We may also observe that even the use of many colours, or rather the mixture of them, is laid down as an abuse to be abolished, and power is granted to the bishop to allow the use of such vestments in _poor churches_ until they shall be no longer fit for use. If it be an abuse to use many colours, how much greater the abuse if a colour be used quite opposed to the rubric! It therefore seems to us that the opinion of Ferraris is at variance with what the Sacred Congregation of Rites lays down on this subject. He holds that the bull of St. Pius V., "_non se extendit ad hanc rubricam de coloribus_", and the Congregation of Rites says, "_servetur strictim Rubrica quoad colorem indumentorum_". Indeed we must say that all discussion appears to us to be set aside on this point by these decrees, particularly if we keep in view a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites dated 23rd. May, 1846, which was afterwards approved and confirmed by the present Pope on the 17th July, 1848, and which is as follows: "Decreta a Sacra Congregatione emanata et responsiones quaecumque ab ipsa propositis dubiis scripto formiter editae, eamdem habeant auctoritatem, ac si immediate ab ipso summo Pontifice promanarent, quamvis nulla facto, fuerit de iisdem relatio Sanctitati Suae". We hold, therefore, that the rubric is _praeceptiva_, and ought not to be departed from unless in such cases where a real necessity would warrant us to do so; and we may add that we would not consider it lawful to use white vestments in a Requiem Mass, inasmuch as we cannot conceive what necessity could turn up to justify such a departure from the rubric. Much better would it be, in such a case, to say the Mass of the day occurring, or some other votive Mass.