The Lord of COBHAM said, "Nay, if GOD will! but that it is CHRIST's body
in form of bread, as all the common belief is."
The Doctor [JOHN KEMP] said, "The second is this, _The Holy Church hath
determined that every Christian man living bodily upon the earth oweth_
[ought] _to be shriven to a priest ordained by the Church, if he may
come to him._ Sir, what say ye to this?"
The Lord answered and said, "A sick man and sore wounded had need to
have a sure Leech and a true, knowing his cure; and therefore a man
should be principally shriven to GOD; and else his confession is nought.
And a man should rather go and be counselled with a good priest that
knoweth GOD's Law, and liveth thereafter; than with his own priest, if
he were an evil man, or with any other such."
The Doctor said, "The Third is this, _CHRIST ordained Saint PETER to be
his Vicar in earth, whose See is the Church of Rome; ordaining and
granting that the same power that he gave to PETER should succeed to
all PETER's successors, the which we call now the Popes of Rome: by
whose power in the Church particularly and specially, be ordained
Prelates as Archbishops, Bishops, and other degrees; to whom Christian
men owe_ [ought] _to obey after the law of the Church of Rome._ This is
the determination of the Church."
To this, he answered and said, "Who that followeth next PETER in living,
is next him in succession: but your living refuseth poor PETER's living,
and many other Popes that were martyrs in Rome that followed PETER in
manner of living; whose conditions ye have clean forsaken, all the world
may know it well!"
The Doctor said, "The fourth point is this. _Holy Church hath determined
that it is meedful to a Christian man, to go on pilgrimages to holy
places; and there especially to worship holy relics of Saints, Apostles,
Martyrs, Confessors, and all Saints approved by the Church of Rome._"
To this, he said, "It were enough to bury Saints fair in the earth; but
now Saints that be dead, be compelled to beg for covetousness! the which
in their life, hated covetousness and begging. But I say to you all, and
know it for a truth, that with your shrines and idols, and your feigned
absolutions and indulgences, and your temporalities, ye draw to you all
the richesse of this world."
="WHERE IS THE CROSS CHRIST DIED ON?"=
"Why Sir," said one of the Clerks, "will ye not worship images?"
"What worship?" said the Lord.
Then said Friar [THOMAS] PALMER [Warden of the Minorites], "Sir, ye will
worship the Cross of CHRIST that he died on?"
"Where is it?" said the Lord.