_We have resolved_, says Pope Leo, BY VIRTUE OF THE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO US FROM HEAVEN, _fully to unlock that sacred treasure_, _composed of the merits_, _sufferings_, _and virtues_, _of Christ our Lord and of his Virgin-Mother and of all the Saints_, WHICH THE AUTHOR OF HUMAN SALVATION HAS ENTRUSTED TO OUR DISPENSATION.—_To you_, _therefore_, _venerable brethren_, _Patriarchs_, _Primates_, _Archbishops_, _Bishops_, _it belongs to explain with perspicuity the power of Indulgences_: _what is their efficacy in the remission_, _not only of the canonical penance_, _but also of the temporal punishment due to the divine justice for past sin_; _and what succour is afforded_, _out of this heavenly treasure_, _from the merits of Christ and his Saints_, _to such as have departed real penitents in God’s love_, _yet before they had duly satisfied by fruits worthy of penance for sins of commission and omission_, _and are now purifying in the fire of Purgatory_, _that an entrance may be opened for them into their eternal country where nothing defiled is admitted_. 1. Where is Pope Leo’s PROOF of the validity of his claim to _an authority given to him from heaven_: _by virtue of which authority he fully unlocks a sacred treasure_, _composed of the merits of Christ and the Virgin Mary and all the Saints_, _and entrusted by the blessed author of our salvation to the wisdom of his doling out_? Let such PROOF be produced, if the Romish Clergy _can_ produce it, either from the Bible, or even from the received doctrine of the primitive Church Catholic. 2. By what evidence does Pope Leo SUBSTANTIATE his assertion: that _Souls in Purgatory are benefited by the supererogatory merits of the Virgin Mary and the Saints strangely associated with the all-sufficient merits of the Redeemer_? Let the Romish Clergy, if they be _able_, SUBSTANTIATE this most extraordinary allegation. 3. Where is Pope Leo’s PROOF of the very position, upon which the whole of his bull professedly reposes; the position, to wit: that _The Virgin Mary and the Saints not only have merit enough to make satisfaction for their own sins_, _but have even merit to spare for the benefit of less privileged souls in Purgatory_? From the Bible or from the Doctors of the primitive Church, let his venerable brethren, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops, bring forward, if they can accomplish such a feat, the PROOF of this very remarkable position. CHAPTER VI. SAINT-WORSHIP, IMAGE-WORSHIP, RELIC-WORSHIP, CROSS-WORSHIP. I SHALL next examine the doctrine and practice of Saint-worship, Image-worship, Relic-worship, and Cross-worship. I. In exhibiting the tenets of the Romish Church and Clergy on these several points, I shall successively give: the decision of the council of Trent; the comments of some of the most approved Latin Doctors; and the actual practice of the Romanists themselves as the best explanation of their received tenets.