"---Den?, Thee/./? P?rg., No. !
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