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(from which it is unlawful for any discreet Catholic to depart without most weighty reason,) is sufficiently known; but also the sense of the Church herself, especially with reference to THE SEVERITY OF

THE PUNISHMENTS WITH WHICH SOULS ARE TORTURED IN PURGATORYd."

This passage throws considerable light on the subject. It appears that although Perrone does not expressly state that the doctrine of a material purging fire is most commonly received by theologians, he does inform us, that there are various points, not put before us by Romish Controversialists, which cannot be rejected by Romanists, without rendering themselves liable to formal condemnation by the authorities of their Communion; for the common doctrine of theologians," and "the sense of the Church herself" are the ordinary grounds for Papal and Episcopal censures. Let us next endeavour to ascertain, what points may be considered to have the general sanction of theologians, and to represent the sense of the Roman Church.

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d Haud ignoramus ex his, quæ diximus ad fidem minime spectare, aliqua esse, quæ quamvis definita non sint, absque temeritatis nota rejici non posse, quum satis innotescat circa ea non solum communis theologorum doctrina, a qua cordato Catholico absque gravissima causa recedere nefas est, sed insuper ipsius ecclesiæ sensus, præsertim circà pœnarum acerbitatem, quibus animæ in Purgatorio cruciantur.-Perrone, Theologia, t. iii. p. 321, ed, Rom. 1836.

§ 2. Doctrine of Purgatory stated and refuted.

1. In the first place then, it is the doctrine of the Roman Church and of all her theologians, that the souls detained in Purgatory suffer dreadful tortures from fire, as well as in many other ways, and that their punishment differs from that of hell only in duration, the one being temporal, the other eternal. Bouvier Bishop of Mans writes in the following terms: "All agree that there is a twofold punishment in Purgatory, one of 'loss,' which is the delay of the beatific vision; and the other of 'sense.' This, according to the Greeks, is caused by severe labours and pains: but the constant belief of the Latins is, that there is in Purgatory a material fire like the fire of hell; and therefore that the Church, in praying for the souls of the faithful, does not ask merely for ' a place of light and peace,' but for a place of cooling,' i. e. against the ardour of the fire "." "It is certain," says Cardinal Bellarmine, “that in Purgatory, as also in hell, is a punishment of fire, whether that fire be understood properly or metaphorically." In another place he observes that the temporal punishment to be endured after the remission of sin, "is the very same sensible punishment which the sinner ought to have suffered in hell, with the exception of its eternity "." Dens

e Bouvier, de Pœnitentia, p. 285.

f Bellarminus de Purgatorio, lib. ii. c. x.
8 Bellarminus de Pœnitentia, lib. iv. c. i.

teaches that the pains of Purgatory are the same as those of hell". Delahogue says that "theologians commonly teach" that the souls in Purgatory "are confined in some dark prison, and tortured by some fire." Natalis Alexander having observed that "it is not a dogma of faith that the fire of Purgatory is real and corporeal," says, "I reply thirdly, that according to the more probable opinion RECEIVED BY THE CHURCH, the fire of Purgatory is real and corporeal, and nevertheless tortures incorporeal souls k." In fine, Pope Benedict XIV. fully explains to us the doctrine of the Roman Church, as to the tortures suffered in Purgatory.

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He remarks on a certain part of the Canon of the Mass, that the Priest therein prays, "for all those who are expiating in the fire of Purgatory; and requests for them all 'a place of cooling,' which refers to that fire in which they are burning; 'a place of light,' which relates to that darkness in which they are; a place of repose,' which regards that anxiety of mind with which they are struggling; by which threefold species of punishments those miserable souls are expiated by the DIVINE JusTICE!"

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In explaining a disputed passage in a Mass for the dead, the same Pontiff says: "But that we may

h Dens, Theologia, t. vi. p. 40.

i Delahogue, de Pœnitentia, p. 304.

k Natalis Alex. Dissert. xlv. in Sæc. iv.

1 Benedict. xiv. De Sacrificio Missæ, p. 128. ed. Ferrariæ, 1767.

determine something, it seems that we should say that the Church, in that anthem or offertory in Masses for the dead, means the punishments of Purgatory; and calls Purgatory HELL, BECAUSE THERE IS THE SAME FIRE IN BOTH PLACES; and prays that souls may be delivered from the deep pit, and the mouth of the lion,' that is, from the subterranean prison in which the souls of the just are expiated; and finally, that the Church prays of God that 'Tartarus may not swallow them up, and that they may not fall into darkness,' that is, that they may not be longer detained in that gloomy prison, STRUGGLING IN SO MANY TORTURES

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This then is the sense of the Roman Church, from which, as Perrone remarks, no discreet member of her Communion can recede, without the imputation of temerity at least. It is her doctrine, that the souls in Purgatory are tortured by fire, and other torments, in the same manner as the lost souls are tortured in hell.

II. It is also held, that the duration of the pains of Purgatory is wholly unknown, and those who have maintained that they are of short duration, have been condemned by the Roman Church. Tournely says that we cannot and ought not certainly to affirm any thing with regard to "the duration" of this punishment". Bouvier, Bishop of Mans, in reply to the question "How long are the souls of

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the just detained in Purgatory?" says, "This is wholly unknown: Alexander VII. condemned the following proposition, 'An annual legacy left for a soul, does not last longer than ten years.' St. Augustine recommended his mother thirty years after her death to the sacrifices and prayers of his readers the Church celebrates anniversaries appointed many ages before for certain souls in particular. Therefore it may be that souls remain for a great length of time in Purgatory, and many interpret those words of St. Peter (1 Ep. iii. 19, 20,) which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, which were some time unbelieving, when once they waited for the long-suffering of God, in the days of Noe, when the ark was preparing,' of the souls detained in Purgatory from the time of the Deluge, to the descent of Christ into hell, that is, for two thousand years and upwards." Thus it is evident, that, according to the received Romish doctrine, the time spent in Purgatory by the souls of the just is of an unknown length, and may extend to many thousands of years.

III. It is a matter of debate amongst Romish theologians, whether the souls detained in Purgatory are not tortured by devils. "It is uncertain," says Bouvier, "whether the devils torture the righteous in Purgatory; some grave theologians with St. Thomas, deny it; but St. Bernard affirms it, whose

• Bouvier, De Pœnit. p. 287.

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