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mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

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Mistress <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vatican<br />

Lu<strong>the</strong>r studied his Bible and was perplexed to find <strong>the</strong> conspicuous absence<br />

<strong>of</strong> much <strong>of</strong> Catholic dogma. Where were monks? Where was <strong>the</strong><br />

pope? Where was confession, pilgrimage, last rites? Not in <strong>the</strong> Bible.<br />

The writings <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs had defined much <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Catholic Church as he<br />

knew it.<br />

Beginning in 1517 Lu<strong>the</strong>r protested loudly against <strong>the</strong> Body <strong>of</strong> Tradition<br />

and soon had a rising German nationalistic movement behind<br />

him. For centuries <strong>the</strong> Germans had felt fleeced by Rome. Germany,<br />

consisting <strong>of</strong> some three hundred small states, could not present a<br />

strong unified front to <strong>the</strong> church, as France and Spain did, to protest<br />

taxes and political interference. Good hardworking Germans resented<br />

giving <strong>the</strong>ir gold into <strong>the</strong> smooth hands <strong>of</strong> slippery Italians doing<br />

God only knew what in <strong>the</strong>ir painted perfumed palaces with girls, or<br />

boys, or each o<strong>the</strong>r. “German money in violation <strong>of</strong> nature flies over<br />

<strong>the</strong> Alps,” Lu<strong>the</strong>r wrote. 12 Given <strong>the</strong> financial advantages, numerous<br />

European princes suddenly found <strong>the</strong>mselves convinced <strong>of</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>r’s<br />

<strong>the</strong>ology.<br />

As a belated response to <strong>the</strong> swelling Protestant movement, Paul III<br />

created <strong>the</strong> Roman Inquisition in 1542. Because <strong>the</strong> Vatican was<br />

<strong>the</strong> foremost legal organization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> modern world, <strong>the</strong> Inquisition<br />

imposed strict rules <strong>of</strong> law to prevent unjust executions. Witnesses<br />

could not accuse secretly but must come out and testify<br />

openly. All those who bore <strong>the</strong> defendant a grudge, including those<br />

who owed him money or were owed money by him, were banned<br />

from testifying. And for those cases involving witchcraft—stillbirths,<br />

bad crops, or sick farm animals—doctors and scientists were<br />

asked to testify about natural phenomenon that could have caused<br />

<strong>the</strong> complaints. With his rigorous sense <strong>of</strong> justice, his caution, and<br />

his fine legal mind, Cardinal Pamphili would have been a great asset<br />

to <strong>the</strong> Holy Office <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Inquisition and to those poor heretics and<br />

witches hauled before it.<br />

In addition to <strong>the</strong>ir work in <strong>the</strong> congregations, cardinals had duties <strong>of</strong><br />

a ceremonial nature. For instance, all cardinals were expected to ride with<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir train <strong>of</strong> gaily bedecked horses and servants to <strong>the</strong> Porta del Popolo<br />

to give a formal welcome to new ambassadors, foreign princes, and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

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