Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/186

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170
The Oxford Movement

Bishops, who have appointed us as their assistants, and in some cases their representatives. Everyone believes this, for it is the doctrine of the Ordination Service." This cannot be denied.

The Tractarians often used very forcible language to spread the truths they had at heart. In speaking of Rome Newman said, [1]"We must deal with her as we should towards a friend who is visited by derangement; for in truth she is a Church beside herself, abounding in noble gifts and rightful titles, but unable to use them religiously, crafty, obstinate, wilful, malicious, cruel, unnatural as madmen are. Or rather she may be said to resemble a demoniac . . . the system itself, so called, as a whole, and therefore all parts of it, tend to evil."

Very strong language for one who afterward joined the ranks of Rome.

In 1836 Newman published his Tract called "The prophetical office of the Church reviewed relatively to Romanism and popular Protestantism." This was called forth by the efforts of Cardinal Wiseman, who had come to London to give a course of lectures on the Roman Catholics.

By the year 1837 the Oxford Movement had spread throughout all England. It was attacked everywhere. It was discussed at Court, in the Bishops' Palaces, in Parliament and among the people. The leaders were denounced as enemies of the Church and as Papists in disguise. In Scotland and Ireland the attitude was the same. The clergy in Ireland were ready en masse to rise up against this cause, but the strange part, as far as could be found was that not a

  1. Ibid. p.283.