Have the Romish theologians Gury, Scavani, Liguori, etc., ever been honest enough, in their works on confession, to say that the Most Holy God could never command or require woman to degrade and pollute herself and the priest in pouring in the ear of a frail and sinful mortal, words unfit even for an angel? No; they were very careful not to say so; for from that very moment, their shameless lies would have been exposed; the stupendous but weak structure of auricular confession would fall to the ground with sad havoc and ruin to its upholders. Men and women would open their eyes, and see its weakness and fallacy. "If God," they might say, "can forgive our most grievous sins, against modesty, he can and will certainly do the same with those of less gravity; therefore there is no necessity or occasion for us to confess to a priest." But those shrewd casuists know too well that by such frank confession, they would soon lose their hold on Catholic populations, especially on women, by whom, through confession, they rule the world. They much prefer to keep their gripe on benighted minds, frightened consciences, and trembling souls. No wonder, then, that they fully endorse and confirm the decisions of the councils of Latran and Trent ordering "that all sins must be confessed such as God knows them." No wonder that they try their best or worst to overcome the natural repugnance of women for making such confessions, and to conceal the terrible dangers for the priests in hearing the same. But God, in His infinite mercy, and for the sake of truth, has compelled, as it were, the Church of Rome to acknowledge the moral dangers and corrupting tendencies of auricular confession. In His eternal wisdom, he knew that Roman Catholics would close their ears to whatever might be said of the demoralizing influence of that institution; that they would even reply with insult and fallacy to the words of truth kindly addressed to them: as the Jews of old returned hatred and insult to the good Saviour who was bringing to them the glad tidings of a free salvation. He knew that Romish devotees, led astray by their priests, as were the poor blinded Jews, would call the apostles of truth liars, seducers, possessed of the devil, as Christ was constantly called a demoniac, an impostor, and finally put to death by his false accusers.