Instead of preaching to all nations the good news that
Christ the Son of God was their King, they said: "I, the pope, am
your king. Christ is gone far away into heaven, and has committed
all power on earth to us; we are Christ's vicars; we are in Christ's
place; He has entrusted to our keeping all the treasures of His
merits and His grace, and no one can get any blessing from Christ,
unless we choose to give it him." So they said in their hearts just
what the foolish servant in the parable said: and fancying that they
were lords and masters, naturally enough went on to behave as such;
to beat the men-servants and maid-servants, that is, to oppress and
tyrannise over the bodies and minds and consciences of men, and women
too, God knows; and to eat and drink with the drunken, to live in
riot and debauchery. But the Lord was not so far off as those
foolish popes fancied. And in an hour when they were not aware, He
came and cut them asunder. He snatched from them one-half of the
nations of Europe, and England among the rest; He punished them by
doubt, ignorance, confusion, and utter blindness, and appointed them
their portion among the unbelievers in such terrible earnest, that to
this very day, to judge by the things which they say and do, it is
difficult to persuade ourselves that the popes really believe in any
God at all.
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