The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

194 UNITY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME.and that she has " the same expositor and interpreter of thisrule,—the Catholic Church."'"'* " Nor is it in her doctrineonly,"" says Dr Milner, " that the Catholic Church is one andthe same : she is also uniform in whatever is essential in herliturgy. In every part of the world she offers up the sameunbloody sacrifice of the holy mass, which is her chief act ofdivine worship; she administers the same seven sacraments.""-|-As regards the communion of saints, we find it defined inIleilly"'sCatechism to consist in the members of the Church" being partakers of the spiritual blessings and treasuresthat are to be had in it ;"and these, again, are said to consistin " the sacraments, the holy sacrificeof the mass, theprayers of the Church, and the good works of the just."'"'^Generally, Papists, in deciding this point, discard altogetherthe graces and fruitsof inward Christianity, and found entirelyon outward organization.Bellarmine asserts that thefathers have ever reckoned communion with the Roman pontiffan essential mark of the true Church ; but when hecomes to prove this, he leaps at once over the apostles andinspired writers, and thewhere we findexamples of the New Testament,numerous churches unquestionably independent,and owning no subjection to Rome, and comes to thosewriters who were the pioneers of the primacy. When oneman only in the world is permitted to think, and the restare compelled to agree with him, unity should be of as easyattainment as it is worthless when attained. Yet despitethe despotism of force and the despotism of ignorance, whichhave been employed in all ages to crush free inquiry andopen discussion in the Church of Rome, serious differencesand furious disputes have broken out in her. AVhen wqname the Pope, we indicate the whole extent of her unity.Here she is at one, or has usually been so ; on every otherpoint she is disagreed. The theology of Rome has differedmaterially in different ages ;so that her members have be-* Milner's End of Controv. let. xvi. ; Dublin, 1827. + Idem.X Reill^'s Cat. lesson viii.