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EDITOR’S NOTE
Question: “What’s the difference between an Islamic Mullah and a Roman Catholic Archbishop? Answer: The Mullah doesn’t charge a soldier admission to heaven. The Mullah tells his followers they are martyrs if they die in Jihad or Holy War, and they will go directly to Paradise. The Archbishop tells his followers they can also go directly to heaven if they are killed in battle. But he charges $40. Both Catholicism and Islam are false religions, and their depraved similarity is illustrated in the following article from World War II. H. Leo Boles Archbishop Sinnott of Winnipeg, Canada wrote a letter to Catholic mothers guaranteeing Catholic boys in the army who were killed that they would go to heaven — provided the mother paid him $40. The following letter was written Mar. 4, 1944: “Some time ago, you are aware, I called on Catholic mothers to enroll their boys as Perpetual Members of the Society of Propagation of the Faith. I said: ‘What better guarantee for any boy exposed to all the hazards of war! A guarantee, should he be killed, that he will go at once to his Maker, to be with him for all eternity! A guarantee, should it be God’s will, that he will return to his dear mother and to those who love him!’ “This has been explained to you over and over again from the pulpit, and you have been personally contacted, have answered the appeal, but all the others have maintained a solid indifference. If I were to conclude that you were indifferent to the safety of your boy, I would be doing you a grave injustice. You are not indifferent. What, then, can be the reason for the inaction?... “It is not necessary to pay the $40 at once. You can pay any sum you wish, by installments. You can pay, say, $5 a month, or $10 every three months. You can take a year, you can take two years, you can even take three years. Three years — that is almost the equivalent of $1 per month. “The important thing is to insure the boy’s safety, as far as we can do so — his safety in time and eternity. One Catholic mother in this archdiocese enrolled her boy on Feb. 20, paying $20. He was killed on Feb. 22. Do you not think that the mother’s heart found some consolation in what she had done?” This letter is addressed to “My Dear Catholic Parents.” It was sent to the pastors of the different parishes, with the instruction that they were to press the matter upon Catholic mothers. It is supposed that the mother is more sympathetic than the father. Hence, this Catholic archbishop makes his appeal for the $40 directly to the mothers. It is a scheme practiced by the archbishop to get more money for himself or the Catholic Church. He appeals to the mothers to pay this amount for the “safety in time and eternity” of their boys. He guarantees that if they will do this, their boys will go directly to heaven should they die while in the armed forces. There is no more wicked scheme than that which this archbishop practices on the deluded mothers. No one has any control over life and death, but Christ. He said, “I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of hades.” (Rev. 1:18). There is but One who holds the keys of death and the grave. These keys have been committed to no one else and the claim of this archbishop is a false claim. His claim — a bold and false one — is made to exploit mothers who have boys in the service. It is generally understood that the Roman Catholic Church is composed of two great classes. One of them is the political class and is composed of those who dominate the Vatican. This class constitutes one of the greatest diplomatic forces in the world. This will enable some to understand why the president of the United States has been courting the favor of the Catholic Church. He wants the aid of the great politicians of this religious organization. The other class is composed of the plain and simple people. It is much larger than the other class, but the first class controls the Catholic Church. The great masses of Catholics in Europe and the United States are subject to the political power and corruption of the leaders of the church. The sin as such practices as this cries out loudly to heaven. Martin Luther rebelled against the indulgences which were sold in his day and, in his guarantee, this archbishop is practicing crimes as hideous as the sale of indulgences. All decent people in the Catholic Church should rise in the spirit of Martin Luther against such exploitation in the name of religion. The politicians who control the Catholic Church are interested in their own personal gain and in the gains of the religious machine which they operate. These politicians have caused much trouble in the world throughout the existence of the Catholic Church. Rivers have run red with blood which was shed because of religious politicians. The destinies of nations, kings, queens, and emperors have been determined by corrupt politicians in the Catholic Church. There is not a crime in the catalog of crimes that has not been freely committed by the political leaders of the Catholic Church. The pope himself is at the head of the political machinery of the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit said through Paul, “Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Paul further describes this evil force, saying, “For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:7-12). |