John Ronge; The Holy Coat of Treves; New German-Catholic Church. Anonymous

worship of relics by the Crusades in the 13th and 14th centuries? when the exalted conception of the Godhead which Christianity inculcates, had been obscured by all the lying marvels brought from eastern lands? Hark ye! Bishop Arnoldi of Treves, you know all this, and better probably than I can tell it to you. You also know the effects which superstition and the idolatrous adoration of relics have worked among us, namely, the religious and political bondage of Germany; and yet, you can display your relics to the admiration of the multitude. And were it even possible you should be ignorant of all that I have told you—that the salvation of souls was your sole aim in the exhibition of this Holy Tunic—you would, notwithstanding, have two sins upon your conscience. In the first place, it is unpardonable, if the garment in question actually possess saving power, that you have withhold its benefits from suffering men until the present time. And, secondly, it is unpardonable that you accept the offerings of these countless multitudes. And is it not unpardonable that you, as bishop, should accept of money from our poor and starving people, especially when you have seen, not many weeks ago, that hundreds have been driven by necessity to mutiny, despair, and death? Do not allow yourself to be deceived by the influx of thousands upon thousands, but, believe me, that while hundreds of thousands of the German people hasten with holy fervour (?) to Treves, millions, like myself, are filled with horror and the deepest indignation by the disgraceful spectacle. And this indignation prevails not in individual ranks and parties, but among all classes—even in the Catholic priesthood. Judgment will overtake you, therefore, sooner than you think. Arnoldi! the historian is already seizing his pen, to submit your name to the contempt of your contemporaries and of posterity, and stigmatizes you as the Tetzel of the nineteenth century!

      "And you, fellow-citizens of Germany, whether near or at a distance from Treves, unite your efforts to prevent the continuance of such an insult to the German name. You have various means of working, take courage and employ them; endeavour each and all, with resolute determination, to encounter and restrain the tyrannous despotism of the Romish Church. For it is not in Treves alone that the modern traffic in indulgences is carried on; you are aware that in the east and west, the north and south, rosary, mass, indulgence, burial moneys, and the like, are still increasing, and with them spiritual darkness. Forward, then! Catholics and Protestants, together to the work! Our happiness, our honour, our freedom are at stake. Do not the manes of your fathers, who stormed the Capitol, frown to see you suffer patiently the Castle of St. Angelo to lord it over Germany. Dishonour not the laurels of a Huss, a Hütten, and a Luther. Give words to their ideas, and convert their will into deed.

      "Finally, my colleagues, whose sole endeavours and desires are centred in the welfare of your congregations, the honour, the freedom, and the happiness of your German countrymen, keep no longer silence! You sin against your reputation, your religion, and your fatherland, if you longer hesitate to follow out your improved convictions. I have already, elsewhere, briefly addressed you, and shall therefore now conclude. Prove yourselves the true disciples of Him who gave up all for truth, and light, and liberty. Show that you have inherited, not his garment, but his spirit.

      "Johannes Ronge, Catholic Priest."

      It may be at once seen that this letter is the production of no ordinary man; and, at a glance, it cannot but remind us of him "whose words were half battles." Few living Germans have such mastery over their language in all its native strength. It was just such a production—short, nervous, and earnest—that was required to give utterance to the slumbering thoughts and sympathies of thousands. Appearing in a distant and comparatively unknown part of Germany, it soon found its way wherever the German language was spoken, and, wherever it has found its way, there it has called forth a deep and hearty response. It has now been translated into various languages, and, despite all the preventive measures of police and clergy, it may now be found by the thousand all over Germany. It is not our present purpose to state in what points the views of the author seem defective. Our immediate object is simply to lay before the reader some facts illustrative of the anti-Catholic movement which has taken place, and is now advancing steadily. But first a word about the course pursued with regard to the author. From events which had previously taken place in the Cathedral of Breslau, to which diocese he was attached, the suspicions of the ecclesiastical authorities were not long in fixing upon Ronge as the author of the above letter, which appeared anonymously in the Sächsische Vaterlands-blätter. His manly love of truth disdained equivocation or subterfuge, and, as the result of all, he was deposed and excommunicated. A complete host of pamphlets were called suddenly into existence by the daring letter of one who, calling himself a Catholic priest, had still the hardihood to asperse the character and cause of the one all-holy Church, by attacking one of its most imposing rites, and treating with scorn and shame one of its consecrated bishops. Every possible charge, affecting his character as a student, as a clergyman, as a teacher, and as a man, was raked up against him. Those who had not a tithe of his power of fierce and indignant invective, when truth called for the vindication of its claims, made up for the defect by personal scurrility and the most vulgar abuse. His former associates in the priesthood openly denounced him, to exculpate themselves from any supposed sympathy with the sentiments or with the man. A friend generously undertook his defence—who declares, that at the Catholic seminary he was distinguished by great diligence in his studies, as well as by the purity of his moral life; so much so, that the superintendents stated that they had seldom under their care a young man who sought to become acquainted with the truths of the Catholic faith with such a deep and holy earnestness. After a slight sketch of his doings in Breslau and Grottkau, he states, "that every friend of his must feel persuaded that the above letter proceeded from his inmost convictions. He is utterly incapable of falsehood, in word or deed; and, as regards moral character, that he is, perhaps, too stringent towards himself, but mild and considerate to others. It was only the public wild proceedings of the ultra-Montanists and Jesuits that filled him with holy indignation."

      Ronge himself soon felt and saw the importance of the step which he had taken. He was now beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, obliged to relinquish all in defence of the truth, and exposed, from all quarters, to attacks which his conscience told him to be groundless. The cause of truth, for which he had already suffered, again demanded that his voice should be upraised; and this he does in the following Justification, which cannot but interest the reader as the autobiography of a remarkable man, but especially from the fearful disclosures which it makes of the present state and actual workings of Romanism. All the facts adduced with regard to his anguish of mind—his deep sense of the spiritual bondage under which he lay—his inward and outward struggles—his determined opposition to what he believed to be wrong and unjust—his plain but triumphant vindication of his conduct throughout—all give a character of truthfulness to the document, which is its best guarantee, and makes it emphatically speak for itself. It may enhance the interest of the following document to know that it was soon prohibited by the censor of the press, notwithstanding that the press of Leipsic is one of the freest in Germany:—